RIDERS of off-road bikes and quads are placing themselves in grave danger of being accidentally shot by ‘friendly fire’.
The warning comes from members of the Richards Bay Sport Shooting Club , who have noticed an increase in bike traffic to the northwest of the rifle range close to the Nsese waterworks in Alton.
‘Guys, this is extremely dangerous as we use live ammunition on the range and this potentially brings you into our line of fire,’ warns RBSSC’s Coenraad Burger.
‘We have safety measures in place such as back-stops, safe directions and a general high standard of safety rules governing the use of arms on the premises.
‘That being said, it’s still not a good idea to tempt fate by riding through there.
‘A very clear example of what can go wrong happened on Sunday during a shotgun competition held at the club.
‘During live fire, a bike came through and actually rode all along the ridge, pausing to have a look at us. This happened in the direction of fire.
‘A stray bullet or a ricochet could do serious injury.
‘Accidents happen quickly and cannot be reversed. None of our member want the misfortune of being responsible for a shooting incident and we are sure that none of the bikers want to be a casualty of such an incident,’ said Burger, who is himself an off-road rider.
‘We have put up red warning flags indicating that this is a no go area and we ask all off-road clubs and individual riders to spread the word and not place themselves in harm’s way.’
