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.
You’re encouraging people to commit felony assault/murder. You should be proud of yourself.
Feral children and illegal aliens. No proof of ownership???
Recycle?
Nazis. Defund the Nazis.
“They live here. They’re the ones that are dealing with this.”
I wish the US Federal Govt would consider this and let the states and locals run much more of how the funds are spent.
I live in rural kentucky. On the roads here depending on the weather sometimes most of the cars you see are actually side by sides and atvs. I think it’s technically illegal but nobody cares. And in the 11 years I’ve lived here the only time I saw a cop on the road was when they came up to my property when my neighbors 11 or 12 head of cattle broke through the fence and got in my field.
We’re pretty good at self policing in this area and we’re all armed. 😁
“Can this smash policy be extended to weed whackers and gas-powered blowers? - Asking for a friend.”
Last fall I bought a battery powered blower. Sooooo quiet and not expensive at all. Hopefully that is the future.
What a waste of natural resources.
I agree with you.
Like just about everything else government has it's hands on, the bottom line is that they want to extort more fees and tax money from the population.
Dissect.
Our urban ‘dirt bike hoodlums’ used to be the skateboarders, for whom numerous laws were passed to combat them.
Now we are in the age of woke climatism and you must be wary of fast moving electric scooters/bikes and these asinine 2-cycle powered bikes.
I would LOVE it if our municipality would seize/crush them, but it will never happen (not referencing the scooters/bikes).
It’s interesting how differently “undocumented immigrants” and “undocumented vehicles” are treated: let in with open arms, even when diseased or with lengthy criminal records, vs. seized and destroyed at first contact.
“but there are some 4th and 5th Amendment issues here.”
Like?
Strange, isn’t it? Last month, some ATV and scooter riding ferals had a chimpout down the street from where I grew up. Made national news.
Bingo. Uphold existing law.
But, like with the asinine gun buyback programs there is no photoOp that politicos so love. That is the purpose of such, opportunities for chest pounding.
I don’t want any motorized vehicle on the road if they don’t meet the requirements i legally have to. Valid driver’s license, current insurance, registration, etc..
Seizure of property without compensation.
They run the vin.
From the article you didn’t read:
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.”
A fistful of tickets is usually all it takes in my county. Oh yeah, they do impound the machines. They can have them back when they pay the fines.
It’s Pennsylvania - they’re zero-bailing the drivers.
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