Thomas MacMillan Photo
A campaign born in New Haven has produced a new state law seeking to rein in dirt bikers.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Monday signed the law, which was sponsored by New Haven state Reps. Pat Dillon and Juan Candelaria and Sens. Marty Looney and TOni Harp.
The law raises penalties for riding illegal dirt bikes and ATVs, to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $2,000 for subsequent offenses.
Click here to read the bill.
“Penalties are not the only tool for making our streets safer – enforcement is key – but they are important,” Dillon stated in a news release.
New Haven cops and safe-streets originally pushed for tougher state legislation because dirt-bikers have been endangering lives all over town in warm months. The cops also launched “Operation Bike Life,” a 10-wwek effort to track down offenders and confiscate their bikes without engaging in potentially deadly chases. Read about that here.
Last November the Board of Aldermen held a public hearing into the issue (click here to read about it; click on the video to watch a snippet), then called on state legislators to introduce legislation to toughen penalties.