Boston Mayor: Dirtbikes & ATVs on Street "Much Needed Outlet For Young People"

https://www.wcvb.com/article/5-inves...2vBwX7laOKKEyU


Am I the only one who thinks this is insane ?

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BOSTON —
To critics, the dirt bikes and ATVs that buzz around Boston's city streets are a dangerous nuisance. Others, including the mayor, call them a much-needed outlet for the city's young people.

But to Richard Bell of Brookline, they were nearly fatal.

"I can't think of anybody, thinking that a fist coming at you may be the last thing you see," he told NewsCenter 5 in February. "I still don't know how I survived."

Bell was attacked after a group of dirt bike and ATV riders surrounded his car last November.

"Came back with a pipe in his hand. Smashed my windshield. Smashed my hood. And then started beating me," he said.

The warmer weather is marking a return of dirt bikes and ATVs to the streets of Boston, and with it the debate over how to deal with them.

"They're out there kind of just to wreak havoc throughout the city," said Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Lanita Cullinane.

Cullinane said many of the vehicles are stolen and not registered. At one self-storage facility in Roslindale, police in February seized around 50 stolen dirt bikes and ATVs, one in a string of confiscations over the last several years.

Cullinane said the department's strategic approach includes writing civil motor vehicle citations and criminal court complaints for motor vehicle violations.

Boston police have adjusted traffic patterns to try and divert riders away from certain areas where they congregate. They're also working on a new city ordinance that would give them additional tools, but did not reveal any details.

5 Investigates obtained hundreds of pages of Boston police reports about dirt bikes and ATVs that paint an ugly picture of the problem.

Police describe the city being "plagued by offenders riding off highway vehicles," often forming smaller "packs" or larger groups of more than 60 riders "known as a 'ride out,'" one report said.

People "have felt terrorized and made to feel unsafe," one of the reports said.

The off-road vehicles are involved in "uninsured motor vehicle accidents, hit & run incidents, as well as collisions with pedestrians."

And that the vehicles have been used in "armed robberies, carjacking, shootings, and homicides," according to another report.

Cullinane said the riders try to "engage the police in pursuits," but police won't pursue them because it is too risky.

"We're just trying to do what we can within the confines of the law to deal with the situation, but not increase the safety risks in terms of pursuit and things of that nature," she said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said it's not fair to assume everyone riding dirt bikes and ATVs is involved in illegal activity.

"We want to make sure that this summer is one that is safe and exciting and joyful for everyone," she said.

"It seems like it's a safety concern?" 5 Investigates' Mike Beaudet asked her.

"I want to separate out what is safety and actions that should never happen in any situation, like any sort of violence that is being perpetuated, versus the general idea of some of our young people enjoying having the chance to ride and to learn a new skill and be part of a community," Wu replied.
Some park-goers we talked to on a recent morning had a more nuanced approach.

"I think it's a problem," said Inez Francis as she walked through Almont Park in Mattapan. "Sometimes I'm walking right here and they're just passing by, just going back and forth on the grass, on the lawn."

She saw it as a balancing act.

"I'm not saying get rid of them altogether, but just be cautious," she said.

Another park-goer, Jeffrey Venter, said he wanted to make sure nobody — neither the riders nor the public — get hurt.

"They need outlets, especially during these times. But, you know, we just want to keep them safe," he said. "I don't disagree with the (ATVs and dirt bikes), but I just think there should be some protocols for them to be able to use so they don't get hurt."

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Michelle Wu Born: January 14, 1985 (age 37 years), Chicago, IL

Oh.

That's terrible. I'm not a fan of hers. I think she's pandering, when she should be cracking down. She just gave them an excuse to flout the law, just in time for the outlaw rider season.

This is going to end with Joe Public taking things into his own hands and someone will be shot.

I live in Brockton now and I see this garbage almost daily. Sure this state could definitely benefit from more parks to use them in, but I am also pretty sure the EPA made it so every offroad vehicle had to registered even if you ONLY used it on your own property, they could ask for your papers.

Also none of these clowns obey traffic laws [unregistered/uninsured, stop signs, traffic lights, yielding etc] nor wear any safety gear. So they are literally engaging in illegal activity. Is Michelle Wu new to the road?

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Originally Posted by Garrett

I live in Brockton now and I see this garbage almost daily. Sure this state could definitely benefit from more parks to use them in, but I am also pretty sure the EPA made it so every offroad vehicle had to registered even if you ONLY used it on your own property, they could ask for your papers.

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Yeah. I just moved from Taunton to Raynham and we see it here and there, but parts of Taunton it was just constant quads and dirtbikes all summer, always wheelying. Doesn't it ever get boring?

Remember when a bunch of quads and dirtbikes blew down the southeast expressway and someone got shot ??? Is that just an outlet ?
https://www.wcvb.com/article/shots-f...oston/18709802

Just do it like my city

Offer rewards for snitching on bikers

Then run them over with the cop car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqpCRsXO_vg

Then again we can't prevent other major issues in the country. These will certainly never be stopped.

I don't expect it to be stopped. But I also don't expect the mayor of a major city to excuse reckless, illegal and fucking frankly retarded behavior.

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Originally Posted by Garrett

I don't expect it to be stopped. But I also don't expect the mayor of a major city to excuse reckless, illegal and fucking frankly retarded behavior.

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As a devils advocate. There is a potential that if you don't pay attention to the to them and stop caring, it won't be nowhere near as rebellious or cool anymore. They feel like outlaw rebels now. Trying to enforce it in cities across entire country isn't working at least it's a new approach.

No right answers for this. Us as bikers have all been in crowds that greatly speed and do wheelies etc on streets. This is just next level stupidity.

Makes me embarrassed to ride a motard however. Every time I see a cop he might think I'm illegal, and regular people think I'm one of the illegal assholes too.

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Originally Posted by Vovchandr

As a devils advocate. There is a potential that if you don't pay attention to the to them and stop caring, it won't be nowhere near as rebellious or cool anymore. They feel like outlaw rebels now. Trying to enforce it in cities across entire country isn't working at least it's a new approach.

No right answers for this. Us as bikers have all been in crowds that greatly speed and do wheelies etc on streets. This is just next level stupidity.

Makes me embarrassed to ride a motard however. Every time I see a cop he might think I'm illegal, and regular people think I'm one of the illegal assholes too.

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For a short period in history I had a street legal RM250 before motards were really popular. I used to get pulled over almost weekly by cops who thought I was riding an actual unreg dirt bike. The bike was fun but the potential of adding 20+ minutes to every commute wore out quick. Plus mixing two stroke at a gas station sucks [emoji1787]

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Originally Posted by Degsy

That's terrible. I'm not a fan of hers. I think she's pandering, when she should be cracking down. She just gave them an excuse to flout the law, just in time for the outlaw rider season.

This is going to end with Joe Public taking things into his own hands and someone will be shot.

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We really don’t see this in Phoenix. Rednecks with jacked up brodozers would absolutely see it as sport to turn them into bloodstains.

I see a large increase in Uninsured / underinsured policy payouts in the future .

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Originally Posted by Vovchandr

No right answers for this.

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This. Though, she could have been more clear in her responses. If she meant that the city is working on finding a place/way for these people to get their jollies in an environment that also kept the non-riders safe, that would've been good to say.

Won't anyone think of the children?

Should I try to harm/murder someone riding unregistered ATV's/Dirt bikes out here in the sticks too? They go by all the time. Should I run them down with my truck? Or are only inner city people considered sub-human?

Just trying to understand what constitutes use of potentially lethal force for riding a motorized vehicle any ways but completely legally.

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Originally Posted by TheIglu

Should I try to harm/murder someone riding unregistered ATV's/Dirt bikes out here in the sticks too? They go by all the time. Should I run them down with my truck? Or are only inner city people considered sub-human?

Just trying to understand what constitutes use of potentially lethal force for riding a motorized vehicle any ways but completely legally.

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I'd say run them over. Regardless of where you are (in the sticks or city) fuck em.

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While we are pondering: does anyone doubt if I left the house with no helmet or license plate I wouldn't get stopped? It is simply unfathomable that the "Mask Nazi" should say this.

As mentioned in the other thread, had a long talk with a BPD Night Shift Commander at a charity event. They get a ton of complaints in the neighborhoods these kids operate.

They use tips from disgruntled neighbors to find storage spaces for the bikes and confiscate them. Sometimes this has even been a rental truck coming in from the suburbs.

But they can't pursue them. And the tips don't catch everyone. No city seems to have been able to solve this problem.

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Originally Posted by Garrett

I'd say run them over. Regardless of where you are (in the sticks or city) fuck em.

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Didn't the Staties try that on 93 right near the north end? And it didn't go well?

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Originally Posted by number9

Didn't the Staties try that on 93 right near the north end? And it didn't go well?

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Hopefully the 5.0 runs over all of them. Or shoots them. Buyers choice

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Originally Posted by TheIglu

Should I try to harm/murder someone riding unregistered ATV's/Dirt bikes out here in the sticks too? They go by all the time. Should I run them down with my truck? Or are only inner city people considered sub-human?

Just trying to understand what constitutes use of potentially lethal force for riding a motorized vehicle any ways but completely legally.

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Originally Posted by Garrett

I'd say run them over. Regardless of where you are (in the sticks or city) fuck em.

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C'mon. There's a big difference between a handful of kids blasting down some dirt roads or local side streets in rural New England. Chances are they're heading to a trail head/legal riding area/buddy's house or coming from. The douchenozzles that are doing it on crowded city streets & sidewalks and parks place a lot of people in danger. In many areas in NH, it's fully legal to ride on public roads. In other areas, it's legal to travel public roads if you're connecting trails.

In other news, I always get a chuckle when I'm tooling along on my way to or from the house and I look up to see my boy on my Raptor and his buddies riding the trail along Route 28.

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Originally Posted by number9

Didn't the Staties try that on 93 right near the north end? And it didn't go well?

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There was a winter stop on a ramp of I93 where the MSP was able to arrest a bunch of them. Most of them were not from Boston: I suspect that's why they got caught where they did.

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/...ke-atv-arrest/

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Originally Posted by Stoneman

C'mon. There's a big difference between a handful of kids blasting down some dirt roads or local side streets in rural New England. Chances are they're heading to a trail head/legal riding area/buddy's house or coming from. The douchenozzles that are doing it on crowded city streets & sidewalks and parks place a lot of people in danger. In many areas in NH, it's fully legal to ride on public roads. In other areas, it's legal to travel public roads if you're connecting trails.

In other news, I always get a chuckle when I'm tooling along on my way to or from the house and I look up to see my boy on my Raptor and his buddies riding the trail along Route 28.

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Nope. Fuck em, run them over I don't actually care. It's illegal here and I'm gonna bootlick on this issue. These absolute clowns ruin my commute almost daily and I hope they eat shit

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https://c.tenor.com/rvr_uXdaMzsAAAAd...-half-full.gif

:wavey: What, am I the only glass 1/2 FULL guy here :dunno:

we should take this as a new riding opportunity for all.... :shredder: I'm searching for a quad I can put a set of Hoosier R7s on

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Originally Posted by Stoneman

C'mon. There's a big difference between a handful of kids blasting down some dirt roads or local side streets in rural New England. Chances are they're heading to a trail head/legal riding area/buddy's house or coming from. The douchenozzles that are doing it on crowded city streets & sidewalks and parks place a lot of people in danger. In many areas in NH, it's fully legal to ride on public roads. In other areas, it's legal to travel public roads if you're connecting trails.

In other news, I always get a chuckle when I'm tooling along on my way to or from the house and I look up to see my boy on my Raptor and his buddies riding the trail along Route 28.

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Originally Posted by Garrett

Nope. Fuck em, run them over I don't actually care. It's illegal here and I'm gonna bootlick on this issue. These absolute clowns ruin my commute almost daily and I hope they eat shit

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I think you may have misunderstood me. People terrorizing city streets, neighborhoods, sidewalks & parks? Yup, fuck them. People in sleepy town USA zipping down the shoulder of the road (usually in the dirt) to get to the trail that's 1/4 mile away or doing the same to get to their buddy's house because his family has the space to ride there? I see those as very different situations.

Maybe it's because the latter is an extremely common thing for me to see. A group of peeps using the shoulder to get from Trail A to Trail B is not only justifiable, but legal in many areas around me. Big difference is they're not disrupting traffic and placing so many people in danger.

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Originally Posted by Stoneman

I think you may have misunderstood me. People terrorizing city streets, neighborhoods, sidewalks & parks? Yup, fuck them. People in sleepy town USA zipping down the shoulder of the road (usually in the dirt) to get to the trail that's 1/4 mile away or doing the same to get to their buddy's house because his family has the space to ride there? I see those as very different situations.

Maybe it's because the latter is an extremely common thing for me to see. A group of peeps using the shoulder to get from Trail A to Trail B is not only justifiable, but legal in many areas around me. Big difference is they're not disrupting traffic and placing so many people in danger.

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Fair. I think if a group of them stick to the shoulder that's nbd. But when they cross yellow lines and pull wheelies through red lights I get triggered and want them to get run over.

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