Ride Right campaign launched to tackle illegal riding and protect UK trail biking access
The ACU, TRF, MCIA and NMC have launched Ride Right, a new campaign targeting illegal riding and helping protect the future of legal trail riding and off-road motorcycling in the UK.
A new nationwide campaign backed by some of the UK's biggest motorcycle organisations has been launched. The aim of it is to protect the future of legal trail riding and off-road motorcycling.
Called Ride Right, the initiative brings together the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF), Auto Cycle Union (ACU), Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) and a range of other industry partners in a coordinated effort to reduce illegal riding and improve public perception of the activity.
The campaign focuses on educating riders about where they can legally ride, while encouraging responsible behaviour both on green lanes and at organised off-road venues. It also seeks to address growing concerns that the actions of a small minority of riders are threatening access for everyone else.
According to the organisations behind the scheme, responsible trail riders currently have access to around 6,000 miles of legal unsealed roads across England and Wales, while thousands more take part in organised off-road events and competitions run under ACU regulations.
However, illegal riding on footpaths, bridleways, private land, common land and open moorland continues to generate complaints from landowners, local residents and other countryside users. In recent years, the boom in high-powered e-bikes being used in areas where motor vehicles are prohibited has also become a big part of the problem.
The concern from riding organisations is that every instance of illegal riding strengthens calls for further restrictions, route closures and Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), reducing opportunities for those who ride within the law.
Ride Right has been built around four key principles: Ride Right, Right Place, Right Approach and Right Attitude. Collectively, they encourage riders to use only legal routes, obtain permission where required, respect the countryside and share public spaces courteously with walkers, cyclists, horse riders, residents and landowners.
The campaign also highlights the legal consequences riders can face when operating unlawfully. Depending on the circumstances, offences can include riding without insurance, riding untaxed vehicles, trespassing on private land or using public routes where motor vehicle rights do not exist. Penalties can include fines, licence endorsements, vehicle seizure and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment.
The organisations behind the campaign argue that rider-led action will be key to changing behaviour. They believe experienced riders, clubs and online communities have an important role to play in challenging illegal riding and promoting good practice among newcomers.
The TRF says many riders who end up in the wrong places may simply be unaware of where legal access exists, pointing to its Green Road Map as a tool to identify routes with public motor vehicle rights. The organisation also says its members regularly express frustration at the damage caused by anti-social riders to the reputation of the wider trail riding community.
The ACU has meanwhile highlighted the number of affiliated clubs, events, and practice facilities available to riders who want to enjoy legal off-road motorcycling.
Speaking about the initiative, Craig Carey-Clinch, the NMC’s Executive Director, said:
“This new campaign aims to ramp up pressure to stamp out anti-social and illegal motorcycling and the illegal use of high-powered e-bikes. It sits alongside the industry’s work with the police in this area, with both initiatives forming part of a new framework to tackle motorcycle crime, which will be launched in the coming weeks.”
For the organisations involved, the message is straightforward: legal trail riding and off-road motorcycling have a long-established place in Britain's countryside culture, but preserving that future depends on riders protecting the routes and venues they already have.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
