Yes those restricted to 30mph things 16 year-olds are allowed to ride. Or death traps as I call them.

Yesterday I was on a dual carriageway section of the A5 near Shrewsbury. There I was happily riding at 65-70mph when suddenly the traffic ahead slowed. Hmm - I wonder why? Slow-moving lorry perhaps? Then when everything started moving over to the right and I caught up the cause of the holdup was revealed. Two scooters dawdling along at a steady 30 The first one was a Peugeot. I don't know what the second one was. There they were pootling along at 30 with huge lorries thundering past at 50 plus, no doubt being ridden by a couple of scared s...less 16 year-olds. At least being a dual carriageway everything could get past safely (ish). But imagine if it was a single carriageway with traffic coming the other way. Everyone would be faced with having to drive at 30 till there is a break in the traffic coming the other way so they could overtake and leave a decent gap between them and the two scooters, or more likely lose patience and pass with little more than a couple of inches to spare. With lorries causing a slipstream that would at best make them wobble and at worst make them fall over and go under the lorry's wheels. I really felt for the kids riding them. They must have been terrified.

Whoever came up with the misguided idea back in 1977 to put an inexperienced 16 year-old on something with a top speed of 30mph when everything else can go a lot faster should be put on one on a fast busy road. Then see how they feel. Mind you, I have heard that if a traffic police officer catches a 16 year-old riding a deristricted 50 they 'look the other way'. Probably because they have been to plenty of incidents where some poor kid has gone under a lorry's wheels on a main road. If I had a 16 year-old son or daughter who bought a restricted moped I would tell them to get it deristricted as soon as possible. Otherwise I may well be going to their funeral

Yes, those bikes are not exactly safe for anyone unless used exclusively in town or urban roads. However, telling a 16yr old to derestrict it before riding is really bad advice. Any insurance they have would be null & void & thus illegal to ride on any public road. You cannot as a 16yr old get insurance for any derestricted 50cc bike.

In which case I would tell my hypothetical son or daughter to wait a year and get a 125. At least they could keep up with the traffic.

It's nice to see them being used

Here in Mega City 2 no self respecting drug courier, gangsta wannabe or balaclava wearing chav would be seen dead on such a lethal contraption. If you'd got chance to advise them, point out the green credentials of a Surron with the restrictor circuit burned through or the simplicity of a stolen 125. So long as you have your hood up insurance or police hassle isn't an issue, you just don't bother. ☹☹

Andy

Plus mopeds appear to be the favourite transport of phone snatchers. Certainly in London. Light enough to get over kerbs to snatch someone's phone from behind and manouverable enough for a quick getaway. Bit off topic but true.

I have to admit I didn't know they still had them, I thought they had been done away with years ago. Telling a teenager to remove the restrictor would be a total waste of breathe, probably the first thing they did when they dot hold of it
I once driving a loaded artic got stuck behind a old bloke on a mobility scooter on a country lane. No pavement so couldn't safely overtake him on the plus side it was one of the faster ones that 8mph, so it could have been worse

knight2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 06, 2025 6:46 pm I have to admit I didn't know they still had them, I thought they had been done away with years ago. Telling a teenager to remove the restrictor would be a total waste of breathe, probably the first thing they did when they dot hold of it
I once driving a loaded artic got stuck behind a old bloke on a mobility scooter on a country lane. No pavement so couldn't safely overtake him on the plus side it was one of the faster ones that 8mph, so it could have been worse

Being so high up in your cab it was lucky you saw it.

They may be limited to 30 mph (actually 28 mph legally!), but they all seem to have fitted amplifiers on the exhaust, as opposed to silencers...

I have every sympathy for those kids commuting to college on them. No sympathy for those circling endlessly on summer evenings with illegal exhausts.

They appeal to the yob element for some reason. Bet they aren't restricted!

I'm not saying they should be able to do 70, just 40 or 45. At least that way they stand a chance of keeping up with the traffic on A roads. Rather than causing a holdup and prompting a possibly dangerous overtake. Okay bicycles are slow but at least drivers coming up behind them know this and are prepared. When they see a scooter it will take a few seconds to realise it is only doing 30 and they need to be careful.