Dirt bikes on Salisbury city streets not above the law

A short video of dirt bike drivers popping wheelies down Route 13 in Salisbury garnered nearly 10,000 views in less than 24 hours. 

The video, posted late Monday, was shared more than 100 times. Many of the comments on the video offered a similar sentiment: "Saw them on 50 doing the same thing" and "Seen them before as well. So scary when they come by you."

Holli Adkins, the Salisbury resident who posted the video, said she was heading to get ice cream in a friend's car with three young boys in the backseat when the dirt bikes appeared.

When she pulled out her phone to record, she said, she had no idea they would ride so close to their car and "scare half of (Route) 13" as they wove through oncoming traffic.

That's the first time Adkins said she's seen the dirt bike drivers in person. But just hours before she posted the video, she said, another video showing similar activity along Route 13 was posted.

"It's a safety issue, and a lot of people are upset because we're citizens who are paying for our car, paying for insurance," she said.

Though she wasn't so much afraid for the passengers in her vehicle, because her friend slowed down to let the dirt bikes pass, Adkins said she was scared for oncoming traffic and even saw the dirt bikers run a red light at one point.

It is illegal to drive dirt bikes and ATVs on public streets in Maryland without proper registration, according to Salisbury police.

Dirt bike riding has been a problem in Salisbury for the last couple of years, with the trend moving from Baltimore to Salisbury, said Capt. Rich Kaiser of the Salisbury Police Department. Baltimore city officials have also cracked down on dirt bike riding.

"We were really getting bombarded with the complaints of those as the weather started warming up in the spring — like March, April and May and June as well," Kaiser said.

In 2016, the Baltimore Police Department established its Dirt Bike Violators Task Force, which is dedicated to enforcing local laws for dirt bikes. This includes bans on driving or owning these unregistered vehicles — such as minibikes and ATVs — within the city.

Lately, Kaiser said there has been a lull in calls about dirt bike riding — and police hope it stays that way.

A 15-year-old rider was killed in 2012, after a dirt bike collided with a bus on Tuscola Avenue in Salisbury. Officials said two boys on a dirt bike attempted to pass on the left side of a bus as the bus was trying to make a left turn.

One of the boys died and another was airlifted to Baltimore. Neither of the boys were wearing a helmet or other safety equipment, and the dirt bike they were riding was not registered or insured to be driven on the road.

Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan acknowledged the issue during the city's first weekly police brief Aug. 8, emphasizing detectives are actively working to build cases against anyone engaging in the illegal activity.

Kaiser said investigators working to get these dirt bikes off the street are turning to social media and video's like Adkins' to identify the drivers.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Salisbury Police Department shared Adkins' video and screenshots of the riders on both Twitter and Facebook, asking for the public's help in identifying the drivers.

During the weekly briefing, Duncan said concerned citizens had posted videos of illegal riding on Facebook. The video, which was handed over to police, was shot just before a recent arrest involving an ATV driver and two dirt bike drivers.

Salisbury police arrested an ATV driver on July 26, after he was spotted speeding with drivers of two other off-road vehicles. An officer found the trio refueling. Though two of them fled on dirt bikes, police said the 30-year-old ATV driver was caught on Prince Street, trying to flee on foot.

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Police said as the officer arrested the ATV driver, the two other dirt bike drivers returned and began circling them and threatening the officer. The pair fled on their bikes before police backup arrived.

None of the drivers wore helmets and their off-road vehicles were not registered, police said.

"It's not a large group, but we do have a group of individuals that believe that they are above following the laws that relate to (the) safety of their fellow citizens here in the city," Duncan said. "They are causing large concern and safety problems here in our city, and we are working on a steady resolution so we can safely bring these individuals into custody."

The issue is most prominent in the southeast portion of Salisbury, Duncan said. However, it doesn't end at the city's border.

Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Lt. Tim Robinson said deputies respond weekly to calls about both dirt bike and ATV drivers.

It's an issue he said the agency has worked to address for the last several years. When deputies are successful in identifying and arresting these individuals, he said they make sure to impound the off-road vehicle they were operating because they're not allowed on the road.

"They don't realize what a risk they are to both themselves and the other people on the road," Robinson said.

Ford Salisbury resident Lauren Elizabeth, it's common to spot dirt bike riders weaving through traffic on her drive home.

At least twice a month, she said, she sees them riding down North Division Street or the strip of Route 50 that runs parallel to downtown.

"I have no problem with people riding dirt bikes as long as it's done in a safe place, as long as it's away from where children are playing in their front yards and away from other drivers," Elizabeth said.

Whenever she sees them, she said the riders have been "quite rude," passing when they're not supposed to, getting too close to other cars and driving much faster than they should.

Because North Division Street is primarily a residential area, she said it's concerning to see them driving so recklessly through an area where children play.

"I just think it's a big safety concern," Elizabeth said.

The Motorcycle Industry Council said that it has seen a "disturbing emergence" of groups of people driving dirt bikes through city streets, an activity which is illegal and unsafe.

"Dirt bikes are off-road vehicles, intended for use only in off-road environments, such as off-highway vehicle trails, designated riding areas and competition tracks. Not only is this on-highway operation illegal, but it creates a serious safety hazard for both the riders and the other highway users," the Council said in a statement.

Because dirt bikes are not meant to be driven on roadways, the council emphasized they are not designed to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

While dirt bikes "have a legitimate and valuable recreational use in off-highway environments," the council supports the prohibition of these vehicles on public roadways and encourages the creation of trails for off-road riding.

Because "street stunting" is illegal and poses a risk to the dirt bike drivers and others around them, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation recommended in a statement that riders seek out private motocross parks like Budds Creek in southern Maryland.

Duncan acknowledged that many motorcycle riders are drawn to Maryland's Eastern Shore for events like the upcoming Delmarva Bike Week in Salisbury and the OC Bikefest in Ocean City in September. That type of legal riding is what those in law enforcement want to support, she said.

"There is private land. There are places outside of the state that you can ride, that you can perfect your craft, and we want to see that done safely," Duncan said. "We want to support that, but what's happening right now in our city is not acceptable. It's illegal, and it's unsafe."