UK town seeks to ban motorcycle and car ‘convoys’

A UK town council has drafted an order to ban any vehicles gathering on roads or public spaces without official permission, with failure to do so attracting a fine or fixed penalty notice of 100 pounds sterling (RM569.33). The Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is tabling a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) seeking to forbid ‘car cruising’, bike meets and group rides or gatherings of two or more vehicles.

The council says such activity has a negative impact of the well-being of residents in the town, in a Motorcycle News report. Councillor Gill Heesom said, “Residents, visitors and businesses have repeatedly told us – and Staffordshire Police – that car cruising in public places is causing them significant disruption and misery with booming music, loud exhausts, dangerous driving and wheel spinning, often late at night.”

“It’s clear that this activity is having a detrimental impact on people’s quality of life so we want to put a stop to it and a PSPO would allow us to achieve that. The council is planning to adopt the PSPO towards the end of the year but is keen to hear from residents and other stakeholders first,” said Heesom.

Approached for comment, Staffordshire police said only specific road users would be targeted. “Officers are looking to challenge those that persistently have a negative impact on our
communities, not those that are using vehicles for charity and legitimate purposes,” a spokesperson said.

In Malaysia, a recent spate of motorcyclists behaving badly on public roads and highways has been making the rounds on social media. A recent incident in Kuala Lumpur saw a ‘marshal’ blocking the path of a car to allow a motorcycle convoy to pass through.

Known colloquially as “Mat Rempits”, these motorcycle hooligans, usually minors, ride recklessly, leading to fatalities as well as inconveniencing other road users. Police crackdowns seem to have had little effect while little has been heard of a 2018 proposal to implement an anti Mat Rempit law.