See update: July 29, 2008: “Critical Mass undermining efforts to improve cycling — Cascade”
Some Seattle bicycle riders made the news this weekend, but I can't say that I'm proud of them.
An altercation during a Critical Mass ride on Friday night between a motorist and some cyclists led to injuries on both sides, some messed up bicycles, and a messed up car. Fortunately no one was killed or seriously hurt.
Granted, the motorist was acting like a jack ass and should have been a little patient instead of driving his car into some cyclists. Still, there's no excuse for the reciprocal violence against the driver. It does nothing to help the cause of bicycling or to make the road safer for people on bicycles.
I'm sure violence wasn't the intent of the bike riders when they set out on Critical Mass. Most of those folks are out there for an en-masse bike ride through the streets of their city. The danger comes from largely disobeying traffic laws in trying to keep the group together. If they piss off enough people, someone is eventually going to react. It's inevitable.
Coverage
Before drawing conclusions about the incident, it would serve us well to check out as many sides to the story as possible.
From the start, there was the police side of the story reported by news organizations. That led to one-side reporting and unfortunate and incendiary headlines like the P-I's, “Mob of bicyclists injure motorist in Seattle.”
Since then, some bloggers who witnessed the events on Capitol Hill helped to put things in perspective. One of the most detailed and excellent has been Ryan's Critical Mass Collision at his blog. He was there when cyclists “corked” the motorist's car to prevent him from driving into the line of some 100 bicycle riders, and he reported on the driver's reaction. He was among those later interviewed by the Seattle Times in its “Why did violence erupt at Critical Mass ride in Seattle”, which attempted to set the record straight.
Other views are available at the Point83 forum as well as The Stranger, which interviewed one of the injured cyclists who had to go to the emergency room.
Arrests
Police have arrested two cyclists and are looking for a third, the one who allegedly hit the driver in the back of the head with an object.
I've read nothing about whether police are considering charges against the driver who hit several cyclists and drove over the leg of another in his haste get to his dinner reservation on time. According to The Stranger, that cyclist is considering civil legal action.
Reaction
The incident has created the expected backlash against bicyclists, such as those at the PI's Soundoff section.
Sadly, the whole affair will probably lead to more confrontations between cyclists and motorists at future Critical Mass rides.
I just hope it doesn't cause turmoil for those bicyclists who try to follow the rules of the road and who use their bikes to get from Point A to Point B, instead of using their bikes as a way to upset the cagers.
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