Traffic obstruction

Traffic obstruction is a common tactic used during public protests and political demonstrations.^[1][2]

A 2006 protest against Czech prime minister Jiří Paroubek, blocking one of Prague's main crossroads

Just Stop Oil protesters on a roadway in Portsmouth, England, 2023

Legality

Most jurisdictions^[which?] consider the obstruction of traffic an illegal activity and have developed rules to prosecute those who block, obstruct, impede, or otherwise interfere with the normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic upon a public street or highway.^[3] Some jurisdictions also penalize slow moving vehicle traffic.^[4]

Examples

Examples of intentional traffic obstructions aimed to articulate a protest agenda include Extinction Rebellion protests,^[5] air traffic controller strike, highway revolts, Critical Mass bicycle rides corking intersections, obstruction of rail transport of nuclear fuel in Germany, road blockades by farmers or truckers in France and other countries, impact on Eurotunnel operations by the Migrant Crisis around Calais, pipeline protests (e.g. Dakota Access Pipeline), etc. ^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Highway revolt
• Barricade
• Traffic bottleneck