Posts
69
Joined
12/17/2010
Location
OR
US
Edited Date/Time
8/17/2014 9:16am
This past Friday in Porto Alegre, Brazil, there was a terrible attack on an otherwise peaceful Critical Mass ride. During the ride, a crazed driver literally drove right through the crowd. Riders piled up on the car's hood before being thrown to the pavement. Surprisingly, no one was killed but 8 people were taken to the hospital.
If you want to, you can watch the terrifying video of the driver below. But PLEASE BE WARNED, it's pretty upsetting. I watched it so you don't have to.
Why do some drivers feel the urge to do something like this?
If you want to, you can watch the terrifying video of the driver below. But PLEASE BE WARNED, it's pretty upsetting. I watched it so you don't have to.
Why do some drivers feel the urge to do something like this?
I think 20+ counts of aggrevated assault will be a more likely outcome...though I hear the justice system in Brazil isn't too keen to cyclists so who knows...
On another note, are these Critical Mass rides really accomplishing anything? It seems to me, especially in cases like this, that these rides have the potential to cause more harm than good by furthering the gap between motorists and cyclists, almost taking a step backward in cyclist/motorist relations.
BUT, ever since I found out what a critical mass was I thought it sounded more like a critical pain in the ass. Let me provide an example that might speak to you a little bit. Lets say the hikers on your local trail network thought that mountain bikes were marginalizing them as a user group, whizzing by and creating noise and such. As a solution, they organize a massive hike to clog up the trails and refuse to let cyclists past. Sound like a useful plan you? Think you might be annoyed if you were trying to get a ride in that day? All these stupid things do is exacerbate the conflict between bikes and cars, this result should not be a surprise.
Peaceful protestors getting run over on purpose is still out of control and attempted murder. We live in a crazy world, and sometimes attention needs to be brought to major issues at hand - like having bike routes and simple civilian necessities. The people did not get injured in vain. This critical mass was worth 1000 critical mass's for getting the message across. (and no I'm not a critical mass'er)
Different subject, but pertaining to that metaphor: I think hikers need to think outside the box and rally to help us get them off their trails by helping organizations that install proper mountain bike trails. Respect deserves respect
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