How would you react

clearingout

spadoosh wrote: »

Irresponsible?! how?
And solicitor?! why?

Thats a poor attitude, its not her child its their child! Why cant the ex decide on what the child does?! Motorbike could be the only form of transport for the ex and thus wouldnt be able to pick his child up without it. As said in the other thread whats happening isnt illegal so unless she wants to go for full custody of the child (taking a child on a motorbike legally will not be enough to win full custody of a child)

aside from the fact the legal termiology hasn't been 'custody' for over 20 years now, even if she were able to gain full residence of the child, it wouldn't stop the father being able to do what he wants in the time the children are with him. It is very, very rare that parental responsibility is removed from either parent and that is a different legal kettle of fish to residence.

OP - it is possible to get a Specific Issue Order on this kind of thing but I suspect a judge would be annoyed at time wasting. However, it's not unreasonable that if he is going to engage in this kind of hobby with the children, the children have the appropriate protective equipment and that said equipment is always used. Would it make a difference if you were to buy the necessary clothing or would he just take it off you and not bother to use it?

loracan1

If they were doing it deliberately to wind me up I'd not be happy...but I was 7 the first time I went on the back of a big powerful motorbike and loved every moment so I'd allow it anyway (providing I trusted the driver...but I do trust my childrens' father - as far as his driving goes)

sassyblue

Kt8 wrote: »

He knows of our concerns .. He has a car so not main transport.. His attitude is that of a child doing it out of spite .. Very arrogant

Then l would go mad. IMO a child of 7 is far too young to be riding around the roads on the back of a fast (btw does he drive is fast?) motorbike driven by a spiteful arrogant father. What does you child think of what's happening?

I don't have a problem with motorbikes or even kids dirt biking, but 7 is too young on the roads. It's not *your* driving it's other peoples.

alleycat`

sassyblue wrote: »

Then l would go mad. IMO a child of 7 is far too young to be riding around the roads on the back of a fast (btw does he drive is fast?) motorbike

Taking the emotion out of this the size of the bike is fairly irrelevant.


I've ridden a 400CC bike that was restricted to just over 110kph (grey import).
It was a "small" bike but it accelerated a darn site faster than many bigger bikes I've had the pleasure to ride.

On that basis alone the type of bike is irrelevant, how it is ridden & what the riders are wearing is much more important.

The Ops partner is doing nothing obviously wrong outside the fact I'd expect them to provide better gear for the 7 year old to be wearing.
If anything would be upsetting me about this is that he is not providing as much safety gear as possible for the Child.

Would you feel better if he did that / you provided some of this equipment?

I would say if the Father is doing wheelies down the main road with the kid on the back that is one thing, but just because it is a larger bike, it doesn't make it any more or less safe than a small bike.

Edit:- Incidentally since I've had kids I no longer ride bikes but that is my choice.

flybynight

i see them as 2 seperate issues
as somebody who has ridden bikes from 50cc, to 1400cc there is no such thing as too powerful, and i'd say the biker claiming there is has never ridden large bikes properly. on a larger machine, it can actually be smoother accelerating, so i think the size of the bike makes no difference. I also see no problem with a 7 yr old pillioning. My mates small boy was riding a bit before that, his dad had a rule that in order to go on the back they had to have proved they understood what to do ( keep hold, lean with the person, tug on the jacket straps if there was a problem) and could reach the footpegs safely. He regularly used to ask to go on the back of mine instead of his dads if we were on a long run (it turned out it was because i was shorter and wider which meant he coudl see more, but got less draught , kids dont you just love em) and i never felt i had to adjust how i rode, as he was a perfectly good pillion.
the seperate issue is the lack of protective clothing, which is completely unacceptable. I say protective clothing instead of leathers, as i feel for children textile / cordura gear is better as it can be worn a little longer with the elasticated cuffs etc, and allows for growing / wriggle room.

FBaby

This is one instance when it comes down to reasonability and compromises. He wants to take his son on his mortorbike and doesn't why he shouldn't. The law is on his side. You don't want it because you think it is dangerous. The law is not on your side to stop contact because of this.

You therefore need to speak with him about your concern and see what would allow you not to feel overwhelmed with worry when he is with his dad. Would being kitted properly be ok, your ex agreeing to only go on certain roads, to be with someone else etc... hopefully, if you don't come out confrontational, your ex will respect your worry and agree to a compromise.

Tropez

Personally, I wouldn't be happy but that's because I hate motorcycles and wouldn't want a child of mine, were I to ever have one, riding on one.

But really, there is no legal reason why your child's father cannot take him on a motorcycle and assuming that he is riding responsibly the most you can do is talk to him about the concerns that you have and try and reach a compromise.

And others are correct that the issue is not the power of the motorcycle but how it is driven. If you flip the situation to cars, an individual driving a VW Polo irresponsibly is clearly worse than somebody driving a Ferrari 458 responsibly. The fact that the Ferrari is many times more powerful than the Polo matters not, it is who is at the wheel of the car.

kelfen

I don't see a problem as long as your ex has gone over the safety stuff, your kid is a good pillion and has safety gear.

Walking down the path can be dangerous, but you wouldn't stop him doing that....

(Can't WAIT to get back on two wheels, Mr K won't touch them with a bargepole)