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Nottingham cyclist was initially told to 'go away' when he tried to report near-miss to policeNottingham driver cuts into bus line (via Twitter).jpg

Nottingham cyclist was initially told to 'go away' when he tried to report near-miss to police

Police are now investigating after footage was brought to Chris Boardman’s attention on social media
by Alex Bowden
Fri, Jun 02, 2017 11:17
33

A Nottingham cyclist who phoned 101 to report a near-miss was allegedly told that police didn’t have the resources to look into it, with the call handler adding: “Can you go away please? I have life and death calls coming in."

The BBC reports that Jonathan Hunt was cycling along Carlton Road in Sneinton, Nottingham at 8.45am on Wednesday when a car cut into the bus and cycle lane, narrowly missing him.

Hunt, who was commuting to work from Mansfield, had to brake to avoid being hit.

He said: "The lady driving the car just pulled in. I very nearly crashed into her. Then she stopped in front of me with her hazards on. I don't think she had any idea what happened. This sort of thing happens to me a lot. You just get frustrated."

Hunt attempted to report the incident by calling the non-emergency police number, but said he was told that police "cannot possibly investigate as this happens thousands of times every day."

Surely all the more reason to tackle the problem, he pointed out.

Hunt later tweeted the footage to Chris Boardman to ask his opinion.

Boardman replied, “No it's not right,” tagging in Nottinghamshire Police.

There was also a response from Nottinghamshire Police’s Twitter account.

The force said in a statement: "Nottinghamshire Police takes all road safety matters seriously. We are re-contacting Mr Hunt and will investigate the incident."

Sam Jones, Cycling UK spokesman, said that other forces accepted video footage. "It is worrying that they are not accepting video footage. They need to take into consideration some of the most vulnerable road users. It is sending the wrong message if that sort of behaviour is allowed."

Nottinghamshire Police
Nottingham
Jonathan Hunt
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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33 comments

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hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
11 likes

"Nottinghamshire Police takes all road safety matters seriously unless they involve a cyclist. Also, we can't be bothered to crack down on motorists using mobile phones, speeding or jumping red traffic lights."

There, fixed that quote for you.

(Why was the operator dealing with life and death calls on the 101 number anyway? Aren't they supposed to go through to 999?)

Personally, I recommend filling in incidents online instead as that way you can try to spin it as a terrorist/racist incident. Always put that you were in fear of your life and that you heard some anti-semitic comments from the driver - that's more likely to get investigated.

Avatar
Anthony.C replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
1 like
hawkinspeter wrote:

"Nottinghamshire Police takes all road safety matters seriously unless they involve a cyclist. Also, we can't be bothered to crack down on motorists using mobile phones, speeding or jumping red traffic lights."

There, fixed that quote for you.

(Why was the operator dealing with life and death calls on the 101 number anyway? Aren't they supposed to go through to 999?)

Personally, I recommend filling in incidents online instead as that way you can try to spin it as a terrorist/racist incident. Always put that you were in fear of your life and that you heard some anti-semitic comments from the driver - that's more likely to get investigated.

What a stupid post.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Anthony.C | 6 years ago
11 likes
Anthony.C wrote:

What a stupid post.

Thanks for your feedback and illuminating comments, I'll be sure to take onboard all of your salient points.

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