“People just don’t care what effect their actions might have on others,” said Alan Limke, a downtown Dayton resident who recently saw a large pack of these vehicles zoom by his apartment building. “It’s the new flash mob, but dangerous and stupid.”
On Wednesday night, the Dayton Daily News witnessed multiple groups of ATVs and dirt bikes riding dangerously around the streets of Old North Dayton.
Two ATV riders did wheelies while heading north on Stanley Avenue, near Valley Street. They were accompanied by someone on a dirt bike. The trio passed other dirt bikes headed in the opposite direction. ATVs and dirt bikes generally are not allowed to drive on public streets.
Dayton Police officials say they take the issue seriously and are seeking “thoughtful responses.” The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says detaining, citing or arresting drivers on ATVs and motor bikes often is challenging because of safety considerations as the vehicles usually are on the move and may try evasive tactics.
Jamie Williams, president of Miami Valley Packaging Solutions Inc., said security video from Wednesday night showed more than a dozen ATVs and motor bikes gathered outside his business on Janney Road in Old North Dayton. Riders did donuts and other risky maneuvers on the street.
Williams said his company’s workers have encountered 50 to 100 ATV, dirt bike and motorcycle riders and spectators on and around their property on some weekends. Groups of riders in the past left behind trash, beer bottles and even used condoms.
Williams said he’s worried about property damage and he also fears someone is going to get injured in an accident.
“These guys are setting themselves up to get hurt,” he said.
Williams said these activities likely will continue until the weather gets cold. He said the city installed speed bumps and street lights on Janney Road to combat drag racing. That seemed to work for cars, but it has not discouraged ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles from treating it like a drag strip.
Security video from Wednesday night shows a Dayton police cruiser pull up on Janney Road. Seconds later, multiple vehicles took off in a hurry.
Williams said he doesn’t know what steps police could take to prevent these dangerous driving behaviors as they flee.
“They can go anywhere, and he (the responding officer) can’t,” Williams said. “There’s also a bunch of them and one of him. I’m not blaming law enforcement by any means.”
Janney Road often is covered in tire marks from four-wheelers and motor bikes burning rubber and performing tricks. A YouTube video recorded in early September shows ATVs and dirt bikes doing burnouts, drifting and wheelies on the roadway.
Matt Tepper, president of the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Association, said dangerous and illegal driving behaviors are getting worse in the area.
“We’ve been seeing an increase,” he said. “It’s a cyclical kind of thing, and it’s been a long summer. ... For some reason, there’s more and more four-wheelers out there.”
Tepper shared a video with the Dayton Daily News from a security camera located near the intersection of Troy Street and Warner Avenue in Old North Dayton.
The video, recorded at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, shows a woman with a walker crossing Troy Street just seconds before a motorcycle zooms by while doing a wheelie.
Tepper said he also recently saw a young teen practicing wheelies on a four-wheeler on the street. The teen was driving on the wrong side of the road as a car was passing.
“We have families walking around, and all it takes is one sort of mis-swerve and we’re in a lot of trouble,” he said.
Tepper said he understands that it probably is very difficult for police to locate these vehicles and pull them over when they get citizen complaints. He also said police likely aren’t going to give chase, given the potential risks.
But Tepper said he hopes something can and will be done to combat these kinds of illegal activities.
“I don’t know why they (the riders) don’t go to a safe place or private land to do that,” he said. “I don’t understand it.”
A multi-community problem
Over Labor Day weekend, a very large pack of close to 100 ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles took over roadways in Dayton, Harrison Twp., Trotwood and other local communities.
Video recorded by one of the ATV riders that was uploaded to YouTube showed riders running red lights and stop signs, blocking traffic, performing wheelies and driving on the wrong side of the road, on sidewalks and in the median.
Montgomery County Regional Dispatch received calls every weekend in September from citizens who said they witnessed ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles driving dangerously on local roads, according to dispatch call records.
On Sunday, Sept. 24, someone called dispatch to report that about 50 people on four-wheelers and motorcycles were speeding and running red lights on East Third Street, near St. Clair Street, in downtown Dayton. That same day, a caller said dozens of ATVs were holding up traffic and taking over East Third Street, near Smithville Road.
Amy Caraway, 54, said she was driving home to Trotwood on a recent Sunday evening when the roadway suddenly was overrun with ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles in the area of North Main Street, Shoup Mill Road and Philadelphia Drive.
Riders, she said, blocked intersections, drove on the wrong side of the road and on sidewalks and some performed wheelies and other types of stunts. Caraway said she thinks there were at least 100 vehicles, most of which were clearly breaking traffic laws.
“They were all over — it was like ‘The Purge,’ ” she said, referring to the dystopian horror film in which all crime is made legal temporarily. “They just surrounded everybody.”
Riders cut off traffic and forced some cars off the road, Caraway said.
“It nearly scared me to death. You could tell the other drivers were quite shocked and terrified also — everybody didn’t know what to do,” she said, “They didn’t have any concern for the drivers in the cars whatsoever ... If you wouldn’t have stopped and let them do their thing, they would have run you off the road easily.”
Caraway said people are going to wind up hurt or killed if these kinds of activities continue.
“I’m in my 50s, and this frightened me,” she said. “I’m thinking of my mother, who is in her 70s, and she would have been terrified.”
Limke, who lives in a downtown apartment, said two Saturdays ago he saw roughly 100 four-wheelers, dirt bikes and other vehicles drive east on East First Street, right by Day Air Ballpark.
Limke said if there is a solution, it probably will involve the use of technology. Cameras might help out, he said, adding that there could be ways for police to monitor online discussions about where riders plan to meet up. Community members and officials say riders clearly are organizing large group rides, probably using social media.
Law enforcement response
The Dayton Police Department takes reports of individuals riding ATVs and dirt bikes on city roads very seriously, said Dayton police Lt. Col. Eric Henderson, who is the assistant chief.
Officers have been struck by ATVs while on foot as they tried to stop people from riding on the road, he said.
The Dayton Police Department has partnered on numerous joint operations on this issue, Henderson said, and has explored what other cities have done to crackdown on this “unacceptable behavior.”
“We want to have thoughtful responses to these issues, but it will take more than law enforcement to resolve this and we want to minimize any unintended consequences of legislative changes,” Henderson said.
When Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies encounter large packs of reckless riders taking part in dangerous driving activities, they take steps to try to ensure the safety of all road users, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said. Deputies may attempt to make a traffic stop when it is safe to do so.
“Citations may be issued, and in cases where a rider’s behavior poses a significant risk to public safety, they may impound the vehicle,” the sheriff’s spokesperson said. “This action is typically taken when the vehicle is not registered, is being operated without insurance or when the rider is found to be driving with a suspended license.”
Riders who are involved in very dangerous activities, like fleeing from law enforcement or causing harm to others, can face arrest and serious criminal charges, in addition to traffic citations.
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. previously said he would like to see tougher penalties for dangerous and reckless driving offenses.
Mims told the Dayton Daily News he’s planning to meet with the police department and other city staff to discuss potential prevention efforts.
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