ScotTee

Taken from this site...
http://wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1154314

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Bronrott: Crotch Rockets Are 'Potential Death Machines'

June 1, 2007 - 8:08am

FORESTVILLE, Md. - Saying that so-called bullet bikes or crotch rockets are "wreaking a tremendous amount of havoc on our roadways," one Maryland lawmaker says the state should consider banning the motorcycles from street use.
A crash on the Capital Beltway Wednesday night killed two people and left 15 others injured. Police say that the accident happened as they were trying to stop one of these speeding motorcycles.

"They are potential death machines in the wrong hands," says Delegate Bill Bronrott of Montgomery County. "I think we should look at the possibility of saying, 'Hey, these are only intended for recreational use and should be used on race courses rather than on public highways."

Bronrott says Maryland State Police are contacting jurisdictions around the country to see how they handle the motorcycles. He says Maryland needs to investigate whether higher penalties would reduce problems associated with the motorcycles and/or whether laws need to be changed.

"It is definitely worth looking into whether or not we should totally ban these from our public roads or not," Bronrott says.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the seven-car, chain-reaction crash that closed the Beltway Wednesday night.

It started at about 7 p.m. when a Prince George's County police officer spotted a speeding motorcycle and positioned himself to stop it on the inner loop, police said. The motorcycle rider swerved in front of a civilian car and sped away, causing the officer's car to hit the civilian's.

That car rolled down an embankment onto the outer loop, where five other cars crashed into each other.

Two people in the car that went over the embankment died. Prince George's County Police have identified them as Kevin McCarter, 40, of Ft. Washington, Md. and Sidney Clanton Jr., age unknown, of Buffalo, N.Y.

Two of the injured were police officers. One was flown to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The other was also hospitalized, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Law enforcement sources tell WTOP the officers involved in the accident had been alerted to a felony in progress, and were given a lookout for the cycle.

Officers are looking for the motorcycle and rider believed to be responsible.

Police say they were chasing a black, high-speed, nimble racing motorcycle.

A video camera in the police cruiser did capture the chase, but police have not provided a more detailed description of the bike, or any license plate information.

The accident and rescue effort caused the highway to be closed in both directions, backing up traffic for miles.

Police are asking anyone with information to call them at 301-not-nark or 301-bull-****.
(obviously i changed the numbers...)

burnfreestyle

that is the reasoning behind most states having a no-chase law on motorcycles.....if the motorcycle goes above a set speed cops are not supposed to pursue...most of them ignore this and want to chase anyways.......and if they knew about the person on the bike why didn't they have an air-unit standing by and as soon as the cops saw him get the air unit after them.....hell they did that me about 4 years ago because they got my bike mixed up with another

bdc_Marky

it's a really big deal over here. all over the radio today they talked about how county legislative officials are gonna vote whether sportbikes should be outlawed on the streets and restricted to the racetrack only. i dont think the law will ever get passed but it is still a bunch of b.s. anyway

Righteous 1

Ha ha, that's pretty funny. So, basically..........the cop caused the pile-up. Is Maryland really that far behind? I bet they're scratching their heads when all the other agencies across the country tell them, "We let them go, it's too dangerous for officers and civilians to chase them." They will never get a bill passed to outlaw bikes......Ha ha...

Righteous 1

Funny thing is.........even if they did pass a bill to outlaw sportbikes, it would only apply to brand new bikes. So, you couldn't buy a brand new one, but you could still buy ANYTHING that was previously registered.

Trentl40

If they make the penalty higher for sportbikes, then more people will run, or at least i will. Now if they decrease the penalty so that if you get caught for doing a wheelie you dont go to jail i think alot more people would at least think about stopping.

bdc_Marky

i guess if they outlaw sportbikes im just going to have to steal a ferrari and cause a massive pileup so all fast cars will be illegal as well

Righteous 1

^^^That's one of the biggest issues they'ld have, if they tried.

metal hed

I've never heard sportbikes called bullet bikes before

ejt_1031

They never get a ban on sportbikes! You can bet Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, etc. would all get together and tie the ban up in court for so many years that it would cost the states taxpayers way too much cash for them to pursue it..

NICK HILL

Unreal... Maybe they should try to ban sports cars too.

*T.J.*

Police cars are death machines in the wrong hands aswell.

excessa

People are assigning responsibility for the polices actions to the sportbiker, the sportbiker is guilty of running. he did not cause that accident, clearly the officer did.

But it suits an agenda that has been quietly building momentum. Ben Rothlesberger or whatever his name was? Immediately reactionary dipshits called for a ban, and politicians use public fear to bolster their own cred. make a boogeyman and position yourself to take him on, instant popularity. They go toward the droves of people, so we just need to make sure it looks like there are more of us than there are of the haters.

...that and deliver a constant reminding that not only are riders a big part of the voting populus, but we're not above stepping up. Groups of riders are writing letters, calling out people who act like sportbikes should be outlawed, etc. Just in an effort to keep the pr issue from becoming a legal ban on sportbikes.

Br4d

+1

d-dub

this was a sad story, cop should not have chased the bike during rush hour. If you know anything about d.c. area traffic during rush hour you know its a beast and there is know way a crown vic is going to keep up with the bike. As far as helicopters go, there are a lot of no fly zones in the d.c. area so they usually don't use them for chases.

and i agree the motorcycle companies will never allow a law to pass that would ban sport bikes

the gnar

theres a no chase policy for bikes here in reno and the cars usually give up pretty quick. the bike cops on the other hand are f*ck sticks and will chase for miles. they just dont call in and ask to pursue, they just chase. they get hella pissed when they get their BMWs out rode. haha.

The motorcycle rider swerved in front of a civilian car and sped away, causing the officer's car to hit the civilian's.

how? i'm pretty sure his brakes worked just fine, he could of stopped before jumping onto the freeway. and he was hell bent on being a hero, not paying attention to traffic.

808stunna

i dont get how the officer running into the car was the cyclist fault?

tallyturbo

seems like the rider did a damn good job of gettin away, not that im condoning running from a cop. i think it is pointless to even try to chase us but then again half the cops are cocky as hell and want to be heros. i like the idea of lowering the penalty. that might actually make me want to stop if i know im not going to be going to jail.

HARK

WTF is goin on these days?

gsx-rKid1000

dam out in az wee i live in in oro valley tucson they just bought 3 r6's all painted up in black in whit with strobes to catch our asses guess idff states have diff thinking(cant wait 4 one of em to try and pull me on my 05 gsxr 1000 with a fast tags play ftp