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news
Glasgow driver caught on camera (Magnatom YouTube still)Video: Helmet camera footage leads to aggressive driver pleading guilty to four charges
Helmet camera footage of a driver twice brake-checking a cyclist in Glasgow has resulted in the motorist, who turned out to be serving a driving ban, being convicted on four separate charges – dangerous driving, breach of the peace, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.
On Wednesday, the driver, who pleaded guilty in the face of the video evidence, was fined £375, banned from driving for 48 weeks and ordered to perform 150 hours of community payback.
The incident took place on Springburn Glasgow, on 28 April 2013. It was filmed by Dave Brennan, whose helmet camera videos, posted to YouTube under the name Magnatom, have been used on BBC programmes.
Brennan, who co-founded and helps organise the Pedal on Parliament [POP] ride in Edinburgh - the third edition takes place next month - was cycling back from the Scottish Cycle Show, where he had been distributing leaflets for the second Pedal on Parliament ride.
He has kept the video private until now while legal proceedings were ongoing, with the case concluding at Glasgow Sheriff Court this week.
He told road.cc: “Whilst I wish our roads were safe enough that helmet cameras weren't needed, I think this case demonstrates their power.
“Without the footage the case would never have been brought to court.
“I am though disappointed with the sentencing. Had the driver threatened me with any other potential weapon I suspect the punishment would have been a lot harsher.”
The video shows the driver passing Brennan at speed with very little room to spare, as he apparently sought to undertake other traffic.
The close pass – bear in mind, the wide angle used on some helmet cameras such as this one can exaggerate gaps – prompted Brennan to exclaim loudly, his right arm outstretched in protest.
Initially, that seems to be the end of it. But shortly afterwards, the car slows down, Brennan wondering out loud to himself, “What’s the problem?”
As the cyclist gets closer, suddenly the driver applies the brakes. Fortunately, Brennan reacts in time. Then the driver does it again, this time stopping.
“You mate are on camera!” Brennan told the motorist as he got out of his vehicle. “I don’t care,” came the reply.
The pair continued to exchange words until the sound of a siren prompts the motorist to get back into his car and drive off, although it’s clear from the video that Brennan was still nervous that the motorist might attempt to confront him again.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- SimoninSpalding 7 min 12 sec ago
So getting £1000 was enough to enter "mass production"? I'm thinking it wouldn't meet my definition, or the production costs are so low that the...
- HeadDown 7 min 59 sec ago
Isn't it the law to report a road traffic accident, and not leave the scene? Eh? Irrespective of anyone affected reporting anything.
- Hirsute 27 min 53 sec ago
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good."
- Jaijai 52 min 42 sec ago
His life was only worth shy of 7 years ,that's too lenient in every book .Let alone drugged up and leaving him to die
- webbierwrex 57 min 39 sec ago
I came here to basically write the same thing, the floating bus stop near me has a very narrow cycling lane between a very narrow pavement and a...
- AS52 1 hour 20 min ago
It wasn't an official consultation meeting - see my comment above.
- GMBasix 1 hour 54 min ago
Right, well that could be handy: I'm going round with my baseball bat to have a quiet chat about ownership. You can use their names to see if they...
- Steve K 1 hour 56 min ago
Years ago, friends and I drove in two cars to a church for a wedding rehearsal. As we drove down the drive, we passed a "CHILDREN - DRIVE SLOWLY"...
- Nagai74 2 hours 4 min ago
I can only speak about my frame.
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66 comments
I would say the result here is to do with him driving while disqualified, I'm not sure the sheriff has taken the brake tests and punishment pass into account at at all.
Why the hell doesn't driving like an arsehole, whilst banned and uninsured result in a 5 year ban? - minimum.
Yeh, same things happened to me on a few occasions - next time they're (car drivers) DEAD
Again the same pattern. Cyclist initiates confrontation with a gesture then aggro ensues. Don't forget what cyclists perceive as too close, drivers don't. In fact cyclists often pass cars at speed too close hence dooring collisions. This driver deserved all he got but cyclists don't react like this. This could've been far worse.
Give a guy driving whilst banned a driving ban - yeah, that'll learn 'im.
Hi to all of you two wheeled potential victims.
Irrespective of the alleged behaviour of Magnatom this footage should be taken for what it really is.
It shows very clearly the aggressive reaction/ actions of a serial banned driver.
What is the point of banning the guy any-more than has already been done,he was driving dangerously and without insurance or a driving license and also causing a breach of the peace.
He clearly has little or no regard for the law and clearly wants taking off of the road by jailing him.
The car should be confiscated and impounded.
If people like this are allowed continued liberty they are going to continue offending and wagging two fingers at society and the law.
One day they will kill whilst doing just what this individual was doing,wagging two fingers and with total contempt.
"£375, banned from driving for 48 weeks and ordered to perform 150 hours of community payback."
laughable.
£375 - the car has an 03 plate and is worth up to 3 times that amount maybe. Why not crush the car as a starting point ?
banned for 48 weeks? He's already banned and that didn't stop him!!
150 hours of community service? Pouring cups of tea for old ladies in care homes? Woopy Doo. Harsh bro innit?
Maybe things are changing a little bit. 4 years ago when I first started taking my son out cycling on the roads, people would look at you like they were going to phone childline or report you to the authorities. Now I see quite a lot of younger kids out on road bikes.
We still get a lot of kids around me playing out in the streets. Admittedly I sometime wish they hadn't resurfaced my road as that has made it worse. Previously exceeding 10mph on it would've destroyed any car.
To possess a licence to drive a car is a privilege, not a right.
All drivers should sign up to a charter that says they will obey the rules of the roads, and respect the law. It is not a playground to show who is boss....
If a driver ends up getting a ban, and then drives having been banned; this should fall under a criminal act (not a motoring one).
If banned and a judge deems it, then such people should have a psychological evaluation to ensure they are trustworthy enough to possess a driving licence.
Road safety of vulnerable road users needs to be on the political agenda, or traffic related injuries and death (read financial loss and economic burden) must be taken seriously by Parliament.
It's good to see some consequences to bad driving however giving a driving ban to someone who is known to ignore driving bans is ridiculous. I have long held the view that drivers found to be driving whilst banned should have the remainer of their ban converted into a custodial sentance automatically.
Another option would be to restrict them to travelling at a maximum speed of 20mph. A GPS tracking unit could be used to enforce this.
but if you catch the wrong person then you might find that using a head cam is suddenly an intrusion of privacy
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/cyclists-use-of-helmet-cameras-requires...
wealthy guy doors cyclist and walks away
press suck up
did later apologise
as to the UK already banned issue here in Victoria, Aus' just starting with ARP and finding a lot of banned drivers / drivers never had a license - no surprise
Could I plead with fellow cyclists not to swear at car drivers, or any other road users. The chances are that the situation is more likely then to escalate rather than deescalate, and it doesn't make us any friends.
Swearing is an understandable reaction, and in this case the driver's actions were deliberate. However, drivers, like the rest of us, do make mistakes, and are more likely to learn from the mistake if we are gracious towards them.
Just the other day I suggested this to another cyclist in Edinburgh, who said the swearing was what came into his head. Maybe we could each rehearse something more positive to say when the occasion arises.
And we can show our thanks to drivers who are courteous towards us, as suggested here http://www.cyclelifestyle.co.uk/blog/why-cyclists-should-thank-courteous...
Maybe a highly trained fast jet pilot or an F1 driver can make a high speed pass off a cyclist on the off-side of a vehicle and judge the distance so accurately as to be able to get past safely. But 99.99% of car drivers are not that highly trained or skilled and cannot make that judgement call. In any case, a motor vehicle generates wind draft as it passes at speed that sucks in a cyclist towards the vehicle and is dangerous.
By comparison, a cyclist (or motorcyclist has hands on the handlebars, the furthest point in most instances of the two wheeler. It is very easy to judge the distance between the ends of the bars and any vehicle being passed. And when a cyclist overtakes a motor vehicle, there is no draft of air sucking the bicycle towards the motor vehicle.
This is simple science. it is not complex.
So the cyclist started all of this, funny because I thought the car driver started it by doing a punishment pass.
I have to preface this post that I am a 60 miles/week cyclist because having read it back before posting there is a danger that people may assume I am a bike-hating car-owner.
I have no sympathy for the driver's behaviour, and he should have had a heavier punishment but…
Magnatom is an utterly terrible cyclist. Watch his other videos of supposedly bad driving behaviour. He regularly jumps red lights, cuts lanes, rides in the wrong lane, cuts in between traffic, lane hogs, moves into faster lanes and then slows his speed, cuts right hand corners, passes MUCH closer to vehicles than they pass to him …… and so on.
And when any driver reacts to his bad cycling behaviour he stops and behaves aggressively towards them.
And that is just the footage he posts, how badly does he ride in the bits that he cuts?
Prefacing something with a disclaimer does not mean that what you say is any less misinformed I'm afraid.
I don't know Magnatom but I've got to disagree with this:
>regularly jumps red lights - link to proof please?
>cuts lanes - what does this actually mean?
>rides in the wrong lane - what is a "wrong" lane? Depends where you are going. Use whatever lane you need and feel safe in.
>cuts in between traffic - you mean filtering, perfectly legal.
>lane hogs - you mean primary position then.
>passes MUCH closer to vehicles than they pass to him - I'd suggest you aquaint yourself with the laws of physics as they relate to bikes and cars, discussed on this excellent blog at http://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/newtons-laws/
He cycles assertively which itself is unusual, but not wrong. Most cyclists (me included) usually just shake the head and let it go- but it is not his cycling that is at fault.
I'd suggest you look up "pedal on parliament" and see what the guy is trying to achieve - to make cycling safer. Surely you don't dislike that too?
jumps red lights: links with times please.
rides in the wrong lane: when? show.
lane hogs: You mean takes primary? And with good reason, read cyclecraft.
cuts in between traffic,.. Yeah mean filters.. And?
when any driver reacts to his bad cycling behaviour: link+ time please.
It seems to me that you don't know how to cycle correctly on Britains roads and are a car worshipping cyclist hating cyclist.
Yes, some of this is true, I've posted this before myself, he also posts on here BTW.
My issue is that I ride on the same roads at this guy and his utter indignation at even slight driving errors, most of which aren't dangerous, just less than ideal. This in my opinion, means none of us get any slack as he becomes the norm in many drivers eyes.
Its rare that I agree with him, but in this case, he is more than justified, I know that road, it's busy, fast, requires a lot of lane changing and is dangerous enough on a bike with arseholes like that 'driver'
On banning for life, I think that is too much in most cases, 10-15 year ban perhaps but not life. Unless it can be shown that they deliberately used their vehicle to try to injure somebody, but that would be very hard to prove without footage of someone following and aiming their vehicle at someone else.
On the subject of persistent driving while banned, obviously another ban isn't going to have any effect, maybe it would be better to just crush the car, or sell it in a police auction. Already done for non payment of VED.
Trouble is he'll just go out and buy or steal another one. There probably are technological ways to stop banned drivers driving, otherwise there's the sharp sword, hand, block of wood approach. Certainly nothing else works.
What really should be done with these type of drivers is ban them for life, yes i did say life and ban them from owning a motor vehicle as it appears some "people" never learn.
If you felt the need for a self defence assist, old fashioned steel bike pump may be what you need...
Is there a legal (or policy) reason why the name of the convicted driver isn't mentioned?
Just wondering because am not clear on the details of this and was looking for other reports. If he was already driving while banned, how does the new ban work? Is that going to be added to the end of the existing ban (which he clearly is ignoring anyway)? And which part of the penalty is for which offense?
What punishment would the guy have received for just the driving while banned part, or the driving without insurance part, if he hadn't also committed the dangerous driving offense?
I'm curious as to whether driving bans are in fact enforced in any meaningful way.
Well that certainly proves driving bans work...
Exactly the same thing happened to me recently.....but I don't have a Headcam. Managed to bang on the back window pretty loudly though. Forced me into considering a change to my route which takes the same amount of time and there's less traffic, so some good came out of it.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again here as it seems apt.
We all understand that there are certain 'privileges' enjoyed by those behind the wheel of a car. As commented previously, if you went around threatening people with a base ball bat or knife in the same way as you see people doing with cars, you'd be behind bars before you knew it.
Now, to be fair, should things go wrong for any of 'us' when driving our own cars, we'll be pretty pleased those privileges exist, as no one wants to spend 5 years in jail for a careless mistake.... so, I can kind of tolerate the current status quo.
However, I am not sure why those privileges are also given to those already deemed unsafe to be on our road... IMO anyone driving whilst banned, should be tried on the basis that they were not driving a car, but instead illegally in control of a potentially lethal weapon.
I.E the same as running around Tescos waving a machete about.
At first thought I find this argument quite compelling. If you aren't legally on the road in the first place then you are just a guy with a lethal weapon and should be judged accordingly. A driving licence is, in a sense, a licence to impose a certain level of risk on others. If you don't have that licence...
You can make the direct comparison to a Fire Arm Certificate. Makes perfect sense in my opinion.
It's of note that the driver has an existing record for bad driving and a string of offences to his name. This shows his lack of concern for other road users, not just the cyclist in this incident. It does beg questions as to how many more offences he'll go on to commit, and how he can be prevented from driving during these bans.
It surprises me, that the aggressor, doesn't destroy the video camera. If I was being threatened. My weapon of choice would be my bicycle, and my means of restraint would be nice long zip ties. Very useful for emergency bike repairs, and if of sufficient length capable of cutting off the blood supply to the brain.
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