Hey Asshat MAMILs…

[LuFins Dad]

https://www.bikelaw.com/laws/virginia/

Bicyclists are required to ride with the flow of traffic as closely as practicable to the right side of the roadway when traveling at a speed less than traffic.
Full lane use is allowed when traveling at the normal speed of traffic, preparing for a turn, overtaking and passing, avoiding hazards, traveling in a lane too narrow to share, and avoiding a mandatory turn lane..

Bicyclists shall not ride more than two side-by-side, unless on bike paths and may not impede traffic. Bicyclists riding two abreast must move into a single file if they impede the normal flow of traffic. On a laned roadway, bicyclists riding two abreast must ride in a single lane.

Got stuck behind a bicycle club for 7 fricking miles and 35 minutes this morning. No race, no permits to basically grind a state highway to a stop.

[jon-nyc]

That’s what common sense cyclists do anyway.

[Mik]

That’s truly assholish.

[Copper]

Death penalty please.

[Mik]

@Copper that could be done pretty easily.

[Klaus]

I don't know about the legal situation in the US, but over here different rules apply for large groups of riders. If more than 16 bikers are riding together, the whole group is legally treated as if it was one big vehicle. For instance, if a light becomes red while the group goes over a crossing, the rest of the group can still go despite the red light.

[Mik]

That doesn’t seem like a great idea, but I suppose drivers there are used to it.

[jon-nyc]

That could be dangerous. Often big groups are too spread out with a few stragglers 30-50ft behind. They may consider themselves part of the group for purposes of running the red, meanwhile other cars might not notice them.

[Copper]

So they have implemented the death penalty.

Always one step ahead.

[Klaus]

@jon-nyc said in Hey Asshat MAMILs…:

That could be dangerous. Often big groups are too spread out with a few stragglers 30-50ft behind. They may consider themselves part of the group for purposes of running the red, meanwhile other cars might not notice them.

There must be a group leader and he or she has the legal responsibility of taking care of proper formation of the riders. I've also taken part in such rides many times. The formation is formally temporarily dissolved when climbing a mountain and then re-established on top. It doesn't happen that anyone is behind while the group formation is active.

It can be quite annoying for cars but it is less dangerous for the bike riders than the alternative, I think.