Wheelie biker wins court case

[Bob]

World’s Fastest Wheelie competitor Barry Brittain has been found not guilty of dangerous driving. Brittain, 31, was arrested after practicing wheelies on an industrial estate in Telford, in preparation for the competition.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of Brittain performing manoeuvres at a speed of about 30mph, including wheelies while sitting on the tank with his legs hanging forward over the handlebars. He told the jury he did not believe he was on a public road at the time and had chosen a “quiet” location.

Judge Robin Onions told Brittain “Skilled though you are there is a place and a time for everything and a public road is not the place for wheelies. I fully support the jury’s verdict but none of us know when to expect the unexpected.”

(In the UK, being found popping a wheelie on public roads is a traffic offence: police can book you for dangerous driving, and not being in full control of a vehicle)

[Mikkel]

I wonder how long it'll be before the establishment pulls their head out of their arse and start commending people for taking their hoonery of to place where it can cause neither danger nor annoyance.

[R6_kid:Me]

The one thing we don't know is whether he had permission to use the industrial estate, and whether it was in a carpark/loading area or just on a quiet/empty road.

[Bob]

The one thing we don't know is whether he had permission to use the industrial estate, and whether it was in a carpark/loading area or just on a quiet/empty road.

From what I can find out, it looks like he was riding on a road in the estate - quiet and empty, mind, but of course that still counts as a public road. I think what counted in his favour was that he deliberately went to a very quiet place that is not used at weekends.

I did my basic bike training with a training school that, once we were qualified to ride on the road, used to take us off to an industrial estate early on a Sunday morning to practice manouvres, for the very reason that it is quiet with no traffic.

I don't suppose the police had any choice but to ticket him .