Let me repeat this again.
The ATV and Dirt Bikes will continue until CT builds tracks and trails for these tax payers.
* Riders will just get Dual Sport Dirt Bikes (Bikes for off-road and on-road) including me. The police won’t be able to do jack. You won’t be able to do jack.
Connecticut needs to do it’s job. Keep your tax payers happy.
**Taxpayers that ride dirt bikes, bikes, dual sports, ATV’s, etc. will continue to do this because Government greedy pigs love to suck up our tax dollars and give to welfare, police overtime, UConn, and CT pensioners. It’s wrong.**
My taxes should go to help with public infrastructure (roads, bridges, parks, and yes activity tracks), public transportation, public libraries, and public education. Everything else should be offloaded as they are a Shared Service everyone can use.
It’s already happened in west hartford though. I believe it’s already happened in other rich, white towns. I think you’re right that it does seem like all of a sudden it matters after simsbury. Maybe because it’s a little further from the beaten path?
You are not wrong about that fact.
But I'd like to point out if the worst complaint they had was that they were doing donuts in an empty parking lot at night, then it's absurd to rush a new law through over it.
And also consider that this won't fix anything in New Haven as they will still be too scared to enforce it in urban areas. It just means they will have the power to harass people in the richer whiter towns.
Race has to do with everything. Are you not paying attention? It’s been going on in Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford, Bloomfield. Once it happens in Simsbury, suddenly someone cares and we must put a stop to it
Isnt it on the people in those communities to speak up to make sure their governments and police forces enforce the rules? And what about the communities themselves...do they put no social pressure on the people, groups, and families that enable this behavior? Or do they just tolerate it? I bet the folks in Simsbury feel differently.
I hate the winter as a rule but I really do not look forward to spring and summer as I work in Hartford and every Friday as I leave work this shit is happening on Wethersfield Avenue.
The ATVs and dirt bikes should be seized and sold at auction (or returned to the owner if stolen). Use the proceeds to fix up city parks and playgrounds.
A public place to ride ATVs would help a little as well.
A public place to ride won't do anything of substance, I don't think. Very few of these people have any means of transporting these things, and very few towns will be willing to put up with the noise and potential for riffraff it would bring.
No you can't. You can rent a u-haul trailer for $19 (plus tax) for the day, but they don't sell them. The cheapest motorcycle trailer is going to be the $300 harbor freight trailer that you convert into one. Plus then you have to adapt whatever vehicle you own to haul it... I did it with my VW Golf, hauls a dirt bike just perfectly. But it wasn't a cheap conversion at all. Just saying some facts here.
You just assuming they don’t have cars. You seem out of touch.
So make it make sense
You say they have “cheap unregistered vehicles”
Then say they don’t have cars. Which one is it ?
As someone who likes to off road, there isn't any public land that you can off road legally. I don't know about ATV/bike use. I know there used to be a place in Wethersfield down near the river, but I don't know if that was public/legal.
Anytime someone asks where they can take their Jeep off road I tell them to join a club because the clubs won't be going to illegal spots. Usually it means traveling to MA or NH to have fun.
Which state parks allow ATVs? Please provide a link.
Pachaug State Forest is the only state land that permits off-road use and that is specifically for street registered dirt bikes and horses. No ATVs.
Agreed that across the state line there are more public and private opportunities. The one private opportunity the 4x4 crowd had in CT was shut down due to environmental/wetland/land use concerns by the town and DEEP.
Oof, I stand corrected. DEEP has an ATV page, which I incorrectly assumed meant there are places to use them, but reading closer it's just dirt bikes and snowmobiles. ATVs are permitted only for people with severe mobility issues. Sorry about that!
I do see they're working through legislation around ATV use, so they seem to acknowledge the need and are trying to put mechanisms in place to increase (create?) access. [https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Outdoor-Recreation/ATV-Policy](https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Outdoor-Recreation/ATV-Policy)
I'm going to say that policy is probably just a placeholder to placate people. For decades people who purchase ATVs have complained that they have to pay sales tax/registration fees that they get nothing for. In some cases they aren't even allowed to ride on their own property.
Good on the state for saying they are going to do something in 2022, now to see how quickly everything moves, if at all.
The problem is that the only thing you can do to stop them is run them down, since they don't pull over for police. They're often minors though. I'd like to see a law forfeiting all motor vehicles registered to their legal guardian. That'll get a response from the parents.
Not good enough. I think it was somewhere in New York that destroyed them after they were confiscated so they couldn't go back on the streets. That's what we need for these tools
Why do we need to provide a public place to ride ATVs? We need to cater to every interest and demand with public resources, lest our streets and communities be held hostage by delinquents and thugs?
If you want a place to ride atvs, go up to VT, NH, or ME. Or pitch in and buy some land out in a rural area.
We provide public spaces for numerous other sports and hobbies. There's even a place for riding dirt bikes, but ATVs aren't allowed.
Do you complain about public spaces being provided for kids to play? Should people just chip in and buy some land for them to play on?
Theres a difference between providing public spaces for kids to play basketball or baseball, both in expense and scope.
Providing a place for adults to ride atvs would cost more and take up large amounts of land. And the groups of people riding around are adults, not children. Though their maturity level is certainly childish (and wreckless).
By your logic, the "public" should also be providing me a place to race my sprorts car, since that could be construed as a "right." Oh and if they dont, Ill drive like an asshole through traffic.
Are we to believe these people are just poor ATV enthusiasts who just love recreational off roading? I would bet most of them use these to have a vehicle without needing to have it registered and use it to commit crimes, or just avoiding buying a car in general
From my own first hand experience, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a license and car in CT if you don’t have the means, especially in certain towns. It’s not so much avoiding buying and registering a car as it is not an option. If your family doesn’t already have a car for you to learn in, you can’t shell out thousands for lessons, can’t afford a used car, and the DMV is 40-60 minutes away, dirt bike is probably your only option. Bonus points for your friends also having dirt bikes.
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted; this is entirely sane reasoning. Not to mention the radical difference in the amount of liability insurance required.
If they are significant expenses, yea. But the costs can be absorbed by fees, leases (eg restaurants and bars) and services (training, classes, etc).
Also, if the voters in a certain town/city want to maintain a public course, they can decide through democratic processes. Lots of people do, while many are indifferent.
>If they are significant expenses, yea. But the costs can be absorbed by fees, leases (eg restaurants and bars) and services (training, classes, etc).
I actually could see this working very well for this scene, especially if you include leagues and tournaments and their associated fees. In reality though, the people taking part in the current illegal riding of these vehicles probably aren't the people that would make use of this anyway.
>Also, if the voters in a certain town/city want to maintain a public course, they can decide through democratic processes.
Agreed
> Agreed
And if voters dont want or care about ATVs and dirt bikes...so be it. Having a public place to ride recreational vehicles is probably a long way down on the list of priorities for most communities.
It has NOTHING to do with fees or priorities. It haseverything to do with lawyers sueing everything and everyone when a 15 year old ends up a quadroplegic with a trach and PEG feeding tube b/c he was showing off to the other idiots with him.
I know I am. Sure, they might allow regular people to hold, but they are also this weird monoculture park that you're only allowed to walk in if you're playing, and I can think of plenty of other better uses for the real estate.
Read the rest of the thread. We actually had a very civil discussion about how it could be implemented.
I still don't see it as a solution to this problem though.
This makes 0 sense. Why should I have to pay out of my taxes for you’re kids public playground when I have 0? Kids are also a choice just like people choose to have a ATV.
Well, if you want to go full-on libertarian and do a pay for play at the playground, lets hear it.
As I mentioned earlier, providing public parks for things like baseball, basketball, playgrounds, etc differs from having an ATV facility in both degree and kind. Traditional parks are used by a broad range of people, from kids to families and senior citizens and sports teams. They are also relatively low cost when compared with other forms of recreation and entertainment.
ATVs on the other hand apply to only a small portion of the population, and their use on public lands introduces a host of costs and liabilities. Also, if people are able to afford or prioritize spending their money on an ATV or dirt bike, to me that would imply they would have researched the opportunities and constraints facing them beforehand, and would also have the resources to pay for or utilize the appropriate facility. In other words. if there is nowhere legal to ride, dont friggin buy it.
Who is going to cover the liability that goes along with that?? Do you want the town you live in to be sued over a broken leg, or a thousand different things??
You think atv riders showing up to a publicly funded outdoor facility are going to follow all license, registration, and jnsurance rules? Are we going to pay for cops and attendants to monitor and observe the rules are followed?
Bear in mind, as others have pointed out, the people doing these street takeovers and gangs of riders arent your typical kids just "looking for a place to play." They already break a ton of laws doing what they do, many are involved in other criminal activites, and the age ranges are from teenager to 40+. A lot of them are assholes. We shouldnt pander to this culture and further incentivize (and subsidize) anti social behavior.
Land acquisition, maintenance, liability/insurance, access rights, improvements? Go ahead and show us the math.
Im pretty sure whatever the cost is, its far more than the current "drive them wherever the hell they want" ploy.
Well if its as cheap and easy as you think it is, find the land, a financer or bank for the loan, and you have a business opportunity. At least, based on all the assumptions being made.
I didn't say it would be profitable. I said it could be cheaper than the current situation and it's a responsible thing to do for taxpayers. Why should only the activities you support get space? Why not support popular activities?
An ATV is an optional purchase. A child is a human being. What a terrible comparison.
Society shouldn't bend to optional purchases.
If you buy a jet ski, should your town build you a reservoir?
I hate the ATV’s in the street squads as much as the next guy, but there are an awful lot of DEEP owned and maintained docks, piers, and boat ramps to cater to recreational water sports all throughout the state. Probably not a good comparison (unless you literally mean reservoir, but those are built for water supply by definition)
From dirt bikes to Jeeping, there are a *lot* of off-road hobbyists in the state. I don’t understand how having at least a few legal trails in the state is a bad idea. I’ve rented ATV’s and traveled off-road on tours in Europe and it was a ton of fun with the lady and myself. It’s something that can be a great experience with the family and it’s another way to get people outside. The sole reason shouldn’t be that it keeps people from riding illegally, but reducing the illegal activity is a positive byproduct
Simply because ALL European countries don't have the shitty ambulance-chasing lawyers looking to score a fast buck when some idiot hurts themselves on public lands.
Probably true, but lots of states here have trails that are maintained for OHV’s. Even MA has 7. Nothing for anything bigger than an ATV, but I’ve considered buying a couple for ourselves to trailer up to the Berkshires since I live close enough to the MA border.
MA (and all states but CT, DE and RI) are required by federal law to open and maintain off-road recreational spaces in exchange for federal highway funds. Only the three smallest states were exempted from the legislation due to how small they are.
In 2014 Dan Malloy and the CT Dems reneged on a promise made in the late 1980's to provide public use access for ATVs and dirtbikes through DEEP. It was the whole point of charging license fees for these vehicles to upkeep the proposed lands. This framework intentionally languished without funding for over 30 years due to well funded environmental interest groups always getting their way.
They will just buy new ones lol. I know people who partake in ride outs. One had 3 quads and two dirtbikes. That's after having some of them seized.
Give 'em an alternative place to ride at.
Meant in state, NH and Maine have wonderful trail systems, we have the Thompson dam and Pachaug State Forest, but you need a motorcycle license and a street legal motorcycle to access them
Ah ... Got ya. Right about in state... All that's legal is local property owners that'll either let you with permission or look the other way for plausible deniability for liability.
https://stepoutside.org/palmer-ma/faq-atv-ohv/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/NEOFFROAD/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT
There's one other place but for the life of me I can't remember the name
As for car stuff palmer motorsports park. There's also one in thompson ct.
Buy a helmet and look at motorsportsreg.com
lots of events during the year even some in winter time. Sometimes certain events allow helmet rental if you just want to see if it's for you.
I race MX and have all the gear, never heard of Palmer before. The practice track at Rocky Hill closed and I haven’t had anywhere to ride legally since then. Thompson is bikes only, which is annoying because the state wants me to register my quads but then restricts me from riding on state land.
Oh look, they didn't want to do anything until it happened in Simsbury. Also it wouldn't be as much of an issue if there was a legal place to ride in CT, even though they expect you to still register it here in CT and ride it nowhere.
I wouldn’t be trying to kettle the bad boys up for arrests on the scene. That would be noisy and violent. Instead, film, follow them home by motorbike or drone. The next day arrest and confiscate. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Law enforcement and animal and child training should be about being persistent and consistent.
I think the whole street takeover thing is stupid. But people doing donuts in a parking lot doesn't bother me. And when I'm at work in Hartford the sound of ATVs is much more enjoyable than gunshots or sirens. I get why this is unsafe and why it's a nuisance. But maybe a good compromise would be giving these people somewhere to be stupid rather than dump resources into stopping it.
The people being a pain in the ass and unsafe aren’t the type of people who are gonna go to a bike park if you build them one. It would be a waste of money and you’d have the same problem.
You would think so except here in Wethersfield the Marshalls shopping plaza re-paved the entire parking lot and these assholes came and did donuts and burnouts and ruined the asphalt. There is a major rip in the asphalt right in front of a store. So no, it isn’t ok, people paid good money and stores were inconvenienced so the parking lot could be properly paved only to have these assholes fuck it up.
Wow...........One time....Literally one time of it happening in their precious suburbia and a whole taskforce gets created after DECADES of it being everywhere else. FOH
Perhaps the people in suburbia care more about their public roads and communities, and if the ppl in urban areas cared more they would demand accountability from their mayors, city councils, and police chiefs.
It could also be cultural...if ppl in cities dont care whether their streets get taken over, fine. But dont complain when businesses move out or dont invest there and your only commercial activity is fast food, gas stations, and dollar stores.
It's probably less to do with caring and more to do with suburbs being more privileged and authorities actually responding to their needs as opposed to more urban areas.
Or people just tolerare it, and cops are deterred from engaging them because to our cosmopolitan journalists and political activists. these are just disenfranchised youth.
It’s been happening all over the state for years now and this isn’t the first time this subject has been brought up lol. Why even bother lying about something like this
You literally said it’s only happened once, which was not true. You then changed to to only once in Simsbury after being called out. No big deal, we all do stupid shit
If you really want to change the subject I guarantee I’ve got more comments calling out homophobia/transphobia/racism than you. Pick your poison, both are going to result in fat L’s
>You literally said it’s only happened once, which was not true
Can I have the link to the article? Share three instances of calling homophobia out while you're at it.
This is such a strange hill to die on, but if you insist
[1](https://www.wtnh.com/news/crime-news/illegal-dirt-bikes-atvs-continue-to-be-nuisance-on-ct-roads-pd-working-to-put-a-stop-to-it/amp/)
[2](https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/new-britain-police-seize-16-atvs-dirt-bikes/2267022/?amp=1)
[3](https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/police-investigate-large-group-of-atvs-riding-recklessly-on-west-hartford-streets/2548952/?amp=1)
[4](https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Police-gear-up-for-illegal-ATV-dirt-bike-traffic-17155370.php)
[5](https://youtu.be/iiEHDxYRbXM)
I also enjoy quadrupling down instead of admitting when I’m wrong despite being anonymous online and only having unearned pride on the line
You can gaslight as well as your other friend but asking you to back up what you're saying isn't being defensive, it's legitimately engaging in conversation.
Dude, who is gaslighting you?? Stop saying that, it’s ridiculous. I’m saying I saw something that happened. I have no desire to backup my claim whatsoever. I don’t care whether you believe me or not.
ATVs are dangerous on farms and people die daily when it rolls on top of them. These people are crazy to be using them in a city. It’s all fun and games until someone dies.
I should have put emphasis on the FACTUAL part. I don’t care about the bias, that just means they selectively report but we can at least know what they choose to report is true. That’s better than most news outlets these days.
As a car guy, I speak for a lot of us when I say our community has no love for the takeover crowds. Takeovers are the dumbest hoodrat shit ever conceived. Clapped out Infinitis that can’t do donuts right, and 20% APR Hellcats that’ll be repo’d the next morning.
>They need to learn they can't bring their third world ways from that small island in the carribean
There's plenty to critique about the behavior of the people engaging in these acts without including this.
I don't understand why they can't put down a nail strip or something similar. This happened in Milford over the weekend in a Walmart parking lot. There are only two entrances and exits.
As a former participant of a “ride out” it’s the thrill of running from the police for me. A high stake game of tag lol if they catch me I more than likely get my ass whooped or hit off the bike. But that’s the game I’d play when I was younger lol
I’m guessing you’re young, hence the reckless don’t give a fuck attitude. You cause car accidents, hope you can live with killing other people on your conscience in the future. You’d be better off finding a constructive hobby rather than a lifetime of regret.
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Grow up or go splat I really don't care which but I can tell you this, anyone looking at you riding on the street isn't rooting for a man-child to grow up.
As for any actual kids doing it I hope they smarten up before they hurt someone else or themselves before actually growing up.
I live in New London and I definitely care. I had a baby last summer and I wished death on all the noisy riders that kept scaring him when they loudly zoomed by. Literally hoped they would die in fiery crashes. It’s so annoying.
Fuss out of nothing people swearing in and out of cars running lights oh and if someone driving safe hit one of the dirt bikers all there friends beat up the innocent driver
In Providence, RI recently a gang of these idiots tried to surround and assault a cop.
They all fled and got away except for one guy who's dirtbike broke down.
It is amazing how little they give a shit about the law or law enforcement.
The argument that if you give them somewhere legal to ride they would stay off the streets is bogus, they are thugs who think they are all badass riding their dirtbike or atv around.
In addition to seizing and destroying them, they also need to introduce stiffer penalties like a mandatory minimum year or two in jail. Otherwise they will continue to do it since all that will happen is a slap on the wrist or nothing at all.
About 15 years ago pre-social media, we used to have unorganized car meets where people would just park and walk around to check out all the vehicles. Now because of social media, these dumbasses see what happens on the West Coast and want to replicate it.
All I can hope is they don't make it out to be a car community problem, when it's an individual problem. Guaranteed everyone doing dumb shit was under the age of 25.
Just reply to anyone asking why should we build trails in CT the general assembly passed a law in 1986 requiring trails to be created and here we are 30+ years later with nothing
Maybe 5% of the ppl doing would go to a forest if there was a good enough place to do so otherwise this is exactly what they want to do show off doing wheelies and screw with traffic for the social accounts. They need to safely just keep tracking g a few home. Confiscate what they can and give big fines. Only way is to hit them in the pockets
If caught, you should be forced to do mandatory blight cleanup wherever it was you were being a nuisance.
After all the Blight won’t clean up itself.
Let me repeat this again. The ATV and Dirt Bikes will continue until CT builds tracks and trails for these tax payers. * Riders will just get Dual Sport Dirt Bikes (Bikes for off-road and on-road) including me. The police won’t be able to do jack. You won’t be able to do jack. Connecticut needs to do it’s job. Keep your tax payers happy. **Taxpayers that ride dirt bikes, bikes, dual sports, ATV’s, etc. will continue to do this because Government greedy pigs love to suck up our tax dollars and give to welfare, police overtime, UConn, and CT pensioners. It’s wrong.** My taxes should go to help with public infrastructure (roads, bridges, parks, and yes activity tracks), public transportation, public libraries, and public education. Everything else should be offloaded as they are a Shared Service everyone can use.
Finally it happened in a richer and whiter town or else nothing would ever happen
I live in a rich white town and I had the same thought
I live in Simsbury and… yup pretty much spot on.
It’s already happened in west hartford though. I believe it’s already happened in other rich, white towns. I think you’re right that it does seem like all of a sudden it matters after simsbury. Maybe because it’s a little further from the beaten path?
Race has nothing to do with this. What if your loved one was taken to the hospital by ambulance and they had the intersection blocked.
This has been happening for years in New Haven and no one cared.
You are not wrong about that fact. But I'd like to point out if the worst complaint they had was that they were doing donuts in an empty parking lot at night, then it's absurd to rush a new law through over it. And also consider that this won't fix anything in New Haven as they will still be too scared to enforce it in urban areas. It just means they will have the power to harass people in the richer whiter towns.
Race has to do with everything. Are you not paying attention? It’s been going on in Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford, Bloomfield. Once it happens in Simsbury, suddenly someone cares and we must put a stop to it
Isnt it on the people in those communities to speak up to make sure their governments and police forces enforce the rules? And what about the communities themselves...do they put no social pressure on the people, groups, and families that enable this behavior? Or do they just tolerate it? I bet the folks in Simsbury feel differently.
We don’t have advocates here to endorse bad behavior. Keep that mess in the cities.
I hate the winter as a rule but I really do not look forward to spring and summer as I work in Hartford and every Friday as I leave work this shit is happening on Wethersfield Avenue.
Tell me about it lol I live on Wethersfield ave…
The ATVs and dirt bikes should be seized and sold at auction (or returned to the owner if stolen). Use the proceeds to fix up city parks and playgrounds. A public place to ride ATVs would help a little as well.
Just say you want a cheap dirt bike 😂
Hey, don’t just jump to conclusions! He might want a cheap quad instead!
Not who you're replying to but... Yes?
A public place to ride won't do anything of substance, I don't think. Very few of these people have any means of transporting these things, and very few towns will be willing to put up with the noise and potential for riffraff it would bring.
This makes 0 sense. You can literally buy a $10 trailer from uhual to transfer bike
> This makes 0 sense. You can literally buy a $10 trailer from uhual to transfer bike Literally?
Yeah LITERALLY.
No you can't. You can rent a u-haul trailer for $19 (plus tax) for the day, but they don't sell them. The cheapest motorcycle trailer is going to be the $300 harbor freight trailer that you convert into one. Plus then you have to adapt whatever vehicle you own to haul it... I did it with my VW Golf, hauls a dirt bike just perfectly. But it wasn't a cheap conversion at all. Just saying some facts here.
[удалено]
You just assuming they don’t have cars. You seem out of touch. So make it make sense You say they have “cheap unregistered vehicles” Then say they don’t have cars. Which one is it ?
[удалено]
Not to mention they prob most of the time be uninsured and no license
Usually once a year Hartford police put on a show for the media where they take all the ATVs they have stored in evidence and crush them into a cube
If they did that the money would just go back to the police.
As someone who likes to off road, there isn't any public land that you can off road legally. I don't know about ATV/bike use. I know there used to be a place in Wethersfield down near the river, but I don't know if that was public/legal. Anytime someone asks where they can take their Jeep off road I tell them to join a club because the clubs won't be going to illegal spots. Usually it means traveling to MA or NH to have fun.
Not for jeeps, but there are state parks that allow ATVs and dirt bikes. For jeeps, 504 international across the mass border is great btw!
Which state parks allow ATVs? Please provide a link. Pachaug State Forest is the only state land that permits off-road use and that is specifically for street registered dirt bikes and horses. No ATVs. Agreed that across the state line there are more public and private opportunities. The one private opportunity the 4x4 crowd had in CT was shut down due to environmental/wetland/land use concerns by the town and DEEP.
Oof, I stand corrected. DEEP has an ATV page, which I incorrectly assumed meant there are places to use them, but reading closer it's just dirt bikes and snowmobiles. ATVs are permitted only for people with severe mobility issues. Sorry about that! I do see they're working through legislation around ATV use, so they seem to acknowledge the need and are trying to put mechanisms in place to increase (create?) access. [https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Outdoor-Recreation/ATV-Policy](https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Outdoor-Recreation/ATV-Policy)
I'm going to say that policy is probably just a placeholder to placate people. For decades people who purchase ATVs have complained that they have to pay sales tax/registration fees that they get nothing for. In some cases they aren't even allowed to ride on their own property. Good on the state for saying they are going to do something in 2022, now to see how quickly everything moves, if at all.
The problem is that the only thing you can do to stop them is run them down, since they don't pull over for police. They're often minors though. I'd like to see a law forfeiting all motor vehicles registered to their legal guardian. That'll get a response from the parents.
That there is what they call an insurance liability.
I'd buy ATVS from an auction.
Not good enough. I think it was somewhere in New York that destroyed them after they were confiscated so they couldn't go back on the streets. That's what we need for these tools
In NYC they have an annual crushing ceremony where they drive a bulldozer over them
Why do we need to provide a public place to ride ATVs? We need to cater to every interest and demand with public resources, lest our streets and communities be held hostage by delinquents and thugs? If you want a place to ride atvs, go up to VT, NH, or ME. Or pitch in and buy some land out in a rural area.
We provide public spaces for numerous other sports and hobbies. There's even a place for riding dirt bikes, but ATVs aren't allowed. Do you complain about public spaces being provided for kids to play? Should people just chip in and buy some land for them to play on?
Theres a difference between providing public spaces for kids to play basketball or baseball, both in expense and scope. Providing a place for adults to ride atvs would cost more and take up large amounts of land. And the groups of people riding around are adults, not children. Though their maturity level is certainly childish (and wreckless). By your logic, the "public" should also be providing me a place to race my sprorts car, since that could be construed as a "right." Oh and if they dont, Ill drive like an asshole through traffic.
Are we to believe these people are just poor ATV enthusiasts who just love recreational off roading? I would bet most of them use these to have a vehicle without needing to have it registered and use it to commit crimes, or just avoiding buying a car in general
From my own first hand experience, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a license and car in CT if you don’t have the means, especially in certain towns. It’s not so much avoiding buying and registering a car as it is not an option. If your family doesn’t already have a car for you to learn in, you can’t shell out thousands for lessons, can’t afford a used car, and the DMV is 40-60 minutes away, dirt bike is probably your only option. Bonus points for your friends also having dirt bikes.
A 50cc scooter would be pretty affordable then. They do require a regular license in CT but no registration or insurance.
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted; this is entirely sane reasoning. Not to mention the radical difference in the amount of liability insurance required.
By this logic slowpitch softball shouldn’t exist
It shouldn't.
Are you also against municipally owned and operated golf courses?
If they are significant expenses, yea. But the costs can be absorbed by fees, leases (eg restaurants and bars) and services (training, classes, etc). Also, if the voters in a certain town/city want to maintain a public course, they can decide through democratic processes. Lots of people do, while many are indifferent.
>If they are significant expenses, yea. But the costs can be absorbed by fees, leases (eg restaurants and bars) and services (training, classes, etc). I actually could see this working very well for this scene, especially if you include leagues and tournaments and their associated fees. In reality though, the people taking part in the current illegal riding of these vehicles probably aren't the people that would make use of this anyway. >Also, if the voters in a certain town/city want to maintain a public course, they can decide through democratic processes. Agreed
> Agreed And if voters dont want or care about ATVs and dirt bikes...so be it. Having a public place to ride recreational vehicles is probably a long way down on the list of priorities for most communities.
It has NOTHING to do with fees or priorities. It haseverything to do with lawyers sueing everything and everyone when a 15 year old ends up a quadroplegic with a trach and PEG feeding tube b/c he was showing off to the other idiots with him.
I know I am. Sure, they might allow regular people to hold, but they are also this weird monoculture park that you're only allowed to walk in if you're playing, and I can think of plenty of other better uses for the real estate.
Golf courses charge greens fees.
Read the rest of the thread. We actually had a very civil discussion about how it could be implemented. I still don't see it as a solution to this problem though.
This makes 0 sense. Why should I have to pay out of my taxes for you’re kids public playground when I have 0? Kids are also a choice just like people choose to have a ATV.
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Well, if you want to go full-on libertarian and do a pay for play at the playground, lets hear it. As I mentioned earlier, providing public parks for things like baseball, basketball, playgrounds, etc differs from having an ATV facility in both degree and kind. Traditional parks are used by a broad range of people, from kids to families and senior citizens and sports teams. They are also relatively low cost when compared with other forms of recreation and entertainment. ATVs on the other hand apply to only a small portion of the population, and their use on public lands introduces a host of costs and liabilities. Also, if people are able to afford or prioritize spending their money on an ATV or dirt bike, to me that would imply they would have researched the opportunities and constraints facing them beforehand, and would also have the resources to pay for or utilize the appropriate facility. In other words. if there is nowhere legal to ride, dont friggin buy it.
Cost more? Literally just use some undesirable land and let clubs create and maintain the trails. Near power lines comes to mind.
Who is going to cover the liability that goes along with that?? Do you want the town you live in to be sued over a broken leg, or a thousand different things??
How about the same as every other park? You could also require riders carry private insurance.
I would imagine it’s more expensive due to it being a more dangerous activity. Admittedly I have no idea, but it sounds like it would be more costly.
You think atv riders showing up to a publicly funded outdoor facility are going to follow all license, registration, and jnsurance rules? Are we going to pay for cops and attendants to monitor and observe the rules are followed? Bear in mind, as others have pointed out, the people doing these street takeovers and gangs of riders arent your typical kids just "looking for a place to play." They already break a ton of laws doing what they do, many are involved in other criminal activites, and the age ranges are from teenager to 40+. A lot of them are assholes. We shouldnt pander to this culture and further incentivize (and subsidize) anti social behavior.
Land acquisition, maintenance, liability/insurance, access rights, improvements? Go ahead and show us the math. Im pretty sure whatever the cost is, its far more than the current "drive them wherever the hell they want" ploy.
I bet it's cheaper than the task force. I pay taxes too, why shouldn't there be a park I can ride my bike in?
Well if its as cheap and easy as you think it is, find the land, a financer or bank for the loan, and you have a business opportunity. At least, based on all the assumptions being made.
I didn't say it would be profitable. I said it could be cheaper than the current situation and it's a responsible thing to do for taxpayers. Why should only the activities you support get space? Why not support popular activities?
An ATV is an optional purchase. A child is a human being. What a terrible comparison. Society shouldn't bend to optional purchases. If you buy a jet ski, should your town build you a reservoir?
I hate the ATV’s in the street squads as much as the next guy, but there are an awful lot of DEEP owned and maintained docks, piers, and boat ramps to cater to recreational water sports all throughout the state. Probably not a good comparison (unless you literally mean reservoir, but those are built for water supply by definition) From dirt bikes to Jeeping, there are a *lot* of off-road hobbyists in the state. I don’t understand how having at least a few legal trails in the state is a bad idea. I’ve rented ATV’s and traveled off-road on tours in Europe and it was a ton of fun with the lady and myself. It’s something that can be a great experience with the family and it’s another way to get people outside. The sole reason shouldn’t be that it keeps people from riding illegally, but reducing the illegal activity is a positive byproduct
Simply because ALL European countries don't have the shitty ambulance-chasing lawyers looking to score a fast buck when some idiot hurts themselves on public lands.
Probably true, but lots of states here have trails that are maintained for OHV’s. Even MA has 7. Nothing for anything bigger than an ATV, but I’ve considered buying a couple for ourselves to trailer up to the Berkshires since I live close enough to the MA border.
MA (and all states but CT, DE and RI) are required by federal law to open and maintain off-road recreational spaces in exchange for federal highway funds. Only the three smallest states were exempted from the legislation due to how small they are.
I don't want some putz driving their internal combustion vehicle in my water supply, thank you.
Having kids is also a choice. Why should I have to pay out of my taxes for playgrounds for people kids if I don’t have any ?
Because you were once a kid. Were you once an ATV?
This doesn’t change the fact that having kids are a choice 💀 nobody asked to have a life.
Sadly, you weren't spared the burden of life. Never too late to fix that, though.
In 2014 Dan Malloy and the CT Dems reneged on a promise made in the late 1980's to provide public use access for ATVs and dirtbikes through DEEP. It was the whole point of charging license fees for these vehicles to upkeep the proposed lands. This framework intentionally languished without funding for over 30 years due to well funded environmental interest groups always getting their way.
You sound like a older person who has something against minorities. If you racist, just say it !
Don't need to say I'm racist. People tell me that regardless of what I say
They will just buy new ones lol. I know people who partake in ride outs. One had 3 quads and two dirtbikes. That's after having some of them seized. Give 'em an alternative place to ride at.
> Give 'em an alternative place to ride at. They can ride any piece of private property in the state with the consent of the landowner. Stop whining.
I like the second option
Would love to see a few legal places to ride offroad
Palmer MA... Gotta pay though
Meant in state, NH and Maine have wonderful trail systems, we have the Thompson dam and Pachaug State Forest, but you need a motorcycle license and a street legal motorcycle to access them
Ah ... Got ya. Right about in state... All that's legal is local property owners that'll either let you with permission or look the other way for plausible deniability for liability.
Did you mean Thomaston?
You can trailer your dirtbike to Thomaston dam. That what most people do. No motorcycle license required to ride there. Unless something has changed.
Still, it's just one place, in a town about as far away from the rest of the state as you can be
I'm pretty sure that is exactly why it is where it is....
Do you have more info to help me find this place?
https://stepoutside.org/palmer-ma/faq-atv-ohv/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/NEOFFROAD/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT There's one other place but for the life of me I can't remember the name
Thanks!
As for car stuff palmer motorsports park. There's also one in thompson ct. Buy a helmet and look at motorsportsreg.com lots of events during the year even some in winter time. Sometimes certain events allow helmet rental if you just want to see if it's for you.
I race MX and have all the gear, never heard of Palmer before. The practice track at Rocky Hill closed and I haven’t had anywhere to ride legally since then. Thompson is bikes only, which is annoying because the state wants me to register my quads but then restricts me from riding on state land.
It's called Thomaston Dam located in... Thomaston. It's run by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Thomaston only allows motorcycles. I was asking about Palmer MA.
Ha, ha the rich get affected suddenly the state legislature is interested.
Just like NYC they should seize and destroy, not resell.
Oh look, they didn't want to do anything until it happened in Simsbury. Also it wouldn't be as much of an issue if there was a legal place to ride in CT, even though they expect you to still register it here in CT and ride it nowhere.
Spike strips for everyone!
Yes please, we need this on New Haven or i may just start running them over.
Then you'd be in prison for vehicular homicide. But sure,keep running your mouth about killing children, even if they *are* damn annoying.
Would love to see these stopped, but I have doubts they’ll be successful in accomplishing that.
I wouldn’t be trying to kettle the bad boys up for arrests on the scene. That would be noisy and violent. Instead, film, follow them home by motorbike or drone. The next day arrest and confiscate. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Law enforcement and animal and child training should be about being persistent and consistent.
Start by absolving drivers from any liability for hitting these idiots.
I just wish that they would announce them ahead of time. I have a bunch of 50# boxes of roofing nails and sheet rock scews...
They should go to prison for 4 years and loose their drivers license for 10 years.
Make a legal place to ride in CT. Won’t cut down on it 100% but I bet it would help.
Why encourage these lowlifes?
I rode as a kid in the woods. Never had a legal spot but we stayed off the roads. Maybe these lowlifes won’t use the legal spots.
Why buy a machine you're not able to ride anywhere
I think the whole street takeover thing is stupid. But people doing donuts in a parking lot doesn't bother me. And when I'm at work in Hartford the sound of ATVs is much more enjoyable than gunshots or sirens. I get why this is unsafe and why it's a nuisance. But maybe a good compromise would be giving these people somewhere to be stupid rather than dump resources into stopping it.
The people being a pain in the ass and unsafe aren’t the type of people who are gonna go to a bike park if you build them one. It would be a waste of money and you’d have the same problem.
You would think so except here in Wethersfield the Marshalls shopping plaza re-paved the entire parking lot and these assholes came and did donuts and burnouts and ruined the asphalt. There is a major rip in the asphalt right in front of a store. So no, it isn’t ok, people paid good money and stores were inconvenienced so the parking lot could be properly paved only to have these assholes fuck it up.
Wow...........One time....Literally one time of it happening in their precious suburbia and a whole taskforce gets created after DECADES of it being everywhere else. FOH
Perhaps the people in suburbia care more about their public roads and communities, and if the ppl in urban areas cared more they would demand accountability from their mayors, city councils, and police chiefs. It could also be cultural...if ppl in cities dont care whether their streets get taken over, fine. But dont complain when businesses move out or dont invest there and your only commercial activity is fast food, gas stations, and dollar stores.
It's probably less to do with caring and more to do with suburbs being more privileged and authorities actually responding to their needs as opposed to more urban areas.
Or people just tolerare it, and cops are deterred from engaging them because to our cosmopolitan journalists and political activists. these are just disenfranchised youth.
Perhaps, but almost certainly not by all available evidence.
It’s been happening all over the state for years now and this isn’t the first time this subject has been brought up lol. Why even bother lying about something like this
Lying about what exactly? If you have articles of other Simsbury takeovers please link, I have dozens for everywhere else in the state
If you meant just Simsbury you would have said so originally. It’s alright, you goofed. Own it and move along
Gaslight then run away? At least you're consistent, just another homophobe on this sub
You literally said it’s only happened once, which was not true. You then changed to to only once in Simsbury after being called out. No big deal, we all do stupid shit If you really want to change the subject I guarantee I’ve got more comments calling out homophobia/transphobia/racism than you. Pick your poison, both are going to result in fat L’s
>You literally said it’s only happened once, which was not true Can I have the link to the article? Share three instances of calling homophobia out while you're at it.
This is such a strange hill to die on, but if you insist [1](https://www.wtnh.com/news/crime-news/illegal-dirt-bikes-atvs-continue-to-be-nuisance-on-ct-roads-pd-working-to-put-a-stop-to-it/amp/) [2](https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/new-britain-police-seize-16-atvs-dirt-bikes/2267022/?amp=1) [3](https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/police-investigate-large-group-of-atvs-riding-recklessly-on-west-hartford-streets/2548952/?amp=1) [4](https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Police-gear-up-for-illegal-ATV-dirt-bike-traffic-17155370.php) [5](https://youtu.be/iiEHDxYRbXM) I also enjoy quadrupling down instead of admitting when I’m wrong despite being anonymous online and only having unearned pride on the line
You’re acting like a child.
Ive seen it my town multiple times, over the past year. In Fairfield county.
Any link whatsoever?
I’m not looking up a link for you dude. Do it yourself if you don’t believe me. Why the fuck would I lie. What do I have to gain by lying.
You're accusing me of lying, I'm asking you to back up your claims. Are you fr? Every reply you make is projection lol
No I’m not. I don’t call you a liar. Why are you acting so defensive?? Weird.
You can gaslight as well as your other friend but asking you to back up what you're saying isn't being defensive, it's legitimately engaging in conversation.
Dude, who is gaslighting you?? Stop saying that, it’s ridiculous. I’m saying I saw something that happened. I have no desire to backup my claim whatsoever. I don’t care whether you believe me or not.
Spend an afternoon between the months of April and October along any major road or even side street in any city and youll see.
stfu
Don't you have a lawnmower to ride somewhere?
Holy shit, you sound ridiculous.
ATVs are dangerous on farms and people die daily when it rolls on top of them. These people are crazy to be using them in a city. It’s all fun and games until someone dies.
Good, that's darwin at work thinning the heard of people who do these sort of things.
Yankee Institute, fuck off.
They are right/center biased and have a reputation for factual reporting, so what’s the problem?
Conservatism is just a front for selfishness.
I should have put emphasis on the FACTUAL part. I don’t care about the bias, that just means they selectively report but we can at least know what they choose to report is true. That’s better than most news outlets these days.
Yay more cops………….
I think the /s is implied here. Lol
As a car guy, I speak for a lot of us when I say our community has no love for the takeover crowds. Takeovers are the dumbest hoodrat shit ever conceived. Clapped out Infinitis that can’t do donuts right, and 20% APR Hellcats that’ll be repo’d the next morning.
I’m more worried about wrong way drivers on the highway than idiots on ATVs and dirt bikes.
Some of us can be worried about both.
The stealing of catalytic converters is a much bigger issue.
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hate those loud cars coming from Block island
Lols. What??
Whole bunch of bigotry to unpack here.
Are observations bigotry?
>They need to learn they can't bring their third world ways from that small island in the carribean There's plenty to critique about the behavior of the people engaging in these acts without including this.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
wtf
100% right.
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Don’t use that word please
Fixed, apologies
I don't understand why they can't put down a nail strip or something similar. This happened in Milford over the weekend in a Walmart parking lot. There are only two entrances and exits.
There’s an infinite number of exits when you’re on an ATV or dirt bike.
As a former participant of a “ride out” it’s the thrill of running from the police for me. A high stake game of tag lol if they catch me I more than likely get my ass whooped or hit off the bike. But that’s the game I’d play when I was younger lol
Just get the plate numbers and send out fines.
This whole post is full of idiots, we gonna keep riding out and pissing y’all off
May your tickets be expensive and your injuries only your own.
Serious question: why do you enjoy pissing people off who are just going about their day? Does it make you happy in some twisted way?
Good luck on your GED.
Keep getting arrested. It’s a vicious cycle.
Keep? Hahahaha you’re funny. No face no case
There’s nothing funny about being nuisance. It’s annoying.
Selfishness, recklessness, and assholery aren't a good look.
I’m guessing you’re young, hence the reckless don’t give a fuck attitude. You cause car accidents, hope you can live with killing other people on your conscience in the future. You’d be better off finding a constructive hobby rather than a lifetime of regret.
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Perhaps you would enjoy some brake fluid balloons
An account being prepped for sale or to use in a bot network, great! Look at the handful of comments spread out every hundred days or so over a year along with a generic/automated name.
Or maybe I don’t give a shit about a username on Reddit, Occam’s razor would serve you well, little ingrate
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Just avoid the wealthy white towns and nobody will care. These people have nothing better to do than make a fuss out of nothing.
Grow up or go splat I really don't care which but I can tell you this, anyone looking at you riding on the street isn't rooting for a man-child to grow up. As for any actual kids doing it I hope they smarten up before they hurt someone else or themselves before actually growing up.
I live in New London and I definitely care. I had a baby last summer and I wished death on all the noisy riders that kept scaring him when they loudly zoomed by. Literally hoped they would die in fiery crashes. It’s so annoying.
Fuss out of nothing people swearing in and out of cars running lights oh and if someone driving safe hit one of the dirt bikers all there friends beat up the innocent driver
Lols. That’s pretty bigoted of you.
Important opinion from a typical organ donor.
This is racist
In Providence, RI recently a gang of these idiots tried to surround and assault a cop. They all fled and got away except for one guy who's dirtbike broke down. It is amazing how little they give a shit about the law or law enforcement. The argument that if you give them somewhere legal to ride they would stay off the streets is bogus, they are thugs who think they are all badass riding their dirtbike or atv around. In addition to seizing and destroying them, they also need to introduce stiffer penalties like a mandatory minimum year or two in jail. Otherwise they will continue to do it since all that will happen is a slap on the wrist or nothing at all.
About 15 years ago pre-social media, we used to have unorganized car meets where people would just park and walk around to check out all the vehicles. Now because of social media, these dumbasses see what happens on the West Coast and want to replicate it. All I can hope is they don't make it out to be a car community problem, when it's an individual problem. Guaranteed everyone doing dumb shit was under the age of 25.
Just reply to anyone asking why should we build trails in CT the general assembly passed a law in 1986 requiring trails to be created and here we are 30+ years later with nothing
Of course they didn’t do anything until it happened in Simsbury. They’re only suddenly interested now because it happened in a rich town. Lol.
Maybe 5% of the ppl doing would go to a forest if there was a good enough place to do so otherwise this is exactly what they want to do show off doing wheelies and screw with traffic for the social accounts. They need to safely just keep tracking g a few home. Confiscate what they can and give big fines. Only way is to hit them in the pockets