Usually "biker gangs" bring ideas of Harleys, leather, Veitnam POW flags, etc. Not so with the newest group prowling the streets in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York City. The one similarity these teenagers do have with their motorcycle counterparts is their crazy-loud sound.
As the New York Times reported, this group of teens has customized their fleet of BMX bikes into booming sound machines. The bikes, which probably start out at about 20-pounds, are overloaded with speakers, amplifiers, and car batteries to power the operation. iPods, CD changers, DVD screens, and custom wood and plastic cabinets to house the assemblies are popular additions. The sound systems put out as much as 5,000 watts of power, and can pump out music at 150 decibels. The rigs weigh 200 pounds or more when fully loaded and ready to rock.
The group will ride as a pack, cruising the streets and alternating who gets to play DJ and strut his stuff.
Most of the riders have a Guyanese or Trinidadian background. In those countries, stereos on bikes is commonplace. It’s a new phenomenon for NYC, however. And these teens are pushing the sounds-on-bikes to a new level.
“People say, ‘It’s the next best thing to having a system in a car,’" says Nick Ragbir, 18. "But it’s better because you don’t even have to roll down the windows.”
Many of the riders do work installing car stereos to fund their projects. A new venture, called Legal Intenionz, will capitalize of the attention they’ve received and commercially install custom stereos on bikes.
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The motorist intentionally swerved into the cyclists while passing in an unsafe manner and NO CHARGES WERE FILED???? And then the deputies BLAMES THE VICTIM when it’s clearly the motorist’s fault? That is so absolutely ridiculous it’s beyond words.
The negligence shown by police in this country is sickening. Any time a police officer decides that the motorist wasn’t at fault in a car/bike accident, they are wrong. It’s that simple. The motorist, by the very fact that they are in a vehicle that can kill easily, should be careful. If that means driving slowly behind a cyclist until they can safely get by, even if it’s for ten miles, then so be it.
We need to enact an American version of the EU’s Fifth Motorists directive over here, NOW.