A pickup truck driver in Santa Monica, California, has people questioning just how much protection a protected bike lane actually provides after a video appeared to show the massive vehicle barreling through the lane and knocking down flexible bollards one after another. Nobody seems to know what prompted the bizarre drive, but viewers were relieved that no cyclists appeared to be directly in its path.
The incident reportedly occurred August 9 on 23rd Street in Santa Monica. Reddit user The_Naj said they noticed the pickup in their side mirror before it drove through the bike lane and knocked over numerous flexible bollards. They began recording and later shared the footage online.
“They turned off the road when they saw me trying to get the plates after this. Hoping someone on here recognizes the car,” according to the Reddit user. The Reddit user said they contacted a non-emergency number to report what happened but did not receive a follow-up. At the time of writing, it appears that neither the pickup truck nor its driver has been identified yet, and it’s not clear what happened to the bike lane they wrecked.
No cyclists appear directly in the truck’s path during the recorded portion of the incident. Several viewers argued that the potential danger to cyclists or pedestrians made the situation serious enough for a 911 call, particularly because they could not tell whether the driver was impaired or intentionally driving through the lane.
‘That Insecure Weakling’: Viewers Slam Pickup Driver
Viewers overwhelmingly criticized the pickup driver’s behavior, with several questioning why anyone would drive through infrastructure designed to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic. Some viewers focused on the barriers themselves, arguing that flexible posts weren’t enough to protect cyclists from a vehicle this large. “Every fifth one of those should be filled with concrete,” one commenter suggested. Another added, “I guess the city must upgrade to steel encased concrete bollards now.”
Other viewers wondered whether incidents like this could explain some of the damaged bike-lane barriers they’ve encountered around Los Angeles, “Straight 911. There can be cyclists ahead. [Expletive]. Explains all the broken barriers I see all over la.” The incident also reignited a familiar debate over the relationship between large vehicles, cyclists, and bike infrastructure in American cities. Some commenters even insulted the truck driver, “That insecure weakling feels so powerful pushing down rubber flex posts in his oversized truck he was brainwashed into buying.”
“Imagine driving a 6,000+ pound oversized vehicle and being intimidated by a bicycle. The fragility of their ego is astonishing,” claims another commenter. Some commenters questioned why the bollards were made of rubber instead of steel or concrete, and Other commenters questioned why the bike lane was separated from traffic using flexible posts rather than more substantial barriers.
Whatever prompted the driver to take the unusual route remains unclear. The video did demonstrate one thing rather effectively, though: the flexible posts separating cars from cyclists aren’t much of an obstacle for a pickup truck. For some viewers, watching them fall one after another raised an uncomfortable question about how “protected” the bike lane really is.
