|
| |
The Green Laning Debate
4x4's driving on Green Lanes |
|
|
|
What is Green Laning?
4x4s, quad bikes and motorbikes have been using byways and
bridleways as personal off road tracks for years. These lanes
are often disused, not maintained or owned by anyone and
practically inaccessible to other traffic. This is called Green
Laning. |
|
The Recent Debate about Green Laning with 4x4 cars.
This subject has caused a dilemma for me in recent weeks. As a keen off
road driver, I regularly attend track days at various courses around the
country, and have been green laning quite a few times in the past years.
But for some reason, the recent battles over lane closures in Hampshire
have left me wondering who I should be siding with - 4x4 drivers or
who?.
Three lanes in Hampshire were shut down last month after a number of
complaints from local residents claiming they had been disturbed on
countless occasions by 4x4s and dirt bikes driving down these lanes. A
lot of these byways and bridleways are inaccessible to other traffic and
only rarely used by horse riders and ramblers, which in my opinion do
not disturb the peace of the countryside on any level. So having off
road vehicles using these lanes near your home on a regular basis would
become quite irritating, and if it was me I probably would have
complained by now too.
Environmentalists have had their say too, claiming these vehicles damage
the countryside, cause excessive amounts of noise and air pollution and
disturb the wildlife. Understandable, but these lanes are muddy, rocky,
overgrown, not maintained and rarely used by anyone, not beautiful,
serene countryside walkways.
This has sparked discussions about other lanes like these all over the
country. Should all byways and bridleways be completely closed to all
traffic? Should lanes near housing areas be closed? Could some lanes be
re-opened for all traffic to use - including 4x4 vehicles?
So what about the people that everyone has been complaining about? Do
they think they are in the wrong? I spoke to a group of off roading
enthusiasts recently to ask them their opinion.
‘We have been green laning for over 20 years and it has never been a
problem until recently. The lanes we use are not private property and we
never drive recklessly and tear up the lanes.’
‘We understand that people might be disturbed by our vehicles so we only
use lanes that are well away from where people live.’
‘We are only trying to have fun; we didn’t set out to cause a big riot
over it’.
Now, there are potential problems whichever way you go with this. There
are no laws preventing road legal vehicles using these lanes. If they
are re-opened to traffic, councils will have to maintain them. It would
be a colossal task deciding which lanes should be shut down; I know I
wouldn’t want the job.
Honestly, I still cannot decide where I stand on this issue as I
partially agree with all parties involved. I guess it’ll just be a
matter of time to see how far everyone is prepared to go to prove they
are in the right.
Got an opinion? Please feel free to e-mail me at
carly@kent4x4offroading.co.uk if you have any questions or
comments.
|
|
|
|
