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.
How about they take this up with the officials who can actually make a difference in bike safety and quit making life worse for people who just want to get home?
Go bike around City Hall if you want to “raise awareness.” All you’re doing here is pissing people off.
People who are downvoting literally never leave their house. You are entirely correct. This is an issue of local policy, and that is something that can actually be changed by individuals choosing to be more active in their local politics. It just requires some organization and a coordinated political effort.
Cycling down the street will not only not achieve anything, but it’s also putting both drivers and cyclists in danger. If an accident does happen, it’s not going to be pinned on the driver because they didn’t do anything wrong. Instead, whatever these cyclists were trying to achieve is going to be scrutinized due to their recklessness.
Trying to pin this on just one group of people won’t ever achieve anything. The whole point is to raise awareness and possibly have some fun while doing it. That woman who brazenly ignored the cops and recorded it on her phone while driving? Totally oblivious asshole who missed the entire point.
The entire name “critical mass” is based on the thinking that if there are enough cyclists on the road at once, then drivers wouldnt dare to drive through them. They organize with the city (a date and path are set and publicized) to force their bike traffic through town with the ultimate goal of trying to improve safety for cyclists.
Interestingly enough, your entire argument can be wrapped up with a bow that neatly provides justification for their protest. That is some special kind of woosh.
They organize with the city (a date and path are set and publicized) to force their bike traffic through town with the ultimate goal of trying to improve safety for cyclists.
A big part of the problem is that they DON’T do this. If they did then people can plan ahead of time to avoid running into them, and way less people would be annoyed with them. But that’s not how they operate, these events aren’t protests because they’re so disorganized. There’s no leadership, no organization, nothing. They also don’t give any notification to locals, law enforcement, the media, or their local governments. This why they’re considered dangerous, it’s because this disorganization puts the cyclists and drivers in harm’s way.
Most people who run into them, like the woman in the video, do so without prior warning. They’re just going about their day when they’re met with a mob of cyclists who are ignoring the established safety laws and blocking traffic. You have no idea where they came from or where they’re going. Their unpredictable. Yes, this woman filming and driving is being reckless, but she’s not the only one in the video who is.
You complain about one day of bikes being disorganized jerks in one place but you fail to reflect on how the automobile has utterly dominated the structure of all cities and urban areas. I think one is far more disruptive than the other and you’re focusing on the wrong.
That’s the thing, I actually agree with you and these cyclists. Cars DO take up way too much space and we’re way too dependent on them. I 100% support better urban development that’s more sustainable and pedestrian friendly. That being said, I don’t see things like this as a meaningful way to achieve results. If it was an organized protest that actually gave people a heads up that this would be happening then that’s fine, but just randomly forming up cyclist mobs to takeover streets is still dangerous and unnecessary.
Protests have to be disruptive to be heard. If they weren’t disruptive, people would ignore them.
Disruptive and dangerous are two different things. Rosa parks sitting at the back of the bus is a disruptive protest, cycling as an unorganized mob into oncoming traffic is dangerous.
Car brains are incapable of realizing that they’re the deadly threat.
I said it elsewhere but it’s worth repeating here that fighting drivers is fighting the wrong fight. Fight the government.
Even if you convince the drivers that you’re right, nothing changes.
If you don’t change driver attitudes, fighting the government is pointless. We’re getting bike lanes TORN OUT right now, because it’s popular politics.
just to say where I’m coming form: I communte by bike, thankfully living somewhere drivers are relatively polite and bike friendly.
Riding into oncoming traffic isn’t going to convince any drivers you’re in the right. it’s just being stupid and unsafe. They want to raise awareness, I get it, and this driver is certainly a whiny, entitled brat. but what the cyclists are doing here is just reinforcing the driver’s poorly informed opinion that bikes are the problem.
