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AIBU?

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Original poster

To wonder why all these teenagers are being killed in police car chases?

243 replies

malificent7 · 10/06/2023 07:24

Are they only being chased if they are driving dangerously? First there was Cardiff now the kid on the bike. I know kids do silly things with cars but aibu to think the police don't come off well with this?

OP posts:
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6
Sigmama · 10/06/2023 07:39

E bikes aren't illegal

BatsHaveButtcheeks · 10/06/2023 07:40

I'm glad the police are chasing, and if the scrote comes to harm/dies - oh well.
Round here, police aren't allowed to chase, especially those who steal motorbikes, incase they come to harm. Its messed up.

TheSunnySide · 10/06/2023 07:41

I live in a community where kids ride around on stolen e-bikes, scooters, motorbikes and even horse drawn carriages. The local community are fed up with the danger they cause and the police not doing their job and stopping them has been and still is a constant subject on local messenger groups/social media. yet those same communities have such a suspicion of the police because while they want something done about the anti-social behaviour they also don”t have a good relationship with police on a personal level. Our local police stations have all been closed down, the local high street is thronging with people either high on drugs or alcohol or selling drugs. The level of school truancy is extremely high, poverty is at its worst. None of this is the police’s fault but they are expected to be there when things are going wrong but never are.

What happened in Ely may have been a culmination of frustration and social deprivation which has built up over decades but it was absolutely the fault of the two kids who drove out the wrong way of a one way street straight into traffic while wearing no helmets and out of control on a bike. The police didn’t kill them, they had stopped following them.

maranella · 10/06/2023 07:41

DustyLee123 · 10/06/2023 07:26

Very often criminals use these to get away quick and dart down alleys to avoid police, and often it’s drug sellers.

This^

Why were any of these DC zooming off and not stopping if they were so innocent? Answer: they were up to no good of some kind.

winewolfhowls · 10/06/2023 07:41

I really feel for people in the police they are vilified about doing their jobs. Social media is always full of stories about how the teenagers were such lovely kind people. If they were so great they wouldn't be terrorising the local populace.

MariaVT65 · 10/06/2023 07:43

Because they are twats. My 2 year old and I were nearly run over recently by a teenager on an e scooter while we were crossing a pelican crossing with the green man.

Vikingmama79 · 10/06/2023 07:43

Kids on motorised bikes are plaguing our area at the moment and 9 times out of 10 those using them are involved in criminal activity too. They don’t wear helmets as think this means police won’t pursue/ stop them leaving them to free to do whatever they please (pedalling drugs, car crime, intimidation, damage to property etc). Inevitably riding at speed illegally on roads without helmets is going to result in a few deaths. Might make their peers (and parents though wishful thinking) think twice.

WedTheBed · 10/06/2023 07:43

I have no sympathy. There was a case where someone driving dangerously hit a mother and baby in pushchair who died.

teenagers or not, they give absolutely no regard to anyone else in that situation, so serves them right. They likely would have just got a slap on the wrist if they had stopped when asked to the first time, but now they’re dead. Whoops.

VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji · 10/06/2023 07:43

The criminals also know if they behave dangerously on the bike /moped/ scooter the police will call off the chase.

they don’t want the paperwork or grief (physical and emotional) of sorting out a death like this.

MintJulia · 10/06/2023 07:43

If the police see a car being driven dangerously, they have to try to pull it over for the safety of pedestrians, other drivers and any passengers. That's their job. Kids on electric bikes often ride on pavements endangering pedestrians.

Note, being followed by the police is not the same as being chased by the police. Current practice is to request a stop, but if the driver fails to stop, to back off and follow at a distance, NOT chase, so as not to provoke some kind of daft competitive chase.

Tiktaktoo · 10/06/2023 07:44

The parents are the problem. Kids shouldn’t be riding these bikes in the first place, let alone without helmets. The kids should stop and cooperate with the police and then there’d be no chase.

LolaSmiles · 10/06/2023 07:45

E bikes aren't illegal
They're not, but I think the press have some responsibility here for not being clear what these teens are riding when they report it.

To me an e-bike is a pedal bike with a small motor that assists the rider.

What lots of these teens are riding are electric powered dirt bikes and electric motorbikes or other electric powered bikes/scooters that go a reasonable speed. For some reason there's parents who think this is just what their teenager needs.

Looking at the press there's people saying "kids on bikes don't kill" and then there were riots in one town over. The elephant in the room is that most teenagers don't flee from police and tear around neighborhoods on electric powered motorbikes/dirt bikes.

sashh · 10/06/2023 07:45

Sigmama · 10/06/2023 07:39

E bikes aren't illegal

No but these are actually electric motorbikes.

The only ones you can ride without a licence don't go above 15 mph, but people are buying bigger bikes for their teenagers.

Vikingmama79 · 10/06/2023 07:50

LolaSmiles · 10/06/2023 07:45

E bikes aren't illegal
They're not, but I think the press have some responsibility here for not being clear what these teens are riding when they report it.

To me an e-bike is a pedal bike with a small motor that assists the rider.

What lots of these teens are riding are electric powered dirt bikes and electric motorbikes or other electric powered bikes/scooters that go a reasonable speed. For some reason there's parents who think this is just what their teenager needs.

Looking at the press there's people saying "kids on bikes don't kill" and then there were riots in one town over. The elephant in the room is that most teenagers don't flee from police and tear around neighborhoods on electric powered motorbikes/dirt bikes.

Completely agree with this re: media have a responsibility to report the type of vehicle correctly. It’s clear as day this kid wasn’t on a legal pedal assist e-bike. Totally changes the narrative.

MintJulia · 10/06/2023 07:50

sashh · 10/06/2023 07:45

No but these are actually electric motorbikes.

The only ones you can ride without a licence don't go above 15 mph, but people are buying bigger bikes for their teenagers.

Show quote history

This. There are two categories of e-bike. APC that only do 15 mph and are legally the same as ordinary bikes except that riders must be 14 or over.

Then much more powerful electric motorbikes, intended for off-road, that do 60 mph and are legally classed as motor bikes, need a licence, insurance, tax, helmet etc for road use. Driver should be 17+

MintJulia · 10/06/2023 07:51

EAPC

GetDownkeith · 10/06/2023 07:51

Sigmama · 10/06/2023 07:39

E bikes aren't illegal

I think the problem in this particular case is the fact that they keep calling then e-bikes which aren't illegal. These are in effect ectric dirt bikes. If they called them unlicensed electric motor bikes the reactions would be very different.
These go at much higher speeds than e-bikes you buy in Halford there are laws around their use.
The biggest question is why children are being handed these bikes and being allowed to roam around on them and without proper protective equipment.

MichelleScarn · 10/06/2023 07:52

CosmosQueen · 10/06/2023 07:29

They’re not ‘being killed in car chases’ Ffs.
The riders are breaking the law, often not wearing crash helmets and usually behaving totally irresponsibly.
🤬

Absolutely, but that's everyone else's fault...
Has there been the "they were such kind, lovely lads"? Or the classic "it's not their fault they're violent, little criminals, they're soo bored"..

Thesunnymood · 10/06/2023 07:53

It's shit parents blaming others. Like with the scramble biker crashes

P3N · 10/06/2023 07:55

The 15 Yr old had no previous convictions, was described my friends and family as a sweet kid.
Some times the police ARE the villains unfortunately, not always but in some circumstances. He was obviously panicked enough to be careless driving into an ambulance after clearing the bollards. Maybe people should be asking why did he feel he had to run from the police? It doesn't always indicate guilt. I'm pleased it's being investigated.
Those saying they have no sympathy are actually disgusting. This was still someone's teenage son.

bellac11 · 10/06/2023 07:57

Not much mention of the parents on here, only a few posts. All the focus on the police and the teens

Where are the parents. Why are their kids doing drug deals on scooters. Thats the question that needs to be asked

crabbyoldappletree · 10/06/2023 07:58

The police are doing their job trying to stop or prevent harm. Just fortunate no one else was killed by reckless behaviour. It's well known speed kills, it's well known reckless behaviour kills, it's well known kids/ teens need parenting. There'll be a more of these types of deaths before this year is ended.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 10/06/2023 07:59

Sigmama · 10/06/2023 07:39

E bikes aren't illegal

Only certain e-bikes are legal on the roads without license.

Many teenagers are using off-road bikes or electric scooters etc. that they don't have a license for.

LolaSmiles · 10/06/2023 07:59

Completely agree with this re: media have a responsibility to report the type of vehicle correctly. It’s clear as day this kid wasn’t on a legal pedal assist e-bike.
Totally changes the narrative.
Agreed.
It's tragic that a teenager has died, just like previous similar situations have involved tragic deaths of teenagers.

It doesn't mean the facts shouldn't be reported. In fact, reporting the facts might make some parents wake up and think before they buy their teen these bikes/scooters.

Thesunnymood · 10/06/2023 08:00

was described my friends and family as a sweet kid

Of course they all are though. Would family go and say something not positive? Guys doing wheelees on scrammble bikes in city centres endangering people on road and pavement are described the same.
Or "he carried his nan's shopping! Sweet lad" while robbing other nans....

All events like this should be investigated, of course, but quite frankly parents should be too considering they usually provide the motors.