A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

along a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

. The reasons for one could be: * Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *

Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

* Sobriety checkpoint In peaceful circumstances, they are usually installed by the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

or road transport authorities; they are also commonly employed during wars and are usually staffed by heavily armed soldiers in that case. During

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

s and

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property target ...

s, both police and demonstrators sometimes use roadblocks.Clearing the Path for Land Rights, One Road Block at a Time: How Peru's Indigenous Population can Assert Their Land Rights Against Peru's Government
1 Global Bus. L. Rev. 229 (2010-2011) File:Roadblock in Palestine.jpg, Roadblock in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

File:Barykada.jpg, Polish barricade during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

(1944) File:Roadblocks.jpg, Roadblock during roadworks at

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by the main arm of th ...

, Sweden, 2013 File:London November 23 2018 (19) Extinction Rebellion Protest Tower Hill.jpg, 'Swarming roadblocks' Extinction Rebellion, ( UK) (23 November 2018).

References

See also