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Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - John (22nd Mar 2025 �13:35:47) My elderly mother was recently walking up Longmoor Road and two young boys on bicycles hit her with their bicycles as this cycled past on the footpath. She fell and luckily is ok but shaken. Has anyone else experienced inconsiderate dangerous young cyclists like this? I also was nearly mowed down by a young lady on an electric scooter myself some weeks ago. Is it my imagination or is the area becoming unsafe due to these feral poorly parented children?

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Salty (22nd Mar 2025 �16:36:43) No, it is not your imagination, they are everywhere, the result of modern parenting. I hope your mother is better.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (22nd Mar 2025 �17:05:23) This behaviour has only come about since it became socially unacceptable for parents and teachers to discipline children.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - paul (23rd Mar 2025 �09:07:06) Hi, In England it is illegal to cycle on a pavement or footpath. Penalties can be fines up to £500. There are exceptions, children under 10 years of age, who cannot be issued with a Fixed penalty notice. The law goes back to Highway Act 1835, and Highway Code rule 64.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Paul2 (23rd Mar 2025 �15:43:48) Part of the reason for a general increase in anti-social and even criminal behaviour is a lack of police on our streets and no consequences for crime.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - er (23rd Mar 2025 �23:19:20) Oh dear, this country has really descended into a nation of self pitying moaners, what do the rich want done with the poor, we used to send them to the galleys and it didn't really help, we get the society we deserve!

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Charlie (24th Mar 2025 �15:43:42) er: Your post seems to imply that it is only children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds who are badly behaved and indisciplined. That is not my experience. I have come across children from wealthy and privileged backgrounds who are not only badly behaved but behave as though they are "entitled".

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Joe (24th Mar 2025 �17:20:00) Boys and girls from all backgrounds own bicycles. It is nothing to do with money or class, it is just respect for others and not thinking that they own the pavement.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Paul2 (25th Mar 2025 �09:33:24) For some reason, 'er' regularly comments with spite towards anyone with perceived wealth. Very telling.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (27th Mar 2025 �20:11:30) The way I read this thread, er is referring to John's comments of "feral poorly parented children". Nothing to do with perceived wealth or social class. I can't help thinking of John Cheese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett as I write this (I'm not going to explain, you either know or you don't).

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Joe (27th Mar 2025 �20:26:48) Feral just means wild, nothing to do with social class. Poor parenting is everywhere. I was in Marks and Spencer Haslemere the other day and was appalled to see 2 boys, friends I think, aged about 11 waiting at the till with their mother and while they were waiting both were kicking one of their own anoraks around on the floor because they were bored. The anorak got filthy and the mother just looked at them silently. These were middle class children. Again I was in Waitrose and two “ yummy mummies” were chatting in front of the deli counter while 3 young children all under the age of 5 were playing in the shop shrieking and running amok. Their mothers were chatting away oblivious to where their children were or what they were doing, or who they were bumping into.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - er (27th Mar 2025 �23:52:21) Whilst I'm very sorry to hear that an elderly lady, the OP's mum, was knocked over and I wish her a full and speedy recovery, I was surprised by the subsequent strength of criticism on the thread, not just of the boys but their parenting, the police etc In the strictest sense, a road traffic accident occurred upon the public highway, (or two RTA's if we read it as the lady was hit by both bikes). Importantly, we are told the cyclists were young boys, I take that to mean below the age of criminal liability and therefore immune from the laws on pavement cycling. (Actually I'm told, young children are encouraged by the Home Office to do so.) (surprisingly the same Home Office stance applies to some extent to all cyclists, the police are instructed to use their judgement as to relative risk before stopping any cyclist for riding on the pavement). That young children were out and about cycling with each other is, sadly, becoming rare in itself in this day and age of Facebook and computer games etc. The OP didn't appear to describe in any detail how or why it happened, or whether they stopped, showed concern etc. If we had an RTA, which I'm sure most of us have, we would expect our insurers to ask us for a statement, before calmly analysing the question of blame whilst trying to reassure each party that these things do, unfortunately happen to ordinary people from every walk of life. Now, I'm not sure how I got onto blaming the rich for sending people to the galleys, my mind works in strange ways late at night but think Paul2 is wrong though about my wealth obsession, but D seems to have understood at least!! So, without being there I can't defend the children or their parents but I do think pavement cycling for young children is (depending on how busy it is) generally the safest overall option, when done with caution and consideration. This doesn't though, to my mind, apply to electric bikes or scooters which are a menace and in my opinion should only be used on the roads, in that respect we are in full agreement!

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (28th Mar 2025 �08:50:48) The hypocrisy on this thread is unbelievable. It was the middle class parents who told us all it was wrong to discipline children which, thirty years and two generations who have never had a good hiding in their lives later, is now resulting in more child murderers than ever and more child mental illness than ever (at great cost to the council tax payer). At least one person on this thread, moaning about badly behaved children, has criticised me in the past for saying it is wrong not to discipline children. If a child misbehaves now the parents can neither smack their child or lock them in their room. Of course child behaviour is getting worse but when there is no way of clearly defining boundaries of what is and is not acceptable behaviour of course they will.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Joe (28th Mar 2025 �11:17:20) E R the age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10. These teenagers were older than that. The advice for cycling on pavements is it is ok for young children who are learning to ride bikes with their parents - not everybody under 18 is allowed to do this. As for insurance? It would not be classed as a road traffic accident as RTAs are between vehicle where both insurers are traceable. I doubt you know much about insurance.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - er (28th Mar 2025 �13:23:31) You're welcome to your opinion Joe, but I believe it is you who are wrong. Possibly you know the boys and/or the OP, but as I made clear, I don't, and if in the context of a pavement cycle accident, the OP described them as 'young boys', as opposed to 'boys' or 'older boys' or 'teenagers' or 'young men' etc, I am entitled to use 'below 10' as a working guesstimate, of course the OP is welcome to set the record straight. As for the definition of road traffic accident I disagree. (again I'm fine with that, we can agree to disagree) A road traffic accident is widely defined as occuring on any public highway or public area including pavements, footpaths, private car parks etc, involving any vehicle (a bicycle is a vehicle, as opposed to say, a pram which is not) and involves any collision causing damage, injury etc, whether the vehicle is traced or not is irrelevant, you can nit pick if you like, but I never said insurers would be involved here, I simply made an analogy about the type of response I'd expect it it was us having an RTA. As for pavement riding I've taken my info from various sources over time, including cyclingUK.org: 'Should children cycle on the pavement', whilst I stated it's still illegal, I made clear that under 10's have total immunity and the advice to police is not to intervene in anybody of any age considerately pavement cycling, unless the cycling is dangerous, note the Home Office advice from 2014 to the police as a good example of that, and Home Office Minister James Boteang who stated the law is not aimed at responsible cyclists, where there is no alternarive safe cycling route..

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - er (28th Mar 2025 �14:15:24) * 'I meant to say 'many' private car parks, public access being the key, ie most shop car parks, many other businesses etc

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (28th Mar 2025 �16:42:07) I remember PC Woodward telling two of my classmates to get off the pavement and onto the road, we were about twelve at the time. Now you even get grown men riding on the pavement (scared of cars are they?) children wiping their feet in supermarket trolleys because their mothers can't work out what the seat is for, women using the gents toilet, men using the the ladies toilet and some not sure what toilet to use at all. Change for the better? Sick society more like.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Joe (29th Mar 2025 �10:06:04) I think the original posters idea of "young" and ERs interpretation of young may be different, because in the first posting he also mentioned a "young" girl riding an electric scooter on the pavement and i doubt the "young" person woukd be under the age of 10 on an electric scooter.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Charlie (29th Mar 2025 �12:24:38) I, like D, but for a different reason am amazed at the way this Thread has taken shape. Only Salty and er have actually stated that they hope the lady is OK and recovering, but no one has actually asked if the parents (if present) and/or the children actually apologised to the elderly lady for knocking her over and if the parents (if present) actually reprimanded their children however young, for knocking over an elderly lady with their bikes. It really doesn't matter if it is legal or not for children of a certain age to be riding bikes on pavements, but it does matter if their actions hurt other people. However that does not seem to matter to some of the posters on this Thread. It appears that many posters are trying to score points off each other (legal or otherwise) perhaps to prove that they have a superior knowledge of the law. To me it is far more important that children whatever age should be made aware of how their actions can affect other people. So now I am going to ask the OP did your elderly mother receive an apology from the parents (if present) and/or the children and I very much hope that she has completely recovered from an unpleasant experience.

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (31st Mar 2025 �13:07:00) We live in a society where it is socially acceptable to run up debts and have them written off, where it is socially acceptable to pay nothing for your utilities meaning those who do pay have to pay more, where small children are allowed to sit in supermarket trollies regardless of their muddy feet and soiled nappies, where men are allowed to use women's toilets, where it is illegal to express one's disgust at something that was once illegal and considered abhorrent, where you can get a lesser sentence for a crime by claiming to be mentally ill, where you work hard all your life and get taxed for it while those who pay nothing into the state get everything out of it, where motorists have to brake sharply because some idiot thinks it a good idea to push his child in a pushchair along Haslemere Road with his back to the traffic. Given these fine examples being set by their elders and betters (?) is it surprising children think it acceptable to cycle on the pavement?

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - Salty (31st Mar 2025 �16:02:56) D ... Well written, somewhat heartening that another human being shares my take on modern society. Minority ?? Probably ...

Re: Cyclists and electric scooters on footpaths - D (31st Mar 2025 �18:44:51) Thankyou, Salty. Being a white, heterosexual male probably makes me a right wing, masogonistic, homophobic racist bigot these days.

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