A group of around 100 motorcyclists brought traffic on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge on Saturday afternoon as they engaged in an illegal sideshow.
The bikers were caught on camera performing dangerous stunts including popping wheelies, causing all the westbound lanes of the bridge to come to a standstill.
The inconvenient spectacle led to traffic backing up. Some drivers who found themselves stuck in the jam got out of their cars to record the chaos.
The bikers could be seen performing donuts with smoke from the burnt rubber filling the air.
Others revved their engines intimidatingly and rode around in circles as they tested the patience of other motorists who were powerless to do anything but watch.
A group of around 100 motorcyclists illegally conducted a sideshow on the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland
Screeching tires of the motorbikes could be seen generating smoke from the burnt rubber
One biker could be seen performing donuts on his motorcycle in the middle of the road
It caused all westbound lanes to come to a halt as the riders performed stunts including wheelies – there have been similar incidents in the past year
Drivers who were stuck in their cars looking-on remained surprisingly calm with no honking horns being heard.
One woman who recorded the scene explained how such displays were common having been caught up in something similar last month.
‘Just got caught on another one on the bridge last month…bay culture for sure!’ user lalasantola wrote on her Instagram.
This isn’t the first time that such an event has occurred on the Bay Bridge with several sideshows having been reported on the bridge in the past year alone.
On one occasion, ATVs were also involved in the incident.
The California Highway Patrol confirmed the disruption lasted for around two minutes before traffic was once again able to move.
As yet, it is unclear whether any arrests or citations have been issued in connection with the stunt.
Other motorists could do nothing but watch until the mob of motorbikes had moved on
Bikers blocked the traffic across the bridge for several minutes as they performed stunts
Bikers seemed in no hurry to move along as they created disruption on Saturday afternoon
The San Francisco Bay bridge connects the city with Oakland
This isn’t the first time that such an event has occurred on the Bay Bridge with several sideshows having been reported on the bridge in the past year alone
In 2021 a group of bikers entered the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland, riding the wrong way
In 2021 a wave of motorcycles, dirt and quad bikes weaved in and out of traffic on the bridge that runs between San Francisco and Oakland
The lawlessness on display on the bridge is emblematic of the city’s drug and crime problems elsewhere.
San Francisco remains blighted by crime — particularly against property — partly because its police force is under-strength.
It doesn’t help that the city is being ravaged by fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid.
Addicts say users flock to San Francisco because drugs are easily available and police just watch them getting high. Last year, an estimated 620 people died of overdoses there.
There is also the constant fear of crime, much of it committed by addicts who are alarmingly unpredictable.
The number of homeless people in San Francisco tallied in February of last year at almost 8,000, the second highest figure of any year since 2005, according to the official government count which takes place every three years.
Drug addicts and the homeless in the SOMA (South of Market) District, San Francisco
Drug addicts and the homeless in the SOMA (South of Market) District, San Francisco
Homeless tents line Main Street in San Francisco’s financial district during shelter in place order. Tents are surrounded by modern skyscrapers in an affluent area of the city
Various liberal politicians and city leaders have attempted to implement numerous policies to curb the many issues that have arisen due to the swelling homeless and drug addicted population.
One specific harm reduction policy that failed was the opening of the Tenderloin Center last year that was meant to help alleviate the city’s drug and homelessness crisis.
It cost taxpayers a whopping $22million and was meant to be a ‘safe place’ for addicts to ‘get high without getting robbed’ and without fear of fatally overdosing.
Users were also meant to be directed to help centers, though during its first four months of operations, it referred just 18 people of the more than 23,000 who were welcomed to the site.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk