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.
When I lived in the suburbs, we had a guy with a quad tearing up and down the street at all hours of the day.
And who was this guy?
A cop
Other cities just douse the rider with gasoline and burn them alive.
Probably more effective than crushing their easily-replaceable ride.
I am originally from Reading. It is not a place usually associated with innovative law enforcement policies. However, I take my hat off to the city administration for having the guts to implement this simple and effective procedure. Unregistered motor scooters, motorcycles and four-wheelers are a real hazard in PA small and midsized cities. At least this policy of confiscation and destruction reduces the numbers and to some extent punishes the offenders.
ATVs, golfcarts, side x sides, tractors, go-carts, dirt bikes are all normal things to see on the roads here.
How nice for you. I was in the downtown section of the Nation's Capitol for a dressy evening social event recently, when a pack of 12 or 15 ATV riders took over one of the streets near my intended destination. They continued buzzing up and down for hours, ruining the acoustics until 2:00 AM. The sound echoes in the streets lined by tall buildings, and carries for blocks; not to mention the dangers to drivers, local businesses or pedestrians from these gangs.
So odd that they don’t do that stuff in Northern Virginia.
Yep. They are like guns. The problem isn’t the vehicles. It’s the people driving them.
THIS is 2022.
NOBODY stays in jail longer than 24 hours...even on holiday weekends...:)
$1 enough to qualify???
“Seizure of property without compensation.”
Unclaimed abandoned property.
Who is affording? ATVs are top items to steal in our area. Not sure where they end up.
That is heartbreaking.
Two words: stinger missiles.
Or maybe: switchblade drones.
Much more fun!
Good to hear!
Where I live, in rural Idaho, I have about 1/4 mile of property along side 50 mph rural highway. It is a magnet for automobiles and they crash into my fences at least once a year. One elderly woman got spun around 180 degrees in her minivan, which impaled itself on one of my t-posts. She and the vehicle were drivable after I cut her van lose. She waited around for the cops to come give her a ticket.
Your insurance company had no chance of winning because most states make dog owners responsible for where their dog is 100% of the time and 100% responsible for any damage cause by the dog when loose and off your property.
If your dog is in the street and causes an accident, that’s on you, not the vehicle operator.
The only time this is generally not true is in western states that still have areas of unfenced “open range”. You hit a cow, you pay for the cow.
Ha! I have roughly a half mile of frontage and even though the road is meticulously maintained by the county, we get almost no traffic - except for sunday mornings for the small church at the end of the road. My neighbor and I had a four hour conversation in front of his house one day and not a single car came through.
So true.
I live on a f’n farm. Everyone doesn’t live in a suburb on a postage stamp. Why doesn’t “your state” require people keep their ill behaved progeny on their own property?
Yea, you can impound the bike when you cite the rider, but you can’t just crush it.. its not the cities property... City is going to pay out big time for this when its all said and done.
When justice fails, people can and will create justice for themselves. You will be powerless to stop it.
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