Traffic Deaths Prompt Crackdown on Unlicensed Motorcyclists

Los Angeles police are cracking down on motorcyclists in the San Fernando Valley after observing reckless riding and a flurry of fatal crashes involving people not licensed to ride the bikes, according to Los Angeles Police Lt. Alan Kerstein.

The crackdown was begun by four officers who have written nearly 800 tickets and impounded about 750 bikes since mid-June, Kerstein said.

The number of officers patrolling the Valley one night a week for traffic violations by motorcyclists will be increased to as many as 12 later this month, Kerstein said.

“We’ve decided it’s a major area we want to concentrate on,” the lieutenant said.

2 Licensed Motorcyclists

Only two of the 15 motorcyclists who died in the Valley so far this year were licensed to ride the bikes, Kerstein said. One of the two was Officer Randol L. Marshall, who died in an accident June 2. The total number of people killed so far this year in traffic accidents in the Valley is 69.

The other 13 riders had driver’s licenses without the state’s “Class 4” motorcycle certification, for which a motorcycle riding test is required at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Kerstein said.

The lack of certification “is at least an indication of the potential for an inability to safely operate the motorcycle,” Kerstein said.

During the crackdown, motorcyclists without the proper license will have their bikes impounded, he said. Motorcycles with license plates that have been expired for more than a year also will be taken, he said.

Reckless Riding Observed

The crackdown also was inspired by a steady increase in reckless riding seen by patrol officers, Kerstein said.

“They seem to be riding with a real wanton disregard for their own safety and the safety of everyone else,” he said. “Even on the smallest motorcycles, they’re making very dramatic movements, very pronounced lane changes.”

In the first five months of this year, motorcyclist deaths increased 20% compared to the same period in 1986, Kerstein said. The majority of last year’s 37 motorcycle deaths occurred in the second half of the year, he said.

The crackdown is expected to last at least until October, he said.