Cyclists and pedestrians on the C2C route in Sunderland and Washington have been expressing their concerns over the route being used by motor bikers and illegal electric bikes.
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00:00Living in Washington I regularly use the Coast to Coast route which runs from Rourke in particular
00:20the section up to Concert going through Washington. More and more of an issue I'm finding is people
00:25out on motorbikes, these electric bikes which are flying along at 20, 30, 40mph. I see a
00:30number of near misses, had a near miss myself the other week when I was out with my children
00:34and in terms of siren crime it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem. Speaking of people
00:38out on the track today, a lot of people haven't reported to the police because they feel it's
00:42not worth doing, there's not much to be done about it, particularly down to the situation
00:45police have with resources. But it's only a matter of time I feel before there's going
00:49to be a big accident where either a pedestrian is going to be hit, a cyclist is going to
00:53be hit and more needs to be done to try and tackle this problem.
01:00Okay then Paul you're obviously a keen cyclist so have you experienced this issue with people
01:18on motorbikes and also these electric bikes when you're out and about?
01:22Yeah I've seen quite a few of these electric bikes which are obviously illegal because
01:27they're going way past 15mph. I've seen them on the road and they're an increasing problem
01:34I think.
01:35And as a cyclist does it make you feel vulnerable when they come flying up behind you or in
01:39front of you?
01:40It can do yeah, I mean there's all sorts of vulnerabilities for a cyclist of course but
01:44that's just another one isn't it.
01:46And do you think more should be done to tackle this by the police?
01:50Yeah well if they can but it's a really hard thing for them to do because these guys can
01:54obviously go places where unless the police have got a similar kind of bike they can't
02:00go. So that's quite a challenge for the police I would think.
02:04And is there a risk of accident do you think from these people using cycle tracks?
02:07Yeah I would have said so. I mean I think perhaps the way to tackle it is that they
02:12should stop being sold. I mean where are they getting them? They're not getting them in
02:16a bike shop because I talk to a guy in my bike shop and he's as upset about it as anybody.
02:23So they're obviously getting them online and so that's where it needs to be stopped being
02:29sold, illegal bikes.
02:32Okay then I'm obviously out walking a dog at the moment. Have you experienced people
02:35on quad bikes, motorbikes and electric bikes along here then?
02:38Yes quite a few and more lately, more in the last year and it is dangerous. A lot of the
02:46cyclists don't give you warning anyway that they're coming up behind you. When you're
02:50on this bridge all you can hear is road traffic. So we need the cyclists to give more warnings
02:56to pedestrians and dog walkers. But the engines are a real issue. It's becoming a major problem
03:03and it's going to be happening quite soon that somebody gets seriously injured on here.
03:08I understand you experienced quite recently people on quad bikes is that right?
03:11Yes. Five guys met on this bridge the other morning. They were not youngsters. They were
03:16old enough to know better. Big quads, big engines. They were having the time of their
03:21life but they weren't considering other road users, other pedestrians and dog owners.
03:27I mean bottom line is it shouldn't be on here. Do you think the police should be doing more?
03:30The police should be doing a lot more. Sustrans can help and the police can help. We want
03:34CCTV cameras up here and the police need to have more of a visible presence because you
03:41never see them on foot anyway. Certainly not around the villages but this is a popular
03:46route. It's the coast to coast. You've got visitors from all over the country using this.
03:52They need to feel safe and protected as well as the residents.