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

[malificent7]

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?

In the case of the boys in Ely, it was their families who bought the ebike, as an early birthday present. It's not as if these bikes appear from nowhere.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65714633.amp

The deaths are so awful. I hope there will be a campaign and tightening of regulation around this as it’s a real problem where I am.

These electric bikes and scooters are not road legal or legal in any public space (on the pavement, in the park). The only place they can be ridden is on private land. Unfortunately, they are being used for crime where I am, often accompanied with a balaclava and no helmet.

The only electric bike that is legal at the moment is the pedal bike with the 15mph limiter.

The amount of confusion about it on this thread is a case in point. Did the parents even know they were illegal when they bought them?

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and surely there's a certain amount of common sense involved in terms of what vehicles you allow your 15/16 year old to operate?

Of the two Ely boys, one was at a Pupil Referral Unit, and the other at a school for pupils with Social Emotional and Mental Health problems. They weren't on the straight and narrow, and hadn't been for quite some time.

The parents probably buy these to get the kids out of the house so they can watch their reality TV in peace

The amount of confusion about it on this thread is a case in point. Did the parents even know they were illegal when they bought them?
If it's my child I have a duty to check. That's frankly the job of a parent.

Then again, I'd not think a school aged teenager needs an electric motorbike to tear around the neighborhood on and find it highly questionable that any parent would consider it acceptable.

So what if they didn’t?
Would you buy one for your 15yo?
Trash “parents”.

So, people quoting me? You’re against further law and regulation around these vehicles? That was the argument I made.

People are quoting your NB after your initial post, I think they may not have realised you posted first about tightening legislation, and only clocked your second bit.
I think any sensible person would welcome tighter legislation, but how? The e-motorcycles are already illegal for under 17s, look what happens when the police try and flag the lads down.

These new e-bikes and scooters are a menace. There are a couple of groups of kids that have them round here and they use them everywhere, play parks, woodland and in fields. They never wear a helmet and honestly someone is going to get killed on of these days, if not them then someone they ride into.

Ely crash boys were on an electric-motorbike with around 10x the power of an e-bike. These are illegal to ride on the road nless you are 16+ and passed a test, have insurance, tax, helmet (no 2nd passenger) etc etc.

Police only 'chase' people who don't stop when instructed, if a chase is deemed too dangerous they stop. If the Ely boys had stopped they would be alive today. They rode away probably because they knew they would lose the motorbike to be impounded.

The rider of the motorbike didn't have any convictions but had been questions more than 40 times I think for things - it sounds like he was no saint.

Since the boys were doing something already illegal I don't see why we need new laws, it's alreay against the law, we just need the police/courts to apply the laws we already have. If a few underage kids crash in the process then as awful as that is it's not the police/courts fault is it? Its theirs and their responsbile adults faults.

Robbed = never turned up.
attacked whilst cycling = "yes they took your bicycle but gave it back so no crime"
car stolen = "yes we apprehended the person driving your car but we forgot to finger print him and your car so now have no evidence"

Yes Utterly useless covers it.

Well, last time i looked, at worst these kids would be suspects, as they have not been to trial, so no they are not "criminals" they are children and if they are on illegal e-bikes, how did they get them? and why do trading standards and the police not close down the very powerful e-bike kits from China and the parts that anyone with an internet connection can order from UK suppliers to up the power for many legal e bikes?

No instead we encouraging the Police to chase kids without helmets or skill.

Like i said, people supporting this, would have a very different pov if it were their kid who died.

There's an agenda against the police from some parts. At the end of the day the person being chased by police, innocent or guilty, always holds the choice to stop before said accident happens.

People are quoting your NB after your initial post, I think they may not have realised you posted first about tightening legislation, and only clocked your second bit
That's in my case. Sorry to the PP for missing your earlier post.

I don't think that parents claiming ignorance of the law when but electric motorbikes for their children is a justification here. The confusion on this thread shows that parents who aren't stupid enough to buy their school aged child an electric motorbike get confused when the press claim teenagers were on e-bikes.

The PP mentioning further legislation and I'd welcome that, but I also think these electric motorbikes are already illegal for school aged teens to be driving. They're often used by teens to do things that are also against the law. For some reason there's a lot of parents out there who are not only unbothered by their child breaking the law, they choose to enable their child to break the law.

No fault of the police , what if these feckless teenagers killed someone as a result of their behaviour. Bad teenagers are the result of bad parenting. End of .

This case also makes me think of a quarry in a village a few miles away from me. It's a special habitat and a lovely dog walking area. In weather like this teens from miles around come to swim in it. Someone drowns in the very very deep water nearly every year. The teens litter, shoplift, trespass in gardens and have threatened locals with knives.

All over social media its blame the police. All the people who drown are angels. Locals saying fill the quarry in to stop the deaths. Basically anything except they took a risk, here's the consequences. The bike story is even worse because of other lives being endangered.

I really feel for the police in both cases they literally cant do anything without criticism and a social media witch-hunt.

Obviously I can't prove it but anyone who buys one of those bikes knows full well they aren't road legal

Some people are rather naive about the lives being led by some sections of society

If you were buying something fairly high powered and expensive for your teenager, wouldn't you check first?
Ignorance is not a defence.
All the information is freely available.

Like i said, people supporting this, would have a very different pov if it were their kid who died.

I would be questioning how and where my child got such a bike because I certainly wouldn't have bought it for them.

Of course I'd be heartbroken if my child died. It doesn't mean I'd automatically blame others for their death, especially after the full story emerged.

How would you be feeling if your child rode one and killed someone else's child due to their recklessness?

Yes Utterly useless covers it.

My experience has been different to yous.

2 burglaries at two homes, different police areas - police arrived same day, neighbourhood team next day to follow up.
Attempted burglary - attended next day to take further prints as likely same as previous one a week or two before.
Contact afterwards to update us.

Dd had a very unpleasant encounter with a male friend - police were very supportive throughout, helped her out, got her some counselling in the interim, dealt with the criminal compensation board for her, supported entirely.

Stopped at an accident - police and ambulance called and arrived quickly. Both very professional and supportive throughout.

Have had very positive police encounters through work too.

Maybe we've just been lucky.

@VisionsOfSplendour people are very naive.

I am from a family that part of it is from that sort of section of society. Some of my nephews are scum, they have been to prison and started off very much like those sort of kids. I have had nothing to do with them for years and my other siblings also cut them and their Mother our sister off.

You can chuck money and have as many educational programmes as you like. The issue was my sister breeding with their low life Father in the first place. They did divorce but that family has had three generations go to prison. I think sterilisation would be a good thing for that lot. I know all the liberals on MN will be up in arms over that. But I know those lads are Fathers now, generation number 4 will go the same way.

The one in Cardiff had nothing to do with the police.

They were photographed behind the bike at one point just driving along, but when the accident happened the were a mile away from the crash.

An electric bike or scooter is an ideal mode of transport, no id plates so can't be traced. So if you are dealing or transporting drugs they are perfect. Quick, can nip between bollards to escape the police, as in this case.

AIBU to think parents shouldn’t buy their teenagers powerful £4k electric motorbikes and allow them to ride them around the streets illegally, uninsured and without helmets or protective gear thus putting themselves and the public at serious risk?

Fixed it for you, OP.

Because the children riding illegal vehicles on the road (or worse, pedestrian areas) are being raised by parents who a. Don’t give a monkey’s about legality, b. Have imbued their DC with a visceral hatred of the Police or c. Have no parental control over their drug-dealing/mugging/other criminality-minded offspring who are able to drop £££ on new “toys” without being questioned about where the money for these came from.
Of course, there is the other issue of lazy government policy banning e-scooters and e-mopeds instead of introducing new legislation covering their use, while allowing them to be legally imported into the country. This “loophole” will always be exploited by those of criminal intent though, so whilst the majority of responsible citizens will abide by the intention of the law, families and kids who fit into the description in the points above are, of course, targeted by the police because they are acting in a criminal manner.