DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - After several years of riders on motorbikes and ATVs taking part in what some consider careless and dangerous driving on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, officials are trying to steer the situation in a different direction.
The annual tradition is something law enforcement agencies want to prevent due to its recklessness.
“Something that’s not good for anybody out there,” said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Sanchez. “It’s not good for the motorists that are out there, it’s not good for us law enforcement to have to deal with that, but it’s something that we have to deal with and we will deal with.”
Dozens of people drive ATVs and other off-road vehicles on Florida highways on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The event dubbed hashtag “bikes up guns down.”
“It’s not a non-violence movement,” said one biker. “It’s all for bikers, for anyone who wants to get involved with it.”
Police, however, said that the actions taking part in the movement is dangerous. “It’s about safety. I know that they put their lives out there in a reckless matter, putting their lives in danger, but they’re putting the lives of other people in danger to so something that we’re taken very seriously,” Sanchez said.
This movement started two years ago and has already resulted in multiple crashes and injuries. At one point, dirt bike riders went the wrong way on the highway.
Now police are hoping to get ahead of the holiday to remind everyone of the consequences and how dangerous this really is.
“Potentially being arrested, having a vehicle towed, even greater being critically injured, injuring somebody else or even losing your life,” said Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Hector Llevat. “Is it worth it? And it’s not.”
This Thursday, officials are going to be holding a news conference to talk specifically about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and safety on our roadways.
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