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View Poll Results: How do you feel about blocking intersections so that a group can stay together?
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How do you feel about blocking intersections?
Stage II
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Toronto
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 35,506
Likes: 27
From: Calgary eh
Not worried - more surprised at the direction the thread took...
Something like this happens every year right around our Stampede week (Annual rodeo). At random times during the day there will be unannounced small parades through the downtown core. For example groups of indians dressed in traditional clothing riding horseback. These are nice displays and are always well received, however they play havoc with traffic because they have a police escort that stops traffic at the intersections. When you stop the flow at one intersection in the downtown grid it ripples all the way through.
So my comment to those bikers, have some respect for the law abiding citizens and obey the traffic lights.
my 2c.
Retired Admin
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 21,865
Likes: 9,047
From: Wisconsin
The LEOs used to help out here in Wisconsin, but stopped about 4 years ago. Now most rides have staggered starts with smaller groups of about 20 or so bikes. Some of these rides can draw 700+ bikes and it takes a lot of time to get them all through. It would be better if we could block, but it can take 10 minutes for a group like that to pass.
Moderatress
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,427
Likes: 29
From: Dutchess County, NY
Where I come from there is no shutting down traffic at intersections. We have just waayyy too much traffic for that. Maybe in small towns or less busy cities where not much is going on you can get away with stopping traffic and parading your group through town. Maybe that's why I don't get the concept. I alluded to the traffic flow earlier. It only takes one accident or delay to start building a queue on a throughfare, then the roads that feed it will get jambed and build queues. So when people say, have some patience and wait... well that's great. So while we miss a cycle on the lights, hundreds of people are effected by the delay.
Something like this happens every year right around our Stampede week (Annual rodeo). At random times during the day there will be unannounced small parades through the downtown core. For example groups of indians dressed in traditional clothing riding horseback. These are nice displays and are always well received, however they play havoc with traffic because they have a police escort that stops traffic at the intersections. When you stop the flow at one intersection in the downtown grid it ripples all the way through.
So my comment to those bikers, have some respect for the law abiding citizens and obey the traffic lights.
my 2c.
Something like this happens every year right around our Stampede week (Annual rodeo). At random times during the day there will be unannounced small parades through the downtown core. For example groups of indians dressed in traditional clothing riding horseback. These are nice displays and are always well received, however they play havoc with traffic because they have a police escort that stops traffic at the intersections. When you stop the flow at one intersection in the downtown grid it ripples all the way through.
So my comment to those bikers, have some respect for the law abiding citizens and obey the traffic lights.
my 2c.
The LEOs used to help out here in Wisconsin, but stopped about 4 years ago. Now most rides have staggered starts with smaller groups of about 20 or so bikes. Some of these rides can draw 700+ bikes and it takes a lot of time to get them all through. It would be better if we could block, but it can take 10 minutes for a group like that to pass.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,814
Likes: 5,120
From: SW Ohio
I think the problem was that the motorcycle rider wasn't able to discern the difference between the laws of man (ticket) and the laws of physics (hospital or graveyard). Generally, when one has grown to apparent adulthood and hasn't figured the difference between the two, something humorous is bound to happen.
In looking at the last sentence of your quote, I take it that a rider or riders may take offence to being hit by a car while they're breaking the law and may try to extract a pound of flesh from said driver. I'm not sure about your state, but Ohio is a CCW state. There are old women carrying the laws of physics in their pocketbook, everyday. If somebody wants to complete the cycle of natural selection, then by all means, take the additional risk of playing billy bad *ss at an accident scene. This will assist us in having a more intelligent population base provided they haven't sired any children.
But in the end, lets take a cold hard look at the facts of the case. Everyday stupid car drivers drive through buildings. Mistake the throttle for the brake, run flat over motorcycle riders, pedestrians, hell, people sitting inside restaurants eating. With that kind of stupidity and lethality, why on Gods green earth would someone want to place themselves and others at risk when they have absolutely no right to do so?
All that said, I don't care beyond having an opinion on it because I won't be the one getting cracked in an intersection stopping traffic.
Last edited by Campy Roadie; Feb 1, 2013 at 01:09 PM.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 35,506
Likes: 27
From: Calgary eh
In looking at the last sentence of your quote, I take it that a rider or riders may take offence to being hit by a car while they're breaking the law and may try to extract a pound of flesh from said driver. I'm not sure about your state, but Ohio is a CCW state. There are old women carrying the laws of physics in their pocketbook, everyday. If somebody wants to complete the cycle of natural selection, then by all means, take the additional risk of playing billy bad *ss at an accident scene. This will assist us in having a more intelligent population base provided they haven't sired any children.
All that said, I don't care beyond having an opinion on it because I won't be the one getting cracked in an intersection stopping traffic.
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 380
Likes: 0
From: Land of OZ
Im not a lawyer but I would think that if you just got a green light at the intersection you ve been sitting at but there is a large group of motorcycles turning left in front of you, blocking your lane of traffic and you "dont yield to them"...if you hit them you would have legal problems. EVEN though you had a green and they had a red, you would have to start driving into the pack, which most would reasonably agree would cause the high likelihood of injuring the bikers. I can see if your on a highway going 65 and youre approaching an intersection and the light turns green and your still doing 65 and a bunch of bikes pull in front of you on a red and you cant stop, but when sitting at a light and consciously deciding to ride into a pack of bikes could give you problems.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,814
Likes: 5,120
From: SW Ohio
In the particular case I'm talking about it was a 4 lane highway with intersections, traffic lights and turn lanes. As most Ohioan's do, cars were stacked up in the left travel lane, next to the left turn lane, waiting at the light. The curb travel lane, next to the right tun lane, was empty.
There were suvs and pick ups in the left travel lane waiting for the light to change. Our hero stopped in the middle of the intersection in front of the vehicles in the left travel lane, because there wasn't anyone in the curb lane. He did this on a green light for opposing traffic and when he was going to rejoin the group he pulled across the curb lane that now had a vehicle traveling through the intersection on a green light at a legal 50mph. They never saw each other until impact because of the vehicles in the left travel lane.
There were suvs and pick ups in the left travel lane waiting for the light to change. Our hero stopped in the middle of the intersection in front of the vehicles in the left travel lane, because there wasn't anyone in the curb lane. He did this on a green light for opposing traffic and when he was going to rejoin the group he pulled across the curb lane that now had a vehicle traveling through the intersection on a green light at a legal 50mph. They never saw each other until impact because of the vehicles in the left travel lane.
Last edited by Campy Roadie; Feb 1, 2013 at 03:05 PM.