OUR VIEW: Dirt bikes don’t belong on the roads

Published 9:15 am Thursday, April 22, 2021

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It’s clear that the LaGrange Police Department is fed up with dirt bikes racing up and down our roadways, and so are many citizens.

The LPD released a video from the weekend where several dirt bikes rode past a police officer, popping wheelies and driving down Whitesville Road.

Shortly after the dirt bikes passed the officer’s vehicle, two of them wrecked. Dashcam footage shows that the officer pulled onto Whitesville Road and drove up on one of the motorists lying on the road after the wreck.

But this is far from the only incident involving dirt bikes on roadways.

In fact, if you drive around LaGrange on any afternoon, you’re likely to see and hear dirt bikes in all directions.

In fact, as we’re writing this, we just heard one zip by our office.

Just a few days ago, we witnessed a person on a dirt bike driving through the area of the baseball fields at the George Harris Baseball Complex.

The rider drove through the area, turned onto The Thread and sped through a space that leads to the road.

A lot of times these dirt bike riders weave in and out of traffic, putting vehicles in dangerous situations.

We’ve seen riders cut past four of five cars by speeding through a turn lane.

“The illegal riders of these off-road motorcycles on our public roadways are a menace to the safety of our local streets and the LaGrange Police Department calls upon our community partners to aid in identifying each of them so that they can be stopped and held accountable for their reckless conduct,” the LPD said in a press release.

There’s a time and place for a dirt bike, and it’s never on a roadway.

We realize there are many people with off-road vehicles who follow the law and drive them where allowed.

But too many are finding their way onto the roadway, increasing the danger for other motorists.

We often see people complaining about this issue on social media, but that does little to no good.

It’s 2021 and everyone has a cellphone and many have security cameras on their home.

If you get footage of one of these illegal dirt bikes on a street speeding or being reckless, send it to the proper authorities so that they might be caught.

That’s much more productive than complaining on social media.

We just want to keep our roadways safe.

The last thing we want to write about or hear about is a fatality due to a dirt bike on the roadways.

Please stay safe.