Suffolk cops crack down on dirt bikes, ATVs on public streets

Suffolk County police are cracking down on the riding of dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles on public streets and could end up crushing the off-road vehicles of repeat offenders.

To illustrate their point, police took a payloader at a highway yard in Yaphank and drove over more than a dozen ATVs and dirt bikes, flattening them in a scene like something out of a monster truck rally.

“These vehicles have been identified as nuisance vehicles,” Suffolk County Chief of Patrol Gerard Hardy said. “So we take enforcement action and if we don’t get voluntary compliance on our roadways, they’re going to end up here for destruction.”

The off-road vehicles are not permitted on any public roads in Suffolk County, whether it’s major thoroughfares, highways or neighborhood streets, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said Friday. But police and neighbors say the vehicles are a public nuisance throughout the county and a safety risk near other cars driving on the streets.

Police are even offering rewards for calls to a tip line that lead to their seizure.

Harrison said police will begin by warning riders and their parents about the risky behavior. That could eventually lead to surveillance and seizure of the off-road equipment.

“One of the major concerns I’ve heard all too often were the reckless driving of these ATV vehicles and illegal dirt bikes causing havoc in the streets of Suffolk County,” Harrison said. “These individuals have no regard for vehicle or traffic laws and public safety.”

Suffolk police said they received 3,300 complaints from residents last year about noise from ATVs and dirt bikes, as well as reckless driving. Harrison said there also have been complaints about riders who run traffic lights and stop signs and block traffic.

Police said they were working to identify high-profile riders to first make visits, and then use tips from the public to issue fines and impound the vehicles. The vehicles can be recovered with a $500 fine and a charge of $30 per day for storage. Abandoned vehicles and those of repeat offenders will be destroyed.

Police are promoting help from the public by offering $100 for any Crime Stoppers calls to 800-220-TIPS that lead to a seizure of a vehicle.

The off-road vehicles are permitted only on a rider’s private property or if a rider has written permission to ride on someone else’s private property.

Pat Fazio, vice president of Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Commack fire commissioner, said police have had trouble with riders blocking traffic, and last year an ATV rider crashed into a vehicle on Jericho Turnpike.

“This is great if you have the property, but they're not made to be on a road,” Fazio said. “When they pack together and terrorize the streets, nothing good can come of it. If you can save one kid, it’s worth it.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.