As an occasional driver, I know what it’s like to have to slam on
the brakes while some oblivious cyclist cuts me off in traffic,
endangering himself and scaring the crap out of me.
I know what it’s like to be stuck in traffic, grumbling as a cyclist
runs the red light a line of cars is waiting for.
I know what it’s like, even, to get trapped behind a Critical
Mass demonstration, stuck in place while a wall of cyclists takes
over the road.
But, as a cyclist, I also know what it’s like to be yelled at and
intimidated by drivers who resent my presence on “their” road.
I know what it’s like to have people spit on me because I’m not
surrounded by two tons of steel.
I know what it’s like to deal with police when I’ve been hit or
threatened by a car—the presumption that of course the cyclist is always to blame and the total lack of interest in
pursuing people who “only” spat on me, or screamed obscenities, or
tried to bump me off the road.
And I know what it’s like to be struck by a carelessly driven car
and wake up, dazed, 20 feet down the street, my arm dislocated
and pebbles and dirt lodged a half-inch deep in my back.
What we know about what happened at last week’s Critical Mass melee:
A bunch of cyclists engaged in an act of civil disobedience. A driver
got pissed. He lost his temper, revved his engine, yelled at the
cyclists (“I have a reservation!“), and slammed his car into
several of them. A few of the cyclists, enraged, responded
inappropriately, busting his windshield, assaulting him with a U-lock,
and slashing his tires.
I don’t think the cyclists’ response was right—because it was
assault, yes, but also (perhaps like the anarchic tradition of Critical
Mass itself) because it did nothing to promote the idea that drivers
need to share the road.
But I do understand their frustration.
The driver in the Friday, July 25, incident, who wasn’t arrested or
cited by police, said he didn’t mean to hurt anybody. He was just in
a hurry, and he wanted the cyclists out of the way. So he hit a few
of them with his car.
Think about an analogous situation. The police wouldn’t take the
side of an angry husband who lost his temper and threw his wife against
the wall—nor would the media. Should an angry driver get a
pass?
Of course not.
Cyclists are angry for a reason. They’re angry that many drivers
don’t respect them, angry that cops disregard their rights, angry that
the city’s infrastructure ignores their existence. Until the city
addresses that anger—by strengthening the laws governing
vehicular assault, creating a real network of bike lanes and
grade-separated trails, and training police to treat cyclists’ claims
as seriously as they do drivers’—incidents like last Friday’s are
going to keep happening. 