Brendan Ryan (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to support the Road Traffic (Quads and Scramblers) (Amendment) Bill 2017 and congratulate Deputy Dessie Ellis on bringing it forward. The problem of the misuse of quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles has become more and more prevalent in the past five years. In the past three years over 180 people have been injured in accidents involving off-road vehicles. Of the 180, we cannot forgot the terrible story of Ilabek Avetian, a 39 year old Armenian man who was hospitalised with a series of head injuries after an incident in a park when a scrambler bike landed on him as he was sunbathing with his wife last June. The couple had moved to Ireland from Lithuania only a couple of months previously to seek a better life, but because of the accident Mr. Avetian is seriously ill, forever changing his life and that of his wife. Before that, there was the case of 16 year old Warren Kenny from Cherry Orchard who was involved in a fatal accident on Christmas Day in 2016 and the almost identical case of 19 year old Leroy Coyle who was involved in a fatal accident on Christmas Day in 2013. The list of stories goes on and on.

The common problem behind these preventable accidents is that some owners of quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles believe they can get away with using their vehicle wherever and whenever they choose. While the Road Traffic Act 1961 restricts the usage of these off-road vehicles to public places, it has always been interpreted to mean only public roads. However, as the public knows, a percentage of owners unlawfully use their off-road vehicle in public spaces such as parks, green spaces, housing estates and other public and private properties. When they do, they endanger pedestrians with the erratic and rash driving of their vehicle. There have been reports on such vehicles unlawfully being used in anti-social behaviour in Ward River Valley Park in Swords in my constituency and areas in Fingal such as Balbriggan beach, Donabate and Portmarnock, to name just a few. In Ward River Valley Park in Swords scrambler users have been known to follow a so-called "circuit" which involves them exiting the park on the path to make a loop in an adjoining estate and then turning sharply back into the park. It is the most dangerous grand prix I can imagine and only a matter of time before tragedy strikes at this location.

The problem is that people do not feel safe in shared public spaces such as parks, green spaces and housing estates. The Bill effectively includes all of these areas within the jurisdiction of the Garda to deal effectively with those who unlawfully use quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles. I appreciate that the Bill does not criminalise all owners and drivers of quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles. We all acknowledge that those who misuse or unlawfully use these off-road vehicles do not represent all owners and drivers. That is why the amendment Bill does not add penalties. Instead, it seeks to extend the Garda’s power to the areas that were not covered in the previous legislation such that it can now seize the bikes and scramblers used unlawfully in areas that will be covered under the Bill. The Bill, rightly, does not ban the vehicles completely because it is acknowledged that there are many owners who drive them responsibly and safely in designated areas such as motor parks and designated off-road areas. Instead it makes sure those individuals who use them to engage in anti-social behaviour such as carelessly driving through parks or green spaces, speeding through housing estates, doing wheelies and revving their engines to irritate the inhabitants of the neighbourhood or terrorise innocent people for fun will not get away with their behaviour. If individuals cannot drive responsibly, it not only puts others in danger but also themselves. There have been a number of accidents, some fatal, caused by two individuals on scrambler motorcycles colliding or driving into a parked car. Thus, by restricting where these vehicles can lawfully be driven, we can hold drivers accountable to ensure they engage in safe driving practices, not just for the safety of the public but also for their own safety. The sad fact is that many vehicle owners who engage in anti-social behaviour are young and inexperienced drivers who are seeking the thrill of driving recklessly and who think they can beat the odds and will not be involved in an accident. Thus, we must go above and beyond to make sure that while they may not see the imminent danger in which they are putting others and themselves, we will plan in advance to protect them from themselves.

It is important that this issue be dealt with nationally through the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Department of Justice and Equality. It is essential that the Government address the issue. Some local councils have brought forward by-laws to try to curb the havoc created by some of these vehicles, but the Garda has little to no authority to enforce them, especially in many of the areas that have not been but will now be covered in the amending legislation. With Christmas approaching, we know about the sad inevitability of parents buying these off-road vehicles for their children who are often much too young. While the Garda and some city councils have led awareness campaigns on the responsible usage of these vehicles and their purchase for children, they have not affected the number of children, many under the legal age of 16 years, who take their new vehicles onto streets and roads and into parks at Christmas time. One only has to look at the heartbreaking cases to which I have referred. Christmas Day is a day for families, opening presents and eating a meal together, not sitting in a hospital worrying about the state of one’s child, mother, father or friend who was involved in a quad bike or scrambler motorcycle accident.

The Bill is more important than ever and very welcome. Let us make sure we do everything we can to make sure Christmas Day will go by without an accident occurring involving the use of these bikes. The Labour Party supports the Bill.

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