Melissa Bailey Photo
Lt. Jeff Hoffman already caught one illegal ATV rider this season, and police are on the hunt for more.
Standing beside the Yamaha four-wheeler that banged into his cruiser during a pursuit May 4, Hoffman (at left in photo) joined other top cops Thursday in announcing a spring crackdown on drivers of illegal vehicles.
The crackdown will target dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and unregistered cars, all of which are not permitted on city streets, said Police Chief Limon in a press conference at the Blatchley Avenue substation Thursday afternoon.
Two teams of patrol cops, with one supervisor and two to three officers each, will be dispatched across the city to address traffic complaints that have flared up along with the recent warm weather, police officials said. They’ll target drivers of illegal vehicles, as well as registered cars that have their music cranked up too loud, police said.
Hoffman said in the East Shore he’s been getting a lot of complaints about kids riding around, pulling “donuts” and making noise on ATVs. Earlier this month, he spotted a group of five males on quads and dirt bikes who darted in and out of the road and did donuts in the middle of the street near Middletown Avenue. He caught a young man in his 20s, a quad driver whose chain had broken, and charged him with disorderly conduct, engaging in pursuit, reckless driving, operating without insurance or registration, and criminal mischief.
After the driver ditched his Yamaha four-wheeler and ran away on foot, the ATV rolled back and dented Hoffman’s cruiser.
People caught driving ATVs or dirt bikes will have their vehicles hauled away on the spot by a private towing company, Hoffman said. If the drivers want to retrieve them, they have to show proof of ownership.
Drivers may also be ticketed $250 for blasting stereos above allowable decibel levels, police warned.
Limon would not say when or where the crackdown will take place. He said it hinges on participation from neighbors. People who have tips about continuing behavior at certain locations can call Capt. Leo Bombalicki during business hours Monday to Friday at (203) 946‑6306. On nights and weekends, people can report traffic scofflaws to the police main information line at (203) 946‑6316.
(Police are no longer recommending that neighbors call the traffic hotline that was promoted last year, which ended in 6956. That phone line got flooded with calls, which piled up on an answering machine.)