'Only a matter of time before a serious accident' - Sunderland cyclists and pedestrians slam illegal motor bikers on city's cycleways - video Dailymotion

Sunderland Echo

Cyclists and pedestrians on the C2C route in Sunderland and Washington have been expressing their concerns over the route being used by motor bikers and illegal electric bikes.

Transcript

00:00Living in Washington I regularly use the Coast to Coast route which runs from Rourke in particular

00:20the section up to Concert going through Washington. More and more of an issue I'm finding is people

00:25out on motorbikes, these electric bikes which are flying along at 20, 30, 40mph. I see a

00:30number of near misses, had a near miss myself the other week when I was out with my children

00:34and in terms of siren crime it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem. Speaking of people

00:38out on the track today, a lot of people haven't reported to the police because they feel it's

00:42not worth doing, there's not much to be done about it, particularly down to the situation

00:45police have with resources. But it's only a matter of time I feel before there's going

00:49to be a big accident where either a pedestrian is going to be hit, a cyclist is going to

00:53be hit and more needs to be done to try and tackle this problem.

01:00Okay then Paul you're obviously a keen cyclist so have you experienced this issue with people

01:18on motorbikes and also these electric bikes when you're out and about?

01:22Yeah I've seen quite a few of these electric bikes which are obviously illegal because

01:27they're going way past 15mph. I've seen them on the road and they're an increasing problem

01:34I think.

01:35And as a cyclist does it make you feel vulnerable when they come flying up behind you or in

01:39front of you?

01:40It can do yeah, I mean there's all sorts of vulnerabilities for a cyclist of course but

01:44that's just another one isn't it.

01:46And do you think more should be done to tackle this by the police?

01:50Yeah well if they can but it's a really hard thing for them to do because these guys can

01:54obviously go places where unless the police have got a similar kind of bike they can't

02:00go. So that's quite a challenge for the police I would think.

02:04And is there a risk of accident do you think from these people using cycle tracks?

02:07Yeah I would have said so. I mean I think perhaps the way to tackle it is that they

02:12should stop being sold. I mean where are they getting them? They're not getting them in

02:16a bike shop because I talk to a guy in my bike shop and he's as upset about it as anybody.

02:23So they're obviously getting them online and so that's where it needs to be stopped being

02:29sold, illegal bikes.

02:32Okay then I'm obviously out walking a dog at the moment. Have you experienced people

02:35on quad bikes, motorbikes and electric bikes along here then?

02:38Yes quite a few and more lately, more in the last year and it is dangerous. A lot of the

02:46cyclists don't give you warning anyway that they're coming up behind you. When you're

02:50on this bridge all you can hear is road traffic. So we need the cyclists to give more warnings

02:56to pedestrians and dog walkers. But the engines are a real issue. It's becoming a major problem

03:03and it's going to be happening quite soon that somebody gets seriously injured on here.

03:08I understand you experienced quite recently people on quad bikes is that right?

03:11Yes. Five guys met on this bridge the other morning. They were not youngsters. They were

03:16old enough to know better. Big quads, big engines. They were having the time of their

03:21life but they weren't considering other road users, other pedestrians and dog owners.

03:27I mean bottom line is it shouldn't be on here. Do you think the police should be doing more?

03:30The police should be doing a lot more. Sustrans can help and the police can help. We want

03:34CCTV cameras up here and the police need to have more of a visible presence because you

03:41never see them on foot anyway. Certainly not around the villages but this is a popular

03:46route. It's the coast to coast. You've got visitors from all over the country using this.

03:52They need to feel safe and protected as well as the residents.

'Only a matter of time before a serious accident' - Sunderland cyclists and pedestrians slam illegal motor bikers on city's cycleways

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