There is no place for scooter meetings in Groningen municipality. Mayor Quinn Schueling (VVD) announced this Wednesday evening.

The mayor responded to questions from council member Mert Judijk of Student & City: “Last weekend, it was announced that a motorcycle meeting would be held in Groningen. This is already prohibited. We would like some clarification from the mayor. What happened, how did it go and did it go? Fine? “

Quinn Schuiling: ‘It’s life threatening’
Mayor Schueling: “I don’t know if you’ve seen a motorcycle meeting before? Such meetings in the city center can be very dangerous. People who come downtown for a day shopping do not count on such phenomena. They are life-threatening. Also For motorcyclists and motorbikes themselves. Other traffic is not ready to appear suddenly. Serious accidents can also happen if you do not enter the city center. You may have seen the video where two motorcyclists crash hard in our municipality during such a meeting.”

“More than a hundred participants have been removed from anonymity”
Schuiling continues: “If you want to organize a scooter meeting, you depend on the circumstances of the event, as you not only ensure the safety of the participants, but also the protection of other road users. This meeting obviously had a number of drivers. The police caught them on their way. to Groningen and they received a restraining order. We have also tried to remove the structure from the organization. Last Sunday we saw scooter passengers congregate in several places. We have removed more than a hundred participants from anonymity and issued tickets to them.”

“It takes a lot of effort on the part of the police.”
“If you ask me how we look back at this, it’s with mixed feelings. We couldn’t prevent it. On the other hand, it’s not bad that we were able to remove more than a hundred participants from anonymity. And the survey of participants is still in full swing. The turning point is It required a very large police effort. Some people create a romantic image around this scooter meeting. But the truth is that there are victims. What happens in these meetings is life-threatening. Deploying a large police force has consequences. We bring agents from the north of the Netherlands to Groningen. This means that Other emergency notifications are at risk. It can happen that people call 112 and we have to say, yes it is not working right now because we are busy with a scooter meeting in Groningen.”

“Avoid meetings”
It also asks whether the police presence caused an escalation of impact. Let me make it clear that we have better things to do than worry about stunting young adults. But if they are a danger to other road users, and if traffic rules are violated, then we have to do something. It’s really dangerous. The organizers spent one night in prison. On Monday, one of the organizers visited City Hall with a parent. And I really don’t understand what drives parents. They have no idea what their children are getting into. In the coming period, we will continue to do our best to prevent meetings. Zone blocking is an effective way to do this. We only start a conversation if there is an official chat partner. So far, that’s tough and it hasn’t taken off yet.”

Dennis Rahm (PVV): “Can’t we confiscate the motorbikes?”
Party Chairman Dennis Rahm of PVV: “I wonder if your toolkit is wide enough. We can’t confiscate motorbikes and vehicles so that participants can be punished directly. Isn’t that a possibility?” Schuiling: “We need to know if there are faster roads and whether More effective measures can be taken. On the other hand, we have issued more than a hundred fines. We have removed more than a hundred people from anonymity. This is exceptionally high.”

Quinn Schuyling: ‘People have no idea what’s going on’
Party Chairman Ietje Jacobs-Setz of VVD: “We are shocked that the participants in this meeting come from all over the world. Participants from Belgium ride to Groningen with a scooter on their trailer to be able to ride on one wheel here. In the meantime, regulators say they won’t stop. Are there options other than repression? Schuyling: “I share your fear. I see those calls too. This was also the reason for calling, to designate an official discussion partner. One has to realize what one is doing. One has to realize, frankly, what one carries in one’s ass. This is thought to be very light. There is no meaning at all. At the moment there is no official interlocutor with whom we can talk.”