Officers from Kent Police’s Community Safety Team in Medway are urging parents of young children and teenagers to remind them to cycle safely following reports of groups riding between traffic.
Kent Police has received calls where the groups are reported to be cycling dangerously in the road and also towards oncoming traffic before they quickly turn away from vehicles.
Around 30 reports have been made in the Gillingham and Chatham areas of Medway since October which are usually after school hours and at weekends. The children are reported to be between 10 and 18 years old.
Police Sergeant Adam Duke of Medway’s Community Safety Unit said:
“We want young people and teenagers to enjoy riding their bikes however we have received a number of reports where cyclists are said to be cycling towards oncoming traffic.
This is extremely dangerous behaviour and while we have not yet been called to any reports of people being injured due to this behaviour we are concerned that it is an accident waiting to happen.
I’d like to remind these people of how dangerous this kind of behaviour can be, not only to themselves but also to other road users, and I’d also like to alert parents to these reports in case they are not aware.
If your young child or teenager is cycling around Medway in a group please do have a chat with them and remind them it is their responsibility to ride safely not only for their own safety but also for others on the road.”
Officers are working with local secondary schools as well as investigating CCTV associated with the reports to help identify those responsible as well as to determine whether any criminal offences have been committed.
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