Mini Motorbikes

Advice for Parents.

If you are thinking of buying your child a Mini Motorbike as a new toy, you may want to think again - or the present could end up costing more than you think. Following the Christmas Craze for these vehicles among kids and adults alike the debate over how safe or legal they are has raged on.

This craze has been partly fuelled by the massive increase in the import of poor-quality copies of these very small two wheelers, from around 7,000 in 2001 to 70,000 in 2004. These machines are often sold at very low prices, from as little as £100, but they will never have the build quality or safety features of a bike costing £1000 upwards from a well known manufacturer.

What is a Mini Motorbike?

Mini motorbikes are essentially what it says. A scaled down version of a full size bike, often-using small two stroke petrol engines. These machines are now more popular than ever worldwide

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What the Law says.

There are strict limitations on who can ride these machines, and on where they can be ridden. Some of the consequences people may face include:

  • Fixed Penalties
  • Seizure of bikes by Police
  • The chance of being sued for injuries and/or criminal damage

Mini Motos and similar vehicles can only be ridden on private land with the landowners consent. Anyone breaking the law faces prosecution for having no tax or insurance and, depending on their conduct, careless or dangerous driving. If the rider is too young to drive, any penalty points handed out by the court will be kept on file and activated as soon as they are old enough to apply for a licence. Those who ride miniature vehicles on roads, pavements and car parks, putting pedestrians at risk, are breaking the law and are liable to have their treasured possession seized by police. Anyone using one of these vehicles on a public road must have a driving licence, insurance, tax, MOT and index plates and also wear a helmet.

More Advice!

If you have a problem in your area or are a parent and are still unsure of the law with regards to the use of mini-motorbikes, please get in contact with your local police station who will be happy to help.

You may also want to check out the following Press release regarding Mini Moto’s issued by the Home Office and supported by the British Motorcycle Federation. It can be found by clicking on the link below:

*See HOME OFFICE PRESS RELEASE 112/2006 2 August 2006 ‘Mini-Motos face the crush’