Where Cyclists Have the Power to Ride Straight Past Turning Motorists
Hey, so it turns out the all-powerful @BicycleLobby didn't actually scale the Brooklyn Bridge and plant white American flags at the top. That was two all-powerful German artists.
By
Ben Fried
2:07 PM PDT on August 14, 2014
Hey, so it turns out the all-powerful @BicycleLobby didn’t actually scale the Brooklyn Bridge and plant white American flags at the top. That was two all-powerful German artists.
But courtesy of Clarence Eckerson Jr., here’s some footage of raw bicyclist power in Copenhagen, where turning drivers defer to people on bikes at intersections. I guess this is what you would call “soft power.” So many people bike in Copenhagen that all these polite motorists are probably either cyclists themselves or know close friends and family who bike. Each person on a bike going by could be a neighbor, an aunt, or an old roommate.
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog San Francisco
Could Congress’s Anti-Flock Surveillance Bill Ban Automated Traffic Enforcement, Too?
Livable streets organizers weigh in on a new anti-Flock bill.
October 28, 2026
Beach Street Plastic Demarcated Bikeway Stub Opens
Sorry, this Fisherman's Wharf project is not a protected bike lane and it wasn't quick, but it is, perhaps, marginally better than nothing
October 28, 2026
Seattle Aims to Turn Vision Zero Dreams Into ‘Durable Law’
The stars are aligning for Seattle to make big progress on Vision Zero — but can they pass the laws that will hold city leaders to that goal?
October 27, 2026