CHILDREN IN Totton, Hampshire have been denied some slow quad bike fun
because council chiefs reckon it’s too dangerous.
Totton and Eling Town Council has imposed the ban because it fears it could
be prosecuted if someone was killed or seriously injured in an accident.
Members took the decision after hearing that Testwood Baptist Church had
applied to stage the rides on council-owned land.
Town clerk Derek Biggs said none of the specialist organisations contacted
by the council was willing to licence the event and exempt the authority from
any legal action.
Biggs said: "A serious accident or fatality could result in us being
prosecuted. It's very unlikely but legally possible."
Former council chairman David Harrison is on the side of the kid’s fun
though, he’s spoken out in favour of quad bike rides.
He said: "We're talking about a very small area that will be fenced off for
vehicles that won't be travelling at great speed. I'm struggling to imagine
what would make us liable if there was an accident."
Speaking after the meeting Harrison said: "You can find reasons to ban everything
and end up doing nothing. It's possible to manage most risks so that they
don't constitute an unacceptable danger. I don't think this is health and safety
gone mad but I do think it's a knee-jerk reaction."
John Cunningham, one of the organisers, said: "We have staged quad bikes
rides for the past two years and haven't had any problems. They're a big draw
and obviously we're disappointed we won't be able to stage them again this
year."
Good God. Let’s wrap every kid up in cotton wool in case they stub their
ickle toes on a pebble at some stage of their lives...
The world is going proper mad.
