THE police union has fired up over an online hoon video depicting motorbike riders baiting Tasmania Police officers.
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The ``cop's (sic) vs bikes, wheelies plus crashes!'' video was posted on YouTube last week.
One dirt bike rider tries to goad police into a chase by performing a wheelie next to a patrol car.
``It's just horrific viewing - chilling, frightening. It makes me so angry to see these young people endangering their own lives, the lives of motorists around them and potentially my members' lives,'' Police Association of Tasmania president Pat Allen said.
``My message is this. Please don't cause your family and friends to have to grieve for you.''
The video is filmed on a helmet-attached Gopro camera through Southern suburbs Bridgewater, Gagebrook and Claremont.
Riders in the video can be seen standing on their seats racing along the highway.
One hoon comes close to hitting a police car while several riders fall off their bikes during poorly executed stunts.
Mr Allen said the video has surfaced during a a particularly deadly time for motorcyclists in Tasmania.
There have been 10 motorcycle deaths this year with six in the past month, compared with three last year.
The latest incident involved two Mayfield men riding a bike with no lights through Perth at night before crashing into a ute and dying.
Tasmania Police's Inspector Matt McCreadie yesterday said the behaviour in the video was as bad as it gets. ``Many of the bikes on the footage are unregistered, they're uninsured, they're unroadworthy on lots of occasions,'' he said.
``[It's] totally foolhardy, they have no regard for the safety of other road users or pedestrians and they certainly have no regard for their own safety.''
However, he said the videos appeared to be old and two of the bikes had been seized this year.
Bridgewater police have crushed more than 20 bikes seized due to hooning in the past three months.
Detective McCreadie said there had been a rise in the number of reports about dirt bikes being ridden recklessly through the suburbs.
The Liberals condemned the video and said their plan to increase police numbers would help reduce such behaviour.
