Baltimore Police say gas stations could be fined for selling gas to dirt bike riders

Baltimore Police are cracking down on illegal dirt bike riders by stopping them at the gas pumps.

Gas station owners could face up to $1,000 in fines or even 90 days in jail if they allow dirt bike riders to fill up at their pumps. 

A gas station near W. Cold Spring Lane told CBS News Baltimore that they are told to turn off their fuel lines if they hear or see dirt bikes coming down their street. This means lost business because it takes a few minutes for the pumps to turn back on.

"When dirt bikes come through our road, like we just shut all the pumps," a gas station manager said. "It impacts our business a lot. When there are three or four customers at our station, if we shut down the pumps, they will be in trouble, and they come here and say, 'Give me a refund,' or something like that."

Cracking down on illegal dirt bike riding

Eleven dirt bikes and ATVs are off the streets in Baltimore City after police say officers seized them during two enforcement actions this past weekend.

The department says this is part of an ongoing effort to address community concerns about dirt bikes driving recklessly through the city.

Within the patrol division, Baltimore police said detectives are assigned to investigate illegal dirt bike riding and a new partnership with all police districts for enforcement.

11 dirt bikes seized by Baltimore police

This past weekend, investigators received a community tip, which led them to the area near Herring Run Park in northeast Baltimore.

That's where they found a gathering of illegal off-road vehicles, including dirt bikes and ATVs. During the operation, nine off-road vehicles were seized, as other riders tried to flee the area.

"We're not talking about people who are just out riding to have a good time. There are many more nefarious things that are also going on with it," said Col. Ryan Lee, chief of patrol with the Baltimore Police. "They were able to quickly deploy to the area, coordinate with district resources, and able to take direct enforcement, intercept several of the people that were there."

In another enforcement action, two other off-road vehicles were taken, bringing the weekend's total to 11.  

During an operation, an officer was injured, according to police. The officer was treated and released from an area hospital.

"Dirt bike [and] ATV riders showed up at an event. When they tried to effect the arrest of one of the riders, another rider chose to use their dirt bike to strike an officer with it and assault them physically," Lee said.

The department says detectives are trying to identify the bikers and will pursue charges. There are other active investigations into illegal dirt biking in the city, according to police. Investigators say they are scheduled to execute a search-and-seizure warrant in one case.

Making Baltimore City roads safer

While enforcement is part of the approach, Councilman Zac Blanchard, who represents parts of South Baltimore, says roadways need to be changed too. 

That includes reducing the number of lanes on roads dirt bikers use most, and even adding narrow speed bumps.

"You need a full spectrum approach because it's such a hard problem to solve," Blanchard said. "If your lanes are too wide, if you have too many lanes for the amount of drivers you have on that road, you're incentivizing that type of bad behavior…There's an enforcement solution, but then there's also a making our right of ways less fun to do illegal stuff on."

Baltimore Police say they are looking for more community tips to improve roadway safety and address this ongoing problem. 

Anyone with information about illegal dirt biking, meeting locations, storage sites, and gas stations allowing bikes to refuel can report tips anonymously through Metro Crime Stoppers, the dirt bike tipline 443-902-4474. 

Emails can be sent to DirtBikeTips@baltimorepolice.org.