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I don't know enough about other cities, but it's hard to imagine any being worse than it is in Cleveland. I got a friend who is a CPD officer who said policy is to let them go and not try to chase or pull them over if it's the almost daily smaller group (dozen or so). They may try to eventually stop the huge groups (200-plus) but that's after they have been riding all over the city for hours, blocking traffic ... on main streets and interstate onramps. Plus, "stopping" them is hoping one breaks down or runs out of gas and if they feel like getting into a foot chase maybe snagging 1 out of 200.
I personally have an issue with it too because about three years ago I was just trying to get home and had my newborn grandson in the back seat and I'm driving on I-90 East to I-71 South and about a half mile from the ramp I saw a huge group of dirt bikes (and some motorcycles and cars in the group) coming up behind me. A couple of the blockers on motorcycles shot past to block traffic from getting onto the ramp. A couple cars had to swerve into left lane (and stay on the highway which turns into I-490 right there, missing where they were trying to go). I was in the far right lane so I swerved around the motorcycles who were trying to set up their block and apparently that pissed off the rest of the group of at least 100 or more who started to try to block me in.
I never wanted more than to just bloop, bloop, bloop and start taking them out with my car, but for one had my grandson (who was sleeping through all of it) in the back. Plus, knew that wouldn't have ended well for me because no way you can take out 100-plus of them, especially since I'm guessing a good amount were packing. Luckily I was able to get off at one of the next off ramps and they kept going.
These videos that are on youtube may seem cool to watch (there are dozens on their "takeovers" in Cleveland) and yeah some of them do have some serious skills if they actually were getting into competitions, but if you get into a close call, it kind of changes your perspective.
Part of the problem in Cleveland is outgoing mayor Frank Jackson's grandchildren were involved in these dirt bike mobs (the one who was murdered a couple months ago was lured to the location where he was shot to pick up a dirt bike), so the mayor essentially gave them free reign over the city. Hopefully, it's something new mayor Justin Bibb tries to get under control and has a better solution than to build a dirt bike track in the Garden Valley projects.
At first, I wasn't against that plan until I asked my CPD friend what he thought about that. He just laughed and said "we'll be there every (expletive) day for a shooting and if we can't try to stop them now due to potential lawsuits, wait until some rich white kids from the suburbs think they can go over there and they end up robbed or shot and see what kind of lawsuits the city is hit with."
I'm in my early 40s so definitely too old to get on a dirt bike even if I wanted to, but I'm hardly some old "get off my lawn" type person. Maybe if I didn't have an encounter a couple years back, my perspective would be a little different.
I thought this was an issue everywhere? I certainly see it all the time in the city a couple miles away. How could you possibly quantify this?
Well you live near Boston and it’s all over New England. It’s a mainly east coast problem. I haven’t seen it in my visits to the western US not once.
Not even not at all. It's way more prevalent in Boston tbh. I thought Baltimore would be worse. I really did but aside from Sundays its very tame and there's punishments for letting them fill up at gas stations. Dudes might come to Fells but its really isn't nearly as prevalent as I would've thought I go days without seeing ATV riders. Philadelphia is the worst.
I know it started in Bmore but as far as I can tell they’ve really put the clamps on it, hard. It was perfected in Philly.
It has definitely toned down around here, but It use to be BAD, BAD. There's a special task force in the city to catch illegal dirt bikes. From the videos you posted, dirt bikes looks relatively new to New England. I know its been a thing in Philly for a while, but it's been a issue in Baltimore for decades. You'll occasionally catch a group 50-100 deep riding through the city especially on the weekend. They meet up on Reisterstown Rd & Park Heights Ave.
It has definitely toned down around here, but It use to be BAD, BAD. There's a special task force in the city to catch illegal dirt bikes. From the videos you posted, dirt bikes looks relatively new to New England. I know its been a thing in Philly for a while, but it's been a issue in Baltimore for decades. You'll occasionally catch a group 50-100 deep riding through the city especially on the weekend. They meet up on Reisterstown Rd & Park Heights Ave.
People have been doing bike life since the ruff ryders era in Boston. It’s spread to all of Boston is new and the dangerous and boldness is very new in the last ~6 years. It used to be contained to major drags in Boston inner city..American a legion a highway, Truman Highway, Blue Hill Ave, Talbot Ave, Columbia Road. Additionally back 20 years ago there were mostly Japanese motorcycles-the dirt bikes really only became predominate maybe 2005.
Now it’s all over in areas near way down near Geoff D, downtown Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Worcester etc etc. this and bicycle life for some younger kids. Bike life is also pretty big in CT.
People ride around cities on ATVs? I didn't see this even back in podunk Idaho.
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