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Tuesday, 2nd December 2008

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Police catch 46 moped riders in big clampdown



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Published Date:
06 October 2008
Police are cracking down on young people who 'soup up' their mopeds.
Officers say they have noticed an increasing number of riders making modifications to their mopeds so they can go quicker.
By law mopeds are supposed to go no faster than 30mph.
But teenagers have been spotted whizzing down roads at up to 50mph.
P
olice say many people don't even realise that altering a moped to make it go faster is actually illegal if the rider doesn't hold a full bike licence.
Officers held spot checks in Waterlooville to begin the clamp down.
Using a hi-tech piece of motorcycle testing equipment called a dynamometer, police tested the maximum speed of a moped at the roadside in just 12 seconds to confirm if it had been modified.
The three-hour operation was held in College Road and Apollo Drive – popular routes for moped riders to speed – with 46 riders being stopped by police.
Five riders had their mopeds seized as they had been modified, while a further five were fined £60 and given three points for speeding.
The operation was carried out by Cosham Roads Policing Unit and Hampshire Constabulary BikeSafe co-ordinator PC Mick Gear.
PC Mick Gear said: 'A lot of young riders under 17 years old don't realise that altering their mopeds to make them more powerful is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous.
'Modifying could mean the rider is breaching driver licence conditions and make their insurance policy void. This could have serious consequences if that person is involved in a crash.
'I would also urge those premises carrying out de-restrictions to mopeds belonging to those under 17 to stop. If you knowingly carry out a de-restriction to a moped belonging to someone of this age you are assisting them in committing offences.'
Police say they will be carrying out further operations this autumn as they aim to reduce the number of people killed or injured in accidents.




The full article contains 334 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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  • Last Updated: 06 October 2008 11:35 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Portsmouth
 
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Kevin George,

Winterville 06/10/2008 13:58:37
So were the youngsters who were ticketed for speeding, actually speeding or was it based on a curbside assessment of how fast the bike could go? I am confused at this point.
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MikePFC-G,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 14:09:26
I'm an experienced motorcyclist and have come across PC Gear before, I'm sure this will look great on his CV. 30mph is lethal on any road other than a 30 limit and this law of restricting 50cc bikes is crazy, it's fair enough to charge them if they're speeding but this seems petty to me. PC gear should concentrate his efforts on catching dangerous drivers and dare I say real criminals instead of furthering his career by picking on the soft targets he's supposed to be helping and educating. If anyone wonders why it takes 2 hours to get a Police officer when you've been burgled, now you know, real policing doesn't generate enough money and is harder to execute effectively!
3

Arnold Rimmer,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 14:30:15
About time the Police were more proactive in stopping these little yobs. I'm fed up having to listen to them tearing around the streets in their souped up mopeds. Most have no intention of ever taking a test and couldn't give two hoots about the highway code. Also what happened to silencers on the bikes?
4

Lenny wilson,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 14:31:31
Then as an experienced motorcyclist you'll know that these mopeds which were designed to go no faster than 30 only have brakes made to stop a 30mph bike. These youngsters belting round at over 30 when they haven't had adequate training to ride anything faster than 30 will end up killing themselves and potentially others. Sounds like work for a Traffic officer to me.....
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MikePFC-G,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 14:38:17
I've been working in the bike trade for over 10 years, these bikes have fairly potent hydraulic disc brakes capable of stopping a lot more than an 80kg bike from 30mph, 125's and bigger don't have any more in the way of brakes. You should try riding at 30 in a 40 or 50 limit road with idiots in cars leaving you a couple of inches as they try and force you into a gutter whilst overtaking on a bend!
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MikePFC-G,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 14:40:44
They aren't designed to only go 30, that's why they are RESTRICTED to 30. 50mph + is the speed they are capable of and are legally allowed to go in other countries, if they were unsafe at higher speeds it would be unlawful to de-restrict them even with a full license would it not?
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Kevin George,

Winterville 06/10/2008 15:09:41
Yep MikePFC-G - I used to have a Yamaha 50 FSIE and that was capable of 55-60mph way back in the late 1970's, and I used to belt up and down to Horndean on it. The bikes are designed for that speed. What I wanted to establish was if the Police were issuing speeding tickets based on the possible speed that the bike was capable of, or if they were actually caught speeding. Otherwise you could do a curbside test of a Mondeo, and say it's capable of 130, but you are parked in a 20MPH zone, so here's your speeding ticket. The vehicles aren't the issue the riders are.!
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MikePFC-G,

Portsmouth 06/10/2008 15:29:29
Hi Kevin, I guess they must have caught them by radar (I Hope, as otherwise I may be getting a ticket for 186 with a Fireblade stationary in the garage!) I'm not defending any of the speeders on peds out there as they can get responsible Motorcyclists with a full license and larger machine a bad name but I can't help but think it is excessive when a regular traffic cop can nab them for the more serious offence of riding like an idiot. I do genuinely believe that with the way car drivers treat these kids' lives with such contempt by executing downright dangerous overtaking manoeuvres 30mph top speed is a bad idea. 40 in a 40 or 50 in a 50 is much safer. The CBT training course is performed with the same criteria for 125's at a slightly higher speed so this could easily accomadate 50mph peds and give the 16yr olds tips at riding at those speeds, even a push bike can do 30 easily enough so I don't see why people shudder at the thought of these guys doing 50! How many 17yr olds have you seen driving like headcases in there 1.4 car thats capable of over double that? Driving instructors only take them up to 60 and they're in charge of a tonne of metal with the capability of carrying 4 mates!
9

Kevin George,

Winterville 06/10/2008 15:50:58
Or in the case of the weekend accident - carry 3 mates, eject one through the windscreen and run away.
10

Diamond Smiles,

Pompey 06/10/2008 15:59:02
I too have noticed how louder these mopeds seem to be nowadays. Surely they are breaking the law on this too?
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