A TD for Dublin Central has said the behaviour of scrambler bikes in the north inner city over the weekend was “really scary” and called for an urgent crackdown.
On Saturday night, Social Democrats TD Daniel Ennis went out to get petrol and was horrified by what he witnessed.
While, in theory, the use scrambler bikes is now banned in public spaces, in north inner city Dublin, the law is reguarly ignored.
“There was three, I thought, three scramblers initially and one high-powered motorbike flying up and down at crazy speeds up and down the North Strand, down wheelies,” Deputy Ennis recalled on The Claire Byrne Show.
“As I turned to go up towards Fairview, one missed me narrowly.
“ I thought, ‘Right, that'll clear them off now’ - and they continued.
“I parked on one of the side streets and they continued for 15 minutes, close to 15 minutes, unopposed, no Guards and really, really frightening traffic.”
The Social Democrats TD, who was only elected in May, described it as “really scary” and called Gardaí on 999.
When none appeared, he drove to a local Garda Station to report what he saw.
“What I witnessed was Portland Road then being taken over, Buckingham Street being taken over, Seán MacDiarmid Street, Parnell Street,” he said.
“They were obviously getting moved off or taking their time on roads, then going to the next one.”
Grace's Law
Since April, the use of scrambler bikes in public places has been a criminal offence.
The legislation - dubbed ‘Grace’s Law’ - was introduced following the death of Grace Lynch, who was killed by a scrambler in Finglas in January.
Grace Lynch.However, Deputy Ennis is clear that the law is regularly being flouted.
“Honest to God, I see the scramblers every day, but I was frightened for myself and the car and people and they were going up and down the cycle lanes on the North Strand,” he said.
“They were taking turns, they were doing donuts.
“It wasn't like we're getting chased and we're going from A to B here; this was like, ‘We're taking over the North Strand road for our own personal use and scrambler track.’
“It was crazy.”
Garda funding
The Social Democrats TD called for an "emergency reaction” and policing unit to deal with the problem of scrambler bikes.
“They haven't got the resources, they haven't got the tools, they haven't got the protections to enforce Grace's Law,” he said.
“Grace's Law is a step forward, but like legalities and legislation doesn't matter to these lads - that was obvious.”
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Main image: A scrambler.
