After a long string of Critical Mass rides without major encounter with police, Austin Police were out in force on Friday arresting and ticketing Critical Massers for running red lights and “obstructing traffic.”
Here’s a video encounter of APD arresting local cyclist and budding frame builder Nathaniel “Lurcher” Hill.
So a car runs a red light and generally gets a ticket, but a cyclist gets thrown in the clink? Interesting. Also, kind of interesting that this happened the same month APD Chief Art Acevedo held his first public forum with the cycling community in an attempt to improve relations. So much for that.
Jason at ATXBS (warning: article title may not be work appropriate) has a full story on the ride and Doug took tons of pictures.
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on Mar 30th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Would like to hear the Chief’s comments about this. Like I was hinting at in my report on Acevedo @ ACA, I don’t agree with him that more enforcement is always the answer. But hey, if all you have is a hammer…
I’m convinced this will be the wrong approach and probably end up making CM much stronger.
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I too would like to hear some dialogue about this. As for “running a red light on a bike is a trip to jail”! Wow. Unbelievable! Sadly, I think when cyclists provoke drivers, and provoke the police, they are further polarizing these groups. We are working so hard to be respected and treated as a valid form of transportation commuters. It’s kind of like when someone always yelss at you. You eventually quit listening. We need to open these doors, and people’s minds. Not close them.
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 11:34 am
It wasn’t nearly as bad as advertised …
I saw one person arrested, but I heard that two were arrested. The charge was `Obstructing Highway or Other Passageway’ and is described at http://bicycleaustin.info/laws/tx-bike.html#blockingtraffic
I also heard that two people got tickets for running red lights (but were not arrested) but I’m not really certain of this — it’s not quite as obvious as somebody in handcuffs.
The police did not stop the entire mass, just the people they were arresting/ticketing. The rest of the mass stopped because that’s what the mass generally does when the police ticket somebody — stop, watch, take pictures, ask questions, etc.
Beyond that, the police left the ride alone, and it didn’t stop there — it continued for a good wile after, with a large number of participants and with no further problems.
From what I could see, it wasn’t some sort of `crackdown’ — it was just some police seeing the law being broken and doing their job, which seems to happen from time to time.
Now, the threat to arrest cyclists for running red lights is certainly interesting. If they do that only to CMers they might get some sympathy, but if they try it on cyclists in general (the threat seemed to indicate a change in policy towards all cyclists, though I doubt the officer had the authority to change general policy) it will not go well. The police did arrest one 16 or so year old kid for running a red light back on Halloween, but beyond that, it’s generally just been an occasional ticket, and in general, as far as I know, the charges has been appropriate.
(It was also interesting that they seemed to pull in every cop on a bike in the downtown area. I wonder why? Did they think the people being arrested and ticketed would run? Was it just to show that the cops ride bikes too? So the mass would relate to them better?)
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
The cops pretty much shut down CM in Honolulu, so it can be done.
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I think y’all are missing much of the point on this. Without corking, it’s a lot more dangerous for CM and everyone else.
CM “works” best when it’s there and done with quickly. If you start stretching it out or creating situations where riders are trying to wait for other riders, you’re just adding to the congestion.
Not to mention that I think we need to stand up any time a bicyclist gets arrested….regardless of whether they left the rest of the ride alone or not. I am lacking perspective, since I wasn’t there, but it appears from the officers’ comments–and the fact that there was concentration of them and bike patrol there–that they might have wanted to just bust someone.
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Initially there was only a cop car or two. The many cops in their many vehicles arrived shortly thereafter, probably because they were dealing with hundreds of (peaceful, but annoyed) people and wanted lots of backup — which seems reasonable to me. I doubt the police liked the attention, but there was little they could do about it, and I’d say they handled that fine. The bike patrol might have arrived just because they were the guys who might be most familiar with what was going on or the most curious?
Yes, corking and running red lights gets the mass out of there sooner, and that’s arguably better for traffic (and perhaps safer too), but the police are there to enforce the law, not make traffic better. Also, the mass seems to have a nasty habit of going around the block and taking the same road again, or turning right and then right again so as to never quite leave the area. Not sure why, but it happens, especially down town or on campus. It would be nice if the mass could stop doing that …
And yes, the police could shut down CM, but they need lots of political support, and the odds are good that it would backfire. They tried that in Austin in the 90s, but it all came crashing down when the mass lawyered up and fought it in the courts and the city council chambers. And they’ve tried that in NYC and the ridership when up and then the courts ruled that the police couldn’t do what they were doing …
Beyond the threat to arrest any red light runners, from what I did hear, I’d say the police were generally professional, courteous and even friendly.
on Mar 30th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Yeah, corking was intermittent at best on Friday’s CM, and I think this may have contributed to the problem. The group got split up quite a bit, and towards the back where there was no corking the stragglers got further and further behind, since they had to stop at lights.
It was fun but it did feel a lot more segmented than I think CM usually does (or should. Not sure what, if anything, can be done about that.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
So i’ve been cycling for about 14 years now and i still can’t get over these clowns that participate in CM and then cry when they get busted after provoking the cops. as much disdain as i have for cops, i have even more for cyclists who can’t play by the rules and ruin it for the rest of us.
Someone’s probably going to have to die before everyone realizes what a stupid idea this is.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Jake,
I don’t think the idea is stupid, but it is civil disobedience to make a point and agree if you are doing that, you shouldn’t complain when you get arrested. It should be a badge of honor.
I do not condone illegal behavior in day to day cycling, but I disagree that the law breaking is what causes, or at least is a major cause of the driver hostility. The fact is that drivers consider cyclists an inconvenience, something blocking them from zipping along their way. If 100% of cyclist obeyed the law today, this would not change. Unfortunately, it is part of the psychology in a nation where the automobile is given supreme deference.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
I just don’t think clogging the streets with bikes and corking for the sake of civil disobedience is going to do anything but piss off non cyclists (lots of voters drive cars).
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
“The fact is that drivers consider cyclists an inconvenience, something blocking them from zipping along their way. If 100% of cyclist obeyed the law today, this would not change.”
This assertion is made frequently by those who either break the law or enable those that do, yet it flies in the face of the experience of those of us who do neither. I, for instance, was rarely hassled by motorists while bicycling – most of the handful of times I was was on Shoal Creek where the facility design made the motorists think I was willfully blocking them.
I got more positive than negative feedback overall.
On the other hand, many people who I know from experience ride like yahoos are constantly complaining how bad motorists act towards them and their friends.
While (NOTE TO DOUG!) this is not a scientific proof or anything, it is strong circumstantial evidence that how you act when cycling does, in fact, matter.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Mike,
There was an interesting article from cycle law author Bob Mionske last year about how transportation choices create a tribalism among users based on the theory of Social Identity. For example if you are a motorist, you are more likely to condemn the actions of the other tribe (cyclists, pedestrians) and forgive the actions of your tribe (drivers.) It did not matter which tribe you were a part of (meaning cyclist do this too) and your allegiances changed from day to day depending on which mode of transport you chose.
I’m fairly anal about following traffic laws yet I’ve had motorists honk at me, speed up and turn in front of me cutting me off, throw things at me, pass within an inch of my body, and tell me to get on the sidewalk and out of the street. Each of these instances, I was following the law, holding my part of the road, and not riding unreasonably slow (about 18- 20 mph). These are not everyday occurances but they do happen. I didn’t belong to their tribe. I was other so I was treated like the enemy.
While I don’t doubt that law breakers have had an effect on drivers, the truth of the matter is we have a transportation system and society that gives cars preference over other forms of transportation. Bikes are toys or the tools of weirdo freaks. Buses are for poor people or those who have a DUI. Cars are represented as symbols of freedom and the cyclist, law abiding or not, gets in the way of that freedom. Until we change that attitude and how we build our streets, the dislike of cyclists is not going away.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
It’s good that you realize that your experience isn’t proof, Mike, but it’s not even really strong circumstantial evidence — not by itself. (I’m not saying your conclusion is wrong, just that it’s not `strong circumstantial evidence’. It’s `anecdotal evidence’.)
In any event, Critical Mass seems to garner more positive feedback (smiling, cheering, high-fives, etc.) from the people who encounter it than negative feedback (frowning, honking, yelling, etc.) I don’t think this means that most people approve — instead, I just think most of the unhappy people don’t really express it. Also, a lot of the happy people aren’t in cars at all — they’re walking on the sidewalk, eating outside, etc. The mass isn’t slowing them at all.
In my own personal riding experience, I rarely have problems with motorists — but when I do, they tend to stick with me. I don’t normally tell my friends about that nice guy who let me in, or the guy who gave me plenty of space when he passed — even though there’s lots of these folks. I do tell them about the people who were jerks, however — and those kids who shot me with a paintball gun, I’ve told *everybody* about them. I gripe far more about motorists doing bad things than I do rant about them doing good things while I ride — but I’m also quite aware that the good events outweigh the bad events by a very large margin — but the bad ones stick with me a lot longer. Call it human nature.
When I do have problems, it’s usually when I was doing everything right. Perhaps this is because the people already had problems with cyclists? Perhaps it’s because they didn’t agree that I was doing everything wrong? Perhaps it’s simply a numbers game, where I’m usually doing everything right if I’m not alone? Dunno.
(Just for the record, I tend to be a very courteous and generally law-abiding rider. I’ll roll through a stop sign or even a light at times — but only if there’s no other traffic. If there’s somebody watching, especially if they’re somebody who would have to yield to me or vice versa, I stop completely if I’m supposed to, just so people don’t get confused about what I’m going to do.) I take the lane when appropriate — but I stop occasionally to let people pass if needed too. I also don’t usually look anything like a hipster or a guy on a training ride — which I think improves how motorists treat me.
(All anecdotal evidence. It does disagree with yours somewhat, however — though I’m not sure if you’d have guessed that I rode like a yahoo or not.)
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
(Or the unhappy people are expressing it in a way that’s not really visible. If you’re inside a car with the windows up, it’s hard to tell that you’re pissed off.)
I suspect that Bob Mionske’s theory is pretty close to the crux of the situation of why cyclists and motorists seem to dislike each other (when among people who do both) — though I think there’s a lot more `they just don’t care’ than anything else, and that the negative experiences tend to stick with us more than the positive ones, even though the positive ones are probably more numerous.
on Sep 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Sheesh, keep making mistakes. (when among people who do both = even among people who both ride and drive.)
on Sep 3rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Doug, the circumstantial evidence is that those who I observed were yahoo-riders generally matched up with those who had the most complaints about drivers treating them badly on the road. (as long as everything else was equal – i.e. somebody like Patrick or Tommy, both fairly law-abiding cyclists in general, had more bad driver stories, but also rode a lot more miles than I did).
On the other hand, there’s a fairly obvious correlation between, say, the apparent (self-identified) riding style of commenters at atxbs.com and further down the totem pole, and the relatively high level of complaints they have about motorists treating them badly.
Elliott, my ‘tribe’ from about 1996-2007 was “both”. This was why I was sometimes the guy who had to get the bike stuff past the skeptical motorists on the UTC, by the way, and was a part of the reason Slusher agreed to appoint me to begin with.
on Sep 3rd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
CM is pretty counter productive.
the riders argue that it makes people aware of cyclists and whatever else. i saw the mass friday as they were cruising south down guadalupe. a big group of cyclists taking up every lane going south and cruising at maybe 10mph. that’s not sharing the road with anyone. that’s just giving drivers more reason to not want to see cyclists on the roads.
sharing the road is something that needs to be done by both cyclists and motorists.