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.
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.
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.
She sure is.
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.
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.
And recording while driving…
lots of people in this thread that don’t understand how protests work.
Meanwhile, in Germany: §1 StVO
StVO § 1: Das Auto des Menschen ist unantastbar
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
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?
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.
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.
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
Can’t see it; “failed to load media”.
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.
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.
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
This is a CM?
I have never been to a CM with oncoming lane blocked (or in this case - not really blocked).
Also where are the corkers?
