Driver ploughs in to Brazilian Critical Mass ride +video (Warning! Disturbing content)

Well, that's put Critical Mass on the map, hasn't it?

that was a very hard video to watch, something similar happened to my uncle whilst riding with his club mates.
the driver over took the cyclists he then decided to turned left and went into all of them no one knows why he did this as the roads had no other traffic and visability was clear,my uncle got the full whack, its still going through the courts and this was 8 years ago, my uncle has had a lot of sugary done on his body, but his brain is a differnt matter, i hope they catch this golf driver and chuck the book at him, or place the driver and the cyclists in a room and close the door then lets see how clever he is without his car.

It's only by the grace of God that the driver of that car is not now a murderer.

By deliberately speeding up and ramming the cyclists they can be under no illusions that their actions would have jepordised the safety and seriously endagered the lives of those in their path. Only someone with a diminished mental capacity can be excused for not realising the full potential of their actions in this scenario. Seriously ill passenger or not, there is no justification for risking the lives of many to save one. This was not an accident but a premeditated and disgraceful act comitted by one (alleged) human being against others.

Taking all this into account, the driver should be subjected to a full and frank (and very public) investigation and should be punished accordingly. I personally hope they go to prison for a long time and have their liberty taken away, the way that they so disrespectfully did to those cyclists.

ps the Golf driver should be jailed for a long time. no excuses acceptable - can you think of one?

I've been out of London for a while but used to enjoy critical mass when i was here.
Now i'm back i understand the comments about CM being often highly antagonistic towards drivers but that doesn't mean you have to be.
Rather than stop attending surely its more reason to actually come, take the lead, take a leisurely ride through town, take everyone on a different route and get your point across.
CM is not (or at least it shouldn't be ) a led event, therefore the mass just follows whoever is in front..
when asked by any other road user 'what is this', just give the answer you feel comfortable with..
So, see you at the end of March i hope..

ppf. I have just watched a couple of worrying videos of a cyclist speeding through slow moving traffic. (One had a lovely piece of relaxing music,it made the ride seem very graceful! does anyone know what the piece was? I would like to know!)

A V Lowe

Having watched Londons Critical Mass go past a few times (I've not been on one yet and are more often out drinking in central Lodon instead) it does flow, it's just a lot bigger. It still takes only 2-3 mins to pass.
But then after CM has passed the traffic is just as slow, but thats because it central London and full of Taxis, buses and cars.
The main people who moan about it are the Taxi drivers, but they are happy to have a protest where they block Aldwych by being stationary for an hour (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10211958) which is far more disruption.

What a shocking video! I am sure if it was a genuine emergency,everyone would have allowed the driver through. I also observed there were side streets, so the car driver could have taken a detour. Prob get a suspended sentence for that in the UK! Have to agree with A.V.Lowe.
Having driven most types of vehicle on our roads,I feel we need to be aware of each type of drivers/riders situations while intergrating with other traffic.

A V Lowe,

I don't agree that the purpose of the CM is to block the traffic. Every day when I cycle in London, my path is blocked by queues of taxis, buses, lorries and cars. And that happens 24/7. Who can I complain to about that?

I also see traffic violations daily. Vehicles come far too close to bikes, they break the speed limit, do u-turns where they're not supposed to and jump red lights at pedestrian crossings or sometimes even junctions. Yet we only ever hear about how cyclists are supposed to be the only people who do this.

CM only happens once a month *on a Friday evening*. I can't believe that as many people are in a rush as you say they are. Also, you're not accurate in what you say about drivers being antagonized. I would say that over 90% of the motorists actually display good humour towards the cyclists.

Such a disregard for a humans life :((with an ill person or not)

Simply no excuse can be given for mowing people down in a car like that..!

Well said @ A V Lowe. Unfortunately many cyclists use these CM meets to make a point of being obstructive to motorists in an attempt at getting their point across, not to 'integrate cycling in to the city's traffic by making drivers aware that cyclists are there and need to be respected'.

Reading the reports carefully there seems to be thread that there was a sick passenger in the car and the driver was asking the cyclists to let him get to the hospital. The refusal to do this after a prolonged period indicates a substantial breakdown in the communication between the cyclists and driver and highlights one of the distasteful elements of riding with a Critical Mass of cyclists. Namely an element in the body of cyclists who go out of their way to obstruct drivers of motor vehicles.

Cyclists should look for a better example set by the line skating critical mass evenings that take place in London to see how it should be done. A vast horde flows effortlessly through the other traffic, making no attempt to block it but instead to show how much freer and happier they are with their choice of transport. Several otherwise committed campaigners for better cycling conditions refuse to go on a typical CM ride - simply because they see current CM's going around with an agenda to confront drivers.

It would be wonderful if London's cycling CM, learned from the skaters, and from this incident, before we get the UK version. The image of cyclists would be immensely enhanced if we had a CM where the majority rode smoothly and steadily at a 'no sweat' pace, smiling and inviting the drivers to join them next time, with stewarding that pulled both the aggressive drivers and the cyclists who deliberately ride to obstruct and annoy. The whole object is surely to show how the bicycle delivers a civilised and efficient way to move though busy city traffic and can co-exist with other road users.

PS to this end a large ride should co-ordinate with Police and pedestrians at busy crossing points so that the pedestrians are invited to continue to cross the road and work the proven system where each of these highly agile road users communicate their intended moves to in the same way that couples dancing manage to fill the floor with movement but rarely tangle with each other or those dancing around them. It we wanted a demonstration of how cyclists can ride through pedestrianised streets this would seal the case. Naturally this requires both to remove ipods and actually pay some attention to the people moving around next to them.

"it is not yet possible to say if the driver intended to run over the cyclists"

He must have done his training in London in the Met Police.

"hateful comments" eh? I can think of a few....