Elite motorcycle unit hits the streets combating dangerous driving
CENTER CITY - Philadelphia police are cracking down on dangerous driving on Philly streets with an elite motorcycle unit. Their Highway Patrol is out in full force Friday night and their main targets are illegal ATVs and dirt bikes.
"We’re not gonna let up on this ATV issue," commented Deputy Commissioner James Kelly, with the Philadelphia Police Department.
The night after an ATV rider was killed in a crash on North Broad Street, the Philly Highway Patrol weekend surge teams set out.
Kelly continued, "Center City is a challenge with the ATVs. The reason they go to Center City? Let's be honest about this. You can ride these ATVs anywhere. The thrill is tormenting the public and taunting the police. That's the thrill of it. A lot of people won't say that, but that's what it is. And where do you get the most visibility? Center City."
ATVs in Philadelphia: Police ramping up enforcement, confiscations of ATVs, dirtbikes
Philadelphia police say they are looking to 'set the tone' when it comes to cracking down on ATVs and dirtbikes on city streets.
The ground shook from the rumble of their Harleys as they headed out of their headquarters in the rain on State Road. Expecting the weather to clear and expecting to have to clear the roads of even louder ATVs and dirt bikes, who have been filling main city streets at night, especially on weekends.
"If anything, you’re gonna see more increased deployment for ATVs cause it is, probably, the most annoying quality-of-life issue that we get. People feel intimidated. They feel terrorized by it," Kelly continued. "It's the number one quality of life issue that we're really focused on. I know that when I say it, people are gonna say, ‘We wanna see improvement.’ You're gonna see improvement. It takes a little bit of time to change the mentality out there and we do confiscate a lot of ‘em. We’re almost up to about 200 so far this year, that we've taken off the streets and I'm sure that will be increasing.
Kelly added, "We're really trying to make a visible difference out there. Visibility and strategic deployment will make a difference out there. I can tell you right now whether highway patrol is on motorcycles or what, Highway Patrol gets it done out there."