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Old 05-09-2012, 07:12 PM
 
461 posts, read 748,696 times
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I saw an ATV on Marshall Ave this evening...first that I've seen here in Pittsburgh, but they were a huge problem in Philly (where I am from). Anybody know if the police are permitted to do anything about them? They could not chase in PHL, for fear of harming innocent bystanders. I wanted to call 911, but there wasn't a parking spot available to pull over.

Thanks, e

Last edited by ebyrnes; 05-09-2012 at 08:01 PM.. Reason: typo...I SAW an atv, not WAS an atv (:
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Old 05-09-2012, 07:32 PM
 
Location: South Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA
875 posts, read 1,489,683 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebyrnes View Post
I was an ATV on Marshall Ave this evening...first that I've seen here in Pittsburgh, but they were a huge problem in Philly (where I am from). Anybody know if the police are permitted to do anything about them? They could not chase in PHL, for fear of harming innocent bystanders. I wanted to call 911, but there wasn't a parking spot available to pull over.

Thanks, e
Motorized vehicles are banned from the trails around the city, so I couldn't imagine that they are excluded from city streets as well. They're treated like mopeds I'm guessing, banned on trails and limited-access freeways, but allowed just about everywhere else.
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Old 05-09-2012, 08:09 PM
 
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I believe that the Commonwealth prohibits ATVs on streets and highways. The lack of responses to this suggests that it isn't a big problem in Pittsburgh, which is a relief - I really despise these noisy things and the way that they tear up public parks.
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Old 05-09-2012, 09:16 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,616 posts, read 77,600,575 times
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ATVs are prohibited from driving on city streets. I haven't noticed this as being a large issue in Pittsburgh, though. In my native Northeastern PA I was always dodging errant ATV-riding yahoos flying the wrong way down one-way streets, blowing through stop signs, etc. Why buy these "toys" if you don't have property to ride them upon?
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Old 05-09-2012, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,652,966 times
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Never heard that this is a rampant problem. Even out here near the sticks I've only seen it once or twice in several years.

Of course it might be *more* of a problem in the city than in the sticks, since out here some people have space to ride them on. Still, I've never seen this happen in the city nor heard about it happening until just now.
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Old 05-09-2012, 10:31 PM
 
Location: 15206
1,860 posts, read 2,578,949 times
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some kids were riding dirtbikes on the sidewalk of Penn Ave in Garfield on Sunday night. They were going about 30 MPH and blew across N. Negley when they had a redlight - almost causing an accident. I called 911 and the dispatcher asked me for a description of the kids and their location. THen they asked for a detailed description of their dirtbikes.

My response - "Seriously, how many kids do you think are riding dirtbikes in Garfield on the sidewalk right now?"
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Old 05-09-2012, 10:43 PM
 
264 posts, read 492,434 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Why buy these "toys" if you don't have property to ride them upon?
While I don't condone the blatant disregard for traffic laws, as long as you have a means of transport for your "toy", there are plenty of places to ride them. As a former avid rider of these machines, the general rule was that you respected signed property and areas very close to homes, but any otherwise undeveloped/unused land was fair game. Road crossings are sometimes required, but that's a simple enough exercise for most.

Slag heaps were always a favorite, and abandoned rail lines and utility right-of-ways were always sure to have countless "branches" to discover:

Peters Creek Road, South Park Township, PA - Google Maps

Potato Garden Run Road, Imperial, PA - Google Maps

Peters Creek Road, South Park Township, PA - Google Maps
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Old 05-10-2012, 05:54 AM
 
Location: Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh
2,109 posts, read 2,159,200 times
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Pretty sure they're illegal on the streets, seeing as the guy riding his dirtbike downtown on Liberty Ave Monday at 1pm attracted about six police cruisers and ultimately a tow truck. It was interesting to hear the various comments from passers by, ranging from "he didn't do nothin wrong, why you gotta arrest him" to "what in te world is a dirtbike doing downtown.". Either way, seemed pretty illegal based on the police reaction and citation I saw handed out.
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Old 05-10-2012, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh
2,109 posts, read 2,159,200 times
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And for the record, I owned an ATV for a while. Quite a bit of fun given the right terrain to ride on
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Old 05-10-2012, 05:56 AM
 
802 posts, read 1,321,261 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebyrnes View Post
I believe that the Commonwealth prohibits ATVs on streets and highways. The lack of responses to this suggests that it isn't a big problem in Pittsburgh, which is a relief - I really despise these noisy things and the way that they tear up public parks.
Hopefully it will stay that way in Pittsburgh. As the OP states, it is a problem in Philly. There's even a woman in one neighborhood who is trying to sue the police because her son was killed riding up and down the street in traffic.

These things are illegal and shouldn't even be sold in Pennsylvania. What is the use having laws prohibiting ATVs and dirt bikes if they aren't going to be enforced?
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