Traffic Tactics | Breaking Mass | Know the Law | The Testosterone Brigade | Cops
When bicyclists take to the streets en masse, there will be a certain
percentage of motorists who are not amused. These motorists - a minority, to
be sure - will have a hard time seeing a group of bicyclists as legitimate
traffic, and may insist on forcing their way through the crowd. The
interference of these frustrated individuals, trapped as they are in their
cars, can be a big problem for Critical Mass, especially the smaller rides.
Tactics have to be developed, understood, and implemented by as many people
as possible in order to ensure that this problem does not become too much of
a drag on an otherwise fun and good-natured ride. Here are the ones we've
found that work:
Density - Stay Together!
Think of Critical Mass as a density. It works by forming a mass of bicyclists so dense and tight that it simply displaces cars. Anytime the ride begins to spread too thin, with areas large enough for a car to drive into, you have a potential trouble spot developing.
The simplest and easiest way to deal with this problem is to encourage people to be aware of what's going on around them, and to act when they see things go awry. If a gap large enough for a car develops, someone needs to ride into it and call over a friend. If the head of the ride moves too fast and the Mass becomes too thin, someone in front needs to call out for people to slow down, and for the ride to regroup. The same goes for those at the tail of the ride, who may be riding so slow that the ride, again, spreads too thin. Diagrams on the route sheet pointing out trouble areas and regrouping points are a great way to bring all this across.
Density is vital in ensuring safety and promoting an image of bicycling as
practical, safe and fun for the ride's participants. When Critical Mass is
still passing through an intersection after the light has turned red, in rush
hour traffic, it is important to justify the long wait for cross traffic by
maintaining a steady mass of bicyclists riding through the intersection.
Corks
Corks are the diplomats of the ride. Their title comes from their function.
Here's how they work: one or two bicyclists block each lane of oncoming
traffic as the ride goes through an intersection, making sure that even if a
gap large enough for a car to drive through develops, cars are stopped where
they are. This tactic is especially effective if the cork takes a friendly,
non-antagonistic stance with motorists, even holding up signs that say
'Thanks for waiting' and 'Honk if you like bikes!'. Corks need to protect the
rear of the ride, too, from cars turning into it. Of course, no one needs to
be officially designated as a cork, and people will largely take on this role
of their own initiative.
Red Lights
Should Critical Mass obey the same traffic laws that motorised traffic follows? Yes and no. For the most part, traffic laws were made for cars, as anyone who routinely bicycles through stop signs can attest, and they certainly weren't written with large groups of bicyclists in mind. So the answer to this question is obvious: Critical Mass should bend or ignore existing traffic laws where the group's safety and effectiveness are served, and follow the law where it serves our interests and needs.
Red lights are a perfect example of this principle. When the head of the ride reaches a red light, it only makes sense to stop. This way, a) no one endangers themselves by riding into oncoming traffic, b) we allow motorists the simple courtesy of their right of way, and c) we give ourselves an opportunity to stop, regroup, and form a solid Mass. But if, as Critical Mass passes through an intersection, the light changes, it does not make sense to break into two groups, and the ride should just continue through the intersection, shielded from the waiting cars by corks.
When the Mass thins out too much to justify holding an intersection through a red light, it can be useful for someone to yell out "BREAK MASS!". The first section of Critical Mass would continue through the intersection and the second part would wait for the light to turn green. If all goes well, the two groups will be reunited at the next light. This tactic is most often used when the Mass gets larger and less cohesive.
The above planning is the skeleton of what the Mass needs in order to be as enjoyable and carefree as it is. However, other issues arise as soon as bicyclists, hundreds of bicyclists, hit the streets. Traffic laws vary from state to state and city to city [and country to country -ed]. Find out what the Vehicle Code says about bikes in your area. Know your rights; in California bicyclists 'enjoy' all the rights and responsibilities of motor vehicles. Knowing the truth about what is in the book and being able to correct those who quote it wrongly empowers the riders on Critical Mass. You can obtain a traffic rules and regulations book at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
[In Victoria the corresponding body is VicRoads -ed.]
What kind of approach do we take toward people who choose to drive, or who happen to be stuck in cars, maybe for medical emergency, when the ride passes? Just as important as devising strategies to deal with hostile motorists is the need to deal with those in the ride who may provoke them. For some bicyclists, Critical Mass is an opportunity to berate motorists, now that WE own the road for once.
Our society's over-reliance on motorised traffic is a massive and overwhelming social problem, and it won't be changed through the use of bitchy, ineffective tactics by a small minority of pissed-off bicyclists. But a movement for change based on a reclaiming of public space and the building of human community, open to people from across the social and political spectrum, could contribute to a deeper and more fundamental change in the way our society operates.
One of the important things to realise is that the Mass will tend to follow whoever is in front, whether they have a clear idea of where they're going or not. 'Vanguard' types, exploring their leadership potential, will generally sprint ahead of the ride, go through red lights when it isn't necessary, try to block as much traffic as possible, and attempt to lead the ride in a direction they see as 'radical'.
What happens then is that the head of the ride goes too fast, the ride spreads out, cars get in the middle of the ride, no one has any idea what is going on, dangerous situations occur pretty rapidly, and your Critical Mass becomes a Critical Mess.
The way to counter this is to get two or three friends at the head of the ride who have some idea of what the route is and, more importantly, are committed to staying in a group. If you all stick together as a clump, you can influence the course of the ride by riding slowly, speaking out where necessary, and trying to keep everyone together.
If you do this, you have to be prepared to take a certain amount of shit from
people who may see you as trying to impose your ideas on everyone else. (A
sense of humour helps: on one Berkeley ride, someone yelled "Follow that cop
to the freeway!" after an obnoxious cyclist tried to lead the ride toward an
onramp.) Spaking your mind and actively asserting your initiative is not akin
to being authoritarian - in fact, it's the essence of democracy.
Snails
Snails are a group of antagonistic bicyclists who poke slowly behind the rest of the mass. This dawdling causes the mass to thin out and angers car drivers who are waiting for the ride to progress through the intersection, or are behind the mass and impatient for the mass to get moving.
Again, make your opinion known and be comfortable with that type of interaction. Remember, these people are not out to create the best time for the greatest numbers. They are selfishly antagonising motorists and destroying any positive association that the drivers might once have had when the rest of the jovial mass passed them.
Public demonstrations tend to make the government look bad, since they show vividly that the government does not always represent the people or have their support. Naturally, the police are concerned about popular demonstrations, and they generally take one of two approaches: either they attack the demonstration - exposing the forcefulness on which this society is based - or they attempt to portray themselves as the demonstration's sponsors and diligent protectors.
With the Bay Area Critical Mass rides, they have generally taken the second, paternalistic approach, allowing the ride to take place, blocking traffic for us and making sure that their presence is felt as an 'escort'. On one occasion they even went so far as to announce over a bullhorn before the ride, "Welcome to this event!" - an outsider might have surmised that the whole thing was planned and executed by the police themselves!
When police begin to arrest people or hassle riders, they are trying to provoke a confrontation which will justify a represseive crackdown - a confrontation in which their victory is almost guaranteed. It is important not to take them up on the offer. When the police demand that the ride move into the right lane, do it. Then, when the coast is clear, go back. After a few more attempts to control the ride, the police usually give in and realise, short of arresting everyone, there's little they can do except ride along and actually act like the public servants they professed to be in the beginning.
The best strategy is, avoid breaking any laws you don't have to, try to reason with those individuals on the ride who display a tendency to get out of hand and don't give the police an excuse to stop your ride or bust anybody. Be up front and aboveboard about the ride. After all, we're just riding home together in an organised coincidence, so give the cops the route sheet if they want one.
As much as the police may try to own or control the ride, Critical Mass is a popular movement that operates independently of government regulations, and as such, we don't have any business with the police (although they may have business with us). Within the anti-authoritarian culture of the bicyclist milieu, refusing the arbitrary commands of the police might make sense. But the best approach to the police presence at Critical Mass is not to engage in some pathetic, losing confrontation, or embrace them as our saviours and protectors. Rather, we should ignore them and get on with the business of trying to build a Mass.
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