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.
And recording while driving…
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)
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?
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.
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.
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.
Can’t see it; “failed to load media”.
She sure is.
Meanwhile, in Germany: §1 StVO
pretty sure that’s true everywhere that has signed the vienna convention on road traffic, so like 86 countries
Meanwhile, in Germany they think people can read german
StVO § 1: Das Auto des Menschen ist unantastbar
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
