SCRANTON, Pa. — Unregistered ATVs have been problematic for police departments, including in Scranton.
Scranton Police Chief Thomas Carroll says the city has ordinances to deter people from riding ATVs on city streets, but nothing seems to stop it.
But on Friday, a new law goes into effect that allows police to seize the unregistered ATV and possibly sell or destroy it if the owner is convicted.
"We don't need them on the city streets where it's busy, creating unsafe conditions for other motorists. So any type of legislation that comes down, we're eager to enforce it. And hopefully, it does change behavior," Chief Carroll said.
Police departments aren't allowed to chase ATVs, but Scranton police hope technology and the public can help.
"To capture the violators on our dash cameras, and provide those images to the public, to gain their support for identifying the offenders on the quads and ATVs," the chief said.
This new law will only apply to cities in the state. Boroughs and townships are a little envious.
"These $10,000, $5,000 machines will be basically taken off them and destroyed. We won't have that option. So that fear factor is not going to be as prevalent here in a borough as it would be in a city. So, therefore, we're going to deal with exactly the same problems that we're always dealing with," said Blakely Police Chief Guy Salerno.
Chief Salerno says his department deals with calls about unregistered ATVs on the streets all the time. Salerno hopes boroughs and townships are eventually included in this law.
"Most of them actually you're driving slow, so we'll receive a warning the first time letting you know these vehicles are not allowed on the roadway. Therefore, if they're stopped again, we know who they are. They will be cited, and their vehicle will be towed."
Unregistered ATVs will only be sold or destroyed if the owner is found guilty.
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