This week, Judith Cummins, the Labour MP for Bradford South and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, oversaw a bill that will give police powers to more easily tackle the misery and disruption caused by the misuse of quad bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters on our streets.
New laws in the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill to tackle neighbourhood crime follow up on manifesto commitments, making it easier for police to seize nuisance off-road vehicles, by removing the need for police to provide a prior warning to the driver.
Judith has long called for tougher rules to tackle antisocial behaviour caused by the misuse of off-road vehicles. In 2022, Judith brought a bill to Parliament which called for greater police powers to seize and destroy nuisance off-road vehicles, meaning that once seized, they can never plague streets again.
Speaking at the time, Judith highlighted the noise nuisance quads cause in local communities, and the devastating impact their misuse can have on road users and pedestrians:
“The constant, loud, piercing drone of quad bikes is an all-too familiar sound in many of our towns and cities. And when the worst happens, the result are catastrophic.”
Meanwhile, figures show that crimes involving e-bikes and e-scooters have rocketed by over 700% in the last five years – leaping from 1,354 in 2019/2020 to 11,266 last year.
Speaking on the introduction of the Bill, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“I and many others will have heard the same story too many times[…] residents driven mad by the soaring number of roaring off-road bikes and scooters driven in an antisocial and intimidating way.’
“The Bill gives neighbourhood police more powers to tackle the local crimes that undermine and damage communities”.
Speaking afterwards, Judith said:
“It is vital that vehicles seized by the police are not returned back on to the streets.”
“We need tough action to ensure that our roads and streets are safe, and that the users of nuisance off-road vehicles face the consequences of their reckless actions.”
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