Top gear is a humorous motoring based show. The key words there are Humorous and show.

Pretty much everything they show is toung in cheek and meant to provoke such outbursts from people that just don't get it. It's funny. I thought it was funny, most people I know thought it was funny and it wasn't a serious article.

It took the mickey out of green laning, ramblers, hunters and more importantly the law which in most cases is stupid and un-workable.

It's a humorous show, if you don't like their particular brand of humour don't watch it and don't believe ity is taken seriously by anybody.

Agreed - this has been subject to plenty of discussion on various LR forums. It was a mick take, quite obviously staged on private land and I'm suprised that no mention of it was made on last nights show. Take it as it was meant to be - and thank god you own a landy instead of a dihatsu stelios

Hi Disco Snaplegs

The fact that it was a Daihatsu Terios makes zero difference.
It's the perception by the public at large and moreover, the Anti 4x4 brigade that all off-roaders do this stuff in forests and meadows. All brands of 4x4 whether Jap, German, Swede or Indian (Land Rover) are tarred with the same brush.

I was not surprised by the lack of mention on Sunday's show but I can reveal the BBC have indicated in their response to my complaint that there may be an opportunity to set the record straight during the new series in Autumn!
(If it's not too late by then)

Thanks for your comment.
Carlo

Hello Tim,

My article does NOT intend to be critical of the “show” which I’ve enjoyed for 2-3 decades. The new format’s progression into more comic-strip “humour” has enhanced TG (albeit the emphasis has shifted towards personalities of presenters rather than the cars) and I have every intention of continuing to watch and enjoy the show.

The disenchantment felt by the responsible off-road community lies within the programme’s depiction of “green laning”. It was misrepresented. Furthermore, some feel the humour was malevolent – stirring a hornet’s nest. TG made no attempt to qualify their actions and explain the reality.

YOU, I, and many other avid fans of the show DO GET the humour but there are millions out there who won’t! For example, they won’t know what a green lane is. Granted, most of them won’t ‘give a toss’! However, for the ‘anti’s’, many responsible off-roaders feel that TG’s misrepresentation of ‘green laning’ is an absolute gift and, an added accelerant towards it’s demise!

Redress or setting the record straight is all the mass protestation seeks to achieve.

Carlo

Nothing on Top Gear will lower the standing of green laning any more than it already is. It is understood by next to no-one and a substantial percentage of 'green laners' deserve to be banned. Look at those tossers in Wales who were off track, I hope they are caught and their motors crushed.

We as a fraternity have not made any effective effort to represent the activity and GLASS which was the only credible pressure group was screwed royally by a scumbag politician when he closed all the disputed lanes.

The Ramblers will not stop banging on about banning every other user of the countryside because they are the self appointed controllers of all countryside access. Who takes anyone who describes themselves as a 'Rambler' seriously.

The piece was funny and that was all the makers of the show intended, we sound like all those knobs in the caravan fraternity who were up in arms when they set fire to a shed last year.

I think we need to get over ourselves a bit !

Hi Neil
It was indeed a gross misrepresentation of "Green Laning". The problem is that whilst most of us off roaders know what REAL green laning is, the majority of the public do not! TG deservedly enjoys a mass audience with it's unique brand of humour but the problem will come from the nutters who will want to emulate this stuff compounded with those who are already poised with daggers.
Carlo

From what I saw of the programme I did not see Clarkson on a green lane, he was driving across country. When he makes programmes like this theres always a call of outrage, but the BBC always let him carry on, its done to provoke a response thats what raises their ratings. As it has been said by others these programmes are done tongue in cheek so should not be taken seriously, some of us need to lighten up.

In the years that I have been involved in off roading with this club we have always had a tread lightly policy and have even helped to maintain the Rideway. Well that got us nowhere as that part of the Ridgeway is now closed.
I personally feel that we as a user group are far smaller than the Ramblers and far less co-ordinated as a political force and therefore are just waiting for the inevitable (either all green lanes closed or operated via a permit system). By saying this I do not condone Reckless off roading, I would have no hesitation in reporting an irrisponsible off roader who was damaging a green lane

There is a huge mis-conception that behaving ourselves, keeping out of the limelight looking responsible and trying to do the right thing will enhance green laning and politicians will take pity on us and leave us alone. It won't.

We are a minority and our rights have been trampled, so what do we do about it, we look sensible and claim as 'proper off roaders' we don't damage the countryside.

Please wake up, that approach doesn't work.

The only thing that works with politicians is standing up and screaming out your case louder and with more verocity than the morons that are against you. I know exactly how it works, I spent 2 years fighting the government on firearms legislation and won, the softly softly approach is stupid and pointless, in their face, bombard them with the actual facts and beat them down at every opportunity you can and as hard as you can is the only way to win.

So what if Top gear tore up some grass, it will grow again. So what if top Gear made a few ruts, the next tractor that comes along will make a bigger one, Hats off to Top Gear for mentioning green laning as something thats fun and enjoyable on national television.

It's about time we stood up and fought for our rights rather than hiding behind the nearest bush every time somebody mentions something that's not 'PC'. The PC brigade can stick it where the sun doesn't shine, being PC is crap. Shout harder and louder works, mince about because somebody might get the wrong impression or be offended doesn't.