Washington Injury Law Blog

As a Washington Bicycle Accident Attorney I’m always interested in any newsworthy events involving bicycling. Over the past few days I’ve been reading in the Seattle PI about a Critical Mass bicycle protest ride that got out of control. A car driven was stopped from exiting a parking lot by several bicycles. It appears the driver became frustrated and ran over two of the bicyclists and proceeded to drive away. Other bicyclists chased the car down and started beating on the car, broke the windshield and rear window, and struck the car driver.

 

A black eye has been given to bicyclists as a result of this unfortunate event. I understand the frustration the driver was feeling, but that did not give him the right to run over bicyclists. The bike riders had no right to take justice in their own hands like vigilantes and beat up the car driver. The bicycle riders should have called the police and given the license plate number to the police and let them handle it. None of the people involved acted properly. All of them should feel ashamed of their actions.

 

With the ever increasing gas prices more and more bicycles are hitting the roads. Bike advocates of every stripe and color are also increasing efforts to gain better rights for bicycle riders. An advocate group called  Critical Mass conducts moving bicycle rights protests all over the country.  The protests involve a large group of bicycle riding down a street in a mass group. The riders block intersecting streets and driveways so the large group can ride past without cars pulling out into the mass of bicycle riders. The rides are often unannounced and disrupt traffic. Thus conflicts with drivers arise fairly easily.

 

Last year a clash between undercover King County Police with another Critical Mass ride resulted in heavy handed arrests by the police and cries of police brutality by the riders. In New York a NYPD officer was caught on video tackling a Critical Mass rider without provocation last Friday. Below is a video of the incident.

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkRweEQxxI&NR=1[/youtube]

 

Aggressive bike advocacy does not seem to be working to endear favor with motorists or police. Taking the law into your own hands is never the answer. If you are a bicycle rider who wants greater rights and respect from drivers you need to start with being respectful and courteous to vehicles. Car drivers biggest gripe is when bikes run stop signs and red lights. As a bike rider I know it is a pain to stop for every sign and red light when riding in the city, but that is the law and I, like you, must follow it. Car drivers do and you as a bicycle rider cannot expect to get empathy for your situation if you act like a scofflaw and constantly break the rules of the road. By always following the rules of the road you can start to overcome the bias against bicyclists that many police officers and Washington drivers hold.

 

If you take the high road and choose to follow the laws going out of your way to be a friendly and courteous bicycle rider the driving public will be much more willing to share the road and grant greater bicycle rights.

 

Please ride safely. If a conflict arises call the police and let them handle it. Your health and safety are more important than a moment of frustration and anger.

 

That’s my 2 cents.

 

Max Meyers

 

More Bicycle news stories and videos:

 

Pedal v. Metal, Newsweek article

 

Bicyclists Say Seattle Ignores Safety Issues, Seattle PI article

 

Emotion Still Running High After Critical Mass Confrontation, Seattle PI article

 

Youtube video link of 2006 Critical Mass Confrontation by King County Sheriff undercover officers, beware some explicit language used:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwDLCCsKxQ&feature=related

 

Seattle Critical Mass July 2007 video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqKMqLmIZe8&feature=related