Yep green lanes (BOAT’s and UCR’s) are classed as roads, so you need to be taxed and tested same as on the road (which they are)
Most of the people I know who go green laning play by the rules and you still get people shaking their head at you. Sometimes I feel like saying to walkers “You can literally walk anywhere, I am limited to about 0.00000001% of the tracks and trails around here, so stop bloody shaking your head”
Its crazy situation because due to the limited places people can ride, you get people riding trails that really are not sustainable being ridden in the wet and winter because they have no alternative. Where there is a another trail near by that would be able to sustain the traffic.
To be honest most mountain bikers are fine as they generally know how to read a map and know where they should or should not be.
I hope the OP has never ridden a cheeky footpath or he could be a victim of a serious head shaking himself 🙂