San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday could add some bite to the laws intended to combat illegal sideshows in the city.
Sideshow organizers, drivers and spectators already are among those who could face penalties, but there’s a new element San Francisco police are focusing on: dirt bike riders.
A month ago, dozens of dirt bike riders swarmed the city, marking an escalation in the dangerous and destructive behavior the sideshow laws were designed to curb. Mayor London Breed and SF law enforcement want to prosecute them the same as vehicle drivers.
“More recently, dirt bikes have erupted onto the scene and create a different challenge for SFPD, in the same vein but far more nimble,” said Commander Nicole Jones, of the Special Operations Bureau, Traffic Division. “Both of these events should be classified as nothing less than vehicle insurrection. It is lawless.”
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will consider extending how long the city can impound a vehicle and even have an option to sell it if the driver or rider is convicted of charges.
The ordinance also increases the penalties for planning an illegal sideshow; blocking a roadway or private property for stunts; and participating in a sideshow as a spectator. Violators could face jail time and steep fines.
“They’re called sideshowS for a reason; they are a show, and they have audiences,” Supervisor Matt Dorsey said. “So, to that extent, we can hold accountable the people who are publicizing these events. That could help.”
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Dorsey says the sideshows not only are inconvenient for motorists but also can be deadly, as was the case in Sacramento last weekend when two people died at an illegal sideshow.
On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed four new state laws to help communities respond to illegal sideshows.
