Philly police are ramping up enforcement of illegal ATVs

The Philadelphia Police Department’s ATV detail has been around in some capacity for years, with operations typically ramping up in late spring and early summer without much warning. Not under the new mayoral administration, the department says.

On Tuesday, as the temperature in Philadelphia hit the 60s, the detail hit the streets and confiscated 15 unregistered ATVs in two hours, until they were stopped by the rain, said Deputy Commissioner James Kelly.

The goal of the sweep in parts of North and South Philly was simple: set the tone that illegal ATV and dirtbike riding would not be ignored as a quality-of-life issue.

“There’s not a neighborhood in the city that isn’t fed up with this nonsense,” said Kelly, adding that the issue extends beyond the sometimes-viral rides on Broad Street near City Hall.

Without giving many specifics regarding the new approach to enforcement so as not to tip the department’s hand, Kelly said the ATV details would be going out more frequently and involve more officers.

Kelly described the ramped-up effort as part of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s 100-day plan and larger vision to make people feel safe in the city by paying attention to “the little things that really aren’t that little.”

Off-road vehicles have been a perennial gripe among some residents, who say hoards of young people riding through the streets often break traffic rules and are just plain noisy. Still, bike life, as it’s often called, has flourished through social media and some advocates say an alternative to seizing the vehicles and handing out citations would be to create bike parks where young people could participate in the activity freely.

» READ MORE: The ins and outs of Philly ATVs and how bike life continues to flourish here

Most of the ATV bikes on Philly’s streets are illegal, according to Kelly. Police will stop riders, issue fines of up to $2,000, and confiscate bikes when drivers are stationary. These bikes can run in the thousands of dollars, so owners can appeal the confiscation in traffic court. Still, Kelly said, about 80% of the ones police confiscate end up being destroyed.

In addition to the ATV detail, the department’s “mobile surge team,” a flexible detail deployed to incidents on Friday and Saturday nights, will be able to respond to car meets and aid in the ATV and dirtbike crackdown.

In the past, police have touted bike sweeps on social media after the fact.

But in a news conference Wednesday, Kelly offered a warning to the riders who make drivers and pedestrians feel “terrorized” when they flout the law: “That’s the kind of behavior we’re not going to tolerate anymore.”