Perhaps not exactly cycling related but I did notice that the offending articles are referred to as 3 wheeled ‘bikes’ (and do seem to be pedal driven).

I came across these (or similar) fellas recently whilst on one of my regular jaunts up Cheddar Gore on my bike. Someone had set up a sign for Drift Trikes and people were whizzing down the lower part of the Gorge on what looked liked very low to the ground go-carts; I remember thinking at the time that they looked like an accident waiting to happen (the lower reaches of the Gorge also seem a favourite spot for boy racers).

I’ve only seen them the once (and the do look good fun) but they do seem to have annoyed the locals and I can quite imagine one ending up under a car or going through a group of cyclists (and perhaps giving cyclists in general a bad name).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-38500397

Prats.

Looks fun though

I’ve had a go on one 😀

Really not suitable for use on the roads, great fun on a closed private hill.

Looks fun, maybe an accident waiting to happen but lots of things are. Cant see anyone in the car that they hit coming to too much harm.

Looks fun, maybe an accident waiting to happen but lots of things are. Cant see anyone in the car that they hit coming to too much harm

Apart from having to live with the knowledge they were driving a vehicle that killed someone.

Do you think train drivers that are involved in suicides just hop back into the cab for the next shift?

Cant see anyone in the car that they hit coming to too much harm.

other than emotional harm from having killed someone with your car you mean? Not to mention damage to their car that may well not be covered by insurance, nor for that matter the cost to society from dealing with accidents, closed roads, police investigations, medical services. No you are right no real risk of harm… Well unless there are any cyclist or motorcyclist coming up and meeting them head on?

Seems fairly obvious s28/29 RTA breach by anyone who crosses the carriageway, skids or crashes. And probably s31 for all the participants and the organiser.

It does look fun, like soap box / cartie racing (which can also be dangerous) but that is performed on closed roads, with marshalls etc. I’d say doing it on a live public road has the potential for a manslaughter charge.

The latest craze of drift triking

Haven’t they been knocking about for at least a decade?

Anyway, they really just need a closed course of some sort.

You reckon any of the hillclimb courses listed here could be persuaded to operate a downhill on a kids trike session?

Apart from having to live with the knowledge they were driving a vehicle that killed someone.

Do you think train drivers that are involved in suicides just hop back into the cab for the next shift?

Good point, but I still think that its a bit of a storm in a teacup – maybe that videos a bad example but I don’t think what they are doing makes them public enemy number one.

but I don’t think what they are doing makes them public enemy number one

No they obviously aren’t public enemy number 1 that’s us cyclists. Note the reference to three wheeled bikes 😕

The issue isn’t so much the vehicle (although no way I’d fancy one of them on the road unless it was closed) it’s the behaviour of the user. Same as every kind of vehicle really.

It.s bad enough with the idiots in their souped up cars doing it in the gorge

I don’t really have any objection to those, from the look of that vid they seem to be crashing left right and center with nobody getting hurt.
Ban them and you need to ban skateboards, then rollerskates, then what, bikes? Next thing you know its only cars allowed, and its really them that are the danger.

Assuming they keep to the correct side of the road and, more importantly, can react/stop in any situation then fine. No more acceptable/unacceptable than kids with home made go carts is it?

You reckon any of the hillclimb courses listed here could be persuaded to operate a downhill on a kids trike session?

Simple economics isn’t it? You convince them you can get enough entries to make it worth their while and it’s possible. The good news is they will cause minimal damage to the course. The bad news is the entries or cost would probably be quite high just to deal with basics like first aid, insurance, marshalling, signage.

Some of the courses actually go somewhere too – so frequent closures would get local opposition…

perhaps better to piggyback on another event as a new “class”? E.g. They close the aviemore ski Road to race home made carts every year.

Of course if you could get a “series” going that is how you get some traction behind it…

Peaty has had them on one of his videos

As for closed private (downhill) roads, well good in theory but how many are going to be used like that ?

that is how you get some traction behind it

traction is the last thing you want when you’re drifting, durrrr!

Good point, but I still think that its a bit of a storm in a teacup – maybe that videos a bad example but I don’t think what they are doing makes them public enemy number one.

I think that’s because you’re a bit like me, when the psychologists ask “what did you feel” – I think my reply would be “a bump”. Anyone stupid enough to do that has it coming to them, however I would feel sorry for someone that was suicidal, in the case of the train driver analogy. Knowing that someone was in that state and you couldn’t help must be a crap feeling.

Looks fun though

Looks like something id have done in my younger years.. Was quite into DH skateboarding back in the day. Too old and sensible now so i’ll just tut and shake my head a bit.
And smile a little.

Given the number of people (and goats) wandering around in the gorge, cars shouldn’t be going more than walking speed, anyway. Personally, the way the gorge is currently used (combination rat run/car park) is a mystery to me. A natural feature like that should be off limits to vehicles, maintained as a greenway for cyclists, walkers and climbers. Open it up on certain evenings for drifters, either on trikes or in cars, so they have somewhere legitimate to go.

Indeed, given the number of people out walking and the number of people in cars with silly exhausts trying to make loud noises I’m surprised cars are allowed up there, never mind trikes. It would be far more pleasant as a tourist attraction for everyone, and would surely do more for the town of Cheddar if people visiting went there instead of just driving through it.

Been climbing there and seen a fair few close calls. The combination of these drift trikes and traffic (particularly the boy-racer types) do seem to lead to inevitable deaths. I’ve seen one of the trikes lose it and spin out in front of the bus, and also close calls between motorbikes and various cars overtaking bicycles in silly places. The noise alone ruins the place on a nice day. As someone said above, it is is time to close the gorge to motorised traffic (perhaps just have the bus up there).

Did I take a wrong turn and end up in dailyheiltrackworld?

I once overtook a coach (on my bike) going down the Gorge. With hindsight, that wasn’t very clever.

Was watching this before Christmas. There is a video from the year before of one of the guys testing it out by himself and getting pulled by an unmarked Police car.

As for the Gorge…

I would like to see the Gorge traffic free but I don’t know how practical that would be for the locals in Cheddar itself and tbh I have seen roadies who have been a bunch of a-holes on there too and motorbikes just as much as cars. Most of the problem with cars is more tourists who just stop randomly or go too slow on the straight bits. The boy racers tend to be there at the quiet times at least.

I tend to only go out of season as it’s not as busy, the parking is then free and the dawns and sunsets are much prettier than in summer.

Now why are they messing about there?
Surely the place to go is the Bealach na Ba?

Aw, the BBC changed the soundtrack – the original is ace:

http://road.cc/content/news/214437-video-drift-triking-mad-skills-downhills

Though maybe a bit sweary.

I think it looks great fun. No-one seems to have a serious accident, they’re all wearing safety gear. Probably statistically safer than bombing down there on a spindly road bike.

Looks brilliant fun, and totally irresponsible. It’s inevitable that some of those drifters are going to wind up dead or seriously injured with that kind of road use.

I can’t see the gorge ever being closed to traffic. It’s one of only a few good sized roads that actually travels onto the Mendip and over it, rather than going around.

Stop the tour bus ,make the fatties walk .That old relic pumps out loads of shitty fumes

Mmmm, must buy more Wookey Hole cheese…..

If you’re crossing the white line (in the middle of the road) on a blind corner into oncoming traffic……well, that’s Darwin at work right there.

Strictly for the dumb, the young & the foolhardy. A combination of all 3 is most likely a prerequisite.

On a closed road it’d be a hoot.

On a closed road it’d be a hoot

I saw them going down the road at Triscombe earlier this year and it looked like good fun, wouldn’t have minded having a go myself.

The road isn’t very wide and one of their group was driving on infront in a van so essentially a closed road, they looked like they were having fun and weren’t causing anyone any problems. Don’t think doing it down Cheddar gorge is a very good idea though!