Total Off Road Magazine

[Old Warthog]

In view of the current sensitivity of greenlaning, should TOR carry road books.  

There is a view that it allows various idiots who care nothing for the values of responsible driving, to find lanes that they can vandalise to their heart's content.  When they get barred off one lot they can go to TOR and find a new set to ruin.

Alternatively, do the road books allow responsible people (all MC members  ) to go to lanes outside their locality and drive offroad, secure in the knowledge that they are not breaking any of the new legislation that has come in.

Over to you

[glaggs]

TOR tries to promote responsible off roading, sometimes the selfish attitude of our (4x4) community makes me despair. I've tried to find information on legal rights of way from 'clubs' in other regions and drawn blanks. Those who are disrepectful to lanes featured in TOR would be disrespecfull any way, at least the rotes that they follow from TOR are legal. Its up to us to show them the right way to enjoy what freedoms we have left.

Also why single out TOR, several other single make magazines with much larger circulation regularly feature 'Green Lanes' and promote their use?

[Disco Matt]

I have to vote undecided, it's a difficult one. I can see the argument that it might put information into the wrong hands, but I can also see the argument that everyone has a right to know what is legal, and that the irresponsible fringe won't take the slightest notice either way. To be fair, MC doesn't seem to have much of a secrecy problem so to speak - if people post that they're going to a particular area and would like to do some laning, generally a local will offer to lead a trip.

I would suggest that some lanes might actually benefit from increased sensible use, I think LRO found some in a recent article that were too overgrown for anything to use.

I'm also leaning increasingly toward the argument that we should drive everything that is legal now, as it might not be legal next week/month/year. Obviously the usual sensible use guidelines apply!

[davidlandy]

I voted yes.

I say this because I reckon that as many people as possible should go laning - the more the better....then we are not such a minority group.

The TOR roadbooks make this task easier for people, and hats off to them for doing it, as for many, the location of these lanes is not readily known.

[Old Warthog]

I'm not picking on TOR particularly, it's simply that they have the best known example.  Also when I used to buy Landy mags, they used to highlight one short lane, rather than a long connected route.  When TOR tried that last year,  a lot of people complained, so the road books were reinstated.

Personally I'm a "yes" vote.  I intend to drive the Derbyshire route that they featured a couple of months ago.  I've got the maps and quite a lot of MM overlays that I've got accompanying other people, but it does take a lot of work out of planning, if you know that they have done at least most of work for you.

So no bias against TOR.  If there is a large response, it might even be worth passing on to them to reflect what people think.

Cheers

Keith
(the unbiasedold warthog

[BK]

well dont drive tenter hill cos its shut for repairs

[davidlandy]

good advice - I am sure it will be 'clearly' signed up to notify persons of the fact.

[666]

I voted yes.

I say this because I reckon that as many people as possible should go laning - the more the better....then we are not such a minority group.

The TOR roadbooks make this task easier for people, and hats off to them for doing it, as for many, the location of these lanes is not readily known.

Have to agree!

I did this months Herts/Essex road book in TOR on Monday, we only took 3 vehicles but were still met with the same kind of ridicule from one member of the public as you would normally expect (From the house leading into Berwick ford if anyone knows it)

The road book was very good, and only one step in it was wrong :shock:

I think we should be encouraging safe and courteous use of the lanes, rather than the setting up of horse trials of some description that we were met with on the Essex parts of the book! If this means having them printed in a mag where members of the public can view them and use them with respect then I'm all for it :clap: :clap: :clap:


Cheers

Mark

[ChrisV8]

Although I have been critical in the past I had to vote yes, living in Cumbria we have a superb County Council web site with all details available, which when used with other data available i.e. LDNP greenlane data, Wayfinder etc. should ensure we keep to the legal routes.

BUT

I have to add the rider that it is down to all to find out, as others have said, if there have been restrictions imposed by TRO or that there are routing requests from those responsible or local user groups. I won't be labour the D3 Club and the Old Coach Road issue, but they did everything right "asked a local" unfortunately the said local did not know or ask about any of the requested restrictions leading to a problem. They also recce'd the route which was again good practice but in the intervening period the road collapsed, just like Stanage has just been allowed to do as well ! It is a very difficult issue to address successfully but Forums like Mud Club are at least a route to the responsible users, the illegal and banzai minority are not going to bother reading the forum and probably not the magazine but publishing known legal routes is a good thing.

I have used their data to confirm some routes prior to using them their excellent Pately Bridge route being one.