New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Police gear up for illegal ATV, dirt bike traffic
You can hear the thunder in the distance.
The unregistered ATVs and dirt bikes are coming — from West Haven, through New Haven and into East Haven and sometimes Branford or Hamden — roaring over city and town streets that they’re not legal ride on.
Popping wheelies in the face of oncoming traffic. Scaring some motorists, infuriating others.
As spring sets in and summer approaches, egged-on by the lure of attention on social media,
it’s just a matter of time.
But riders take note: police have been honing their games to be better prepared. They’re talking to each other and coordinating moves. They even have a regional law enforcement network to exchange information that did not exist a few years ago.
And increasingly, they’ve got tougher ordinances in place that will cost riders who get caught.
“If you come to New Haven to ride (an illegal, unregistered ATV or dirt bike) you’re going to lose your bike and it’s going to cost you $1,000,” said city Assistant Police
Chief Karl Jacobson.
“The city has an ordinance” passed a couple of years back, Jacobson said. “$1,000 fine for riding an illegal ATV or dirt bike on city streets — subject to arrest.”
The charge: reckless endangerment.
“We can seize the bike,” although the owner has a chance to appeal to a hearing officer, he said.
So far this year, the city has issued seven $1,000 fines, Jacobson said.
New Haven’s ordinance, which the Board of Alders approved in December 2020, is being used as a model to tighten things up elsewhere —
including Bridgeport — although New Haven used ordinances in New London and Springfield, Mass., as models for its law, Jacobson said.
Under the city’s current ordinance, first-time offenders riding one of the vehicles in the city illegally face a $1,000 fine, up from the previous $99. For a second offense, the fine increases to $1,500. All offenses beyond that are $2,000.
In addition, gas stations must post signs informing that they cannot sell gasoline to dirt bike and ATV riders — and for every illegal rider who fills up at a gas station, the owner could be subject to a $100 fine. (It’s OK for gas stations to sell fuel for ATVs or bikes that are on trailers, Jacobson said.)
“We also work with other communities on this — especially West Haven and East Haven,” Jacobson said.
New Haven police also have a 24/7 anonymous tip line that people can call to report illegal bike activity or planned events, he said. The number is 866-888-TIPS — or text messages may be sent to 274637 (CRIMES).
In New Haven, it’s also illegal to ride ATVs or dirt bikes on private property unless the riders have the permission of the property owner — and if that’s the case, the city’s noise ordinances still apply, said police spokesman Officer Scott
Shumway.
New Haven police officers also now are outfitted with dash cams to aid enforcement and the city soon will be installing additional surveillance cameras all over town as part of a $3.8 million expenditure of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, said Jacobson.
West Haven Police
Chief Joseph Perno said one of his biggest fears with large groups of ATV and dirt bike riders riding through city streets is road rage from the motorists they may be blocking or scaring.
“When people are driving and see these groups, I think it would be advisable to just pull over to the side” and wait for them to pass, Perno said. Road rage “is a very honest concern — and there have been accidents amongst the groups, themselves,” he said.
“WHPD has open lines of communication with the surrounding departments in regards to the ATV/dirt bike issue,” Perno said. “There is a coordinated effort to identify the operators and, when practical, affect an arrest. As with other departments, we also speak with the local gas stations in an attempt to gather information.”
West Haven works closely with other departments whenever there’s an issue — especially
New Haven, as events
often cross between the two cities, Perno said.
“There are meeting places all over and they’re basically in the New Haven-West Haven area,” he said. “New Haven has officers who monitor social media” and “when we see that it’s going to be a nice weekend,” police get ready, Perno said.
West Haven also is looking into beefing-up its ordinances to better respond to ATVs and dirt bikes, but “we have seized bikes in the past” based on the current ordinances, he said. “I’m looking over in our impound lot right now. There are quads and dirt bikes there,” although “I can’t give you an exact amount,” Perno said.
East Haven police
Capt. Joe Murgo said road rage also is a concern for him, and “and we’re just seeing an increase of that. You just see the sentiment that people don’t like this stuff.
“Number one, it’s so intimidating,” he said.
East Haven also has modified its ordinances in recent years to make penalties stiffer, and “we’re still reserving the right to seize these machines, Murgo said. “If there’s a conviction made, then the bike gets turned over to the organization that made the arrest.
“We have a whole entire storage container of machines that we have seized over the years,” he said.
In recent years, police departments and other law enforcement “have established a communications network” that allows them to share information about issues and suspects, Murgo said.
“It’s not just for ATVs. It’s for a whole host of law enforcement” issues, he said.
Organized rides often “go from West Haven to New Haven to East Haven,” Murgo said. “Sometimes they go to Branford, too. When we start to hear about a large, coordinated ride ... all of the agencies will get together and come up with a game plan.
“We talk more frequently with New Haven, only because we border New Haven,” Murgo said..
“It’s tough, because we’re not going to chase them” because of safety concerns, “and they want to be chased,” Murgo said.
Meanwhile, “our phones light up with
East Haven residents” who are asking, “Why don’t you pull them over and arrest them?”