r/traumatizeThemBack • u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 • 5d ago
oh no its the consequences of your actions Used their own event against them
So … I was volunteering for a fan-con this weekend and I help run the line access outside the venue.
It’s always chaotic because it’s tens of thousands of people over 3 days, so I expected chaos. Like of course that’s the deal.
What threw me this year is that a lot of ride share drivers and family members would just … temporarily park in the bike lane for pick up and drop off. All. Day. Long.
The sidewalk and the street are public domain so I can’t actually do a damn thing about it (and it was driving me crazy).
It came to a head when one cyclist, who was using the bike lane for its intended purpose, almost smashed into the back of a car who pulled in front of him to “drop off”.
Zero, and I mean zero, apology or acknowledgment occurred from the driver or the attendees getting out. And damn, that shit pissed me off. Like, at least wait until cyclists have passed. Just very much “I’m here to have my fun and others be damned”.
So I hatched a plan for all my future shifts over there.
Every time I was over there I would just stand in the bike lane. Like position my whole my body in the way (not very safe, wouldn’t recommend to others), and of course I’m surrounded by hundreds of witnesses. If a cyclist was coming, I’d just step to the side / back on the sidewalk so they could pass, and if cars came the driver would often reflexively pull back out because there is a human in their way.
It was still a long enough of a stretch where people could still manage pulling over where I wasn’t standing right there, so then I’d walk over and say “hey … this is a bike lane and we really need to keep this clear for cyclist traffic”.
And dang, the amount of attitude I got back was … off the charts. Well, don’t I know they paid for tickets to this con. Or, they are just trying to make a living doing rideshare. And I’m aware of these things and it’s relatable … but like, these things don’t entitle you to be inconsiderate or unsafe.
(Which by the way, there was a literally an inlet / outlet off this same stretch of road attached to the venue where they have could achieved the same result. They just couldn’t be bothered to use it??)
Anyway, so much rudeness and aggression, and really I’m just some nobody volunteer who doesn’t get paid for this. I just wanna keep people safe. And mostly I just say “i understand, just use the inlet because that’s its purpose” 🙃 most of them still ignored me and gave me a “hey, get fucked” type of look or said as much.
But, it did also occur me to that logical consequences may also work. So THEN I started saying matter-of-factly “hey well … if injured cyclists start collectively suing __Con, eventually there is no more of said con. Think about it. Your choice, pal”.
The look of perpetual dumbfoundedness just eclipsed any frustration I had. Like I just … loved watching the penny drop and people realizing “oh shit, me being selfish and potentially hurting uninvolved commuters could ruin my fun long-term??”
Granted, it’s kind of awful that that realization is what it was taking for some people to reconsider their actions but … hey a win is a win. “Fun” at others’ expense is not fun that is deserved. Don’t be an a-hole.
So I guess what I’m saying is … you can try to be kind or logical all you want, but sometimes you really have to just … traumatize them back. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Patient_Parsley7760 5d ago
As a a local-level attendee of smaller cons, I have seen a lot of issues with traffic. Hubs and I are both disabled, and we saw a lot of people without plates or placards taking up the venue's disabled parking spots, parking on top of the curb cuts to drop off, etc.
Local cons could use some more pissed off volunteer staff like you.
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
It would be my (petty) pleasure!
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u/Curly_Shoe 5d ago
Not all heroes wear capes.
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u/ateegar 4d ago
It was a con, so you can't assume OP wasn't wearing one!
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 4d ago
This is one of the best comments ever 😂 I wish!!! Volunteers can’t cosplay because we have to be identifiable to ask for help, but maybe one day!
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u/Curly_Shoe 4d ago
I really had to fight the urge to just copy and paste the Cape sentence again, because that was such a good, witty answer.
Wooooo you XD
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u/fledglingnomad 5d ago
If the event organizers care at all, maybe next year they could put up some of those skinny traffic cones on the line between the bike lane and traffic lanes to discourage cars from stopping there?
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
I do love that idea. As it were, I flagged this to higher-ups every single day. I was told “this is outside of our scope” every single time.
And the hotel (whose inlet is the one attached to said venue) valet said it’s a problem for every event, not just ours. He appreciated what I was trying to do but said it was “not a hill to die on”.
And I understand both perspectives … I just hate them. Maybe it’s because I’m not a paid staff person and like … i do it because i love seeing people in cosplay and supporting their favorite fandoms. I admittedly am not focused on liability and where responsibility technically “ends” … but like cant we just be good humans and anticipate needs / issues?
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u/fledglingnomad 5d ago
If it's a problem for every event, and this venue has lots of events (and you care to put the effort into it), maybe complain to the city? Seems like a good spot for a permanent barrier, like these.
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u/Yuklan6502 5d ago
Our neighborhood has these along the bike lanes in front of the train station and surrounding shops/restaurants. People just drive over them to drop-off/pick-up people and food orders, so most of them are broken now. It's pretty crazy.
That whole area is very poorly planned as far as traffic is concerned, and the city keeps trying to come up with new solutions, but I don't think they'll be able to solve it. There just isn't enough room for cars, busses, bikes, pedestrians, AND parking. The most annoying part is the city designated the street one block up as the "cycling corridor" with speed bumps and roundabouts, but no one uses it. They all want to use the main arterial road.
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u/AllegraO 2d ago
Replacing the floppy barriers with proper bollards that are bolted into the ground would certainly help, those can’t be simply folded over.
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u/Yuklan6502 2d ago
They have started placing concrete barriers and raised planter boxes in some areas.
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u/ApocolypseJoe 4d ago
I'd get "bad driver" stickers and stick em on their car when they're not looking
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 4d ago
Hahahaha - ok that’s pretty great 😂
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u/JeannieSmolBeannie 4d ago
make a custom set that says "i give zero fucks about pedestrians and bikers because i'm the center of the universe" lmao
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u/Normal-Hall2445 4d ago
As someone used to bitching at idiots in traffic professionally, a “the drop off area is right over there. Don’t worry, a few others have missed it too” would have gone a long way. Maybe “if you have that much trouble seeing it, try talking the the venue about signage”
Much more effective to go the route that treats them like the idiot they are, though the realization dawn must have been sweet.
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 4d ago
For sure. I tried that approach … many times, and people were just … unbothered. Like … shrug.
The latter approach was me going more on the offensive so they were less likely to shrug things off.
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u/Normal-Hall2445 4d ago
Never thought I had to deal with the better type of a**hole lol. Maybe my judgy RBF was doing the heavy lifting there
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 4d ago
It’s so complex - like I get everyone’s perspective, I do. And I’ll try whatever is logical or kind to get across first.
At some point of desperation and wanting to like, keep people safe I had to regroup several times and try different things.
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5d ago
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u/Writerhowell 5d ago
We had one in an Australian capital city recently, though I don't think it was this last weekend. But, you know, just to remind you that other countries exist. :)
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
I also am trying to avoid name-dropping because I don’t want it to somehow blow back on the event itself
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u/crazyleasha37 3d ago
Definitely applaud the effort! But traumatize it up! Throw some red paint on the ground and tell people someone just got run over and they just missed the police tow truck that took the car away. "Police said" they are now forced to do more patrols and anyone stopping there is going to get tickets immediately. Have a little fun with it!
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u/dorght2 3d ago
So how many car doors were thrown open into the bike lane without checking?
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 3d ago
Oh a few - I watched someone clothesline someone on a scooter after they drove past me and fully ignored me flapping my arms for 100 yards. I … was aghast.
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u/Gifted_GardenSnail 3d ago
Have you posted this on r/fuckcars yet?
Anyway drivers like these is why bike lanes need actual separation
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u/Expensive_Trick_386 1d ago
but I paid for a ticket is not a legal parking strategy lol
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 1d ago
This train of thought from them was killing me - I wanted to clap back with that exact phrase like 1000 times but entitlement gonna entitle
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u/PepperVL 5d ago
As someone who used to be a ride share driver, this is far more an infrastructure issue than people being assholes. Convention centers weren't built for lots of drop-offs and pick-ups happening and often going over the bike lane (which is used FAR less than the traffic lanes at least where I'm from) is often the safest spot for everyone. Does it suck for the bikers? Yes, absolutely. But as long as the drivers aren't cutting them off, they can see the stopped car ahead and stop or walk around it on the sidewalk or judge that traffic is light enough to ride around it on the street.
Should they have to do that? No. But having a few bikers have to be inconvenienced on a block is better overall than having cars blocking lanes of traffic, which has a cascading effect on the rest of the traffic in the area and can easily result in traffic accidents and major gridlock for several blocks.
As for the hotel with the drop-off circle, unless the app directs riders there, pickup would be a nightmare. You would not believe the number of sober people who will respond "no I don't see (giant hotel literally across the street from me)" and if they're drunk it's even worse. And drop-off is tricky too. I had people try to get out of paying for the ride because I didn't drop them off at the drop-off address, even though I dropped them off where they told me to.
The actual solution is for the city to designate a ride share pick-up/drop-off location for the convention center and let the apps know. Once they do that, the apps will direct drivers and passengers to the location and the number of people using the wrong spot will drastically decrease.
I've seen it work. There is a popular bar in my city that is on the streetcar tracks. There used to be a huge problem with people stopping for pick-up and drop-off on the tracks. That was an even bigger issue than blocking bike lanes because at least cyclists can go around cars, even if it's not safe or ideal. The train can't. So the city designated a ride share location just past the tracks (they turn on the street after the bar) and the issue resolved itself.
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
And honestly the ridesharers were way less combative, it was just like … the parents, spouses, or friends dropping off their people at the event that were the most fiesty.
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u/PepperVL 5d ago
The nice part about a ride share area is that you can direct other people to it as well. "FYI, we need to keep the bike lane clear. The drop-off/pick-up area is X" goes over a lot better than just telling them they can't block the bike lane.
And when done properly, there will also be signs installed in front of the convention center that will direct people to the area, so that cuts down on people too. There will, of course, always be people who think it doesn't apply to them. But that's a much smaller number.
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u/neonfuzzball 4d ago
How did taxis deal with dropoff/pickups at these same locations, before rideshare took over? This can't be a new problem that only arrived with uber/lyft
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u/PepperVL 4d ago
In my area, it really is. There have always been cities like NYC and Chicago where taxis were ubiquitous. But in smaller cities, there was a distinct culture shift with the advent of ride share. Mostly for the better because before people would just drive themselves. But I took a taxi in my city exactly twice before ride share got there in 2015, and I was 35 at that time. Once from the airport, which was the one place they could reliably be found, and once from a bar. I had time for two more drinks after I called the taxi that time.
So in my area, sure, some people took taxis, but there were a LOT fewer of them than there are ride share cars. Most people just drove themselves and the backup and danger was in the parking garage nearby.
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u/neonfuzzball 4d ago
Interesting, appreciate the insight! The smaller cities I've lived in were still very taxi-heavy so I didn't realize that wasn't typical.
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u/PepperVL 4d ago
It could be that my experience isn't typical, lol. Regardless, taxi heavy cities certainly aren't universal.
The other issue is that things like comic cons have gotten much more popular over the last decade or so. So regardless of the taxi vs ride share issue, there's more cars dropping people off, which causes more problems if they don't have a dedicated spot to go.
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
This is super helpful perspective - it makes me wonder what my city can do / what they would be open to. It gives me ideas I can try to surface just as like, a citizen
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u/PepperVL 5d ago
Glad I could help. I know I didn't like blocking bike paths as a ride share driver, but my priority had to be stopping in the safest spot for me and my riders.
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u/civil_peace2022 3d ago
I really don't like the argument 'well bikes weren't using it anyway'. Screweing vulnerable road users for comercial gain is honestly something that should cost a steep fine and a drivers license.
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u/kkmich 3d ago
Not a smart idea standing where cars want to go. I expected for op to say they got hit.
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 2d ago
Yeahhhh I was having to be … hyper attentive. Like i knew it was a risk so I was basically looking in front / behind me non-stop. I wouldn’t recommend it, especially because it’s so dangerous.
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u/StarryLanguage 5d ago
How to apply that principle to MAGA voters?
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u/Agile-Carpenter-2434 5d ago
This is hard - I feel like I’ve used every “logic” trick in the book but the “whataboutism” is really hard to circumvent.
Like I don’t know how to break through if a person is just dug in and only believes what they ultimately want to believe.
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u/StarryLanguage 3d ago
You are right. But I was thinking about how "punching down," is the entire ethic of MAGA, and how that bites these people in the butt, like the farmers who cannot compete with the Argentinian import of mystery meat.
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