It's a widely-held belief that motorcycle riders have a bit of a death wish, but South Florida's so-called "Thrill Riders" are taking things to a whole other level.
Reaching speeds of sometimes over 180 miles per hour, the Thrill Riders are flaunting their need for speed throughout the streets of Miami, but now officials are trying to crack down.
State Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera worked closely with police and responsible motorcycle groups to get penalties for excessive speeds a bit harder to swallow for the Thrill Riders. It'll now cost $1,000 if you're caught going more than 50 mph over the speed limit, not to mention the jail time and possibility of losing the bike.
"I believe that hefty fines may work as a deterrent," said Lopez-Cantera. "And the numbers and the statistics that I've seen are showing me that it actually has worked."
The numbers are striking. In the first full year of the law, 2009, the number of motorcycle fatalities in Florida dropped 25 percent, from 502 to 376 deaths. The number of accidents involving motorcycles were down 14 percent, from 9,618 to 8,313.
In fact, Lopez-Cantera said the state has handed out nearly 2,700 citations since the law went into effect in October 2008.
On one night of patrol with the Florida Highway Patrol, NBC Miami witnesses several motorcyclists flying down the highways of South Florida, weaving in and out of traffic, popping wheelies and reaching hair-raising speeds.
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One rider, Richard Arroyo, was nabbed by an FHP patrolman.
"Let me ask you a question, sir. Is there any reason you were going the speed you're going? Down 826?" the officer asks Arroyo.
"I got a little excited. I just got the bike," Arroyo replied.
"You were weaving in and out of traffic, I mean, complete disregard for anybody around you. You're gonna hurt yourself and somebody else," the officer said. "I estimate you speed about 120."
Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence of the dangers the Thrill Riders pose came from one of them. A helmet cam video obtained by police shows a motorcyclist reaching speeds of nearly 190 mph, racing a his friend down the highways of Miami.
The rider seems thrilled when he spots a State Trooper, accelerating even more then exiting to try to make his getaway. Just as he thinks he's made it, he wipes out, and the trooper he tried to outrun is right on top of him.
"Get on the ground, get on the ground<" the officer shouts. "You OK? Do you need Fire-Rescue before you go to jail?"
The rider was lucky he wasn't hurt more seriously or that he caused someone else to crash.
