DavidSally
Active Member
So the titles got your attention, has it? Well, read on
I would like to share an experience with you that I had last Saturday.
I was out with Paul D on his local lanes. Just the two of us. WE DID NOT GO OFF-PISTE AT ANY TIME. Lets make that clear from the outset, and I have video to prove it, having my Blackvue running all day.
Imagine my surprise - read PANIC - which I had when a letter from Nottinghamshire Police arrived through the post on Wednesday saying that I had been reported as going off-piste and if it happened again my vehicle would be seized. The police letter was more eloquent than the above, but that was the meaning it conferred.
Conversations with the Police, over the next two days, explained the letter and why it had been sent.
The letter has been very carefully worded as to read as above, but on closer inspection, when the panic had subsided, I realised the letter was only a warning about off-piste driving. The Police admitted the wording of the letter was pushing the boundaries and worded this way deliberately.
The locals are so fed up with vehicles driving down the river or through the woods on this particular lane that they are reporting actual AND POSSIBLE cases. I received the letter as I had been reported as driving along the lane with a muddy vehicle, therefore MAY have been off-piste. Strangely Paul did not receive a letter. Maybe his grey landy does not show mud as clearly as my red landy! Last Saturday was thunder and lightening rain; no wonder the landy was muddy.
The locals are taking the registrations of likely vehicles, and using cameras to capture actual incidents, passing the information onto the Police who are then taking the appropriate action. On the Saturday, not seen by us, a 4x4 (not a landy I might add), was photographed driving down the river and the owner has now been sent a Section 59 notice - in laymans terms a seizure notice.
You may have noticed I havent said where this lane is, and indeed you may want its location. Ive not put it above deliberately, in the hope that youll continue reading the thread. This could happen anywhere. I hope this serves as enlightenment to those of us who do not drive off-piste, and as a warning to those who do.
The lane in question is at SK669743 to SK672753. Its a UCR with a nice ford at the end. For those who cant read a map or cant be bothered to do so,
, you can view it at http://www.streetmap.co.uk This link will take you straight to it. The ford can be seen on Wetroads under Nottinghamshire then Crookford.
I will bring the actual letter, and video footage, to our next garage meeting. See here for the garage party thread[FONT="] http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/regular-garage-meeting-place-259009.html[/FONT]
ps This is an afterthought.
We all moan about peeps going off-piste and closing our lanes. We want to continue to enjoy our hobby.
After my initial panic, frustration, anger etc of being targeted unwarrantably, Ive come to see this as a positive move by the police and the local community. Sick of a nuisance in their neighborhood, the locals have decided to do something about it. They cant rely on a police officer being stationed 24/7 on the lane, so when theyre out walking the dog etc, if they see anything that is OR MIGHT BE antisocial, they report it. They pay for the local police through their council tax and work with them in an effort to make their community a nicer place. Imagine, for instance, if it was something like fly-tipping in your locality
By the way, I have the blessing of the police officer Ive been dealing with to go public with this incident. They want to get the message across that off-roading in a public place is unacceptable. They would prefer to educate pro-actively rather than prosecute re-actively. Its a better use of their time and money.
I know that everyone wont necessarily agree with my view:feel free to argue amongst yourselves :fencing:
I trust that my experience has enlightened you and I hope you have fun when you are next out legally of course.
David (minus Sally who had a lie in on Saturday). Trust her to miss all the fun
I would like to share an experience with you that I had last Saturday.
I was out with Paul D on his local lanes. Just the two of us. WE DID NOT GO OFF-PISTE AT ANY TIME. Lets make that clear from the outset, and I have video to prove it, having my Blackvue running all day.
Imagine my surprise - read PANIC - which I had when a letter from Nottinghamshire Police arrived through the post on Wednesday saying that I had been reported as going off-piste and if it happened again my vehicle would be seized. The police letter was more eloquent than the above, but that was the meaning it conferred.
Conversations with the Police, over the next two days, explained the letter and why it had been sent.
The letter has been very carefully worded as to read as above, but on closer inspection, when the panic had subsided, I realised the letter was only a warning about off-piste driving. The Police admitted the wording of the letter was pushing the boundaries and worded this way deliberately.
The locals are so fed up with vehicles driving down the river or through the woods on this particular lane that they are reporting actual AND POSSIBLE cases. I received the letter as I had been reported as driving along the lane with a muddy vehicle, therefore MAY have been off-piste. Strangely Paul did not receive a letter. Maybe his grey landy does not show mud as clearly as my red landy! Last Saturday was thunder and lightening rain; no wonder the landy was muddy.
The locals are taking the registrations of likely vehicles, and using cameras to capture actual incidents, passing the information onto the Police who are then taking the appropriate action. On the Saturday, not seen by us, a 4x4 (not a landy I might add), was photographed driving down the river and the owner has now been sent a Section 59 notice - in laymans terms a seizure notice.
You may have noticed I havent said where this lane is, and indeed you may want its location. Ive not put it above deliberately, in the hope that youll continue reading the thread. This could happen anywhere. I hope this serves as enlightenment to those of us who do not drive off-piste, and as a warning to those who do.
The lane in question is at SK669743 to SK672753. Its a UCR with a nice ford at the end. For those who cant read a map or cant be bothered to do so,
, you can view it at http://www.streetmap.co.uk This link will take you straight to it. The ford can be seen on Wetroads under Nottinghamshire then Crookford.I will bring the actual letter, and video footage, to our next garage meeting. See here for the garage party thread[FONT="] http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/regular-garage-meeting-place-259009.html[/FONT]
ps This is an afterthought.
We all moan about peeps going off-piste and closing our lanes. We want to continue to enjoy our hobby.
After my initial panic, frustration, anger etc of being targeted unwarrantably, Ive come to see this as a positive move by the police and the local community. Sick of a nuisance in their neighborhood, the locals have decided to do something about it. They cant rely on a police officer being stationed 24/7 on the lane, so when theyre out walking the dog etc, if they see anything that is OR MIGHT BE antisocial, they report it. They pay for the local police through their council tax and work with them in an effort to make their community a nicer place. Imagine, for instance, if it was something like fly-tipping in your locality
By the way, I have the blessing of the police officer Ive been dealing with to go public with this incident. They want to get the message across that off-roading in a public place is unacceptable. They would prefer to educate pro-actively rather than prosecute re-actively. Its a better use of their time and money.
I know that everyone wont necessarily agree with my view:feel free to argue amongst yourselves :fencing:
I trust that my experience has enlightened you and I hope you have fun when you are next out legally of course.
David (minus Sally who had a lie in on Saturday). Trust her to miss all the fun
