A case of biker beware
Cops plan 'crotch rocket' crackdown
Saturday, August 27, 2005
By Guy Tridgell
Staff writer
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Interstate 57 through the south suburbs takes on another life after midnight.
Traffic thins. Lanes open. The need for speed grows.
For those who want to turn loose their motorcycles for a high-speed romp, I-57 is a dream.
"It's wide open going south, especially when it gets past midnight," Illinois State Police Capt. Leonard Stallworth said. "Bikers feel they can open it up. It is a straight shot."
That urge will be curbed tonight.
Between 11:50 p.m. and 4 a.m. Sunday, state and local police will conduct a cooperative sting to catch motorcycle drivers wreaking havoc on I-57.
Between 15 and 20 troopers will be stationed on the interstate. A police airplane will monitor traffic from above.
To prevent bikers from escaping police by exiting I-57, officers from suburbs such as Calumet Park, Markham, Harvey and Country Club Hills will guard the ramps into their towns.
Motorcyclists speeding and driving recklessly will be targeted.
But police are not hiding that the brunt of the crackdown is aimed at "crotch rockets" — sleek, colorful cycles known to reach speeds in excess of 150 mph.
Special attention will be paid to drivers speeding in packs, swerving through traffic and performing stunts.
"They are terrorizing other motorists," Stallworth said.
Mike Witter of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration office in Olympia Fields said crotch rockets are a leading cause behind the national increase in motorcycle fatalities — a jump of 300 in 2004.
Witter, a south suburban resident, experienced a close encounter with one while driving home on the Dan Ryan Expressway after a game at U.S. Cellular Field.
"He passed us — on one wheel — on the expressway," Witter said. "It is intimidating. They know they are fast. They know they can move in and out. They make you nervous."
The number of motorcycles on Illinois roads is on the rise.
In 2001, 213,963 motorcycles were registered in the state, according the secretary of state's office. Last year, the number was 273,319.
High-performance models, produced by Japanese manufacturers Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda, are particularly appealing to male drivers in their teens and early 20s, police said.
They also are frustrating to law enforcement because the bikes are nimble, quick to accelerate and elusive.
Those same characteristics can put too much motorcycle in the hands of inexperienced riders.
Last year, eight bikers died on Chicago expressways. The tally this year is two: one on the Dan Ryan, another on I-57.
Martin Pavilonis understands the frustration, even though his Speed Limit Cycle in Markham specializes in sport bikes.
Pavilonis attributes inconsiderate riders to the eternal quest to stretch the boundaries of youth and the growing popularity of extreme sports that encourage daredevil behavior.
"The problem is large groups of guys are just flying around," he said. "Are police being prejudiced? Yes. Do they have a reason for it? Absolutely. They are profiling."
Speed Limit Cycle, Pavilonis said, is encouraging young bikers to be smart.
The shop offers a program for novice bikers to buy smaller, less powerful cycles. They can return their bike within a year for equal value — 30 cents is deducted for every mile accumulated — toward a bigger model.
"The old way of doing it was a guy would go out and buy the biggest bike they could," Pavilonis said. "People don't realize the size and the speed."
His advice to the owners of crotch rockets who need a speed fix: Get the bike off the road and go to a track.
It will be interesting to see how many tickets they write tonight.....
Topic: Chicago, IL crack down this weekend (Read 10781 times)