Monday is not all picnics and parades. Law enforcement officers will do their utmost while many workers throughout the region spend their holidays for Martin Luther King Jr.’s holidays.
For reasons not yet so clear, on MLK Day, South Florida roads, even interstate highways, transform for enormous freedom. It’s a devil’s playground where hundreds of people are recklessly riding dirt bikes and ATVs, and sometimes hundreds of people are sprinting around the drivers.
Some people pop Willy and stand on off-road vehicles. It is illegal to put such a car on a public road.
Over the years, this pack has been known to go down sidewalks, block roads, drive at slamming speeds, and deliberately turn the road in the wrong direction. Called wheel up or gun downOfficials say this is not a licensed event like Spring Break, but a way for reckless and illegal drivers to get attention on social media.
Some of the biker packs are very organized and even have a motorcycle stage hand that shoots dangerous stunts and even posts footage on social media.
“”[They] Ignore public safety altogether, and that’s where I draw a line in the sand, “Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said Wednesday. “One of our core responsibilities is to protect the community and we ideally don’t wait.”
Major Robert Chandler of the Florida Highway Patrol said fines for those who drive illegally on public roads would be high.
Chandler said all soldiers from Miami-Dade County to Palm Beach County are working on Monday to thwart reckless actions and track the participants.
“We will be more than you,” Chandler promised no warning.
Undercover agents will also work. Troopers and other law enforcement agencies aren’t just on the scene. There are many law enforcement officers on helicopters that use surveillance equipment.
“There are so many aircraft in the air that these motor bikers can’t escape law enforcement,” Chandler said. “At some point, we are in a position to safely arrest and ride a bicycle.”
Chandler has several proposals currently being submitted to Tallahassee that, if approved by the legislature, could change state road racing laws that allow criminal penalties as well as traffic tickets and fines. Said there was. Law enforcement agencies may also bind dirt bikes and ATVs if legislation is tightened.
Chandler and Tony advised regular drivers to pull by the side of the road if they encountered a group on a dirt bike and ATV this weekend and Monday.
“You may not see us, but we are there, monitor, track, and detain individuals safely without exposing any of you to more harm.” Tony said.
Eileen Kelly can be contacted at 772-925-9193 or [email protected]