Police issue warning about ‘Wheels Up, Guns Down’ — to both bike riders and drivers

South Florida police agencies are warning “Wheels Up, Guns Down” riders about “zero tolerance” for rowdy road behavior — and are also sending a message to drivers to call 911 if they spot trouble.

The annual rides involving hundreds of ATV, motorcycle and dirt bikes in Miami-Dade and Broward on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend have sometimes been a headache for police and a safety risk for others on the road.

For nearly a decade, people on off-road vehicles have taken to the streets, Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike to celebrate the holiday weekend. The Wheels Up, Guns Down tradition began in 2015 to honor the memory of a biker killed in Philadelphia.

The rides are mostly peaceful, with just a few incidents of violence. But riders can get reckless on the road — popping wheelies and speeding between and in front of cars — and they have tied up traffic and tested patience.

Miami-Dade police, Miami police and the Florida Highway Patrol said Friday that people taking part in the event who break the law face citations, with their vehicles impounded, and even jail time.

“Dr. Martin Luther’s name should not be tarnished, nor should his legacy be overshadowed, by the chaos we’ve seen in the past,” FHP’s Lt. Alejandro Camacho told reporters at a news briefing at Miami-Dade police headquarters in Doral. “We’re asking everyone to be responsible and not participate in this reckless behavior.”

Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III said his department will be fully staffed over the long holiday weekend, including officers on overtime.

“Through the weekend, our law enforcement community will be out there to ensure that our streets are safe,” he said. “We are asking those who ride these types of vehicles — motorcycles, ATVs — to be respectful and mind the laws that are out there to keep you and the community safe.”

Ramirez said that drivers who feel they are in danger should call 911, and not take any action on their own.

“We will intervene and try to stop that behavior,” Ramirez said.

Camacho said that in addition to more troopers on the highway, FHP aircraft will patrol overhead to look for illegal behavior.

“FHP and our local law enforcement partners will have a zero-tolerance approach for illegal activities this holiday period,” he said.

In Broward, the sheriff’s office also will bulk up its presence on the road, said BSO spokesman Carey Codd.

“As the Broward Sheriff’s Office has done for the past several years, the agency will dedicate significant assets to keeping roadways and law-abiding motorists safe from traffic violators in its jurisdictions,” Codd said in a statement. “BSO wants to remind the participants in this activity that their actions are illegal and there will be consequences for those who participate. Individuals could be arrested, face citations and could have their dirt bikes or ATV’s impounded.”

BSO is also urging drivers who come across people driving recklessly on dirt bikes and ATVs on the road not to get personally involved.

“For law-abiding drivers,” Codd said, “remember to not engage with these riders, remain calm and let them pass.”