Bikers’ Freeway Takeover Attracts Police Attention
While the news of motorcyclists performing dangerous stunts on Central Expressway and the Dallas North Tollway is nothing new, the police response to the latest takeover is. This video posted on NBC-DFW’s website (with an 83 percent “furious” emotional reaction), shows that law enforcement are giving more effort than usual to identify the offenders of a Memorial Day ride that shut down Central Expressway for four minutes.
When I first wrote about the trend of stunt riding on public roads last August, Senior Corporal Kevin Janse of the Dallas Police Department expressed frustration with the brevity of the crime, saying it didn’t allow for a police response. But with scores of videos and photos posted online, as well as a number of angry eye-witnesses, the Memorial Day ride might prove more fertile ground for identifying and capturing the culprits.
While most people agree stunt riding on the freeway is no bueno, what about the merits of the sport in general? Should stunt riders be given a proper venue to showcase their skills, a-la- skate and snowboarding parks?
yes the bikers should have a place all of their own. My son is one of these that like stunting i dont agree with them shutting down the freeway but they need a place to do this i support the bikers 100 percent they are talented and the sport should be regonized as that a sport.
There are not many things that get me hotter under the collar than these motorcyclists that do this. It is so darn dangerous to others on the road! I’m so over the whole weaving in and out of traffic, the wheelies, the loud tailpipes coming up right beside you and scaring the living daylights out of you. Get these people off the road!
if this angers people they have bigger problems it was in memory of a fallen rider just like a furenal why dont people get angry about animal abuse and child abuse this shuts down or country not just a freeway and why not get angry about them taken god out of our schools this could be the very reason so many young people have little to no direction lets get angry about starving children and animals lets get angry over something that really hurts others and our country, leave these young people alone help them find a safe place to sport their sport
well, i think it would be a great idea to give the guys a place to go do their stunts, they need a big parking lot or maybe an abandoned road that the city will let everyone use. im not going to lie, i was out there that day, and did stop with everyone, but i sure as hell didnt think that was going to happen. i heard talk of it, but didnt think people were that crazy.
@leta–it was not ‘just like a funeral’, at least not like any funeral I’ve ever attended. Funerals don’t typically shut a major freeway down while those in attendance whoop it up. My opinion: ticket or arrest them all.
@ leta: My head hurts after reading your posts but let me get make sure I understand the gist of your argument: if peoople have an issue with these motorcyclists endangering their own lives along with the lives of others by illegally performing stunts and shutting down busy roadways then these angered people should also be angry about “them taken god out of our schools” along with starving children and animals. While I agree that starving animals and children are something I should get angry about, who, may I ask should I be angry at? It seams that anytime a news story talks about parents who starve their kids or owners that starve their pets the perpetrators have been arrested and will face the justice system, as should be the case whenever someone breaks the law.
I must be an angry person because I have time to be angry at more than one thing at the same time. Potholes-they make me angry. Parents who take little league sports too seriously-yep them too. Elected officials who send pictures of their weiners to someone and then lie about it or otherwise think they are invincible-really tick me off. People in general who break laws, not little laws like going 33 mph in a 30 mph zone, but big laws like endangering lives of innocent people all for a cheap thrill-really get under my skin.
But I do agree with you. These people need to find a safe place to sport their sport. At least I think I agree with you.
@leta: It angers people because unlike a real funeral procession they are breaking many laws and making the road incredibly dangerous. You say it’s a sport and they need a place to “stunt”. Great, form a league or group or whatever; buy/rent/borrow some land to use; petition schools or organizations to include it in their options; and lastly…follow the law or face the consequences.
I hope every one of these riders are found and prosecuted. Imagine an ambulance trying to get through to get someone to the hospital. Minutes are critical.@Leta- honoring a fallen rider? How about them doing that by volunteering somewhere? Doing some good rather than putting others at risk. They are nothing but self-centered.
This is like a funeral so it is okay?? Are you kidding me? So if I’m sad that a friend dies and I decide to take out a major power transformer in the city, is that okay? How about if I send out a virus that shuts down email throughout the region? It’s okay, I’m mourning over a fellow hacker. Maybe if someone is mourning a fellow terrorist, it would be okay to call in a bomb threat at an airport and shut it down for a day? Sounds like it should be okay since it would be like a funeral.
Putting your own selfish whims above the good and safety of the rest of society is hardly “sport”. But I do agree they should have their own place to practice their “sport”. How about the jailyard?
Sounds like the DPD should perhaps interview Ms. Leta Hutto’s son to try to help identify some of these inconsiderate idiots who shut down the freeway that day. Thanks Mom!
I, of course, echo what all of the sensible readers have said. Another fact is that this stunt which halted traffic could have prevented someone from getting medical attention or our other emergency services from reaching a destination. I am not saying it did this time (I don’t know) but if they do it again it is possible they could endanger someone’s life. This is incredible disrespectful of everyone else on the road.
The thing that I don’t understand about this whole situation is DPD’s lack of action. Given the location of the “event”, DPD could have easily blocked off Central and arrested every single one of them. This part of Central is below grade with limited access. DPD could have stationed officers at both ends blocking any potential escape route. While I don’t condone the group’s actions, DPD’s response was pathetic. I look forward to seeing DPD’s “official” response as to why they did nothing.
According to Channel 8 News,an arrest has been made. Hopefully, it will lead to more.
They’re all thugs. But never fear – Darwin’s Law will prevail and they will become extinct.
Punks. Darwinian indeed.
“Darwin’s Law will prevail and they will become extinct.”
As someone who mourns Darwin’s passing I am in favor of accelerating his theory of natural selection with regard to bikers like these whenever and wherever possible.
Perhaps fellow Darwin admirers could band together every Memorial Day on that stretch of road and provide more help to the natural selection process?
All to honor the memory of Darwin of course.
@ Southern Gent i love what u said here
“I must be an angry person because I have time to be angry at more than one thing at the same time. Potholes-they make me angry. Parents who take little league sports too seriously-yep them too. Elected officials who send pictures of their weiners to someone and then lie about it or otherwise think they are invincible-really tick me off. People in general who break laws, not little laws like going 33 mph in a 30 mph zone, but big laws like endangering lives of innocent people all for a cheap thrill-really get under my skin.”
i know this is an old story but the problem still exists w/ these guys. whether its considered an actual sport or not isnt the issue…its have total disregard for other peoples lives & well being..so what that they think their talents should be shown off..i myself can do some sweet looking cartwheels & flip flops but u wont see me doing those down 75 or the tollway. and these guys arent just driving like that to honor a fallen friend, they are doing their stunts all the time. do u think its ok to terrorize a mom w/ her children in the car? because that happened to me once on 190..this gang of crotch rockets surrounded me & blocked me from doing anything but slowing down..so what if i had slammed on my breaks & one of those “young people” had slammed into the back of me injuring themselves or me & my kids..then what? im the irresponsible driver?? give me a break…besides what other sport has “players” endangering the public on a public street. do u see football players running down the highway? baseball games? soccer? i mean come on..defending self centered individuals who are desperate for attention is pathetic..ur assuming they are above the law or more important than all the people who have been harrassed by them…which they arent at all..they are just a bunch of stupid immature bullies…and one day they are going to mess w/ the wrong person/s…this is texas & people carry guns ya know.