legalities of Scramblers/Dirt Bikes on roads

El_Bee

Just on the subject of the scramblers/dirtbikes, we have them 24/7 now up and down roads and through estates, and I can't seem to find a satisfactory answer as to why there needs to be a new law in regards to them. These are not road legal bikes, they are not taxed and not insured, if I drove an uninsured and untaxed car with no indicators it would be taken off me by the Gardai, yet apparently they are waiting on a bill to be introduced before they tackle them, what am I missing here?

Victor

I understand a large part of the legal problem is that they are being mostly used on parkland, where the Road Traffic Acts don't apply.

unattendedbag

Petrol engined scramblers and quads are mpv's and need tax, insurance, licence, helmet etc. If they are on the road or estates or greens then they are subject to same rules of the roads as every other vehicle. However enforcement and safety is the problem. Gardai won't give chase as there is little point. They won't stop for a patrol car. If an unlicensed rider fell and was killed while being pursued by a Garda car then there would be complete outrage in the community.

BrokenArrows

They currently can arrest them and take the bikes but they want to cover their asses when things go wrong.

The problem is the legalities around chasing them. ie. Who is to blame when police chase a 15 year old on a scrambler and he crashes and dies.

dhaughton99

There was a toe rag in the estate next to ours who kept flying around with a gang on them for months. It was constant and nothing was being done.

One day, I rang the Gardai as usual, and the Garda said they are flying around on them outside the station and they are dealing with it. That evening when it got dark, we heard the Garda helicopter hovering over head with the light shining down.
We look out and there’s 2 vans and 2 cars, all with the blues and twos on, making an absolute racket outside your mans house so the neighbors could see what they were doing.
They all remained there for 30 minutes, making a show of the family, until he arrived home on the scrambler and took it off him.
He got it back the next day and has never been seen on it since.
Little prick is now flying around in pool cars.

The Gardai know who are driving around on these things because neighbors report them and it only takes some policing by under covers gathering evidence and stopping them when they arrive back to their house.

ED E

BrokenArrows wrote: »

The problem is the legalities around chasing them. ie. Who is to blame when police chase a 15 year old on a scrambler and he crashes and dies.

The brits had the same problem with mopeds. They got over their fear of bad PR.

If you're gonna be a menace to society expect to be treated like one. Would love to see Harris publicly issue a directive to the RPU to TPAC any scramblers or mopeds involved in crime.

BrokenArrows

ED E wrote: »

The brits had the same problem with mopeds. They got over their fear of bad PR.

If you're gonna be a menace to society expect to be treated like one. Would love to see Harris publicly issue a directive to the RPU to TPAC any scramblers or mopeds involved in crime.

Thats a very very recent change in UK policy with regards to knocking people off mopeds and bikes.

for the last 5ish years they didnt chase them at all. They were not allowed unless they posed a specific threat to someones life (ie. They were on the way to kill someone)