Police saw no rise in calls during Myrtle Beach area bike rallies

OFF THE WIRE
Higher turnout for rally didn't boost citations

Despite what was believed to be an increase in bikers on the Grand Strand for last month's motorcycle rallies, officials with area police departments said they did not see an increase in calls or citations issued.

Officials in Myrtle Beach and Horry County kept statistics for different times for the Harley Davidson Cruisin' the Coast Spring rally this year so the number of incidents for comparison was not available.

Horry County officials reported 129 cases with fines or bond amounts totaling $19,151 during the nine days of the Harley Davidson rally from May 14 to May 22, according to reports. During the 2010 Harley rally, Horry County police made 386 cases with bond or fine amounts totaling $63,800 during the 10 days of the rally, according to records.

During the three-day Atlantic Beach Bikefest on Memorial Day weekend, Horry County officials recorded 180 cases and $29,350 in daily fines or bond amounts. Last year, Horry County police issued 386 citations in the same time span. Bond amounts were not available.

Horry County police Sgt. Robert Kegler said "there was nothing significant or out of the ordinary" during the rallies for county officials.
In the Myrtle Beach city limits, police Capt. David Knipes said the Harley rally was uneventful compared to previous years, though the department's volume of calls for incidents increased over a typical weekend.

"I think the number of bikes that were in town were slightly up from last year, but they certainly were not what they were from years past," Knipes said of the Harley-Davidson rally. "Arrests down, the call volume was down from years past, so all in all it was a very good weekend [in] law enforcement."

This year in Myrtle Beach during the busy Harley rally weekend of May 20-22, officials recorded six felonies, 385 misdemeanors and 391 traffic-related incidents, according to records. There were 957 citations issued during 10 days in 2010. This year there were 1,379 calls for service during a three-day period versus 3,766 calls for service during the 10-day rally last year.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/15/2220207/police-saw-no-rise-in-calls.html#ixzz1PKgf1sZw

From May 27-30 during the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, Myrtle Beach police recorded 15 felonies, 937 misdemeanors and 952 traffic-related incidents. Knipes said 952 citations were issued this year versus 1,532 citations in 2010. Calls for service this year were slightly less at 3,131 versus last year's 3,293, Knipes said.
As for the Memorial Day weekend, Knipes said incidents increased over routine weekend activity and compared to last year. Myrtle Beach police were busy during an eight-hour period early May 30 after numerous armed robberies were reported in the city, but officials did not link the incidents to bikers.

"The number of incidents were still higher than we would like to see them," Knipes said. "The armed robberies and things along that line we can do without."
The rallies were the first in the spring since the S.C. Supreme Court overturned a helmet law last June within the Myrtle Beach city limits. In 2008, city leaders enacted several ordinances after complaints the rallies had gotten too big and loud in city limits.

During the Harley Davidson rally, crowds are reported mostly in the southern portion of Horry County with a few vendors in the Little River area. During the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, crowds were reported in the North Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach and Myrtle Beach areas.

"The call volume goes up, but it also goes up when there are that many people in town," Kegler said of the Memorial Day festivities. "Obviously, the traffic was much heavier in the Garden City and Murrells Inlet areas during Harley week."
Traffic jams also were associated with the latter rally as bike rally attendees and Memorial Day visitors left the beach Monday.

"Overall we had noisy, but good rallies," said Pat Dowling, spokesman for the City of North Myrtle Beach. "In general, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt were the incidents we saw increases in."

Also, there were four motorcyclists killed in the area during the rallies. Three people were killed during the Harley Davidson rally and one motorcyclist during the Memorial Day weekend in Myrtle Beach, according to authorities.
http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/15/2220207/police-saw-no-rise-in-calls.html#ixzz1PKgn6hHX