Dr. King would be appalled by this stunt

It should be embarrassing to any participant that Dr. Martin Luther King’s name is somehow linked to this ridiculous stunt.

As if Dr. King would somehow be honored that his name is involved with creating chaos on our streets, blocking traffic, speeding through red lights and creating enough havoc and danger on our roads that one person died and at least one other was seriously injured.

Add in a few confiscated weapons, 35 arrests in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, dozens of towed vehicles and countless angry South Florida commuters who were either delayed or couldn’t get to their destination, and you have some idea what this year’s version of “Wheels Up, Guns Down” was all about.

The event, in its third year in South Florida, is supposedly to promote peace and honor Dr. King on his holiday. What a complete joke. For scores of riders in ATVs and motorcycles, the main goal appeared to be getting on television doing wheelies and other tricks while driving the wrong way. And they did much of it at rush hour on South Florida’s always-congested roadways.

Organizers want us to believe this is a good way to honor Dr. King.

Spare us. Even Evel Knievel would have been embarrassed by what the stunt drivers were doing on our roads.

The only good thing about Monday’s chaos on the roads is that it was somehow less chaotic than last year. Local law enforcement officers were as prepared as possible for what was going to happen.

Despite extra law enforcement personnel on the roads, a man riding a dirt bike — a vehicle not meant to be driven on city streets — was killed when his bike collided with a Toyota Camry making a left turn at Northwest Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Miami. Another cyclist was seriously injured when he was hit near the Palmetto Expressway and Northwest 27th Avenue in Miami Gardens. And on Sunday, before the event, a motorcyclist who was part of a group of ATV riders was critically hurt in a crash in Miami-Dade.

Broward Sheriff Scott Israel told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board that personnel from his agency have been well prepared for what was to happen for some time. They had gone to churches, homeowners association meetings and elsewhere to warn people about the dangers. He wanted parents to warn their youngsters to stay off the road.

Flyers were circulated by police. Police agencies got together and promised a crackdown on violators. Helicopters were used to track offenders whose reckless stunts would be putting themselves or the public in danger. But there is only so much police can do. “We can’t stop people from coming on the roads,” Israel said. “We had an amazing show of force. It was safer than we thought it would be. It could have been worse.”

Not only can’t police stop people from driving, they can’t chase these ATVs and other vehicles unless they’ve committed a felony. To start chasing them through streets would endanger the public. Police have said in the past that setting up roadblocks on major roads would be more dangerous than letting the riders take over stretches of the roads.

Enough is enough. Three years of creating havoc on the roads and putting lives in danger just to be seen on TV — under the guise of “honoring” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — is three years too many.

This is one South Florida tradition that needs to end.

Organizers want us to believe ‘Wheels Up, Guns Down’ is a good way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. Spare us.