Take action on powerful e-bikes now before another life is lost |
IN the early 1950s, my father was stopped whilst on his bike, cycling across the Westland Road in north Belfast, by a motorcycle cop given the nickname of ‘The Durango Kid’ by youths at the time.
My father’s mistake was cycling with his younger sister on the handlebars of his bicycle. She was running late for school and he was endeavouring to help her get to Fortwilliam from their home on the Cliftonville Road.
Issued with a summons by the officious policeman, he had to attend the magistrate’s court, where he was given a two shilling fine by the judge, who informed him that a steeper penalty would have been dished out if he had been taking her away from school, as opposed to bringing her there.
Rules were rules, and that was the last time my aunt got a ride on the handlebars, regardless of whether she was against the clock.
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Over the past few months, I have personally witnessed countless examples of young lads dangerously driving high-powered e-bikes – more like scrambler motorcycles than bikes – on main roads, through red lights, with passengers, performing wheelies, all the while masked up.
Not once has any one of the lads been wearing a helmet. They are a danger to themselves and others, but it appears that the PSNI do not know how to handle the situation.
Last week, the PSNI in north Belfast shared a post stating they had conducted a number of “pro-active searches” of houses and seized........