At the Blackpool Light Parade this weekend, during the Saturday afternoon static display at South Pier, where crowds of people, including lots of children were strolling towards and among the parked bikes, one Winger, pictured here, decided to take the opportunity to give his young granddaughter a ride around the display area.  She was sat on the bike’s tank in front of him and he wasn’t wearing a helmet – and neither of course was she.

These activities were reported to me (as Lead Organiser of the Event) and so I went over to talk to him.  This was only a short time after the incident and as I approached he was sat on his bike preparing to leave.

As soon as I asked him if he had just been giving a child a ride around the Promenade area, politely of course because I needed to check I had approached the correct rider, he immediately came out with a belligerent mouthful, telling me in no uncertain terms that it was his bike and that he wouldn’t have anyone telling him what he could and could not do with it – not that I had got anything like as far as doing any such thing of course,  so immediate had been his angry response.

He clearly was the Rider who had been doing what I had been told about and equally clearly he had no regrets – and no intention of abiding by anyone else’s idea of safety requirements either.  I felt he was leaving me no  choice so I told him, calmly but clearly,  that since he was insistent on doing what he liked he could face the consequences himself to – and I would be reporting him to the Police.  I also asked him (again politely) not to turn up for the Light Parade that evening because he would not be welcome.

Our Display Area near South Pier

There was obviously no point in further attempts at talking to him myself, or getting anyone else to do so either – other than someone he would have to listen to, like a policemen.  I had a camera in my pocket and as he continued to prepare to ride away I took pictures, including the one which accompanies this Article and of course a picture of his number plate.  He set off without another word, accelerating quickly away from me and through the area where the public were strolling.  He was well and truly on his high horse.

I didn’t recognise this Winger myself but several nearby Wingers did and they did not hesitate to identify him, nor to condemn his actions.  I was able to speak to a leading member of his club who as it happened had also seen him riding around – and wasn’t at all surprised to hear of his belligerent response.  It seems that this Rider is known for it.

A great deal of preparation and planning goes into organising a display of this sort in a busy pedestrian area like Blackpool Promenade, especially about the safety aspects.  We had been required to provide a written Event Plan and a Risk Assessment, together with proof of our PLI cover and proof that we had obtained a Tramway Crossing Permit.  At the time of this incident we had more than a dozen volunteer marshals on site to guide bikes into and out of the busy display area, so careful was it necessary for us to be whenever any bike was moving. Two Tramways Inspectors spent most of the afternoon on the spot too.  It was possible to run this charity display safely but it wasn’t easy and it certainly needed continuous attention to detail.

A line of Marshals towards the exit and another half dozen at the exit point

Few if any Wingers would consider this a safe place to be giving young children rides on a GoldWing, especially sitting, and without wearing protection of any kind, on the tank.  It was dangerous for the child on the bike and of course it was also dangerous for the families strolling around on the Promenade on which he choose to ride around.   This Rider’s  immediate and belligerent response, when all I’d done was ask him if he had been giving a child a ride,  seemed to me to suggest that he knew very well that what he was doing would be seen by others as dangerous but he didn’t care.  His bike, his granddaughter; he would do what he liked.

Nor, pretty obviously, did he care whether he would create problems for other people, including other Wingers,  by his actions.  And including of course the Event Organisers.  Had an injury occurred, especially of a child had been hurt, or even if the incident had not caused injury but had been reported to authority by a passer by, it could easily compromise any prospect of GoldWings, and maybe any other motorcycle, being allowed to display on the Promenade again.

I felt that I had no alternative but to report him to the Police myself, not least because he seemed quite prepared to do the same sort of thing again any time he wished.  As it happened I would be speaking to a Police Officer at the Parade Muster in a few hours time, so I would do it then.  Hopefully the Police would decide to track this rogue rider down and have an appropriate word.  I hadn’t seen the dangerous riding myself but I would, if necessary, be able to direct the Police towards people who had.

Later that day the leading member of his club with whom I had spoken earlier approached me and said the offending Rider had since called him on his mobile.  He was now very regretful indeed.  The penny seemed to have dropped.  I was assured that he knew he had done wrong and was genuinely sorry.  No accident had occurred and thankfully nor had I been contacted about the incident by officialdom either; I could therefore let the matter rest in the hope that the Rider had genuinely learned his lesson.

No biker wants to have to cause trouble for another rider and of course I was more than pleased to be off that particular hook.  But in the interests of public safety and of Wingers generally, I certainly would have reported him had he not subsequently taken the initiative to express contrition.  This Article is not a naming and shaming exercise and I have deliberately obscured the Rider’s identity and the identity of his club and locality.  But his club mates know that he did something really selfish and dangerous and it will probably get back to him that he didn’t impress anyone in the process.  And I will certainly remember him for what he did, as will others who were around at the time.

And nor would I let either him or myself off the hook if I came across him doing something like this again.  I would shop him without any hesitation at all – as I hope any responsible Winger would do too, distasteful though it would be to have to do so.

Postscript

Soon after this Article was published I was sent photographs of this Rider carrying his child passenger and of another rider (unfortunately a member of my own Club) giving someone a ride around the Display Area too. I have no doubt that both of these actions were unsafe, unhelpful and almost certainly involved committing a potentially serious riding offence.

I will be contacting this second rider to ask him not to take it upon himself to do this sort of thing again at any GoldWing gathering without at least asking the safety marshals – and in the case of Blackpool Promenade of course he would have been asked to do no such thing.  Even if it does look like there’s a quieter part of the area which could be taken advantage of, it’s just not sensible or safe to do it. Especially riding at speed with a partly obscured windshield.

Every other Winger who came to Blackpool that day showed proper consideration for the safety of the public and scrupulously followed the directions of the marshals.  The Display involved Wingers from many GoldWing Clubs and Regions and was a real credit to the GoldWing Community.

Static displays are static displays unless special arrangements have been made to allow for riding, simple as that.  Anyone who takes it upon himself to start riding around for fun, or even if it’s to raise a bit more money for the charity, is at the very least being inconsiderate and is probably being selfish, dangerous or even plain stupid in his actions.

Let’s not do this sort of thing guys, especially when we’re all trying to show ourselves off to the public and inviting them to support our charities.