This link, and quads in general

http://www.zululandobserver.co.za/Article4.htm
will take you to a letter posted in the Zululand Observer. It's about all the complaint received around the use of Quads!
This letter is in response to the above ( I got it before the papers did!) :

To whom it may concern

So the letters to ZO seem to be getting a little bit ridiculous now with regards to off road riding. If you are the one who is so eager to voice your opinion to the rest of the locals in Richards Bay who doesn't really mind the background grunt of a motocross bike, then this letter is devoted to your attention.

Richards Bay has fantastic places to go ride. It is a great place to own a offraod terrain vehicle / motorbike. Unfortunately, because of people who dont have anything else to do but moan about other people's satisfaction and joy in life, off road terrain is becoming more and more dangerous and illegal to do. Fact is, there are those who mess it up for many of us and yes i agree fully that they should be dealt with. I honestly think that ruling out whats fun for the rest of us is immature as i dont see how its possible not to clamp down on the style that makes this sport dangerous to the public. There could be laws incorporated and strict measures could be taken to keep them in place. And to say that these laws are in place and being broken all the time is far from the truth. The only law is "you have an offroad bike and you are not allowed to ride it!!! Anywhere!"
Thats like telling someone they are not allowed to eat pies from a local fuel station because its bad for your heart. Which it is. Regardless to the law that expells fishing from our beaches. Thats harmful to the environment. How many fish die from being tangled up in loose gutt.
How many seaguls die from abandoned hooks and plastic bait bags. We could even talk about people who own boats. Need i say more other than that motor which sings no further than 5m from my back door where my mother sits quietly and reads her book. Petrol lawnmowers and weed eaters owned and operated by the Municipality of Umhlatuze.... Should we put silencers on those motors which run wild on your lawn so that you can have a peaceful sleep because your shift starts iat 14:00 in the afternoon? We have neighbours who party every night and they
aren't afraid of blasting their speakers. But you know what? I still get a good nights rest. You dont see me running to the papers to put a block on my neighbours life. There are many people in the world who have different interests and i rather adapt to that situation than sit
and think of ways i can make life more difficult for them.
We would prefer to set up a body corporate on the Off road biking side which will give the police and public someone to deal with. In this corporate we can set rules and standards when it comes to offroad riding. We can raffle money between us all and set our own facilities when it comes to events or rides. We are ordinary people just like you and we just out there living life other than sitting at home and complaining about it. Let us have our fun with our own toys without your input on how we should do it. We are over a thousand riders who are now in the position where we have to sell what we enjoy just because its nothing else than a bike engine far away in the distance that has the magic to disturb your silence. Not a bird, Not a cell phone, not a v8 bakkie, not the kids swimming next door. Just a Off road motorcycle.
We all Live in Richards Bay and we dont all play golf. Now we are being silenced without even trying to co-operate with unset laws.
Is that fair?

And of course, I had to have my say too, so I sent this in, not sure if it will go to print though... :-

Further to the letter sent in by Malcolm Loxton, re:- Quads and the control of same.

He has my full support on this. A comodity which is legally sold in South Africa CANNOT be banned. It's like trying to ban the use of any product, and one that comes to mind right now are Generators! Imagine, you buy a generator because of the continued power outages, but can't run it because
a) It's noisy,
b) It's poluting the air.
So, instead of a generator, force everyone to get gas stovesand gas lighting instead. Quads are, like any other legally available thing in South Africa, a personal preferance, in this case, for entertainment. Those of you who don't care for one, and have a problem with those who do have them, are actually out of order. The current constitution gives the quad owner the right to
a) own one, and
b) use it.
True, he has to follow the law, and cannot use it on public roads without the proper licensing requirements being met (not that they are available at this time for quads), but he can use it on private property, and public property with the required conscent being in place.
The way I see it is this, he can take his quad to the veld, out of town, away from home, and ride it there for his own pleasure, or, he can ride it around and around his house, and u cannot do anything about it! The lesser of two evils is the away option, I'm sure you will agree!

What I think most of the "mother grundy's" are moaning about is the irresponsible use of these quads in public places like streets, and parks in residential areas. In this case I must side with the "Mother Grundy's"! There in no reason for the owners of the quads to ride in these places
which are reserved for
a) licenced vehicles,
b) for pedestrians and children (parks).
In these cases I'm quite happy if someone calls in the complaint, and the relevant authorities respond accordingly. However, in typical South African fashion, we tend to paint everyone with the same brush. If your home has been broken into, then everyone of that specific gender and or race becomes a suspect. If you get poor service from one waiter in a restaurant, then that restaurant will NEVER see you again!

If you work odd hours, it's just a matter of having a nice chat with your neighbour and telling him that noise of the quad going around the block / down the road / around the house at any specific time is disturbing. I'm sure that this would find a kind ear, and mutual respect will then kick in.
However, should you decide to rather make a big stink of it, and immediately call out the SAPS instead of havingt a friendly chat - well, a nice Afrikaans saying is "Jy pluk vir jouself 'n lat", and in this case, probably one you won't even begin to understand!

So, the long and short of it is this:-
a) Quad owners are allowed to own, and ride them - in specific controlled environments
b) Most of the quad owners are responsible and take their rides outside of the residential areas.
c) You as the non quad owner also have rights, however, these are somehow limited to your person, and immediate surrounds, ie. your home / place of work. Your rights cannot be extended to a place which does not have a direct, immediate, negative effect on you.
Any council who decides to implement a ban on the use of quads right across it's juristriction will most probably find itself caught up in a massive legal wrangle, which will cost it a lot of rate payers money, and which the outcome cannot be ensured!

And finally, for the owners of the quads, it's a matter of respecting your neighbour. It's ensuring that you don't break the law by allowing your 12 year old to ride the quad down the street. And finally, to meet with the respective land owners wher you do your outrides, and get their consent
(in writing). This way your out rides will be "legal".

Good luck, and mutual respect in all instances will go a long way to resolving these "petty" issues.

Salagatle