Yesterday evening on Spring Garden Road I witnessed a society of cyclists enjoying an evening ride on a cool, fall day. The cyclists came up from Queen Street and turned left onto SGR heading west towards Coburg.
As the cyclists get to the traffic lights at the corner of SGR and Dresden, the light is still green then quickly changes to yellow and finally red. The bikers who were already at the point-of-no-return kept going through the lights while it merely turned red. Not a problem.
There was still have the group left that were unable to get through the intersection as the lights changed. The green light was now for drivers on Dresden.
Instead of waiting their turn as required by law, the remaining cyclists then begin biking through the red light! I’m not talking about a handful, but the entire rest of the group (roughly 40-60 cyclists inluding chidlren and toddlers on training bikes) decides that a red light means, “Please bike through and defy the rules of the road.”
The drivers on Dresden looked on in disbelief (as did I) as the cyclists’ sense of entitlement took priority over the laws of the road.
What annoys me is that cyclists are the first to complain about the lack of bike lanes or how they deserve the same rights-of-the-road as drivers – and then they go ahead and pull this type of shit!
It was one of the rudest sights I’ve seen and it just asserted the belief that people hate cyclists for a reason. And this was just one of them.
— I don’t jaywalk.
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2009.
Not ALL cyclists display the same dispegard. Many practice safe riding habits. Of course the bad ones in any group, cyclists or otherwise, always make it bad for the one’s who are good. The group you witnessed are a prime example. Shame on them!
That’s a critical mass bike ride.
I think all the drivers should get together on critical mass day and block up the intersections with their cars.
If I were in a car, I would have driven right through them. If they get hit for biking through a red light – their fault. If they were to damage my car somehow – I’d file suit for repairs.
Critical Morons
Yup I was driving down Thistle St towards Wyse Rd by the Sportsplex and a kid about 16 was biking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road and I just knew he was going to cross at the crosswalk. Sure enough, at full speed he crosses without even looking. If I hadn’t notice, he would have been mincemeat.
We ‘other’ cyclists refer them as “Critical Ass” rides.
Thank you for paying attention while driving, and driving on your side of the street too, Bro. More than I can say for some of the drivers around here.
There’s a Critical Mass in almost every city in North America, Europe, Australia, etc. It’s not just a local thing, it’s worldwide.
It’s only for one hour, one day a month; a parade of bicycles.
If there’s no floats, balloons, flashing lights and organization its not a parade.
If Critical mass is supposed to illustrate what the world would be like if everyone cycled…I’d rather keep driving.
If it’s a regular thing that is going to be happening, then they can get a permit from the city and have the roads to themselves. Otherwise, they can follow the rules like everyone else, or risk getting creamed…what gets me though, is that there are these parents who take their children out on these foolish rides and teach them to disobey the rules of the road, put in place to keep everyone safer. “Lets all get together and piss off every single driver in town, and see how many of us make it back in one piece..” How is this really a good thing?? Holy hell the common sense of these people…And what happens when the big ass dump truck comes barrelling through one of these intersections and takes out a couple of handfuls of bikers??? Then the hospital is tied up with a bunch of morons that are too stupid to follow a few simple rules. I get what they ‘think’ they are trying to do. But it’s not working and maybe they should rethink their strategy. What will be critical is their condition if they don’t start following the rules on the roads….
http://gizmodo.com/5368807/cycling-psa-get…
Read the comments that follow…sounds like most every bike conversation at LTWWB for the last year.
if the police would participate on their bikes and have an actual route mapped out it might go smoother for everyone…but this is a smallish city so you don’t get a lot of participation…especially for the naked bike ride hey thats my babysitter/teacher/dope dealer/grandma etc.
this happens a lot with weddings as well, ignoring the lights because they are somehow ‘privileged’ on that day. I don’t get it.
if you want to be privileged enough to risk life and limb, go ahead but the popo’s won’t see it that way.
ps, LOVE the banner.
Was laugh-over-laughing all the way.