Clash reignites road wars: Skirmish between driver and Critical Mass riders triggers another round of debate

A minor brush between a Critical Mass rider and a mother driving a minivan carrying several girls after celebrating a birthday leads to confrontation. Cyclist chasing after the van smash into the rear and sides, incurring $5300 in repairs and the wrath of the mother, drivers, and politicians all over San Francisco.

Cyclists claim the driver hit a cyclist, who was not injured and refuses to press charges. They say the police should have ticketed her. The driver claims, after a mass of cyclists surrounded her van, she just wanted to get out of there.

Bike messengers hate Critical Mass, because it gets cyclists a bad rap. They say it just makes work harder. On the road daily, they feel they take the heat for the mess. In the accompanying poll, with 3694 respondents so far, 79% blame the riders, 13% blame drivers, and 2% blame City officials and police.

National Public Radio also published an interview with the driver, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, and bike messengers.

Minivan's rude introduction to Critical Mass Bike Ride

The San Francisco Chronicle

Tue Apr 10

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