Help Get This Guy Off The Trail!
- This topic has 24 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Topic
-
For weeks, I’ve been encountering a jerk riding a motorized “hoverboard” on the MVT. He’s a thin, middle-aged, WM, and I’ve encountered him going in both directions between Old Town and Gravelly Point, weekdays, between 8 and 11 in the morning. I have stopped him more than once, informed him that what he is doing is strictly prohibited by the National Park Service, and referred him to the “rules and regulations” prominently posted on the MVT front page on the NPS.gov website. I also let him know why the rule exists: the inherent danger of motorized vehicles operating on a narrow, twisting, undulating path among pedestrians, cyclists, strollers, children etc. He obviously doesn’t care, as he’s still out there.
The US Park Police station that has jurisdiction on the MVT is the GW Memorial Parkway Station, phone # (703) 285-1000. I spoke with them this morning. They seemed to care, and told me they actually got a separate complaint about this guy last week (I was happy to hear that). Interestingly, though they have officers on the trail on bikes, they said that in a case like this, their officers in cars will also be on the lookout for him and will definitely intercept him if spotted. In the end, they gave me the predictable “we’ll keep an eye out for him” response.
Posting this here in order to ask you to do two things:
1. If you see this guy out there, stop him, shame him, and give him the same message I did. (Fear not, he may be a jerk, but he exudes no dangerous vibes.)
2. Then call the US Park Police at the number above. They may have a nearby unit that can get him right then and there; or when you provide location and his direction of travel, they may be able to nab him as he travels away from you. Even if they don’t get him, it’s good for you to make the call because when police start getting lots of complaints about a particular person or thing — they act.
Why all this is important: while he may be the only ass doing this at the moment, if he is allowed to continue, others will see him and think it’s OK — that will be the step on to the slippery slope toward a much larger and more dangerous problem/situation.
So if you see him, please help nip this in the bud.
-
@hozn 161989 wrote:
I think you’ll find cyclists tend to like blurry lines. After all, we object to being subjected to the same road rules as cars, focusing instead on danger posed, intent of laws, etc.
So you’re suggesting banning bikes from the trails as well?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.