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[–] 104 points 2 months ago (28 children)

I hate these “gangs” of kids on ATVs and motorbikes with no licenses. They completely F up traffic, pulling stunts, lunging at cars, and sometimes even wrecking and stopping traffic entirely. They’re like those biker tools that block intersections so the entire gang gets through or street takeovers.

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  • [+] -19 points 2 months ago (4 children)
  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    “Traffic” takes over multiple lanes while stunting and deliberately antagonizing normal drivers? Sure, bud.

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  • [+] -29 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Yeah they are a real inconvenience for about 30 secs.

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  • [+] -44 points 2 months ago* (18 children)

    Cars already take over the roads, why shouldn't people try to take them back?

    My local bicycle ride that blocks intersections while the riders go through is known and protected by the police -- the legal theory is that if the front of a vehicle entered the intersection on a green light, the "vehicle" can continue through the intersection if the light changes. And a group of people riding bikes as one unit is considered one vehicle.

    A bike ride with many people in it is considered a single vehicle if they all ride together with no big gaps through the intersection. There are volunteers called "corkers" who will stand in front of the intersection to clearly signal to motor vehicles that it is not safe to enter the intersection yet. They're trained in deescalation in case someone is really upset that they had to wait an extra minute or two on a Friday night.

    Here's an article if anyone is interested.

    https://grist.org/cities/bike-party-a-fresh-new-way-to-take-back-the-streets/

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  • [–] 22 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    Cyclists and bikers are NOT the same.

    A critical mass bicycle ride is tightly organized and usually have a set speed, and anyone involved try not to harass other drivers or pedestrians.

    Jackass bikers on motorcycles and ATVs in a rowdy group do fucking annoy everyone.

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  • [–] -5 points 2 months ago

    A critical mass bicycle ride is tightly organized

    😂 You and I have been to very different critical mass events. The ones near me are "leaderless" and kind of chaotic. Bike party is hyper organized when compared to critical mass.

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  • [–] 32 points 2 months ago (11 children)

    Why are you comparing two completely different things? Are you being deliberately dense to start an argument? You are comparing a known sanctioned cycling event to illegal riders, and illegal riders to licensed and insured drivers who legally have a right to the road.

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  • [+] -12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (9 children)

    They’re like those biker tools that block intersections so the entire gang gets through or street takeovers.

    This sentence describes bike party to a t, which is not really officially sanctioned -- they just give the police a heads up to be nice.

    I am not trying to be dense, i am just trying to explain why bicyclists block intersections to let the whole group go through. It is partially to protest cars.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    The ones I see aren’t cyclists participating in group events. It’s dirt bikes, atv’s, and now even some e-bikes, unlicensed, unsanctioned, stunt riding and being general assholes on the road. Stop trying to twist reality into somehow legitimizing their BS.

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  • [+] -13 points 2 months ago* (7 children)

    I dont see why the roads should only be for "licensed" cars. Stunt riding is fine as long as it doesn't hurt people. Sometimes they join in the bike party. It seems like you're trying to say the roads should exclude all these vehicles, when I would like more ebikes on the road and less cars. Dirt bikes and atvs can come too.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

    I am not a big fan of motorized vehicles, I generally bike. But it seems to me that saying "stunt riding is fine as long as it doesn't hurt people" is more or less the same as saying "drunk driving is fine as long as it doesn't hurt people". That is if we are talking about stunt driving on a public road (haven't read the whole discussion). stunt driving is much riskier than calm driving and when you do it in a public road you transfer that risk to other people, including pedestrians and non motorised bikers, who don't want to be involved.

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  • [–] -4 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    I really don't think stunt riding hurts anyone, especially compared to drunk driving. I wish that police would spend their time on real problems.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (2 children)

    stunt driving is a really wide range, same with alcohol. I can easily find you many articles about stunt driving that caused deadly accidents but then you could easily say "yeah but that is not stunt driving" the same way one could say "yeah but that is too drunk". Many people who consider themselves stunt drivers do occasionally drive on the wrong side of the road leading to accidents for instance. If you like stunt driving, you shouldn't be doing it in public spaces.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    It's kind of crazy to me that anyone would drive at all if they've had any alcohol, barring like 1 drink per hour, and the hour has elapsed, but i get that people do it.

    Stunt driving is at least fun to watch.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)

    It’s about the spirit of it, and their intentions.

    I agree with you for bike parties, general malarkey, fun.

    These gangs aren’t having a bike party, they’re often criminally active - not in a positive way. They steal from members of the public, they trash people’s homes, property. They grievously assault people.

    There’s nothing nobly anarchic about them.

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  • [–] 19 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Did you watch the video? That's not what's happening. They literally ran a guy over, pretty sure that's the opposite of de-escalation.

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  • [–] 16 points 2 months ago

    You must be American. Nowhere else would people have such an ingrained bicycle identity that they'd have to tell everyone, without any fucking provocation.

    Watch the video and tell if you think your comment had any relevance.

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  • [–] 41 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (6 children)

    These aren't kids. The quad rider was a 27 year old man who "[tested] positive following a drugs test" and who also appears to have previously been convicted of possession of an offensive weapon in public. He was jailed for 15 months for this.

    The judge described the gang:

    travelling at speeds of 35mph*, weaving in and out of traffic, ignoring red lights, and travelling on the opposite carriageway at one stage. This was highly dangerous and posed a significant risk to the public. Many of those who were riding concealed their identity.

    * The speed limit in built-up areas here is generally 30mph or 20mph

    It's crazy that anyone is defending the riders when video shows them:

    • riding on the wrong side of the road (in the UK we drive on the left)
    • riding on the pavement
    • riding without number plates
      • so presumably these are not road-legal bikes
      • so presumably the riders are not insured
    • failing to stop for police
    • hitting a pedestrian

    Sources

    1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cw0y9z0q182o
    2. https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/news/leeds-news/quad-biker-jailed-after-police-32847784
    3. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/baseball-bat-wielding-thug-claims-17225973
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  • [+] -13 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Sure, these guys were pricks but the police looked likely to kill someone over there.

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  • [+] -10 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Yeah that's what I see. Some asshole running into the road trying to hurt bikers and getting hit because he runs in front of one, to then start attacking one of the people he was trying to hurt. ACAB.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Sure acab, but this is not one of those situations. The bike riders here are assholes the lot of them. The quad bike had no reason to ride straight into a dude wearing a high vis.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago

    Sure the bikers are assholes, but that shouldn't warrant this useless action.

    Also, as I said, he didn't ride straight into a dude, the dude jumped straight into the bike. Pretty obvious.

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  • [–] 22 points 2 months ago

    "yeh daft coont" just has a nice ring to it

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  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (9 children)

    Annoying bikers on fucking motorcycles.

    Looks like it's a big problem on either side of the Atlantic.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (7 children)

    I mean UK police carry no firearm and are held to much higher standards. And the driver of the atv literally ran someone over and didn't stop.

    What kind of police DO you want to have?

    You can argue for revolution and civil war in the UK because of fascist politics from both labor and tories, but then you're talking about armed soldiers not police.

    EDIT: Sorry didn't see post I was replying to was talking about the bikers not the cops (edit?)

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    “Labor” sic That’s not the British spelling - are you an outsider looking in, sharing your perspective?

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Lol, fucking Americans. Now, as we spell labour correctly, would you like to hear the opinion of a Canadian instead?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    They're talking about the annoying kids on bikes. Unless you're doing a Lemmy switcheroo and I missed it.

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  • [–] -1 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Motorcycles. And you either want to live in a civilized society or not. So on the one hand UK police are pretty great as far as police go, and absolutely have the right to stop motorized traffic for being "annoying" in a residential street. You absolutely do want to police shit like this. These are just bourgeois kids doing stupid dangerous stuff.

    On the other hand there is the political stuff and increasing illegitimacy of the UK government. But I see nothing political here.

    Seriously, what am I supposed to be upset about here? Traffic stops?

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  • [–] 15 points 2 months ago

    Stopped one

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  • [–] 65 points 2 months ago (45 children)

    Is there any type of context available? Spike mat for bikes seems pretty much interchangeable with pulling a gun in terms of likely outcome for the target.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 months ago

    FYI, the spike strips are designed to minimise the chances of a crash after use. They don't burst the tires. Instead the spikes are hollow and designed to break off. This deflates the tire slowly, giving the driver a chance to adapt, but can no longer go fast.

    Basically, they are far less likely to cause a crash than you seem to think.

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  • [–] 45 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (18 children)

    Nah, not at those speeds. It seems police are after these kids for being a public nuisance rather than speeding.

    EDIT; Ok, since people seem incapable of understanding the context of my answer: Justified or not, it is not interchangeable with pulling out a gun at those speeds. Y'alls reading comprehension sucks.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    When you make posts with two statements, people tend to get lost in the meaning and focus only on one. This is why I never bring up the collection of stool samples I keep in my sock drawer.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 months ago

    I've noticed. I usually try to have the first part of anything I write act as a summary of a statement, as many people seem to only read a few words just enough to get angry enough to push the downvote button. This is how nuance is lost to headline-outrage. And there's no reason to limit yourself to just samples when you can go for a real full-scale collection.

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  • [–] 38 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    ...public nuisance rather than spending.

    Kids out there causing trouble without even having the decency to stimulate the local economy.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (9 children)

    So the sane option is to try to pop their wheels and cause an accident, especially with TONS of kids right behind the lead ones?

    They may be at low speeds, but imagine if Officer Porky managed to take down one of the first kids before that big section came through. That kid would have then been a road hazard and likely taken out more kids, hurting both the first and subsequent kids in the accident.

    It really is too bad Porky was able to walk away after he got hit. Wish he would have gotten the injuries he was trying to inflict on the kids.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    It’s actually really easy to not be a selfish piece of shit. Most people do it all the time. These shitty kids made their choices, and they weren’t good ones.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (4 children)

    So the punishment for violating road rules is execution by cop? You're talking about attempted murder here.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 months ago

    No, we really aren’t. We are taking about a proportional force response. These people are willing to go speeding around on sidewalks and through red light intersections. They badly hurt people with that behavior. It’s not like the cop pulled a gun.

    The only way I can see from your perspective is if you don’t understand how spike strips work. They don’t just pop and shred a fire, they are specifically engineered to slowly let the air out.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    I’m a motorcyclist and you don’t have a clue.

    Punctured tyres aren’t going to kill anyone at that speed.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Idk what's this obsession with "kids". If they are old enough to drive, they're not a kid anymore. You can't use a deadly machine and call yourself a kid. Use big boy tools, act like a big boy, or else there should be big boy consequences.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    The cops aren't choosing what speed they illegally ride at.

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  • [–] -2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    The person trained for high-speed driving is driving at a speed that untrained people claim is too fast for that person's ability in those circumstances while driving for work as an emergency worker?

    Dunning-kruger is right.

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  • [+] -10 points 2 months ago (19 children)

    You should be able to control a bike in a straight line with a flat tyre, especially at the speed this lot are going.

    And falling off isn't as dangerous as you think.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Not likely to control a bike after it hits another that was laying in the street

    Pretty dangerous to have one of your mates roll over you with their bike

    The potential for bad outcomes through a domino effect here is pretty big

    We don’t have the full story here, but going from what seems like “public nuisance” to “injury or death” seems like an unreasonable escalation to me.

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  • [–] 35 points 2 months ago (16 children)

    Stop talking about shit you don't understand with confidence. Your statements are going to get someone who believes them hurt.

    To anyone reading: Take it from anyone who actually rides over this idiocy. A flat motorcycle tire at any speed is dangerous and possibly deadly.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago* (10 children)

    I ride and you’re wrong.

    I’ve had a puncture at 130km/h and pulled over no problem.

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  • [–] -1 points 2 months ago (9 children)

    And a lady fell thousands of feet with no parachute and lived. Will you advise others to make an attempt sans-chute?

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    Sounds like riding isn't for you if a puncture, which happens to thousands of motorcyclists without any issue beyond a flat tyre, scares you so much.

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  • [–] -1 points 2 months ago* (7 children)

    I didn't say flats scared me. I said it was irresponsible to make claims about a fall at 50 km an hour. Nonetheless 5 km an hour.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    You claimed the spike strip presented a serious risk to their lives and you’re full of shit.

    You have nothing to back up your claim that it was unreasonable to attempt to stop these morons before they wind up under a truck.

    I can only hope they actually attend their fellow morons funeral when it inevitably happens.

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  • [–] -1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

    No I didn't make that claim, that was another user.

    I took issue wit the comment about 50km/h being too slow to hurt someone and then again when they doubled down in another comment about flats.

    If you have 500,000 km under your ass then you know this was a stupid thing to say. So why are you stepping in? Just to argue with someone for fun?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    A flat motorcycle tire at any speed is dangerous and possibly deadly.

    Your comment is right there for us to read. Oh no that flat at 5km/h!

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    It sounds like you're a bad rider, to be honest. Do grass clippings also scare you?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    None of this stuff scares me. Or I wouldn't be riding every day that I can for over three decades.

    The problem is people saying stupid shit like 'you won't get hurt at 50km/h' that will get read by impressionable new/young bikers. But you know that already don't you? You just like to talk smack instead of reflecting on the dumb shit you say.

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  • [–] 33 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Not gonna comment on the choice of method for the intervention but I have a feeling this gang's members can probably be seen saying things like "immigrants fock up our country mate" and then go eat in an Indian restaurant.

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