This was a Critical Mass event, which is why the bicyclists are taking up all of the street as a way to reclaim the streets and protest the lack of safety for riders under usual conditions. It’s not legal, but protests are never useful if they’re fully legal now, are they.
For all of the unequivocally civic commenters on this thread, ask yourself this: would you be defending someone driving through a protest if the protesters weren’t on bikes?
lots of people in this thread that don’t understand how protests work.
Idiots in cars, idiots on bikes. Hell yeah I’m pro bikes but setting a wheel on incoming lane? Yeaah… no thanks, I’m fine
In the bike party near me, we take over the traffic lane but not the oncoming lane.
Maybe that’s why bike party split off from critical mass
As a Bicycle commuter… there’s plenty of “Am I the Asshole?” that needs to go around here.
I understand the cyclists are treating this as a protest, but unless the road is closed, get the hell out of the oncoming lane. You’re not doing anything here other than confirming the drivers bias that you’re the problem.
As for the driver, just fucking STOP until they pass. Is the risk of you hitting someone worth the few minutes that pulling over out of the way costs you? The driver’s pissing and moaning on the video is some self-entitled bull shit.
Where I live, critical mass is legal. Bikes can go on the street and we have a law that allows multiple vehicles that move as one to be treated like one vehicle.
Where is it legal to drive in the oncoming lane?
The organizers will inform the city that a critical mass protest is taking place, the city will inform the police and they will cordon off the route. If there are enough people talking part in the protest, the public order authorities will have no other choice - thus the name critical mass. The right to protest takes precedence over the right to drive this specific route.
that’s a different setup than the one OpenPassageways described.
Depends on where you are.
In most places you can certainly drive in the oncoming lane to overtake things in your own lane or avoid obstacles. You wouldn’t do it if something was coming the other way though, unless you really like the taste of airbag.
It doesn’t matter if a protest is legal. The word you’re looking for is “non violent”
it’s only non-violent until someone in a car drives into it tho (good)
I obey the traffic laws. I’m apparently one of the only people in my town that has read them. I like riding my bike. I like my town. People Hollar at me from their cars. I get called “fag” every second day. For taking a bike ride.
This looks like Miami. If it is… critical mass usually has a police force in the loop they do usually to stop people driving right through the crowd. The loop is posted online about a week before and there is always police presence
Probably LA? Looks similar but police less likely to beat the shit out of white people on bicycles
Imo it looks remarkably safe as long as we ignore the person in the car driving into oncoming traffic.
With her smartphone out, recording.
No but see youre responsible for all the actions of people who want to kill you.
The bikes in the oncoming lane are safe? C’mon what kind of joke. Blocking streets is one thing but they’re actually moving forward straight on in oncoming traffic, in what world is that safe?
in what world is that safe?
In the world of every parade that has been performed in every major city for the last two centuries at least.
Ahhh, I’ll remember to drive right on into that parade next time they’ve moved off closed streets.
Nothing you say will stop the parts of this protest that are riding into oncoming traffic as safe. They clearly didn’t get coming traffic directed away.
The unsafe thing here is the driver who insisted on dangerous driving. Motorists have an obligation to not cause harm regardless of what others are doing.
If I threw you into oncoming traffic would that be unsafe? Simple answer, yes. That’s literally the only point I’m making. A protest being good doesn’t make the handful of troublemakers suddenly perfectly safe. They’re on the wrong side of the road.Travel direction does not change because you’re on a bike. Done. That’s it. Unsafe behaviors by some of the cyclists.
And the driver was the only person making the situation unsafe.
If they were also on a bike would the cyclists suddenly be unsafe? No, being on the wrong side of the road is unsafe. Idk why that’s hard to understand, especially in a protest that’s supposed to promote safer biking conditions. People riding into oncoming traffic is exactly the justification assholes are using for ripping out bike lanes. Shit people just follow the rules of the road.
Since when are cars the only one entitled to use the road?
Edit: Bunch of fucking idiots who don’t understand roads or protests getting all pissy because they were told they don’t own the road.
Cars are also not safe when driving into oncoming traffic. Thought that was obvious.
Huh, seen as how the driver here was unsafe, it appears you are intentionally misinterpreting what I have posted.
Seeing as I’m talking about the BIKES LITERALLY RIDING AGAINST THE DIRECTION OF TRAFFIC, I think you’re missing that that’s what I’m talking about.
And we’re still talking abouy the car.
The car with a complaining bitch whining while still fully stopped? Still following the rules of the road? Just because someone is taking out their ass while filming doesn’t stop my point, which has been from the get-go a point about the cyclists who, unlike the rest of their group, are riding in oncoming traffic where the roads have clearly not been closed.
Can’t see it; “failed to load media”.
She sure is.
Protesting the lack of safety for riders by being unsafe riders? I don’t think the best way to convince the public that cyclists can be safely integrated into traffic is to purposefully create dangerous situations.
There is exactly 2 persons creating dangerous situations in that video and none of them are on bikes.
Ah yes, the inevitable “protests should only happen when it’s convenient for everyone and 100% approved by the authorities” comment.
No but how about do this but only in the proper lane? You’re still causing attention/inconvenience, but it’s a lot less likely someone is going to mow you down from behind over driving slowly behind you, versus riding directly into oncoming traffic.
Use your brain for two seconds. Don’t you think they already tried what you’re suggesting? If you were planning a bike protest, wouldn’t you only go down one side of the lane? Well, it turns out, the people running this already tried that years ago, and they found that blocking both lanes is the only way to do this safely. Otherwise asshole drivers will try to “just slip past” by doing things like taking left turns. Parades take up all lanes on a road for a damn good reason.
Your idea was already tried and found not to work.
Parades close down the street with barricades/detours and such so cars don’t have the option to dangerously drive at them.
By law they don’t have that option either.
Yeah, but this is a little like protesting against gun violence by juggling loaded handguns and putting everything on the safeties working perfectly. You don’t protest an unsafe amusement park by going on the unsafe rides standing up.
Point being, most people would probably not want to serve as the example of what not to do. Most rules/regulations are written in blood, but most people aren’t volunteering to be the ink to pen those regulations.
Removed by mod
Maybe you shouldn’t use loaded language chuckles.
What is the best way?
They could try attending local government meetings that decide city ordinances, or protest outside of the city government buildings?
Are people on this thread really that ignorant that I need to explain how local government works and how the people trying to get home from work in this disaster are not magically going to be on the side of these criminals trying to cause accidents?
Who’s to say that they’re not doing both?
I sometimes go on these critical mass rides and I am heavily involved in the local council meetings here when they discuss infrastructure. Unfortunately, you have to be squeaky wheel in order to get the grease.
Yeah, people are trying to get home etc. But it’s a minor inconvenience compared to cycling on bad infrastructure.
Funny how it’s a problem when cyclists start acting like drivers
Funny how no one would be on the side of a driver driving into oncoming traffic. They’re not acting like drivers unless you want to lump them in with absolute moron dangerous drivers.
Hold up traffic by staying in the proper lane and following road rules like cars and I’ll be on their side.
That’s literally what happens during every parade. They don’t close down half a street and let regular traffic proceed down half a parade route. That’s dangerous. You close the entire street and send the parade down both sides of the street.
Have you really never been to a parade before?
You close the entire street
Right. You close the entire street, with barricades/detours and such. I don’t know what parade you’re going to but the ones I’ve been to don’t parade down both sides of the street while giving cars the option to drive down them.
That’s common in the US, but elsewhere theres often parades and demonstrations that se the entire road without blocking them off. Drivers can either wait or backout or be stuck there while everyone goes around them.
I mean Ive been a part of many of these in Orlando and the point was to never cross into incoming traffic. So she sort of has a point. That is super dangerous. The idea isn’t to give people who hate cyclist more fuel to hate cyclist. Have respect for all types of traffic.
I don’t like cars, but this is fucking bonkers. Trapping people in place isn’t ‘protesting’, it’s being a twat.
All the people claiming that this is a legitimate protest surely understand that the car driver was only ‘counterprotesting’, right?
Only protest where no one is inconvenienced and you can easily be ignored, mkay?
What’s fucking bonkers is car infrastructure. Highways trap me in place all the time when I want to talk a a walk or cycle.
Trapping people in place isn’t ‘protesting’,
Have you ever seen any protests? How do you think they work lol
FFS we close our streets for less important things like construction, marathons, parades.
Oh. Is that how protests work? I am a non-driver who supports initiatives like making cities car-free, increasing public transport, improving cyclist/pedestrian infrastructure. Yet, I am now blocking this community because it’s clearly full of attention-seekers craving a power-trip.
This ‘protest’ makes me support the drivers, not the cyclists. I don’t understand how this silly idea came about that making people hate you somehow builds support for a cause.
this “idea” came from doing things and seeing what works. My personal observation is whatever you do there’s people who feel it’s too extreme and offensive, that’s the nature of trying to change things.
IDK about community here, don’t really participate, don’t care who leaves or joins. Critical mass as an idea is much older than any “fuckcars” community.
This will make people hate bicyclists more than they already do. Maybe the bicyclists should be more weary of a 2 ton vehicle and safeguard their own lives. And stay on bike paths. And the bike lanes.
One thing I hate is when there’s a dedicated bike lane/path and the bicyclists are driving in the middle of the road instead with the 2 ton+ vehicles and then wonder why people hate them.
Maybe the bikers should be as considerate as the drivers.
Go ride a bike.
I need to repair my bike. I do enjoy a bike ride every once in a while. But I do stop at 4 way stop intersections and yield to cars, because I know I’d lose in a game of chicken.
Too bad for those losers who hate bicyclists I guess. They are trash people anyway
