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| Noel Leon |
An emerging skateboarding fad known as “bombing” has caused
one law to be implemented and another one being proposed following the deaths
of two teens.
“Bombing” is a new trend in which skateboarders take off at
the top of a hill and rush down, up to 40 MPH. The danger of this is that the
hills are often busy streets, where drivers are usually unaware of the
daredevils.
City Councilman Joe Buscaino
proposed two new laws to deter “bombing” in his district.
Buscaino has recently proposed a law that would now require
every skateboarder to not only follow speed limits and stop at stop signs, but
also follow the same laws that bikers are subjected to.
“This new ordinance will make skateboarders go with the flow
of traffic, stay to the right hand side of cars and wear a helmet,” said
Honorary Mayor of San Pedro Dave Martinez.
The fist law Buscaino proposed tried to ban “bombing”
altogether. This law failed to get passed because it was deemed too
constricting.
The second proposed law would require skateboarders to stop
at stop signs and obey the speed limits. It would also ban skateboarders from
being towed by cars. This law would also allow police to fine anyone
skateboarding without a helmet or disregarding any traffic sings up to $250.
This law was passed, and is now being implemented in all
areas of Los Angeles, especially in the San Pedro area where “bombing” runs
rampant and has become deadly.
“Skateboarding is still allowed in the city of Los Angeles,
but kids should do it in a safe way” said Buscaino. “Now they have to follow
road rules and that, hopefully, will be the factor that can help save
lives."
Michael Borojevich, who was only 14, died after a sustaining
a skateboarding injury and, Caleb Daniel Simpson, 15, was killed while skating
down a hill. Both Borojevich and Simpson were “bombing” before they received
their fatal injuries.
“The death of these children should be a wake up call for
other kids. This new adrenaline booster is not worth the cost,” said Cesar
Flores, a San Pedro resident. “I live on a street with a huge hill and kids are
constantly skating down the street. I almost hit a boy the other day while
making a right turn up my street.”
Stories of near-hits are now commonplace in the city of San
Pedro and the local authorities have been seen citing “bombers” and handing out
fliers, designed by the city council, warning them about the new laws.
“These kids are risking their lives. Maybe now, with the new
law, the kids will be deterred form doing something that could ruin, or end
their lives,” said LAPD Officer Alex Calandrino. “I get called to hilly
neighborhoods almost everyday. People are sacred that one day they are going to
hit one of these kids and kill them.”
Calandrino also said that, before the new skateboarding
laws, it was difficult to penalize the “bombers” because the old laws were
outdated.
“The old skateboarding laws never addressed [bombing]
because it wasn’t around before; previously skate boarding laws only dealt with
private property, not public streets. Now it will be easier to crack down on
the dangerous thing these kids are doing.”
The laws seem to be accepted by most people in the
neighborhood of San Pedro but the teenage “bombers” have different viewpoints.
Bryan Ramirez, a sophomore at San Pedro High School, said
the laws on skateboarding are becoming too constricting and that he should be
able to skateboard on the streets without fines.
“I was skating home from school a couple days ago and I flew
through an intersection, which had a green light, and got stopped by some cops.
They told me I was going faster than the legal speed limit for skateboarding,”
said Ramirez. “If I’m going slower than almost all other traffic on the street
I should not get a ticket. It’s stupid and unfair.”
Ramirez, along with other “bombers,” are having trouble
adjusting to the new law, and fear what may come next from city council.
Some of the illegal skaters have taken up another illegal
activity to get their message across: tagging. All around San Pedro graffiti
can bee seen that says “SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A CRIME.” The tagged slogan has
become common in neighborhoods with large, paved hills, and just adds fuel to
the anti bombing movement.
“Before the laws this tag wasn’t seen, but now it’s just a
new concern that has risen in regards to the bombers,” said Calandrino.
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