Video: no one stops bike thieves (shocker!)

I once had the pleasure of my bike being half-inched by kids lifting it over a pole a few metres away from people outside a pub. Sadly, no one intervened, which is why I this video by The Neistat Brothers made me laugh. In one scene, a lad acting as a bike thief spends eight minutes using a hacksaw to cut a lock while dozens of people wander by pretending to see nowt. There's no real moral here, except maybe you should at least call the police if you see someone blatantly nicking a bike. [Found via Treehugger]

Comments

[mario]

UN- FREAKIN believable!! I mean this is BS, i know its NYC and all and the guy pretending to steal this bike looks like a biker (maybe they should try dressing in a suit and doing the same thing) just dont have a backpack! Thanks for the video it really meade me think twice about where I lock my damn $700 Trek bike. Bottom line: DAMN thats F*&ked up.

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[richard]

Waste of time phoning the police in the uK about someone nicking a bike - they won't want to know ... unless you try and stop the guy nicking the bike ... then they'll come and arrest you for assaulting the thief!

The british police are a complete waste of public money.

[Adam Vaughan]

I had an interesting experience at Kings Cross station today. No, not *that* sort; a cycle-related one.

Yesterday I'd locked my bike at the station (platform one, near the Harry Potter platform) and subsequently, very stupidly, lost my final key to the lock.

Liberating it today, I eventually found a very helpful chap from Network Rail who OK-ed me bringing a locksmith onto the station, helping me get the nod from the duty manager, community support cops and so forth.

Two interesting things. One - the locksmith's tiny grinder went through my £50 Abus D-lock in about 8 seconds. Frightening. The guy said he was aware of kids in Islington who carried similar tools, which just goes to show your best cycle protection is insurance.

Second thing - relevant to this video - passers-by pretended not to notice. Despite a shower of Flashdance-style sparks and two guys clearly cutting a lock, no one caught our eye, let alone asked us what we were doing. Obviously the station authorities knew what we were doing, but it's amazing how little people intervene. Would I have walked on by? Probably, though I'd also have probably told a member of staff.

PS. Richard - I have to say I've never had the police recover a bike I've had stolen (two in total) but I did find them helpful and courteous, and their ref numbers helped me on insurance claims, so I'd disagree that it's a waste of time phoning them.

[Nick]

With the number of stories hitting the headlines recently about people being attacked or even killed for standing up to trouble makers, you can understand why people are reluctant to intervene.

[Motorbike Helmets]

The best way is just mind your own business