* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Spector
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Investigative Hearing - Dirt Bikes on City Streets
FOR the purpose of requesting the Police Commissioner, the Director of Recreation and Parks, and the Director of Transportation to present to the City Council a comprehensive report on the impact of illegal dirt bikes on the welfare, safety, and enjoyment of Baltimore City's residential neighborhoods, parks, and transportation system; asking the Interim Health Commissioner to report on the impact to the health care system in terms of uncompensated care for injuries arising from incidents involving dirt bikes; and urging all parties to work with the Council to develop a comprehensive plan to address the persistent problem of illegal dirt bikes in Baltimore City.
body
Recitals
Since the beginning of this month, there have been 2 serious incidents involving dirt bikes on the streets of Baltimore - in the first, a Greenbelt man, riding a legal motorcycle, swerved to avoid hitting an illegal dirt bike rider with a toddler passenger, hit a light pole, and died from his injuries. Two days later the driver of a car was hospitalized after his vehicle was broadsided by a dirt bike, and the rider returned with his cohorts and beat the man so severely that he had to be taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
These were only the latest of many troubling incidents involving dirt bikes. Beginning in 1990, there have been reports of dirt bikes using the sidewalks of Greater Mondawmin as raceways; dirt bikes racing 6 abreast on a half-mile runway with no traffic signals from North Avenue to Gwynns Falls; a group of 70 dirt bikes racing through Druid Hill Park; a rider of a dirt bike hitting a 6-year old girl and dragging her 46 feet, while darting through the narrow public housing pathways of Lafayette Courts to deal drugs; and a dirt bike rider in Brooklyn being pronounced dead at the scene of an accident caused by riding on a too-small dirt bike. District Police Commanders reported problems with dirt bikes from Walbrook to Rosemont, to Reisterstown Road and the Gwynns Falls Parkway, from parks and railroad tracks in South Baltimore to Clifton Park in Northeast Baltimore, and on Monument Street on the city's east side.
Although statistics were not available in 1999, the Baltimore Police Traffic Enforcement Section investigated 7 fatalities in 2 years. Dirt bike riders were often involved in accidents because of little or no experience and were often killed or sustained serious injuries because the bikes ran into larger vehicles on public roads. Departmental records included incidents of dirt bikes running into the back of 10,000 pound delivery trucks, the sides of large vans, and underneath buses and semis. When the riders did not impact with the larger vehicle, they were thrown from the dirt bike and impacted violently with the highway, sidewalk, building or other solid, immovable object.
Over the years Baltimore City has passed legislation seeking to control dirt bikes. In addition to an outright prohibition against operation on public or private land in the City, these laws allow police to seize unregistered bikes from the homes where they are stored; allow the seizure of unlocked dirt bikes from alleys, driveways, front yards, and streets; prohibit the sale and dispensing of gasoline into dirt bikes; and prohibit the storage of gasoline in homes to discourage the collection of fuel in canisters for subsequent use in dirt bikes. Despite the prohibition against the operation of dirt bikes within city limits, Baltimore police will not pursue riders because "vehicle pursuits by members of the Department are strictly prohibited unless there are exigent circumstances."
At a recent community forum hosted by the City Council President at BCCC's Liberty Campus, dirt bike enthusiasts decried their treatment as "illegals", claimed to use the vehicles as crime fighting tools, and demanded the respect to organize. They held that, although dirt bikes are illegal, it is better for them to be out running the streets on bikes, than for them to be standing on street corners getting into trouble. A B-More Bike Culture ESPN posting seems to support the persistence of illegal dirt bike riding in Baltimore: "Right now, a major movement is going down in the streets of Baltimore, Maryland...Inner city residents have developed a huge love for dirt bikes, but instead of hucking them off ramps or racing them at the track, these cats are doing what every dirt biker wishes they could do - they're straight getting down in parks, in the streets, and all over the city for that matter."
Dirt bikes are fast claiming a popular outlaw image with sympathizers throughout the City and attracting like-minded riders from outside the borders of the City and state. City agencies and communities must get ahead of the movement and stop the terrorization of our citizens and visitors, alleviate the danger to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and prevent the misuse and abuse of our parks and recreation areas.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Police Commissioner, the Director of Recreation and Parks, and the Director of Transportation are requested to present to the City Council a comprehensive report on the impact of illegal dirt bikes on the welfare, safety, and enjoyment of Baltimore City's residential neighborhoods, parks, and transportation system; the Interim Health Commissioner is asked to report on the impact to the health care system in terms of uncompensated care for injuries arising from incidents involving dirt bikes; and all parties are urged to work with the Council to develop a comprehensive plan to address the persistent problem of illegal dirt bikes in Baltimore City.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Police Commissioner, the Director of Recreation and Parks, the Director of Transportation, the Interim Health Commissioner, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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