Dirt Bikes, ATVs Clog Rush-Hour Commute on South Florida Roads
Hundreds took to the streets riding dirt bikes and ATVs.
— -- Images and videos are still making the rounds on social media today, after hundreds of riders on dirt bikes and ATVs took to the roadways of South Florida to show off their skills and, for some, honor Martin Luther King Jr.
Some of the riders reportedly popped wheelies, weaved through traffic and even waved at cameras as they criss-crossed Miami-Dade and Broward Counties on Monday, causing additional headaches for drivers during the rush-hour commute.
Juan Perez, a Miami-Dade police department deputy director, today called the bikers a "hazard" to the community. He said the swarms were difficult to stop and that officers did not chase them to avoid endangering other drivers.
"I think there was initial attempts to try to stop some of this activity that was occurring and the motorcyclists fled from the officers," he said. "It looked like a recipe for disaster already so by us chasing, [it] would've contributed more to that possibility of [it] being an incident where there's some serious injuries."
Joseph Gebara told the Miami Herald that he was traveling on US 441 when he came across 60 to 70 bikers.
"It caught me off guard," he said.
Reasons for the convergence differed. Some riders and bike enthusiasts said the gathering in South Florida had been planned for months via hashtags on social media to support Miami's growing bike culture.
Others said it was to show solidarity around the civil rights leader's holiday, riding in a spirit of nonviolence.
"These bikes bring a bond," said Milo Alexander of Atlanta, according to the Miami Herald. "It doesn't matter who you are."
According to ABC News affiliate WPLG-TV, riders from across the US were in South Florida for the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, which ended Sunday.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported today that there had been three arrests and one small crash with no injuries reported.