DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — It’s a familiar sound to drivers in Dauphin County.
Illegal dirt bikes and ATVs have been a problem for years, and with summer around the corner, they’re back in action.
“It’s a huge problem for not only Harrisburg [in the city but] Lower Paxton, Susquehanna, Swatara deal with this more frequently as the weather warms up," said Cpl. Walt Cook of the Lower Paxton Township Police Department. "They’re putting everyone in jeopardy with their behavior.”
It’s something police say creates a serious danger on the roads.
“It’s really a quality-of-life issue for the legal motorists who are just out there trying to go somewhere, out for a drive kind of thing," said Cpl. Cook.
Beyond that, it can lead to dicey situations for police trying to stop them.
Just this past weekend, a Lower Paxton officer attempting to pull over a group of four bikers on Union Deposit Road was attacked by one of them.
“While he was physically fighting with him, the other riders proceeded to circle his vehicle, broke the side mirrors off, and vandalized the vehicle," explained Cpl. Cook.
The man who tried to assault the officer, Curtis Sims, was arrested on multiple charges.
The three other riders seen in police dashcam photos got away and officers are still trying to identify them.
There is a law that went into effect last year in Pennsylvania that increases penalties for people illegally riding dirt bikes and ATVs.
It also gives police more power to confiscate the vehicles while a judge decides whether or not the driver was riding them legally.
“It’s not that we’d just grab it off the road," said Cpl. Cook. "It would be the kind of thing where we get them stopped, identify where they’re storing the bikes, whether they’re hiding them out in the woods or storing them at home.”
As for what else can be done to crack down on this dangerous trend?
Cpl. Cook tells FOX43 it’s tough to say.
“If people would just follow the laws, everyone would be a lot safer and a lot easier," he said.
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