People are tired of noise, exhaust and wild driving in traffic. The MC gang rides day and night in a group. The noise keeps an entire town awake. They do not hesitate to put themselves in danger. They themselves feel misunderstood and persecuted. It has gone so far that people living in Grenland are taking matters into their own hands. It has already ended with one serious incident of violence. A few destroy At most, almost 100 young people have gathered to wreak havoc with the bikes. Two comrades news has spoken to are part of the controversial environment. They wish to remain anonymous, but news knows their identity. The 19-year-olds believe that a few individuals destroy the rest. – Even if a person has messed up, it does not mean that everyone is a criminal or violent. The young people in the motorcycle community know that they cause a lot of noise and fear of accidents. They believe they should be given a place to be where they are not a nuisance to others. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news Because there have been violent clashes. The 19-year-olds distance themselves from that. One night in late summer, things went really wrong. Violent incident A street with little traffic in the center of Skien is among the many areas in the city that have experienced the bike gang as troublesome. One Friday in August, one of the residents on the street has had enough. A video that news has access to shows that a man begins to film the young people driving in the streets. The whole thing quickly escalates into a conflict. Suddenly a fight breaks out. The man eventually pulls a wallpaper knife out of his pocket. Then he goes off on one of the bikes. A little later, the man tries to push one of the drivers off the bike, but goes to the ground himself. When he’s down, he gets kicked in the head. Image from the video news has access to. The video shows how the conflict between the man and the young people in the cycling community degenerates. Photo: news tips Out of consideration for those involved, news has chosen not to publish the video. The man was sent to hospital after the incident. He will not comment on the matter. news therefore does not know all the details of the violent incident. The police are investigating the case. They are still working to interview witnesses. A person is a suspect. The man only has the status of offended. news does not know the identity of the motorcyclists in conflict with the man in this video, and therefore does not know their version. news has been in contact with several people in the neighbourhood. Many do not want to speak out about the case for fear of reprisals from the youth gang. But Ragnar Steinstad, who lives in the area, tells his experience of what happened. – Behaved brutally Steinstad arrived at the scene after the conflict had escalated. He describes the incident as very dramatic. – It was noisy and loud like I have never heard before in terms of noise level. When I went out, he was lying on the ground and those people behaved very brutally. They kicked and hit, he says. Ragnar Steinstad in the street where a man was injured after a conflict with young people on two wheels. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news According to Steinstad, the neighborhood has been plagued for several years by noisy motorcycles and mopeds. – I hope something happens, so we get rid of the fear and noise, he says to news. – Plague and trouble The comment fields in newspapers and on social media have been flooded with messages about the gang on two wheels. Many are afraid of accidents, or what might happen if small children and young people meet them in the traffic scene. Many are also angry because noise keeps them awake. The so-called “crosser gang” has also dominated the local newspapers. This summer, around 100 messages with the word “crosser” were registered in the police operation log in the Skien and Porsgrunns area alone. Traffic coordinator in the police, Nils Anders Bruun, says it is massive, compared to other places in the country. – They are a plague and a nuisance to everyone around them. People are really tired of this behaviour, says Bruun. According to the police, the gang consists of young boys aged 16 and over. Many of them ride mopeds or light motorcycles, which the police believe have nothing to do on the road. The vehicles are often unregistered. Either the signs have been picked off, or mounted so that they are not readable. Many of them are also trimmed. – They expose themselves and others to great danger, says Bruun, who fears that serious accidents will happen. Nils Anders Bruun, traffic coordinator in the police is worried. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news – They can resort to violence The police warn people against taking matters into their own hands. – I strongly advise against that. They have shown that they can resort to violence. Feel free to film from a distance, but don’t confront them yourself. The police want tips, both about the violent incident and illegal driving. They work to survey the environment and plan larger actions to stop the young people’s activities. Among other things, they will seize all illegal vehicles and prosecute the drivers who drive illegally. It is also appropriate to use a police helicopter to pursue and catch them when they stop, says Bruun. – Not a danger to others The young cycling enthusiasts believe that people have nothing to be afraid of. They are open about the fact that they engage in wild driving and like to drive on the rear wheel. But according to them, it doesn’t happen where there are other people. – We like to go to an industrial area, or to a closed area where there are no cars around, or houses nearby. The comrades only answer for themselves, and not for others in the environment. – We don’t really put anyone else in danger but ourselves. It’s a dangerous hobby. But it’s fun, simply put. Much of what we do is dangerous. – Understands that it wants us away None of the 19-year-olds news has spoken to believes that driving mopeds, cruisers and motorbikes in the city will end. They know that the police are trying to crack down on what they are doing. – I understand very well that they want us away from the road, says one of the 19-year-olds. The young people distance themselves from violence. They believe that they are only a danger to themselves. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news They therefore want a suitable asphalted track, where they can gather and drive as they please, without being a nuisance to others. – Is it the public’s job to ensure that you have a place to engage in wild driving? – The way I see it, it would help prevent destruction on the roads. – It is still not a human right to exercise one’s hobby. You are obviously making noise for a lot of people. Shouldn’t you have paid more attention? – Yes, but it is difficult to find a place where we can do what we do. We like to ride on the back wheel, we usually do. But we don’t have any places to do that.
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