The City of Baltimore and its motorcyclists have long had a troubled relationship. While riding dirt bikes on Baltimore streets is in fact illegal, there is nothing that city police can do about it, and the authorities are in somewhat of an awkward juxtaposition. The grey area regarding dirt bikes stems back to a 1999 accident, when an alleged dirt bike-police cruiser chase ended in the death of the motorcyclist. Since then, police have been instructed to leave dirt bikers alone.
Baltimore's leniency on dirt bikes has led to an entire subculture in the city, where the streets are ruled at times by these illegal vehicles.