History Main / RoadBlock

* The song "Convoy" by C W [=McCall=] involves a group of truckers, annoyed with issues ranging from wage theft to petty harassment over the speed limit, banding together in a massive titular convoy and blasting through several of these on a cross-country run.

* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': Truman is subjected to increasingly-elaborate roadblocks contrived by Christof/The Truman Show to prevent his leaving Seahaven Island. One occasion confirms his suspicion that ThingsAreNotWhatTheySeem.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series loves to play with this. ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' uses roadblocks in the prologue to [[BrokenBridge keep Ness from going downtown, and later from going into Twoson]], under pretense that [[PoliceAreUseless the police]] are going for [[GuinnessEpisode the world record for how many roads they can close at once]]. Played with even more in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', where Road Blocks appear as immobile enemies who, in true Mother fashion, [[RedEyesTakeWarning possess red eyes]], [[BlastingTime hands, telekinetic powers]] and the ability to call clunky robots into the fight. Averted, however, in that they don't actually block anything, since you can just run over them while in a vehicle, and at later levels, by charging into them.

** In Most Wanted, you can actually get the cops to take care of the roadblock for you if you're lucky, by pulling a 180 very quickly [[LemmingCops and letting the knuckleheads smash into their own roadblock]]. On higher levels this can backfire on you, though, as the heavy [=SUVs=] the police begin using in their roadblocks are hard to move on their own, let alone with a cruiser in front of them. [[SloMoBigAir You can also hop them by jumping them if you hit a police car in front of the block going fast enough to take off at the right angle]] (although this is hard to do deliberately). Unfortunately, the same [=SUVs=] that can stop you cold with their sheer weight can also be just high enough to catch your wheels, leading to the incredibly embarrassing situation of being arrested because you couldn't get off from on top of the SUV quickly enough.

* In ''Film/VanishingPoint'', the cops block the road with two bulldozers. The protagonist, Kowalski, ''accelerates'' at the end of the run, hitting so hard that his car nearly folds in half and bursting into a fireball.

* ''Film/DeathRace2000''. Two members of LaResistance construct a roadblock to sabotage the Transcontinental Road Race, only to have the car race up from the opposite direction and [[TooDumbToLive run them over]]. Later attempts using fire and StuffBlowingUp don't work any better.
* ''Film/DriveAngry'': Some local cops try this with The Accountant. Accountant is a divine bounty hunter trying to bring the protagonist back to Hell, not all that concerned with collateral damage, and ''batshit insane''. Queue him driving a fuel truck right through it, StuffBlowingUp, and he's jamming out to KC and the Sunshine Band behind the wheel.
* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' and its sequels have a few examples, which isn't surprising given that they're about an illegal cross-country road race:
** While J.J. and Victor are testing out a Porsche for the race, they encounter one of these, making them crash. When the officer goes to check on them, Victor emerges from the car as Captain Chaos marking the first time we see...him.
** Mr. Foyt helps set one up to catch the Cannonballers. He's confirmed to have caught two teams while Seymour and J.J. find ways to slip through.
** The second film has an attempt during the opening chase with the Lamborghini:
--->'''Officer:''' I think we got 'em right between us. Just pull out and block the damn road!\\
''The Lamborghini races past the second officer before the first can finish his sentence.''\\
'''Officer 2:''' Got any more bright ideas?
** Chief Edsel in ''Speed Zone'' organizes the biggest one yet. First, he sets up smaller ones to herd the racers onto a specific highway. Then, he sets up another bigger roadblock with dozens of police officers to capture them. [[spoiler:Too bad it's all undone by a grounded jet plane.]]

* A military roadblock shows up in the Literature/CiaphasCain novel ''For The Emperor'', manned by PDF troopers in the middle of a tense, riot-filled city on Gravalax. They force a Guard truck under Cain's command to stop since Cain is ferrying a group of not-quite-enemy Tau diplomats. The PDF troops manning the roadblock refuse to bow to Cain's authority due to their mistrust of the Tau ([[spoiler: and possible genestealer infestation]]) and he is forced to gun them down before they open fire. Even the veteran commissar is [[DirtyBusiness dismayed at having to go to such lengths]], but it was the only way to return the diplomats in time to avoid a full-scale war.

* In 2010's ''Hot Pursuit'' and subsequent games, roadblocks are available as a weapon for police players and are considerably more effective. The vehicles are much harder to move (attempting to blow through them almost always results in a crash), and while there's a gap in the cars you can slip through, it's only a little bit wider than your car and it's very hard to find that gap when you're speeding down the road at 200 mph.

* In ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'', counselors who manage to call the cops with the phone will have a police barricade set up at the road exit after five minutes. This will be a big help for the survivors since Jason cannot approach without getting shot (the police can't kill him, but they will stun him) and survivors can simply run out on foot to escape (they otherwise would need to fix a car and drive out to get through that way).
* ''VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries'': The roadblock is one of the most essential buildings in the game because it restricts random walkers (like firemen, police officers, doctors...) to the areas you want them to stay in and avoids them wandering the countryside when there are buildings crying out for their presence.

* ''Film/DriveAngry'': Some local cops try this with [[CrazyAwesome The Accountant]]. Accountant is a divine bounty hunter trying to bring the protagonist back to Hell, not all that concerned with collateral damage, and ''batshit insane''. Queue him driving a fuel truck right through it, StuffBlowingUp, and he's jamming out to KC and the Sunshine Band behind the wheel.

* In ''Advertising/TheChase'', Music/MichaelJackson manages to snag a car to get away from a giant mob of fans, and initially succeeds. Unfortunately, he nearly drives through a construction road block almost immediately after, and is forced to ditch the car due to the road being closed off, allowing the mob to catch up to him.

* ''Film/OutOfThePast'' ends with a dramatic road block scene, where hero and FemmeFatale get killed.

* A military roadblock shows up in the Literature/CiaphasCain novel ''For The Emperor'', manned by PDF troopers in the middle of a tense, riot-filled city on Gravalax. They force a Guard truck under Cain's command to stop, since Cain is ferrying a group of not-quite-enemy Tau diplomats. The PDF troops manning the roadblock refuse to bow to Cain's authority due to their mistrust of the Tau ([[spoiler: and possible genestealer infestation]]) and he is forced to gun them down before they open fire. Even the veteran commissar is [[DirtyBusiness dismayed at having to go to such lengths]], but it was the only way to return the diplomats in time to avoid a full-scale war.

* ''Literature/WetDesertTrackingDownATerroristOnTheColoradoRiver'': The bomber has to hurry to avoid getting caught in one of these. He does get stopped a few times but the police does not recognize him as the bomber.

* [[WaxingLyrical Picture this:]] Several songs with this title exist (but the majority use it as a relationship metapher, Music/BobMarley has one of the rare literal ones). You might remember the Stock-Aitken-Waterman version for being sampled in "Pump Up The Volume".

* This can be found in some ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games, mainly ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' (where the roads are blocked due to an hurricane threat) and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' (where the roads are blocked due to an earthquake some time prior to the game events that has destroyed most bridges). In the former, it serves as an effective BrokenBridge, but in the latter, since your character can swim, there's also a BorderPatrol in the shape of a wanted level whenever you leaved the unlocked area.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series loves to play with this. ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' uses road blocks in the prologue to [[BrokenBridge keep Ness from going downtown, and later from going into Twoson]], under pretense that [[PoliceAreUseless the police]] are going for [[GuinnessEpisode the world record for how many roads they can close at once]]. Played with even more in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', where Road Blocks appear as as immobile enemies who, in true Mother fashion, [[RedEyesTakeWarning possess red eyes]], [[BlastingTime hands, telekinetic powers]] and the ability to call clunky robots into the fight. Averted, however, in that they don't actually block anything, since you can just run over them while in a vehicle, and at later levels, by charging into them.

** The "Hot Pursuit" games that came before them had roadblock as well that were very easy to smash through without total ling your own car, since no amount of damage would stop it from moving. The exception were the spike strips, which were hard to see and therefore harder to avoid, and would stop you in your tracks if just one tire touched them and blew out.

* In the ''Franchise/SaintsRow'' titles, getting your notoriety meter high enough with the police (or other gangs, in the third game) would cause them to start placing road blocks consisting of SWAT vans or other heavy vehicles in an attempt to force you to stop.
* In ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'', counselors who manage to call the cops with the phone will have a police barricade set up at the road exit after five minutes. This will be a big help for the survivors, since Jason cannot approach without getting shot (the police can't kill him, but they will stun him) and survivors can simply run out on foot to escape (they otherwise would need to fix a car and drive out to get through that way).
* ''VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries'': The roadblock is one of the most essential buildings in the game, because it restricts random walkers (like firemen, police officers, doctors...) to the areas you want them to stay in and avoids them wandering the countryside when there are buildings crying out for their presence.

* ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' has the heroes using bicycles to evade the police. When faced with a police block, ET literally causes the bikes to fly over the police and evade capture.

* ''Film/DriveAngry'': Some local cops try this with [[CrazyAwesome The Accountant]]. Accountant is both a divine bounty hunter trying to bring the protagonist back to Hell, not all that concerned with collateral damage, and ''batshit insane''. Queue him driving a fuel truck right through it, StuffBlowingUp, and he's jamming out to KC and the Sunshine Band behind the wheel.

* The song "Convoy" by Music/CWMcCall involves a group of truckers, annoyed with issues ranging from wage theft to petty harassment over the speed limit, banding together in a massive titular convoy and blasting through several of these on a cross-country run.

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

[[folder:Film]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series loves to play with this. ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' uses road blocks in the prologue to [[BrokenBridge keep Ness from going downtown, and later from going into Twoson]], under pretense that [[PoliceAreUseless the police]] are going for [[GuinnessEpisode the world record for how many roads they can close at once]]. Played with even more in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', where Road Blocks appear as as immobile enemies who, in true Mother fashion, [[RedEyesTakeWarning possess red eyes]], [[BlastingTime hands, telekinetic powers]] and the ability to call clunky robots into the fight. Averted, however, in that they don't actually block anything, since you can just run over them while in a vehicle, and at later levels, by charging into them.

[[folder:Web Video]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse On The Orient Express,'' the Venice canal DM and Penfold are enjoying is blocked--by a road construct.