g n i n Life a L
aton E n e r u a by L
Read about green laning as seen through Lauren ‘Sunshine’ Eaton's windscreen at The Green Lane Association, and find out what’s hot, or not, in the laning world each month. Enjoy!
What is it like being on the front line? I’m sure I don’t have to explain that the Green Lane Association works for the benefit of all users of vehicular rights of way in the UK, but what does that entail? What do our reps and officers actually do, and why do we need to do it after all aren’t there authorities whose very job it is to manage our nation’s roads? It is the responsibility of the police to police drivers, it is the council’s legal duty to maintain roads, GLASS has no legal responsibility to do anything at all, but one of the main reasons GLASS exists is that users of public vehicular rights of way were so often confronted by a lack of action from those whose legal duty it is to manage both roads and/or road users, that laners joined forces to hold authorities to account. Unfortunately the blame when things go wrong is usually aimed directly at all vehicular users for simply wanting to exercise their right to drive well-maintained and policed public roads, and even more so at those who stand up and insist that authorities do their jobs. There is rarely any pressure or blame laid at the feet of those who have the power to prosecute illegal driving or maintain public roads, and this is one big reason why we have so many ongoing problems, and the work of GLASS is so important.
14
THE MUD LIFE MAGAZINE
When lanes fall into disrepair people rarely ask...
"How much has the council spent on maintaining that road in the last ten years?” The usual shout is...
“4x4s did it! Ban them!” We even see it inside our community, particularly on social media; a group of mud-pluggers tear up a lane/ private land, breaking the law, trespassing, and causing criminal damage, the go-to response is often...
“What is GLASS doing about it?” Rarely is it asked what the authorities are doing about it, or it is presumed that reporting problems is a guaranteed way of getting responsible authorities to act - it is not! The same can be said for a lack of maintenance, or weather damage, but before I explore that in more detail, on the following page is what we would usually do:
