By Steven Symes 
You might not know it’s one of the hot new trends, but bicycle street takeovers are a thing and one held in Los Angeles recently involved a Mercedes weaving aggressively through the throngs of cyclists. Now that incident is under investigation by police as people argue who was in the wrong.
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If you don’t know about bicycle street takeovers, they usually involve dozens if not hundreds of riders clogging up a road, sometimes in both directions, crowding out any cars. Sometimes, if drivers do try getting through, riders will throw things or otherwise attack those vehicles.
In the incident being investigated by Los Angeles Police Department, the takeover had shut down traffic traveling in a single direction on a road. That might have angered the Mercedes driver, who accelerated through the crowd, weaving around cyclists rather aggressively.
A person who filmed the incident honked a horn and yelled at others to watch out for the car. The Mercedes didn’t hit any of the bicycles, but it did go on the wrong side of the road and came somewhat close to a few riders.
Another video posted to social media shows cyclists surround a white Mercedes C-Class like the one shown in the first video, kicking in the windshield and otherwise damaging it. They also chase a man who allegedly was the driver. Was it the same car? We couldn’t say since there are many just like it all over LA.
One person interviewed on camera by KTLA 5 said it’s pretty common to see bicycle street takeovers in that part of LA. He said they sometimes even take over intersections and do donuts, not too different from what the car takeovers are like.
These bicycle street takeovers, like the car versions, are a trend that’s starting to spread outside California. Cities, counties, and states need to start preparing for these in advance and already have a way of dealing with them, otherwise violent incidents like this will erupt.
Image via KTLA 5/YouTube