Motorbikes in pedestrian areas and parks

[Pegs11]

I live in Bristol and as a community we are experiencing a real problem with youths on motorbikes/ mopeds driving around very dangerously, ie, speeding, driving in pedestrianised areas and in conservation areas, along pavements, etc. They have no number plates and always wear face coverings.

There is one particular ‘gang’ who I am all too familiar with, as I used to live in the same road. Thankfully I have moved now, but the problem is everywhere. My new house backs onto a conservation area, and they drive around there, on the footpath and also tear up the grass. It’s terrifying, I have a little dog who I take for walks there, and I’m so worried about these bikes speeding around. There are a lot of elderly people and dog walkers, and people with little kids, who use that footpath and they are all at risk of being injured or worse.

I have tried to get the council to install gates at the entrances to the park, but they won’t, because of equality legislation and the need for mobility vehicles to access the area. I’ve tried explaining that there are gates that block motorbikes but let mobility vehicles through, but the council say they don’t work as they’re supposed to. I’ve reported it, when it happens, to the police, but the police have to catch them in the act and by the time I’ve finished filing my report, the bikers are long gone. It feels futile.

I guess I’m looking for some advice really, as to whether there is anything I can do to really put this on the agenda of the council and police. A petition, perhaps? I’d also like to know if anyone else has experienced this in their area, and if anything has been done to effectively control it. It’s so, so terrifying.

The problem is that the police can not pursue motorbikes in most force areas. Its classed as being too dangerous for the riders and the public.

The bike riders know this and use it to their advantage.

@Felix125 I know, but surely the issue has to be dealt with at some point, because it’s just getting worse and worse. I read that in London, motorbike crime has risen thirty-fold over the past five years! I never used to see it in Bristol - ever - and now it’s happening so frequently it’s crazy. Apparently the police are beginning to deploy drones to follow the bikers back to their place of residence, so they can identify them. But again, the bikers are often long gone by the time you’ve so much as picked up the phone and dialled the police. I hope this isn’t something we all just have to live with forever, having to be on our guard every time we go for a walk. There has to be a solution at some point. I think the problem is so bad it should be on the agenda in Parliament, but I’m a nobody, I don’t have any power to make that kind of thing happen!

Start with bringing it up at your local parish council meeting or try your local MP?
But in all honestly be prepared that despite your best efforts, nothing will be done. Having said that - if you don’t try then definitely nothing will be done!

Pegs11

I completely agree with you.

We went through a stage of being able to knock these people off the bikes - and if they get injured then tough luck on them.

But that was quickly withdrawn as a tactic and we are back to square one with no solution coming forward.

As Alphabet1spaghetti2 says - make some noise with your local politicians etc and hopefully in time it will become a national debate and the government will have to do something.

The problem will get worse and worse as more people realise that the police can't chase them. And with the invention of electric bikes and scooters there will be more of these things for them to use. Drones can track them to a house, but invariably the riders will be wearing balaclavas, so you can't ID them. And when you get to the house you will find about 10 bikes, so you can't seize any of them as you can only seize the definite one you have just seen.

We keep raising this it at work - our ineffectiveness when it comes to these, but it largely falls on deaf ears. We try and get members of the public to complain all the time, but not sure if they do.

The public need to make lots of noise that this is not acceptable.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I have made efforts to do this, but so far to no avail. I could step it up, but it feels futile. I’ve already had my local councillor saying there’s simply no point pushing for more gates to be installed or basically anything that costs money, he said all I can do is continue reporting it to the police when it happens, and if enough people report it frequently enough, the police will attend the scene. But, as Felix125 says below, it’s difficult for the police to act when the bikers can just zoom off and can’t be identified. So I feel like reporting it is futile.

I guess I don’t understand why much stronger penalties can’t be put in place - not just bikes being confiscated, and I wish there was more enforcement and more rogue riders (on the few occasions they ARE caught) being made an example of as a deterrent. People have been killed and seriously injured as a result of this antisocial driving and I feel like the problem is getting worse, it makes me feel like I can’t depend on the people that are supposed to be keeping me (and everyone) safe.

@Felix125 I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who is really worried about this issue. Not sure what your job is but it sounds like you are involved in a sector where this issue is particularly relevant? If you ever wanted to promote some sort of petition I would definitely get involved!

Electric bikes and scooters are even worse, in a way, because for some unfathomable reason it’s seen as acceptable for them to drive along public footpaths and you can’t even hear them coming most of the time until they are practically upon you. At least with the motorbikes you get some warning because of how (annoyingly) loud they are. On several occasions I’ve jumped out of my skin when an electric bike/scooter appears from nowhere and zooms past, and I get into a very anxious state because of it. I won’t walk my dog on the footpath anymore, she has no awareness of such vehicles and it just feels too dangerous. It makes me feel quite resentful.

@Pegs11 I agree with you. Sorry to hear the councillor was useless but not surprised. The problem is getting worse and will continue until a lot of people die as a consequence- one person dying wi be considered unfortunate, several will see something possibly being done. Do try your mp, it can at least raise awareness.

it’s a shame that some sharp broken glass or nails have t found their way into the bikers path…. and that these miscreants haven’t found some sort of social justice. But we aren’t allowed to retaliate in anyway shape of form. Although according to this afternoons I paper- it would seem that a cyclist has been punched after colliding with a pedestrian on a zebra crossing. So all I can say is that you are definitely not the only one fed up and looking for a solution before someone is seriously hurt.

@@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I wrote to my MP yesterday, look forward to his response. Surely with motorbike crime rising 30-fold in the last five years, this should be high on the government’s agenda. But personally I wouldn’t trust this government to safely boil an egg, let alone anything important.

From what I recall, in Bristol at least one person has been killed by a motorbike on a pedestrian path.

@Pegs11 thats fantastic - you’ve done more than most people (cough keyboard warrior’s) would do. Fingers crossed for a good response.
It should be higher on the agenda - but like most crimes, until it affects a high up politician or influential celebrity it gets little attention.