No gas, no problem? Jersey City plans new approach to keeping ATVs, dirt bikes off road

- Street bikes found hidden near a garbage container at the Arlington Gardens in Jersey City are seized by Jersey City police Sunday, March 26, 2023. (Joe Shine | For The Jersey Journal) Joe ShineJoe Shine

Jersey City is slamming the brakes on gas stations that fuel up the street-illegal all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes that become an almost daily annoyance across the city with their loud and dangerous antics.

The city council Wednesday is expected to amend the ordinance that bans the off-road vehicles from city streets by preventing gas stations in the city from dispensing gas to dirt bikes and ATVs unless they are being transported by a properly registered vehicle, trailer or truck. Stations that violate the law would face fines of up to $2,000.

Last year when the sight of large and small groups of dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles riding at dangerous speeds was more than a passing fad, the city council adopted an ordinance that authorized police to seize all dirt bikes and ATVs designed for off-road use if they were observed on city streets.

Mayor Steve Fulop said this is necessary to substantially improve safety on the city's roadways.

"We have been working closely with our police department as this issue has become increasingly alarming, and our residents are being put in harm's way due to reckless ATV drivers," Fulop said Monday.

"It's a problem every year for us with more of these ATVs and dirt bikes on the street. They are not only a nuisance to residents, but more than that they are unsafe for riders," Fulop said on Twitter.

The ordinance exempts providing fuel to the off-road vehicles if the gas station owner or employee feels they would be physically harmed. But once safe the employee or owner must immediately report it to the Jersey City Police Department within an hour of the ATV or dirt bike leaving the property.

The amendments also ban storage facilities from allowing ATVs and dirt bikes from being delivered or removed from their buildings on anything outside of a properly registered vehicle, trailer or truck. If threatened, storage facility owners have 24 hours to report the incident to the police.

Many cities, including Atlantic City, Trenton, New York City and Philadelphia, have cracked down on ATVs and dirt bikes. Last year, Atlantic City approved a similar gas station ordinance.

City officials said police have responded to 100 calls since June 2022 involving dirt bikes and ATVs, 10 of which involved motor vehicle accidents. Police are not likely to chase ATV and dirt bike riders for fear of causing a crash and injuring the rider or a bystander.

Just last month, officers spotted a group of dirt bikes on Clinton Avenue. Officers placed one person under arrest for eluding and failure to stop; and seized his dirt bike. Later police found and seized two more two dirt bikes that were involved in the incident.

Councilwoman Mira Prinz Arey and Denise Ridley, who sponsored the ordinance along with the city, said the use of ATVs and dirt bikes is putting residents at risk.

"We are taking a stand against the illegal ATVs and dirt bikes that are increasingly putting our community at risk," Prinz-Arey said.

"The drivers of these illegal ATVs are often weaving through traffic without helmets at speeds that pose a serious danger to themselves, surrounding vehicles on the roadways, and the public at large," Ridley said. "The goal is to add another deterrent to stop them from putting people at serious risk."

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