Appleton police are warning of the dangers of reckless driving, particularly by non-street legal bikes.
In a Facebook video published July 2, the Appleton Police Department shared video footage of four people on motorized bikes improperly navigating a roundabout. The bikes are seen turning into oncoming traffic to cut from the road to the sidewalk.
“Reckless driving, like swerving into oncoming traffic, isn’t just illegal; it puts lives at risk,” the Facebook post reads. “Unfortunately, our officers see behavior like this far too often and are working every day to address it.”
Appleton Police Lt. William McCormick told The Post-Crescent the video was captured June 28 by a traffic camera at the intersection of College Avenue, Walter Avenue and John Street. An officer had attempted a traffic stop on a group of about nine or 10 non-street-legal dirtbikes that were driving recklessly, but the bikes did not stop.
“Roundabouts can be a challenge for new drivers or drivers that haven’t driven through them to begin with. In that video you saw, now you have a pack of up to 10 vehicles coming at you the wrong way in a roundabout,” McCormick said. “I think it was a lucky situation that no one was injured or hurt badly.”
The investigation into the eluding incident is ongoing, McCormick said, but the police department decided to share a clip from the traffic footage to portray the dangers of what they see as a growing trend of reckless electric bike riding in the Appleton area.
McCormick said Appleton police officers have seen an uptick in non-street-legal bikes on the roads in the past year.
“In reviewing cases and video, I would say that there’s a large increase in the amount that are out on the road, and coming into the downtown area, where they tend to be observed by people or disturb other drivers,” he said. “It’s a very busy traffic corridor there, so there’s a very high probability that an accident will happen down there.”
McCormick said there is a difference between street-legal e-bikes, which are allowed to follow the rules of the road like any other bicycle, and electric motorcycles, which are not permitted on roads.
He said the unsafe operating of non-street-legal bikes is becoming “more and more of a normal observation every day downtown.” He warned it can have dangerous, and even fatal, consequences.
There have also been increases in crashes in Appleton and surrounding areas involving street-legal motorcycles that do not have a license plate or are improperly registered, McCormick said.
“I know there’s been several since the weather’s turned warm again this year,” he said.
People operating non-street-legal bikes on the roadway can receive a city ordinance-level citation. For different illegal driving behaviors, like driving into oncoming traffic or leaving a lane, bikers can receive traffic citations. More major unsafe driving behaviors like reckless driving or eluding an officer can result in misdemeanor or felony charges, McCormick said.
What type of bikes are permitted on roads?
McCormick said he directs people to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation website and PeopleForBikes.org for specifics on regulation of two-wheeled motorized vehicles.
In Wisconsin, electric bicycles, or e-bikes, are bicycles with working pedals and an electric motor of 750 watts or less, according to the DOT. A driver’s license is not required to operate those vehicles, and they are divided into three classes.
Class 1 and Class 2 bikes stop providing assistance when the bike reaches 20 mph, while Class 3 bikes stop providing motor assistance at 28 mph. Class 3 e-bikes can only be operated by cyclists aged 16 or older.
McCormick said he encourages parents of children and teens to understand the traffic rules for e-bikes when they make purchases.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton police warn of dangers of reckless driving by non-street-legal bikes
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
