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Goodness, why would anybody get upset with bicyclists?
By adamg on Fri, 07/29/2011 - 8:53pm
BostonTweet captured a little corking or something this evening at Harvard and Brighton in Allston.
Via Allston Rat City, who wonders:
Was anyone there at the corner of Comm and Harvard when some dude in a Honda got pissed off at the people on bikes blocking traffic and literally drove through them?
UPDATE: JC tweets:
Yep, gray Civic plowed right through them. Don't think anyone was seriously hurt.
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Comments
A-holes on parade
Good for the guy in the Honda, who drove through them. I saw the same bunch of entitled a-holes pulling the same stunt on Cambridge Street, in back of the fire station in Harvard Sq. If I had been first in line at the light I would likely be sitting in the pokey right now instead of typing this.
Where are the cops at times like this? And what, exactly, are these morons trying to prove?
So many cyclists, so few car doors.
You are the reason I treat
You are the reason I treat every car as a murderer when I'm on my bike.
These Assholes aren't helping your cause buddy
Nice of them to be breaking traffic laws, and causing a huge disruption.
I'm starting to think we might just need to license cyclists within city limits, much like we do cars.
Think of all the ungrateful hipsters and gang bangers it pull into the police system too.
I think you meant "it'd", not
I think you meant "it'd", not "it"; then a comma after "system" and before "too". I am guessing you are a lazy car-potato because you are a lazy writer. Is that right? Try riding a bike and maybe your writing will improve as your wasteline declines.
Trash talk
"Waste"line? Really?
Nice Attitude
First: Nice job wishing violence on cyclists. Did you find this place from the Boston Herald or something?
Second: The person in said Honda if located will be likely be arrested for at least hit and run, and should be arrested for attempted homicide.
Third: The cyclists ALWAYS have the right of way over your fat ass in a car no matter what. That is the point of the cyclists blocking the intersection. To tell you to get your fat ass out of your car and onto a bike. Cars are not welcome in the city.
I don't think so
"The cyclists ALWAYS have the right of way over your fat ass in a car no matter what. "
Granted, I'm not a cyclist, but I was under the impression that cyclists had to follow the rules of the road the same way cars do. They don't get special treatment over cars, they're supposed to get the SAME treatment.
Calling people fat asses and doing ridiculous stunts like this are no way to win people over to your side. Act like you belong on the road and people will treat you like you do.
Buses
They held up the buses tonight too. I'm sure those of us who stayed out of our cars to take public transit deserved the delays too. As a car free guy, I can't believe I'm saying this, but car drivers had the right to be pissed. Bikers don't "always" have the right of way over cars, period. Grow up and learn to live with those around you.
pissed sure, murderous no
grow up
I never said the car should
I never said the car should have plowed through. The guy in the civic was as much of an ass (if not more) as the bikers. What these "grown ups" don't understand is how much they hurt their cause. Baiting drivers, and alienating T riders and responsible cyclists is only going to end poorly for biking in this city... And that's a damn shame.
Buses
A. It's one night a month for 2 1/2 hours on average--people act like whole gangs of cyclists terrorize the streets every day. It's posted on prospective websites for the over 300 cities who have them--motorists know of it, the police know if it, and, yes, public transit agencies are aware of it. Unimpeded, the average Critical Mass group holds up traffic for less than ten minutes. Ten whole minutes--about as disruptive as your average funeral convoy.
B. Let's be honest, your average Greater Boston motorist will b**** about any delay, including parades and the Boston Marathon. We are talking about the same motorists who can't seem to pull over for ambulances or firetrucks these days.
C. Of course "buses were held up too." They don't fly in the air or run on tracks. As somebody who commutes on Mass. Ave. daily, flying past 3-4 #1 buses and CT1s, I can personally attest that the buses do enough of their own getting stuck in traffic. I personally don't know why people pay money to ride the local bus service--I can jog faster than half the routes. Not that it's all the T's fault--blame it on some of the most antiquated signal timing in the country.
Self-justification is the
Self-justification is the ultimate absolution.
Cripes.
When I see bicyclists
When I see bicyclists actually stop at intersections where the crosswalk light is lit, and not plowing through, risking pedestrians in the crosswalk, then maybe I'll have a smidgen of understanding for the point of view that "it's only 10 minutes, chill out."
Most do. You don't notice
Most do. You don't notice those who follow the rules.
Personally
I've only ever seen one in my 5 years in Boston. If it's a right turn on green with yield, they never yield.
I see 4 or 5 every day on my
I see 4 or 5 every day on my ride down comm ave. They're the ones that stop at every red light with me. And I also see the assholes that fly by running lights. And I see the assholes who meander through lights and keep slow pedaling and I have to pass once the light changes because they're slow fucks.
Personally, I think critical mass is an asshole organization at this point. The constructive efforts towards improving bike infrastructure have made boston a great place for cyclists to commute and it continues to get better. Critical Mass sets forth a bad example for new cyclists and scares many people who would be courteous bike commuters.
Way to take the high road there...
...calling someone out for their 'nice attitude' and then proclaiming anyone in a car to have a fat ass? Really? Granted, plowing through people with a vehicle of any kind is never the right thing to do, but why endorse this kind of asshattery on the part of the cyclists? If it's a choice between waiting forever in a vehicle for cyclists to stop purposely blocking traffic as shown above or joining them after such a 'convincing' display, I think I'll keep walking and/or taking the T.
A tale of two comments...both
A tale of two comments...both of which only contribute to continued problems between cyclists and drivers.
Comment 1: If you can't control your road rage enough to avoid ending up in jail, you shouldn't be on the road. Bikes are not geese.
Comment 2: If you can't understand that bikes have the same right-of-way as cars in that kind of situation, you shouldn't be on the road. Bikes are not pedestrians.
Geese
You plow through geese in your car? MEANIE
Nah, I only do that on the
Nah, I only do that on the bike. The geese can hear the car coming from too far away...
I do not have a "fat ass"
Yet I will not ride a bike after having lost the left side of my face in a bike accident as a kid. You going to hold that against me?
What of people who for various physical or other health reasons cannot ride. You going to hold it against them?
Your holier than thou attitude doesn't buy you friends among those you wish to change their ways. It's hard to justify being a jerk to tell others (drivers) that they're being jerks.
Hey, blow it out your spandex covered ass, eh?
No, I came here by way of the Boston Globe. I think it was right after Patricia Smith got bounced for plagiarism, and before Mike Barnicle wrote the article praising "Jimmy" Bulger. But after he got bounced for plagiarism as well. And definetly after it was bought by the New York Times, who imposed that nasty wage cut on the union workers there.
New in town?
I don't understand this line
I don't understand this line of thinking.
All this does is make me want to clog bike lanes and open car doors into them. Now we're obstructing each others' travel and getting our grievances heard!
Um... That already happens
Um... That already happens all the time
hahaha, hahahahahahaha,
hahaha, hahahahahahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, you're trying to be funny, right?
The only rights bicyclists
The only rights bicyclists have are last rites. Fuck that "always" noise right in your sorry ass.
Hey BlackKat
First, my ass is skinny, thank you very much, and I drive a car.
Second, cyclists DO NOT always have the right of way. They, like us car drivers, have to obey the rules of the road.
Third, YOU DO NO HAVE THE RIGHT TO BLOCK TRAFFIC BY CREATING A TRAFFIC JAM RIDING AROUND IN A CIRCLE OVER AND OVER SO CARS CAN"T PROCEED THROUGH AN INTERSECTION.
Fourth: Pissing off car drivers is going to win no one to your cause.
Fifth: Insulting people, in any way or form, will definitely not create people sympathtic to your cause.
It is time for you to grow up and get a clue. When you were probably in diapers or close to it, I was riding as a bike commuter from Norwood to Cambridge a few times a week. I have ridden miles on the these roads, in traffic, and was advocating that bike riders obey the rules of the road probably when you were still sucking on your nappy. So don't preach to me about good cycling practices.
And here is a thought, what if a ambulance had to get through? Ever think of that?
Hey whyaduck
First: The fat ass in a car comment was directly, clearly and specifically, towards the OP who advocated running over and dooring cyclists on purpose.
Second: Cyclists need to obey the rules of the road SELECTIVELY just like car drivers do. And if that's not true try driving 55-65 on a highway and see what happens when everyone rides up your ass for being so slow outside the sight of a state trooper.
Third: It's a protest march (even if on bikes). That is what protest marches do. Clog up the streets. Even when the point of the protest march is not to protest the presence of cars on said streets.
Fourth: I don't speak for Critical Mass but based on their past statements they are not ooking to create people sympathetic to their cause. Their cause is a large scale back or outright elimination of casual car usage so far as I can tell from the statements on their website.
Fifth: Anyone who advocates running over cyclists is going to get worse than insults.
Re: When I was your age...
Not likely but possible as I am 40, but you could be one of the 15 people over 40 using the internet. The presumption that just because someone advocates selective law breaking is young is quite myopic. Most of those who do grew up in the 70s and 80s which is why they advocate selective law breaking. That was what those decades were all about.
That's great that you like to advocate cyclists obey the "rules of the road". But the vast majority of cyclists practice "common sense" when it comes to the application of those rules. See Second above. Hand signaling and stopping for every red light will get you viewed in the same light as people who clog the highway driving not one mph over the speed limit.
All rules and laws should be viewed subjectively. That is why we drank when we were under 21, smoked pot, speed on the highway, go through red lights on bicycles, light fireworks on the 4th of July, took that right turn on red, jaywalk, spat on the sidewalk, went through the 11 items or less aisle with 12 items, listened to punk rock music, stayed out after curfew, skateboarded in an empty MDC pool, etc, etc. So relax and try to have fun in life.
And re ambulance, guess what if they turn on their lights and siren they would get through or not get through the same as whether Critical Mass is in an intersection or not. That intersection, as is ALL of Harvard Ave, is clogged bumper to bumper with cars, trucks, and buses all but a few hours in the wee part of the morning. I believe that is partly the point of those Critical Mass protests. There is too much motorized traffic.
Keep digging, asshat!
Keep digging, asshat!
"All rules and laws should be viewed subjectively..."
equals sociopath.
Muggle
So you have never done anything illegal or against the rules?
Anyone who can say they have never done any of those things is probably a very boring and frustrating person to be around.
Massachusetts General Law
85 Section 11B
"Operators of bicycles shall be subject to the following regulations:
(1) Bicyclists riding together shall not ride more than 2 abreast but, on a roadway with more
than 1 lane in the direction of travel, bicyclists shall ride within a single lane. Nothing in this
clause shall relieve a bicyclist of the duty to facilitate overtaking as required by section 2 of
chapter 89."
Section 2 Chapter 89
"Section 2. Except as herein otherwise provided, the driver of a vehicle passing another vehicle traveling in the same direction shall drive a safe distance to the left of such other vehicle and shall not return to the right until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle; and, if the way is of sufficient width for the two vehicles to pass, the driver of the leading one shall not unnecessarily obstruct the other. If it is not possible to overtake a bicycle or other vehicle at a safe distance in the same lane, the overtaking vehicle shall use all or part of an adjacent lane if it is safe to do so or wait for a safe opportunity to overtake. Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, the driver of an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on visible signal and shall not increase the speed of his vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.
The driver of a vehicle may, if the roadway is free from obstruction and of sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles, overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle when the vehicle overtaken is (a) making or about to make a left turn, (b) upon a one-way street, or (c) upon any roadway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement."
Cars are not welcome in the
Cars are not welcome in the city? Who the f*k are you man? You sound like an idiot! Get a life, and deal with it. And stay out of the way of cars, just to be safe. You'll never win against an automobile.
So you are threatening him?
If he doesn't stay away, you are going to run him down in your car?
Are you the owner of a grey Civic by any chance?
Massachusetts law on cyclist behavior
Quoting from another thread and Mass. law:
Section 11B. Every person operating a bicycle upon a way…shall be subject to the traffic laws and regulations of the commonwealth and the special regulations contained in this section…
Operators of bicycles shall be subject to the following regulations:
(1) Bicyclists riding together shall not ride more than 2 abreast but, on a roadway with more than 1 lane in the direction of travel, bicyclists shall ride within a single lane.
I bicycle and drive (depending on distance, weather, etc) and try to always follow the rules of the road. When it comes to right of way, it's the same for cars and bikes. Not saying the Honda behaved properly or legally... but it's worth being clear on what the law is. If the point is civil disobedience, that's another issue.
Cyclists right of way?
Cyclists do NOT have the right of way. They are subject to the same laws of the road as automobiles. Read the laws my young friend. Furthermore, my ass is none of your freaking business. You would impose your rules on me but not expect to live by our already agreed upon rules? You make me laugh. Call me in 10 or so years when you're older and don't know everything anymore. We, your elders, look at you and laugh.
Critical Mass from a Cyclist's Point of View
First of all I just want to respond to the posts about hitting cyclists. When you are writing about hitting cyclists you are writing about hurting or even worse, killing another human being. Its terrible that you feel that way, but I understand and can empathize with your frustration.
I have been a cyclist and serious racer for a long time. I do not agree with critical mass, and have actually stepped out of my car to explain my disgust while I have been held up in the past.
I am a driver and a rider, and being both I just want to see safe streets for everyone. Please remember that there is a difference between the many safe and law abiding riders out there. I hate that this creates hostility between all of our road users, and on behalf of cyclists I apologize for the inconvenience that these people cause.
Just remember though that people have the right to protest, and it should never lead to violence. Especially when when you are maybe only being inconvenienced by 10 minutes at the most.
Fine the critical mASSholes!
If you've got no parade permit, then you better be a funeral procession. The civic driver probably had a green light and the parade didn't, so his actions were perfectly appropriate, though you didn't get your funeral procession this time. Too bad he didn't have a bucket of tacks with him to help get cyclists to walk their bikes on pedestrian malls, park paths, crosswalks and sidewalks.
Rules
Its time that bikers and cars understand that they share the road and are required to follow the same rules. Yes, the same rules.
Conscientious and safe cyclists are given a bad name by those who pull stunts like those depicted here. So too are the drivers of cars who follow the rules and act with safety and courtesy behind the wheel. Growing up I was told that two wrongs do not make a right.
Here the bikers are wrong for acting like petulant children. The driver of the Honda is wrong as he knowingly put people's lives at danger.
This is no way to celebrate the launch of the HubWay system in Boston. There is limited real estate on the road, we need to share not act out like little kids. Time for the driver of the Honda and the bikers to go to time out.
They pulled this before...
About 6 weeks ago a bunch of cyclists did the same thing - stopped traffic at Comm/Harvard during rush hour on a Friday. They did not have the right of way and were just making some dumb "statement". I was walking at the time and couldn't exercise my "pedestrian rights" to cross the road! My fiance bikes to/from work - and even he agrees these guys are plain assholes.
Bike Rage? Pedestrian Rage?
This has nothing to do with the launch of the Bikeway system. This is Critical Mass. It is a large (come as you will) group of cyclists that meet up at Copley Sq the last Friday of every month and go on a massive ride. They happen to slow the world down where ever the decide to travel. Slowing the world down for a few minutes is not such a bad thing. Living at 50 mph is living a death wish.
Question? Have you ever heard of Bike or Pedestrian rage?
Question? Why does driving a car piss people off so much all the time?
Question? Why are so many people unable to live without their personal 50+ Square Foot wheelchair?
Cars are starting to and will continue to fail us as practical in the near future. Alot of car are going to be even more pissed off than they already are. The mechines (cars) will take it out on (kill) the people. More than the 150 per day curently.
Answer: Yep. I was in a taxi
Answer: Yep. I was in a taxi (in NYC) when a dude on a bike punched the window right next to my head, because the cab in front of the taxi I was in squeezed over to the right to get around some construction. I also had a pedestrian (in Cambridge) punch my car as I was attempting to get out of the crosswalk I had to sto pin because the car in front of me had to jam on his brakes in order to not hit a dude that crossed from between cars in front of him.
Answer: It doesn't. I like driving my car. I like riding my bike, too. I even like walking.
Answer: Some of us don't live in the city, outside reasonable bike range, and are also not well served by public transportation. Some of us don't like getting rained or snowed on. Some of us are handicapped. Some of us need to pick up our infants after work. Who are you to make these decisions for me?
I'm all in favor of alternate and public transportation- it astonishes me to see old pictures of pretty much every town in eastern and central Massachusetts with streetcars. But the "high and mighty" attitude that exudes from the cycleistas really doesn't help the situation. It is childish, if anything.
As is the childish attitude
As is the childish attitude of motorists and pedestrians. Everyones an asshole.
What?! I'm not a big car
What?! I'm not a big car person --I ride in a car probably twice a month and the rest of the time I take the T or walk-- but I'd be pissed off too. No, I wouldn't drive through them, but what a bunch of jerks.
It's called "Civil Disobedience" folks...
The cyclists are making a point. "There are a lot of us" and "we're on the streets too". Corking is a way of bringing attention to these facts while also enjoying some level of safety in numbers. If being delayed a light cycle or two (er, no pun intended there) so enrages someone that they are willing to risk another life...Well, I think that says more about the driver than the cyclist.
Why don't people plow through
Why don't people plow through parades? Or funeral processions? Whats so wrong with a 5 min wait once a month? I just don't understand the vitriol.. would carrying around a city parade permit make these folks less angry? I doubt it..
I guess a 5 minute wait once
I guess a 5 minute wait once a month is nothing. Unless of course your passenger is in need of medical attention and the hospital is on the other side of the intersection.
Why don't people plow through
Hit the nail on the head.
Because they're valid
They're permitted and they're broadcast to the general public long before they take place. They have the common decency to let the public know whats going on so that they can make plans to avoid it if they need too.
The organizers of this should be arrested for failure to obtain a permit for a demonstration and illegal use of public fairways.
If they want to have their little bike parade, they should have to go by the book like everyone else.
Hell, what if there was a fire, someone in a ambulance with a heart attack, or some goon running from the cops and these assholes had traffic backed up 1/2 a mile in all directions.
actually, the dozens of times
actually, the dozens of times i've done critical mass, any time there's an emergency vehicle trying to get through, the mass opens up to let traffic through.
Right.
It's easy for them to get out of the way.
Not so easy to move a 4 way backup of cars caused by clogging a major intersection like Harvard and Brighton. Not to mention the confusion, chaos and rage that it ensures.
Look I have no problem with them riding all together while following the traffic laws, as there's no need for a permit in that situation.
This wasn't that situation, as evidenced from the video above. They're breaking laws being entitled man(and woman)-children.
Sometimes it is too late for that.
If there are two lanes of traffic that is backed up and an emergency vehicle has to get through, there is sometimes no where to go if the intersection in front is blocked as well.
Thoreau this is not
This is not an act of civil disobedience. This is the just the assertion of power for its own sake. It cures nothing. It makes no point. It is self-defeating.
Perhaps having a pedestrian jam a stick into the spokes of one of these bicycles could also be characterized as an act of "civil disobedience". I'm sure we would all rally around that statement.
As a life-long cyclist, I find these demonstrations embarrassing and harmful to my well-being as a cyclist.
"delayed a light cycle or
"delayed a light cycle or two"?
You are awful. When a delay may mean an ambulance or fire truck is held up and someone dies. Or could mean an hours-long ripple effect traffic jam in a town where flow is perilous, at best, as it is. Just awful.
Cork you. Selfish, petulant, childish, pretentious, douchebag, babies. Never post on the Internet again, would you please?
Cripes.
(And no, I do not own a car, and yes, I do ride a bike.)
Oh, come on!
What indication do you have that had an ambulance, fire truck or police car (given that this was within half a mile of a firehouse and a mile and a half of both Saint E's and the Brighton Police station, all distinct possibilities) needed to get through that intersection the cyclists wouldn't have gotten out of the way? Other than some vague concept that "people on bikes are inherently evil"? There were no sirens, heard, there were no emergency vehicles delayed. Go find another straw man to stalk.
Oh dear, you mean the only people delayed yesterday were every day commuters? Made them a whole 5 minutes late getting home? Boo-hoo.
Oh, come on yourself!
If you and your friends are slowing down and blocking traffic and, say, there is an ambulance a few miles back down the road, it will also be slowed down since the traffic you are blocking has slowed down. And yes, it will eventually get through, but you have delayed its path because of your selfish and idiotic "protest" actions. And, possible, caused more harm to the person in the ambulance.
I'm sorry - my father died in
I'm sorry - my father died in a traffic jam in an ambulance. Roadways are serious places and not for play. I understand you are deeply emotional on this issue but I ask that you find that part of you who is sympathetic and cares for people you might not know directly.
Yeah not really. For one
Yeah not really. For one thing, in general civil disobedience in contravention of the law accepts the legal penalties of doing so since the point is to highlight the injustice of the existing rules. Imagine if an a-hole in a car did donuts in the intersection for several minutes. They'd have their ass locked up. What's the difference with a bunch of cyclists?
Secondly, the point of civil disobedience is generally to elicit sympathy for ones cause by pointing out the injustice of the existing system. This was the case in the civil rights movement where the point was to expose the raw violence which underlay Jim Crow. It's hard for white Southerners to claim that they're a civilized and law abiding people when you've got grandmas and little kids getting clubbed in the head for wanting to ride a bus. It's hard to see how this kind of random a-holism elicits sympathy for the cause of bikers.
Mother Theresa on a Bicycle!
Good Christ, now the self-righteous little shits are Rosa Parks, or Ghandi?
What's with all these ridiculous self-congratulatory posts? I thought that BU Freshmen orientation wasn't until next month?
this is foolishness.
I am a cyclist (and driver).
This kind of conduct is reprehensible, unhelpful to the cause of promoting safer cycling, and unlawful. It serves no purpose other than to give the a-hole drivers out there who don't want to play nice a reason not to play nice. This is hipster doofus shit.
If everyone just follows the rules of the road, everyone gets where they need to go, and no one gets hurt. Why the hell is that so much to ask?
the Rosa Parks of cycling
Bicycling on vacation is so much better than in Boston. Maybe I just feel better not having to work. But it's so nice to just get around, and not have to be part of some stupid political lifestyle argument. I don't see things changing any time soon.
Dozens of articles . . .
have been written on getting pedestrians, cyclists and motorist to "play nice" in and around Boston. Then there's reality . . .
as a constant defender of
as a constant defender of cyclists on this site (and as one who was bike-only when most of these kids were still driving their parents' SUVs to concerts of bands they are embarrassed by now) I can only share the seething hatred of the drivers blocked by this. Every one of these stunts sets cycling back in this city, and I think they put my life and the lives of others cyclists just a bit more in harm's way when they do it. No one wins in this situation, except for the pathetic children who somehow feel grownup when they do it (or is it a grownup who feels like a child? I really can't tell anymore)
Critical of Critical Mass
I notice a large trend of cyclists who are not part of Critical Mass being dismissive of it. This seems to be because unlike you, who want road equality, they do not. They want road superiority over the cars.
There is a flaw in their logic, but it's not what you think.
While I myself am not part of, nor have partaken in such rides, I understand their point. Having worked several years as a bicycle messenger it is impossible not to think of all other road users (that includes so called "civilian" cyclists as well as cars) as the enemy in a vast war. One where there is no such thing as sharing the road or getting along, only an unending cycle of violence, vengeance, retribution, and frustration. It is impossible to have had the experience of biking for a living and not to some degree or another become polarized to an extreme viewpoint.
The problem isn't that cars, or buses, or Critical Mass take up the road. The problem is that anyone other than me uses the road at all. And this viewpoint is universally held by most people (only in my case I am right :P ).
yikes
Take a toke man. You're sounding like the teahadists of cycling.
That's not a good place to be!
just let the bike people have their fun
The other night I just waved a bike guy through a red light in front of me, and it felt so much better than honking my stupid horn and being the police. I don't want "he really knew the rules of the road" on my tombstone
Last Friday of each month in
Last Friday of each month in Allston = #10 can of Thumbtacks = Squadron of unhappy entitletard pedestrians pushing their bikes home.
Let's see them block the street then.
Seriously, if this is a regular scheduled occurence, the police need to step on them.
The date is regular. The
The date is regular. The location is not.
The headline is making light of a serious crime
Two serious things that should be done:
1. Find that Civic driver and prosecute.
2. Have local police keep an eye on Critical Mass rides, and if they start illegal corking, start handing out tickets and arresting people if necessary.
When are they going to
...do one of these in Mattapan or Chelsea?
+1
+1
Pretty douchey behavior.
Pretty douchey behavior.
Bicycles are required to obey the rules of the road. People defending this juvenalia should ask themselves what they would expect to happen if someone in their car was doing a donut in the intersection?
I'm sorry.. Are you
I'm sorry.. Are you suggesting motorists aren't douchey? You're talking about Boston, right?
mob mentality = no one uses their brains
Mayor should have instructed the bike renters on how to ride in the city. This current crop of cyclists clearly have no idea what they're doing. Maybe riding responsibly won't be such a joke to them once someone gets hurt. Pretty sad for all of the cyclists who actually take urban biking seriously.
Tax payers?
Those who ride bicycles don't pay road taxes (tolls, gas taxes, license fees...) if you want the road shared by those who spend money making sure its there for you, and pedestrians, respect the motorists who pay for it to be there, and stop making law abiding and respectful bicyclists targets. You are scum, if you are involved in corking you are complete scum.
"road taxes"?
I have already written my comment condemning this foolishness, but I saw yours and I must ask:
You don't really think that things called "road taxes" are what funds construction and maintenance of roads in this Commonwealth (other than, to a limited degree, our one tolled highway and few tolled harbor crossings), right?
I support user fees more than the next guy, but there are these things called public goods from which positive externalities arise, and roads are a great example.
Pedestrian countercorking
I have an idea. For next month's Critical Mass ride, I'd like to rent some long extension ladders, and have people walk across the corked intersection against the bikes.
Who's with me?
Excellent. And some future Friday
A whole bunch of cars should converge on some major intersection, park, and block the intersection. Oh wait, we do that everywhere, esp near the BU Bridge.
win
thank you and good night
Pedestrian flash mob needed
Just what I was thinking needs to happen.
I'll bring my slicecycle and
I'll bring my slicecycle and ride in the opposite direction. Pedestrians can stay back, I'll take care of them.
I don't know, I see pictures
I don't know, I see pictures like this and I see the chances of my dad getting a donor kidney go up.
I ride a bicycle and drive a
I ride a bicycle and drive a Honda. None of this is making me look good.
I was hit and have the license plate number
I am actually visible in this video NOT corking the intersection, but rather standing on the far corner (I pop in and out of the frame around the 19s mark, wearing white pants, black shirt, black helmet, basket on the front of my bike with a blue jacket in it). After the circling started to dissipate I proceeded through the intersection on Harvard Ave. It was after I was about 100 feet down the road that I heard the roaring of the engine and turned around to see this homicidal maniac zig-zag at the group of people that were still behind me riding. When I saw that he was coming straight at me, I quickly hopped off my bike into oncoming traffic to avoid being hit. My bike went in the opposite direction and within a second he drove over it. Luckily I am fine, my bicycle not so much.
From the sound of some of the comments here, I am astonished to see that there are people in this world that believe that I deserved to get hit. I was almost killed. I have a family.
The car was indeed a grey Honda Civic. In fact the license plate (as given to me by an onlooker who saw the whole thing) is MA 53we31. The cops didn't seem to really give a shit. I had to propose that they take down my contact info after one of them just got in his car. Unreal. I called the Allston branch of the BPD later in the evening to follow up and they told me to call back in 48 hours. Nice. There is a person who attempted to kill dozens of citizens out there driving the roads of Boston. Whether you are in a car, on your bike, or walking, this should horrify you.
Fortunately I have in-house counsel (read: wife) and will most certainly be pursuing all avenues of the law that are available to me.
To those that encourage violence against anyone, bikers or not: Fuck you.
Driver/Cyclist Rights
Correct me if I am wrong.
Cyclists have the SAME rights as cars. They are equal, not less than or greater than. Cyclists should stay in their designated lanes (where applicable) and cars should stay in theirs.
As far as I can see, from this video, and from the comment from the rider that was almost injured, if not killed, you were BOTH wrong.
The police should have been at that intersection to ticket the cyclists. No question.
The police should have been there to arrest the driver of the Honda for attempted homicide (IF, that is indeed what has happened. I was not there, so I'm basing my statement on the assumption that the cyclist is being honest.) No question.
Cycling is indeed a greener way to get around the city, but keep in mind, driving is a necessity in some cases. Cyclists need to remember this. Because you believe you are being greener and more caring for the earth does not make you any better than anyone else.
I can understand that the driver of the Honda was upset, I can appreciate and empathize, however, that is not justification to drive into a crowd of people. The police should have been called.
Do these bike riders not own cars at all? ...maybe not. But I'd be willing to wager a good handful of them do.
Keep in mind, in July, there are a lot of tourists in the area. I guarantee you a lot of them are driving around our already unsafe streets. Blocking traffic like the cyclists have done proves absolutely nothing other than they are all able to cycle in a circular motion in unison. Way to go.
I'm not excusing the driver's behavior and I'm glad someone got the plate number.
I'm also not excusing the cyclists behavior in cycling around a major intersection.
Please note, when I say "you" pertaining to the cyclists, it is a generalization and not a direct point to the cyclist that was almost hurt.
I love this city more than anything. It's unfortunate you both made poor decisions that evening.
Quote:It's unfortunate you
THIS
It's called a learning experience. Everyone should take note.
Same Rights?
Im going to Ride my bike over to East Boston through the Callahan. Wonder how Far I get.
Im going to Ride my bike on the Mass Pike or 93 on the breakdown lane north or south and see how far I get.
Have you ever seen the signs saying no bikes/horses/people allowed? (Funny that the bike and horse have no one riding them)
Same Rights? It’s not true. Cars rule the landscape. People and bikes are second in line. It’s funny because we all know someone who has been injured or killed by cars.
Damn cars killed another 150 people in the US today. Injured thousands and caused hundreds of thousands in property damage. Leaked gallons of oil and fuil on the ground and burned up millions of gallons of non renewable fuil. Don’t we just love them so much though? Talk some sick violently domestic abusive relationship.
Did you know that only 1% of the horse power in your engine actualy pushes your body along in your car. How stupid is that?
Different classes of vehicles have different restrictions
Trucks can't drive on the street where I live. Bikes can drive on 55 mph highways. Horses... well, that's another story. But they all are required to follow the same rules of the road, regardless of all the other issues surrounding us. That's the price we pay for living in a society with lots of viewpoints. A solution: Elect new people to legislative office. In the meantime, we've got what we've got.
wow guy
so you have a family... what in the world are you trying to teach your kids? to be Hell Raisers?
Why did you take part in this event and what is it trying to prove?
I don't agree with the car plowing through but hey if its a green light sorry guy he waited one light cycle as seen in the video so on the second go thats too bad.
He had the right of way and you should have steered clear when the light turned. Had you died well i doubt the person would get much jail-time if any as it wasnt his fault. you came in front near an intersection.
its my first comment after reading universalhub for a long time but i felt it necessary after this comment of yours that you say you were part of it.
again what is the damn reason of riding around in a circle like a headless chicken?
would love to be enlightened as an allston/brighton resident.
I ride a bike, car, mbta whichever is the most convenient and i abide by the rules like dozens of cyclists i drive next to or behind which give hand signals and obey stop signs etc.
did you even READ the guy's
did you even READ the guy's account? He said he wasn't part of it and was just going through the light after it ended.
Brains
Not a lot of those folks are wearing head protection. It's certainly more pleasant to ride without a helmet, but I'd hope for a group culture of always wearing them, to represent themselves as responsible riders. So it's clearly not about that.
Glad you're ok. Mourning your bike.
Very sorry to hear you got hit. Something many people forget about is not just the risk of injury but the potential loss of up to thousands of dollars of bicycle (and typically the offending car's damage can be repaired with a bottle of nail polish).
Having had two very nice $1000 bikes totaled by hit and run drivers (and lucky to escape injury myself) I too have seen the police not take any action unless forced to. Glad you got their license and have some legal support.
Good luck!
Glad you're okay. Please let us know how it goes. There is just no call for that type of behavior.
Idiot
Maybe you just should have proceeded to your destination rather than joined in on a public disturbance. Fucking idiot.
Oh, come on
The driver of the car was clearly wrong to do what he did.
But the cyclists were out to cause a disruption, and were breaking the law and I don't really understand the message.
Are you teaching your children to put themselves in harm's way to when they want to get attention?
Maybe you're teaching them that it's OK to just go out into traffic and break laws because you want people to respect cyclists?
Pedestrians need respect too. Will you teach your children to run into traffic to get respect?
Along with the whole anti-car
Along with the whole anti-car thing... since I live in a rural area and come into the city to dump big bucks on a bunch of bs I don't really need... well if cars aren't welcome I can take my money elsewhere. Not everyone driving a car is being lazy. Some of us live pretty far away and in areas without any sort of public transportation options whatsoever.
I used to do these rides a
I used to do these rides a few years ago. I stopped because I didn't see how they were making drivers aware that they were sharing the road.
We didn't obey any traffic signals. We didn't let pedestrians cross the street. There were a couple of occasions (one was by Fenway Park) where a police officer would tell us to stop so pedestrians could cross. I would hit my brakes. No one else would stop.
Bikes would block intersections so 200 cyclists could zoom by. During rush hour, I saw many drivers get extremely frustrated, especially after the light would change several times and they were still being blocked.
I am a lesser-abled person
I am a lesser-abled person and was nearly hit as they blew through a light in cambridge one night as I was crossing. This does nothing for their cause. it's more like evangelism than civil disobedience to me. Polarizing behavior. We already know bikes exist on our roads.
Makes us aware that some cyclists -- just like SOME car drivers, SOME pedestrians, SOME people -- are so self-absorbed they can't walk around in another's shoes or wheel around in another's wheelchair. Why can't we all get along, why is not civility on the roads and in the streets...?hmmm...
Wish we had more money to put into traffic enforcement - sadly enforced civility seems the only way to make Civility happen and I say this being rather anti-authority. Only if people in Boston are made to be held accountable for their actions will things change.
Debating with folks like the
Debating with folks like the Critical Mass riders is like debating with Tea Polks. Community, facts or logic mean nothing.
Really, what Critical Mass is, is not an organization promoting cycling, but it instead pisses off folks trying to get home after work. We already know that there are bike riders. We have invested in bike lanes, at cosiderable expense, I imagine.
Get over yourselves and work to be a part of the solution.
these idiots make me both
these idiots make me both embarrassed and more nervous to be riding a bike around boston.
(No subject)
I haven't went to this since
I haven't went to this since May, but I ride in Critical Mass. I don't really ride for the "activism" aspect, I just ride because it's pretty fun to ride with 500 other bikers and see Boston. I almost decided to go to yesterday's ride, but decided not for laziness and hang out with some friends at home.
That said, a few things I have seen.
1. Most of the riders ride for the sake of riding with such a large crowd. I guess it is the sense of a parade type of thing.
2. I have noticed the face of the various drivers and pedestrians reacting. Most seems indifferent, some are amused, a few cheered, and the rest are pissed. A very few are pissed enough to try step on the gas a little. This is the first I heard of stepping on the gas and not stopping.
3. Some of the bikers had act in ways I disagree. I find it reasonable to block the street while the fellow riders ride past. I disagree when riders would ride ahead or run a car that is stopped at a stop light and one of us would go and block that singular car. I find it more reasonable to give the car a chance to drive out ahead rather than force it to get behind us. I find this is when we find cars least amused.
4. A few of us, especially at the start of the ride have tried to reform this. I seen a few riders have tried to pass flyers about such etiquette and plenty of times where we would yell at the rider with "let them pass!" Unfortunately, it only takes a few riders to ignore such calls to make a good number of cars quite unhappy.
Now read as many of the comments, I want to write a few things in response to a few arguments I seen.
1. I think we should drop the "Fight the Power" argument here. The previous times I rode, I wasn't there for activism and I believe many are not there for it either.
2. Bikes and Cars are both Massholes. Pretty much no one is an angel. Let's not try and justify by saying "but, but _______ the ride/drive like this!"
3. The counter argument to it "only delays traffic by 2 minutes!" with it can "keep a guy in a medical emergency from the hospital!" as reaching and unlikely. The bikers had always immediately hit the sidelines whenever we hear an ambulance or police siren. If you talking about the possibility of a guy carrying a friend to the hospital, while possible, but very unlikely and looks like a disingenuous attempt with reaching for any reason to counter the argument of a short delay. I mean that line of reasoning could easily be used for any type of delay.
4. Personally, I think a 3-4 minutes of delay in traffic once a month on a Friday isn't that unreasonable. Isn't the extra wait time really that bad (obviously excluding the counter-argument of point 3). That video shows that the bikes circled and left after 34 seconds. It was probably 3 minutes at the longest assuming the time for all the bikers to gather up.
Stupid
This whole debate is ridiculous. It's kinda like what is going on in Congress. Basically cyclists doing critical masses are dicks and people who drive (ie civic) through them are assholes. But really if everybody stopped being dicks and assholes I think the whole world would stop having sore behinds.
embarrassing
As a cycling commuter, this behavior is really embarrassing. Sure, cars take up a lot of space and clog intersections, but that's because they are big, unwieldy, and inefficient. The analogy of doing donuts in an intersection seems apt.
Don't the Critical Mass people realize that the reason cyclists aren't respected on the road is because they behave like law-breaking assholes? I use hand signals, I stop at red lights, and I yield to pedestrians; funny, no one honks or yells at me.
Critical Mass needs to grow up. If they really want more respect and deference from drivers, they need to show they are worthy of it. This stunt is the most effective anti-cycling propaganda I can imagine.
(none of this excuses the behavior of the honda driver, obviously. Honking and yelling seem like perfectly understandable responses)
Bike on bike crime? What?
Ugh, another cyclist to good for Critical Mass. Have you ever done it? No? Then stop being all high and mighty about it, like you're a better biker.
I've been to Critical Mass, and not every single time, but a handful of times. It's fun. Yes, there are those who act like assholes on bikes, but most people don't. Most people are friendly and it's supposed to be fun. It's nothing new. It's always the last Friday of the month. The cops know about it. Even if it does pass you in traffic, it's only 5 minutes or so... the point isn't to stop traffic and be jerks, it's to promote awareness. Most reactions seem to be neutral or friendly from motorists and pedestrians. And please... please stop with the lame "oh what if I have a medical emergency" BS... ambulances and people who have had emergencies have passed through.
Bikes are supposed to be treated like cars. This means that they should run red lights, not use their blinkers, cut off pedestrians (and each other)... right? Oh.. and bikes are supposed to be treated like cars EXCEPT when they're not treated like cars (there are many exceptions and confusing signs posted by the City of Boston that instruct otherwise). BTW... bikes aren't cars. So enough with this stupid line of reasoning which doesn't make any sense.
Unfortunately not all bikers follow the rules, neither do all the pedestrians or motorist (should I even mention bus drivers or taxis...? no). Everyone's an asshole. That doesn't mean bikers should be run over and it doesn't mean everyone should point at Critical Mass and make a judgement without even understanding it.
Regardless of how you feel
So why do donuts in an intersection?
I've also ridden in Critical Mass rides, though not recently. Corking an intersection to get the whole group through together is reasonable, but riding in a circle formation around and around the intersection is a stupid thing to do. Had I been on this ride, I would have left it at that point.
Exactly, Ron
Having to wait five minutes at an intersection to allow a large procession of bikes to go through together engenders a lot less road rage than sitting there for the same five minutes while people ride around in a circle for the express purpose of blocking traffic. For one thing, when the bikes are just passing through the intersection, you figure there's an end to it. When they're just riding around, who knows how long you're going to have to sit there and put up with their childishness?
Think about sitting at a railroad crossing. If a train is going by, people may get annoyed by the wait but at least you know it's going to be over soon. It's when there's no train in sight or the train is stopped that people start to do stupid things - even knowing that in the battle of car vs. train, car loses every time.
Agree, but the fundamental question is . . .
Ron, I couldn't agree more. I, too, am not in favor of the circle formations. I think they're the least cohesive part of the ride since they have no clear start and end and leave the group the most vulnerable, as what happened. You want to have a parade, fine, but leave the stop-in-the-middle-of-the-parade-and-perform to actual, um, parades. But the fundamental question is, no matter how upset you are, does that justify driving through a crowd of cyclists? No. Period.
Sore ass for sure
The best mode of urban travel is biking either solo or with a small group of focused and skilled riders. You go with the flow of traffic and keep your momentum while riding in control, assertively but not aggressively or obnoxiously. I love doing this, I've been doing it for over 20 years, and never been in an accident.
I make an effort to build mutual respect on the road with drivers. Most of them dont want to hurt you, and if they inadvertenly or lazily cut me off, I find that saying "hey brother, whats goin on?!" works alot better than screaming curse words and throwing the bird.
The bike always loses in a mano a mano confrontation that is fueled by anger and bad intention.
It can be done. you can ride fast and go with the flow of traffic, and you don't need to make pretentious entitled demonstrations like the critical mass people. They really are a blot on the escutcheon of the cycling world. Just stop. Think about things from the perspective of rider and driver, and be a responsible ambassador for the wave of the future.
First sighting of someone using a Hubway bike
Over near North Station, he got on the bike without a helmet and rode off on the sidewalk, swerving around pedestrians as he went. No further comment...
There should be a further
There should be a further comment... this person is obviously not a regular bike rider and has nothing to do with people who own their own bikes and ride every day.
Until the driving community
Until the driving community agrees to take violence off the table, I don't want to hear anything about bicyclists running red lights. Shame on anyone who draws a moral equivalence between inconveniencing people and injuring them.
Quid pro quo
Until you stop characterizing the "driving community" by the actions of its most depraved members, you'll never receive an adequate response to your concern.
Why can't I lump all drivers
Why can't I lump all drivers together? Nobody seems to mind when bicyclists are treated as though they were all part of the same club (see the title of this post, for example).
Come to think of it, a whole lot of drivers are, in fact, part of the same club, one that lobbies against bike infrastructure and opposes what it regards as excessive enforcement of existing traffic laws. It's called the American Automobile Association.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/0
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/opinion/sunday/t...
I didn't say you couldn't
I just said you'll find your case to be as useless as a stationary bike. Good for the exercise...but unable to get you anywhere.
The simple solution to the Critical Mass problem...
The next time Critical Mass decides to brighten everybody's day, I say we remind them exactly who has the right of way on our streets. Since traffic is required to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, I say we form a long, tight single file line and exercise our rights by crossing the streets over and over again in a giant circle. You want eco-friendly? How about walking?
Given that I've seen cyclists barrel into pedestrians and glare at them as if it's the pedestrians' fault, maybe this would go a long way toward sending cyclists a message. Hey, if it works for Critical Mass...
Critical Mass vs. pedestrians
Funny you should mention that. I encountered the Critical Mass crowd in another neighborhood on Friday, while they were riding through a full red-lights-in-all-directions pedestrian crossing light. When my husband and I persevered in crossing the street, cyclists did their best NOT to yield. (To their credit, nobody actually hit us, although those who had to swerve or stop short yelled at us, in spite of the fact that we totally had the light and they totally did not.)
So, to those of you who have written upthread about how Critical Mass rides are an act of civil disobedience against the hegemony of motor vehicles on the roads, and about the sense of safety and exhilaration conferred by riding with so many other cyclists - please explain how harassment of pedestrians who are obeying the law fits into this.