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Green laneing advice


GBMUD

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The aim of this thread is to answer some of the questions that people have about 'green laneing' - the act of legally driving a motorised vehicle on unsurfaced roads and rights of way for pleasure. I hope to add more to this thread as time passes, offering advice and top tips as they arise. If you have any suggestions as to what I might include, please send me a PM or an email and I will consider suggestions for inclusion.

Thanks

GBMUD

The following advice for green lane users was supplied by Countryside Recreational Access Group - CRAG Thanks CRAG.

Greenlaning is becoming a more sensitive issue on a daily basis and hardly a week seems to go by without some kind of negative PR in some quarter or another. As recreational users we are slowly being backed into a corner and our defensible rights to continue our recreational activities are being rapidly eroded firstly by CROW and NERC and subsequently by other user groups, NIMBY landowners, and Environmental Campaigners.

It is becoming increasingly more difficult to justify our activities and we are all aware either by firsthand experience or forum and local press reports of RoWs being abused by motorised users.

In the same way that over the course of time Drinking and Driving became socially unacceptable, so it is now that ‘Mudplugging’ on Public Rights of Way has to stop. This gives the antis too much ammunition and justification to put in place measures to curtail our activities. It also means that all Motorised Users are generally tarred with the same brush.

It is incumbent on all responsible motorised users to act responsibly and work together to get rid of the rotten apples who are otherwise going to bring about the demise of our pastime. In a lot of instances it is pure ignorance on the part of the individuals concerned and if they can be persuaded to join a responsible group or club then they can be ‘educated’ to adopt a more responsible attitude. However, is a very small minority of offenders who have no intent of interest of behaving responsibly and and the time has come for all responsible users to stop turning a blind eye and take positive action to deal with these individuals.

CRAG proposes that in the first instance such individuals are taken to one side and ‘educated’. If this does not work then the next step is to report them to the relevant authorities, - registration number, date, and location is all that is basically required. However, there is more value in photographic evidence especially if the photographs clearly show registration numbers and/or deliberate damage.

CRAG believes that responsible users can enjoy their pastime without destroying the countryside or upsetting landowners and other users by adopting the following basic rules:

1. Leave all gates in the condition they were found.

2. Do not leave the track unless it is essential and then keep this to a minimum.

3. Report any obstacles to your local RoW Officer and also your local CRAG/GLASS/TRF rep.

4. Be polite and courteous to any other users or landowners that you meet.

5. Do not travel at speeds of more than 12mph on unsurfaced routes.

6. Always stop and switch off your motor if you encounter horses.

7. Never travel in groups of more than 5 vehicles and with larger groups maintain at least a 15 minute interval between sub-groups

8. If you encounter others abusing the RoW then log registration no, vehicle description, location and time and date and report this to your local CRAG, GLASS or TRF Rep.

9. Keep noise and other disturbance to an absolute minimum.

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