I`m not keen on flexi-leads. Although they are really useful in some cases - small dogs too aggressive to be off lead or dogs with dementia for example - many here in my area use them instead of training.
These are also the people who imagine their dogs are small children and let them charge up to mine `to say hello`. Giving us all rope burns in the process as mine try to stay at a polite distance. And imagine a flexi-lead makes it OK for the kids to walk the dog cos they carnt do anthing like. Except cause chaos.
These people may well be the ones the new rule targets.

So stupid!!
I have used a flexi with Mia loads in the past
It is just making it more difficult for people to exercise dogs who cannot be trusted offlead

Have a read of Liverbird's latest thread - a young puppy run over because of a Flexi lead not being used properly. I hear so many stories like that - they should be banned on welfare grounds.

No. They should NOT be banned. They are not inherently dangerous like choke chains or shock collars. Just because some idiots use them doesn't mean they should be banned for all. I hear an OCCASIONAL story about something bad happening to a dog on a flexi because the owner was negligent. Yet I see many people using them with no problem. I walk Dahlia almost solely on one. We have a good 6-10 feet on one side of the sidewalk and another of that distance or more to the houses on the other side. It gives her room to roam a bit and sniff without my having to walk on the grass. My finger constantly hovers over the button and I'm constantly aware of everything going on around us. I shorten the leash if I need to. Why should I have to walk my dog on a 6 foot leash because a few people are morons?

I've also seen distracted people (usually on cell phones) drop a 6 foot leash when the dog they aren't paying attention to suddenly lunges at something and then the dog is off, running across the road to greet MY dog. Should we also ban 6 foot leashes because a few people are morons?

Flexis are a TOOL and they're not a tool that is MEANT to cause harm. Banning them is not the answer to distracted stupid owners.

And note in the thread that liverbird posted the people ALLOWED the puppy to approach another dog. That is not the tool's fault. They very well may have walked over even without the flexi. That was purely owner stupidity. It often is.

Edited to add: I thought you were referring to the post where the puppy was killed by the Staffie. I didn't see another one until after I commented here!

But these are on-lead areas. Any dog will change its behaviour on lead because they are not permitted to use normal dog ettiquette as regards distance etc.
Using an extended flexi-lead in an on-lead area is asking for trouble. Especially if a child is holding it. (sadly)

And that's not taking into account mechanical failure - I have heard of instances where the brake failed to work, and the dog got run over.

It's asking too much - in my mind - to put your dog's safety in the "hands" of a lump of plastic - a machine, if you like. I have often likened Flexis to trying to ride a horse with a steering wheel - there is no substitute for having the reins in your own hands, for many reasons not just the possibility of equipment failure or human error.

things can go wrong with many things... collars can come undone/snap, as can different kinds of leads. so that isnt specific to flexi's. heck, that can happen with most things in life!

i personally do not like flexi's but i dont think they should be banned. so many people use them responsibly everyday, so just coz some people do not, isnt reason to ban them for everyone!

I have read of collars breaking, dogs slipping out of them, dogs chewing off or slipping out of harnesses (I remember a post on another board about a dog who managed to squirm out of the harness so quickly they couldn't even stop it and it got hit and hurt very badly), dogs breaking tie outs, people dropping leashes or falling and then dropping the leash (this has happened to me multiple times in the winter).

We put our dog's safety on many pieces of equipment, some that fails, some that doesn't. Considering the amount of people I see using flexis vs. the one or two mechanical failures I've heard of, it seems ridiculous to call for a ban or say they're unsafe. I would find it a LOT harder to walk my dog on a long line as it constantly gets tangled up in things and when I need to get her close it takes forever for it to get all wound up so I can carry the bulk of it. No thanks!

you said it much better than me