Columbus vows no leniency in crackdown on illegal use of dirt bikes
COLUMBUS — Amid complaints about increased reckless and noisy ATV, dirt bike and motorcycle riding along city streets, Columbus city officials announced Tuesday they are planning another crackdown.
The latest efforts will include a new noise ordinance to be sent to City Council and a pledge from the Columbus City Attorney to not plea bargain cases where someone has been charged with recklessly driving an ATV, dirt bike or other similar vehicle not permitted on city streets.
Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Attorney Zach Klein and police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the efforts Tuesday morning.
Ginther said his office is working on drafting a new noise ordinance that would target “unreasonably loud or raucous noise,” as well as increase penalties for repeat offenders.
The ordinance is still being finalized, Klein said, but there will be clear guidelines to establish what constitutes loud noise so that neighborhood gatherings or parties aren’t unfairly targeted.
Klein also said he has instructed the prosecutors in his office to enforce an ordinance passed in 2021 by City Council regarding reckless and illegal operation of ATVs and dirt bikes to the fullest extent possible. That means no plea bargains, unless there’s an evidentiary issue that would require it, Klein said.
The ordinance for reckless operation of ATVs and dirt bikes is an unclassified misdemeanor, with a potential punishment of a fine between $500 and $1,000 and a maximum of 30 days in jail. Klein said his office will also seek to impound the vehicle involved for as long as legally possible.
Harry Baucom, a 42-year resident of the Old Oaks neighborhood near Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said Tuesday that he has seen ATVs driving recklessly with “toddlers straddling gas tanks, and the neighborhood is fed up.
“It’s like a throbbing headache some nights it just goes on so much,” he said. “As disruptive as the noise is, the danger is even worse.”
Baucom is not alone in his concerns. Many city residents and motorists say increased enforcement to bring a halt to the reckless activity is much-needed.
Bobby Thaxton, president of the Short North Civic Association, said the reckless motorcycles and dirt bikes are creating an air of “lawlessness” in the neighborhood.
‘Consider this your warning ... This is not a game’
Bryant said Tuesday that police will be enforcing the law and devoting resources to catching and identifying people driving recklessly, even those on motorcycles. Klein reiterated that, saying his office will charge and prosecute anyone operating a vehicle recklessly, regardless of the vehicle type.
Bryant said photos will be released on social media for the public to help identify those driving recklessly as well, a tool she said proved useful to police in 2021.
“Consider this your warning,” she said. “This is not a game. Trust and believe, we’re everywhere.”
Bryant and Ginther said that resources used to patrol ATV and dirt bike use will not prevent or hamper police efforts to target violent crime, saying the two sometimes overlap. Bryant said despite losing 100 officers to a one-time buyout program over the next several months, police will continue to be proactive.
“We’re making sure, the resources we have, making sure they are in the right place at the right time,” Ginther
said.
Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said Tuesday that council will consider the new noise ordinance when it is brought to it, as well as consider other options. He mentioned a pilot program for noise cameras that is being considered at a meeting his office has already scheduled. Similar programs are being used in Knoxville and New York City.
The Dispatch requested this past week information from Columbus police about the number of arrests and citations issued in 2021 for reckless operation of an ATV, as well as information on the number of ATVs and dirt bikes that had been impounded. Specific numbers have not been released, but Bryant said Tuesday it was “dozens.”
Complaints about illegal and reckless dirt bike and ATV driving along High Street and other city streets on weekends have been posted on social media. The Dispatch filed a formal request Monday under the Ohio Public Records Act for the information it previously sought verbally, and a few hours later, city officials announced plans for the Tuesday press conference.
What other cities are doing
Columbus is not the only major city struggling to contain a rise in large groups of reckless and illegal dirt bike and ATV riders. It has been a problem for more than a decade and has occurred in cities such as Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The New York Police Department announced last week it would be renewing a crackdown on reckless drivers, according to Fox 5 NY. The NYPD impounded over 3,000 ATV and dirt bike vehicles in 2021, the department said.
The Metro Police Department in Washington’s chase policy prohibits officers from chasing these vehicles, which some believe has encouraged more riders to do wheelies and perform other stunts on city streets. But the MPD also has a policy that offers a $250 reward to people whose information leads to the successful identification of the driver/operator of the illegal ATV or dirt bike and the confiscation of the vehicle.
In April, Bridgeport, Connecticut, enacted a municipal ordinance that seeks to make it more challenging for riders illegally using public streets and sidewalks to fuel up by fining gas stations that sell those vehicles fuel at the pumps, according to The Connecticut Post. Businesses who break that rule face a $250 fine if caught doing so by police.
Complaints about illegal and reckless dirt bike and ATV driving along High Street and other city streets on weekends have been posted on social media.