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Posted on 05/24/2022 5:27:28 AM PDT by lightman
Police departments facing more and more all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and motorcycles on the streets are using any tool possible to stem the illegal traffic.
In Reading, that now includes smashing seized off-road vehicles.
On May 12, for the first time, the city in Berks County had an excavator pulverize two dumpsters filled with ATVs and dirt bikes.
The department filmed the destruction and posted it on its Facebook page, in part to send a message to drivers, Sgt. Mel Fegely said.
There were varying responses from viewers. Some people were upset, and wanted to see the vehicles reused or repurposed, Fegely said.
“I understand that,” the sergeant said. “But for the people who live in the city here, they are overwhelmingly overjoyed that we’re taking a real stand on this. They live here. They’re the ones that are dealing with this.
“The decent, law-abiding citizens of the city are loving it. We’ve gotten tons of messages. Someone even made a T-shirt. ... For people who live here and deal with it, they’re thrilled that we’re smashing them.”
The illegal vehicles have been an issue in Reading and other cities for years, but it has increased every year over the past six years in Reading.
“They’re having fun. They’re flying up and down the streets,” Fegely said, and the “joyriding” includes running red lights and stop signs, cutting off cars and weaving in traffic and driving on sidewalks. Widespread problem
No community is immune, even on a smaller scale. Two weeks ago in Easton’s West Ward, police were called for a group of young people riding about eight dirt bikes and an ATV, police Chief Carl Scalzo said.
“As soon as police identified them, we stopped them and talked to them,” Scalzo said. “The approach we’re taking is zero tolerance for illegal bikes and ATVs on the street. If the bikes aren’t legal, the drivers aren’t legal, we’re citing the driver and/or seizing the bike.”
Some of the city’s straightaways are one-way and it’s “extremely dangerous, extremely intimidating to drivers” when bike or ATV drivers travel the wrong way down them, the chief said.
“All the communities are pretty much seeing this,” he added.
Allentown police stopped or seized a little more than 100 dirt bikes and ATVs in 2020, up from the 50 or so illegal street vehicles in 2019. Earlier this month, Allentown police Chief Charles Roca said the department has fielded more than 200 calls about bikes and ATVs so far this year. Roca said city officials are researching the option to destroy the illegal vehicles, as well as “many other strategies in reducing this very real quality of life problem.”
“I remain hopeful that our state Legislature initiates legislation that is passed that serves as a deterrent and holds people accountable for this type of activity,” he said.
State Rep. Amen Brown, D-Philadelphia, has said he’s working on legislation to allow police to destroy the vehicles immediately. Approached backed by city law
Fegely credited city Clerk Linda Kelleher doing a lot of research before last June, when Reading’s city council updated the vehicle and traffic ordinances to allow police to confiscate and destroy the vehicles if necessary.
Police usually get them after a pursuit or chases, where the driver abandons the bike.
“There’s no paperwork” for most of the illegal vehicles, although Pennsylvania does have a registration process. If an ATV or dirt bike’s vehicle-identification number doesn’t come back to an owner, there’s no proof of ownership.
“If we can’t prove ownership, those are the ones we’re destroying,” he said. “We own it because no one claimed it. ... Instead of selling them, we destroy them.”
While some cities, like Allentown and New York, do not pursue bike or quad drivers, Reading does.
The previous administration in Reading didn’t want police to pursue vehicles, Fegely said, and “once that was made known, it was rampant.”
Pursuits with any type of vehicle can be dangerous, especially at high speeds, and the department has a pursuit policy. If the chase gets too dangerous, for the public or police officers, supervisors have the discretion to call if off.
“If we feel like it’s safe to pursue, we’re gonna,” Fegely said. “We’re chasing them. We’re gonna get them. We’re not going to get all of them, obviously, but we are getting quite a few. And when we get them, they’re not going back in the system.”
“We want people to know, we’re not ignoring it, we’re dealing with it, we’re going after it and we’re not afraid to send a message,” he added.
People can legally own ATVs and dirt bikes, and Fegely said they are urging riders to register the vehicle with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Legal ATV and dirt bike users must use a trailer to transport them to areas where it’s OK to ride.
“They’re fun to ride. I get why everyone wants to do it. But like anything in life, you have to do it responsibly,” Fegely said. “The city is not a responsible place to do it.” Other avenues pursued
Other cities, like New York and Providence, destroy the illegal off-road vehicles. NYC police said they were on track to confiscate and crush up to 3,000 illegal ATVs and motorbikes by the end of 2021.
The city also offers a $100 reward for every seized vehicle.
In Connecticut, one city recently passed an ordinance prohibiting gas station owners from allowing all-terrain vehicles not properly secured to a hitch or trailer to be fueled at the pump.
The gas station could be fined up to $250 if police see ATV riders filling up at the pump, WWLP news reported.
Pennsylvania Ping!
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A better idea would be to put the operator in jail as current law provides and sell the vehicle out of state on eBay. Problem solved.
They pull this crap in Chicago. Feral “youths” have used them to box in people driving legally to carjack, rob, assault, and even commit murder. Then they vanish and get away because the CPD has a no pursuit policy.
I think they should smash the vehicles AND the drivers.
L
Jawohl! You vill comply or ve vill crush you!
We’ve got suburban ATV riders in the 8 and 9 yrs old category. Three of them on one buggy have been riding up my street in the dark.
Their parents must have a death wish for them.
Two weeks ago in Easton’s West Ward, police were called for a group of young people riding about eight dirt bikes and an ATV, police Chief Carl Scalzo said.
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Somehow, “yutes” can afford multi-thousand dollar dirt bikes and the 5 dollar-a-gallon gas.
In our town in SE Michigan it is golf carts. City and police have warned about kids driving which us only partially heeded. The golf cart people do not always follow traffic laws. (For that matter, at my corner, the cars do not stop for signs either) Someone is going to get whacked.
Harbor Freight has inexpensive steel cable and fittings. Just sayin’
Well, they don’t incinerate the suspected rider, so that’s something.
Here in PA driving off road vehicles on state public roads and streets is against the law. The police, however do not enforce that law. A few years back a teen who lives about ten miles from my house hit and killed my Collie with her ATV, on the road in front of my house. She flipped the ATV and then sued me for a quarter million for injuries she suffered. I demanded my insurance fight the case, but they settled out of court for a hundred thou..... I don’t agree with the law seizing the vehicle, however, that’s not punishing the criminal. You know the government will expand on this if it becomes standard procedure.
Exactly. I’d love to replace my ‘vintage’ quad but even used they are too expensive. Easier to fix it enough to last through deer season ...
“ Harbor Freight has inexpensive steel cable and fittings. Just sayin’”
Someone did this in Napa years ago for ATV riders in the vineyards. He killed two, was charged with murder, and is doing time.
Driving threads on FR are some of the most entertaining. When the subject of licensed driving comes up, all of a sudden the freedom loving, Founding Fathers-supporting, independent types go scurrying for the protection of the State. This article, at least, shows that the urbanites are their friends, in this.
I was actually thinking that small, expendable transportation and no licensing might be a way to get around the jack-booted thugs. No license to yank, and if it doesn’t happen often enough it might be a good alternative. If this became commonplace enough, it might end licensing your right to get yourself around.
This sounds lefty to me. Leftists blame guns for murders and want to eliminate the guns, not the person using them. They blame SUV’s for killing someone, not the driver.
In this case, the ATV is destroyed. This is so stupid. The ATV could be auctioned off and the monies could be used to prosecute the drivers. It would eliminate the suspect ATV and give the taxpayers a little relief at the same time.
Why not auction them off?
In my state there is a law requiring dog owners to keep their dogs on their on property by a secure fence or chain. If they are in the road, the owner can me cited and the dog is fair game. I would be particularly upset if someone rode an ATV onto my property and hit my dog.
My new YouTube guilty pleasure is searching car jack fail. Lots of fun stuff there but most of it is from places like South africa.
Can this smash policy be extended to weed whackers and gas-powered blowers? - Asking for a friend.
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