Posted on 05/12/2007 3:21:50 PM PDT by SmithL
BERKELEY -- An angry confrontation erupted during Friday night's Critical Mass bike ride in Berkeley when cyclists accused a motorist of trying to run them over, a participant who videotaped part of the fracas said today.
The incident, similar to an altercation that occurred during a Critical Mass in San Francisco in March, occurred about 8 p.m. as dozens of cyclists rode through the intersection of The Alameda and Monterey Avenue, said bicycle activist Jason Meggs.
Tempers flared on both sides and the motorist's windshield was shattered and a wiper bent, but Berkeley police did not make any arrests, Meggs said.
Police officials were not immediately available for comment, and the identity of the driver was not known.
A man driving a Chevrolet van allegedly drove toward the cyclists, Meggs said, prompting the confrontation.
A video of the incident shot by Meggs shows a woman, identified as his wife, in the van -- which has disabled person license plates.
On the video, three bicycles are seen stuck beneath the right front tire of the vehicle and bicyclists trying to remove them.
"Everybody, back away!" one person is heard shouting. Cyclists are seen and heard pounding on the vehicle's hood and windows.
"What the f-? What's your f- problem?" one cyclist demands of the driver, who is inside the vehicle with the windows closed.
At one point, the man's wife opens her door. "How dare you be so violent?" someone is heard asking her. "Are you people drunk?"
The woman says something that can't be heard, prompting a man to ask her, "Guess who started it? Guess who did it?"
"You're on top of three bikes!" a bicyclist tells the driver, urging him to move.
...Meggs said police blamed the bicyclists for instigating the confrontation, a charge he denied.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Oh yeah, “Critical Mass” in SF...
*cough* moonbattery *cough*
It’s Bushes Fault.
I can’t stand cyclists. If you can’t drive the speed limit, get the heck off the road.
I cant stand bicyclists. Until they start paying taxes for licenses and inspection stickers like car drivers have to do, then get OUT of the street and get your bike on the sidewalk.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the driver of that van lived out a hidden fantasy of millions of drivers that day.
I think our road could be more accomodating of bikers. That said, it’s a major annoyance when they clog up traffic. My state has a law where a vehicile must pull off of the road if five or more vehicles are backed up behind it and it is impeding traffic.
A law, needless to say, that is never enforced.
Where's an earthquake when you need it, to open up the earth and swallow up the moon bats.
This happened in Bizerkley.
Never bring a bicycle to a van fight.
Go ahead, bike boy, make my day
How much you want to bet this guy is a faggot?
If you are not from No. California you may not be familiar with the Critical Mass idiots. These are not the typical self-centered, sanctimonious jerks on bikes one normally encounters. Critical Mass is a sort of loosely organized anarcho-econazi movement that has been around for years in The greater S.F. Bay area. They pick a time and place of heavy traffic and ride slowly along, taking up all lanes and preventing decent people from excercising their God-given right to move from one place to another. Thus causing traffic to steadily worsen. I still remember how angry I became when I got stuck behind a mob of them in Santa Cruz one evening about ten years ago. I went from zero to homicidal in about 30 seconds. Fortunately I was able to control my violent impulses, but I sure swore a blue streak at them. (That was before I became a Catholic.)
Maybe the driver thought he was in a Clint Eastwood movie
These cyclists ignore the traffic laws and drive en masse right through stop signs, red lights, etc. They dare the cops to stop them. The cops just pretend it doesn’t happen out there. A few weeks ago they terrorized a mother and her children in a minivan, breakng windows out and scaring the children horribly. These guys are thugs on bikes. In my state, they’d get shot for this kind of thing.
Not all Berkley commies are gay. Many of the Berkeley types are hard core anarchist, commie, Earth First types.
They make the garden variety liberals look like Midwestern Republicans.
As of today in the State of Texas bicyclists have the same right to the road as a motor vehicle. In fact just last week the legislature in Austin passed a law requiring cars to give cyclists at least three feet clearance when passing.
However, if you feel strongly about this issue you can come to Austin and lobby the legislature to ban bikes from Texas roads. Until then, give me my three feet clearance and do not make fun of my bike shorts.
Boycott Berkeley
You said it. These two-wheeled a$$holes try to prove a point about demanding respect from drivers by making left turns in busy intersections during rush hour, but God-forbid they actually stop at a stop sign.
What does “dozens of cyclists” mean? 36? 150? 500?
One of the leaders “said the cyclists had a green light when they entered the intersection, but he did not know if the light had changed before they’d all made it across the street.”
In other words, there were probably so many damned bikes that they expected traffic to sit there and wait through several green lights. I don’t object to bicyclists, but they have an obligation under the law to stop for red lights and let other traffic go through.
It used to drive me crazy when messenger bikes zipped through red lights in NYC during the rush hour and never even looked to see if cars were coming.
Thats right, Catholics can’t cuss. Unless they are drinking.
The poor queen is one giant victim on the road.... The Man just won't leave him alone!
I hate bicyclists. They need to decide if they are traffic or pedestrians and stick to it. However, they want the best of both worlds. They want to ride in the street, and then if there is a lot of traffic, red lights, stop signs, etc. they jump up on the sidewalk, etc.
I’d love to drive a van threw a whole swath of them if I could be certain I wouldn’t cause serious injury.
This was my first thought
Its a big investment and a crash with a car or otherwise will not only cost tons of money but likely our life and limb.
Do you wear one of those gay rubber bracelets?
Critical Mass does this routinely, frequently riding in violation of the laws of motoring and common manners. The intent of their rides is to take over the streets from automobiles. Provoking/creating/inventing an incident is part of their M.O. The fact that their ‘taper/spokesperson’ says the P.D. blamed them for this one is a good indication of whose fault it was.
I wore a Yellow Bracelet that was given to me by Lance Armstrong one day when I ran into him at a bike shop here in Austin. I had never seen one before but within a week everyone in town had one so I took it off forever.
As a pedestrian, I say keep your bikes off the sidewalks and on the streets!
Poor old Jason just seems to have a running problem with vans.... http://www.ebbc.org/?q=node/377
That's all that I needed to read.
-PJ
I can’t stand cars. Get your automobile off the sidewalk:’)
OK, that’s fair.
Moreover, the only people in the world that drive cars worse than people in New Orleans are the citizens of Calcutta.
But I must say that a dozen or so loops at the hike and bike train at Audabon Park is always refreshing.
First, I'm sure that bikers annoy non-homosexual blue collar dems more than they do upper crest republicans.
Second, who cares?
Critical Jack Asses.
Thanks, actually Lance is a great guy but is also a class A jerk.
I also understand that if I crash while riding on a Texas Hill Country highway at 25 or 45 MPH that I am a dead man. Therefore I respect cars, trucks, beer cans, pebbles or what ever else may be on the road.
Where is the video? I always have my camera handy...you never know what will happen.
That video of the disruptive bicyclists tells it all.
JERKS.
Why do protestors think that pissing people off will win them over?
That was great. Someone should give the guy who drove that car a medal.
Agreed.
I have absolutely no problem with cyclists...
Well, until they dart out from around parked cars, then flip me off when I just barely manage to avoid them by swerving into the oncoming lane...
...decide to utilize the bicycle lane we taxpayers were charged for by riding directly on the white line, hanging halfway out into the traffic...
... ride two abreast in the bike lane, with one cyclist hanging out into traffic...
...never, ever use hand signals, relying on psychic powers to broadcast their intention to suddenly cut across 3 lanes of traffic...
...and get angry and thunk on your car if you can’t manage to get far enough away from them without causing a head-on collision in the oncoming lane.
Otherwise, they’re G2G with me.
Do you wear those tight gay looking bike shorts? No offense meant,... just wondering. ; )
You post the picture, and we’ll decide.
; )
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