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news
Cyclist punched repeatedly in the head by aggressive driver furious that group were riding two abreast
Update, 13/09/21, 5:44pm: a Wiltshire Police spokesman has now responded after being asked for comment. The full statement is below, and the original article appears underneath it.
“In line with national policy, in cases of common assault with no injury, where the offender is identified and fully admits the offence, then an adult caution is deemed a suitable outcome.
“We are committed to providing a high level of service for all victims of crime, and if any victim is dissatisfied with the service they have received then they can make a formal complaint via the Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner.”
A shocking video shows a cyclist being punched multiple times in the face by a driver who was enraged that he was riding two abreast in a group.
Ady Short's wife, who was riding in front of the car, was also knocked off her bike by the driver as he attacked her husband through the car window.
Mr Short was out with his wife and six other Swindon Wheelers club members when the driver of a black Nissan caught up with them on a bendy section of road where he was unable to overtake.
Mr Short said: "He followed us for about 90 seconds, overtook us and braked hard in front of the group causing us to swerve around him but as we rode around him he took off again within the group causing further issues whilst remonstrating about us not singling out (he wouldn’t have got past one person let alone eight through the bendy section)."
While this, as Mr Short pointed out is, sadly, an all too common occurrence for cyclists on Britain's roads, what happened next was shocking.
> Aggressive driver in total meltdown with Carmarthenshire cyclists after close pass
Mr Short continued: "As club secretary and a trained Ride Lead we’re meant to de-escalate any situations so normally (happens too often) we wait to hear what they say and then explain why we were riding two abreast.
"He was very angry as you can see but before I could explain he started hitting me, I just suffered a black eye as a result and didn’t actually get the chance to say anything before he hit me.
"He also knocked my wife off her bike, the camera was hers and she suffered cuts and bruises but wasn’t considered part of the case as the police couldn’t actually see her.
"We made the guy wait as the police were called and told him when he tried to drive off that he would end up in more trouble."
> Police install 'give cyclists room' signs...local asks for 'cyclists single file' version
Mr Short said he had been told by Wiltshire Police that the driver 'fully admitted' the assault and claimed to be very remorseful.
The driver was only handed a caution for the unprovoked attack.
Mr Short said the group were looking into appealing the seemingly light punishment.
He also explained why he had tried to talk to the driver in the first place.
He said: "Generally, in our experience, it just humanises the situation if we can let them blow off steam and appear calm, we usually explain that we all drive cars as well and apologise for any inconvenience even though we shouldn’t have to apologise it just seems to take the anger out of the situation.
"Its a case by case basis as to whether we talk about must and should where the highway code is concerned, this guy was absolutely adamant that we must ride single file which is what he was shouting about as I cycled by him...
"What took the steam out of this situation more than anything post fracas was my wife shouting that we had cameras."
Wiltshire Police have been contacted for comment.
Update, 13/09/2021: We've had a huge response to this article, with many readers expressing shock and distress, plus surprise at the response from Wiltshire Police. You can contact the office for the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner here, and if you were directly affected, you can make a complaint here.
Latest Comments
- SteveBr 50 min 20 sec ago
Helmets are not designed to prevent brain injuries.
- trenzalorian 3 hours 15 min ago
try deleting cookies and re-logging in. That worked for me (I also changed passwords so both site and fantasy passwords were still identical....
- chrisonabike 4 hours 26 min ago
Thanks! A great trip and a nice write up, more so for memories of places on that route....
- wtjs 5 hours 5 min ago
Maybe the Government could introduce a set monthly fee that allows drivers to be caught out as much as they like! ...
- wtjs 5 hours 15 min ago
there is a very big inner tube factory in Wuhan...
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car crashes into...horse trough...
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The official advice is bollocks! They tell you to click when you see a potential hazzard, but anything could be a potential hazzard....
- andystow 6 hours 54 min ago
Here's where I got it. Not sure if they ship outside the US, though. https://magicpine.com/products/will-bike-for-beer-unisex-tee
- Pot00000000 9 hours 22 min ago
But some people do want that 🤷🏼♂️ these are race bike that also happen to be purchased by middle aged men who don't race. ...
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205 comments
Camera evidence AND witnesses; only a caution! Next time I'm riding I'll save the weight and leave the cameras at home; normally if I'm riding with someone else I'll leave them behind as I've (hopefully) got a witness in an incident.
Not sure about this business of explaining group riding to the crazy driver close up; I've had the odd one of these types of incident and I stay well behind, or to the side (at a distance), of the car (with an escape route if needed) to exchange any words. The driver just vents his spleen and clears off; by that time another motorist is usually yelling at him to move on as he's blocking the road.
Who makes sure the police actually police properly? IPCC?
This implies that someone could assault someone like a policeman on a bike, say sorry then go home.
The person should also be sued for damages.
This person will do it again.
They're called the IOPC now (Independent Office for Police Conduct), but yes, supposedly them. However, in practice unless it's a very serious complaint (corruption, police action or inaction leading to death etc) they tend to refer complaints back to the police force being complained about for investigation and don't often go against their findings, so effectively the police get to mark their own homework quite a lot of the time.
Indeed. Let's bear in mind here that West Mids copper who IOPC cleared, who has literally now been convicted of assault for beating up two black guys on consecutive days, both in full view on CCTV ...
IOPC exists solely to excuse the police for as much as they think they can possibly get away with.
Just like to thank road.cc for asking the police for a comment. I look forward to reading the reply.
I wonder if farty drives a black Nissan?
Maybe he will when he's old enough to get a driving licence.
I think the driver should definitely be charged with assault and do not condone his actions in any way. I cannot see how the police can possibly justify not doing that. However I would recommend that if you are trying to talk to an angry driver and diffuse the situation it would definitely be best not to twice grab hold of his mirror. I am not justifying the drivers actions, they were clearly wrong but just saying if you are setting out to calm a situation, it is usually best to not start by grabbing the other persons car.
Don't be daft.
The rider was keeping his balance whilst talking to the driver, it quite clearly wasn't in any way aggressive. If the driver's so protective of his wankpanzer that he thinks anyone who breathes on it deserves punching, that's on him.
Worth noting that if the driver hadn't made a dangerous and illegal manouevre by slowing in front of the group to argue with them the cyclist wouldn't have been anywhere near his car. Typical bully behaviour, he thought he should be allowed to berate the cyclists without contradiction, the second he's challenged loses it.
[pedant on again]DEFUSE[pedant off again]
You are technically correct (the best kind of correct), but try not to loose your head. He could of been a non-English speaker.
[pedant on]could HAVE[pedant off]
Woosch!
I did wonder as I posted it...
*lose
I think that was the point...
I'm just surprised that nobody pointed out the other deliberate mistake.
.
Though you could be trying to diffuse anger, leaving spread out resentment that isn't concentrated enough to result in violence.
I thought after rewatching that they were simply trying not to overbalance at such low speed.
Don't cycle so close to a nutter as they could also door you !
Beat me to it.
NEVER touch another person / their possession in a confrontation.
It can only make it worse.
I've been attacked like that on a number of occasions for various reasons, the drivers got out of the cars and tried to beat me up, being brought up in a rough London area I knew how to look after myself - I won every time. the best one was when I knocked an aggressive thug out , when he became conscious he crawled along the road to his car and drove off- it was so funny, I still laugh about it.
You must be a hard man King and I'm sure your story improves with each retelling, however you have no idea if knocking someone out can lead to serious injury, death or a manslaughter charge. Time to grow-up and ponder if laughing at extreme violence is a normal adjusted response or on the spectrum?
The big thug was hitting me - what should I have done, stand still like a gentleman and get knocked to the ground? would you fight back ? yes, you would, also this is the first time I have told anybody, it happened a long time ago - 60 years ago.
You can be a gentleman AND a thug.
It's not me, I don't smoke.
kingleo, I'm all for learning new things - have you any tricks when someone gets out and tries to attack you? In the interests of self-defense
Please don't go there. You can have no idea how skilled your opponent is in fighting, how pscyhopathic they are, or what weapons they may be carrying. If you are better than them, as someone else sensibly pointed out, that could lead to you ending up on the wrong end of a manslaughter charge for a single punch that made someone fall and hit their head - your whole life ruined, for what? Proving you're "hard"? If someone exits their car and tries to attack you, you've got a bike and they're on foot, get yourself out of there and when you're a safe distance away call 999.
All it takes is for someone to have and use a knife.
If you think you have sufficient skills to deal with a knife user, do a little test by giving someone a marker pen (lid-off) and see how you fare when sparring with them. You're much better off getting away from them.
(Though when I did a bit of kung-fu, our teacher did show us a technique to get a knife-wielder to slit their own throat without getting your own fingerprints on the blade. Not sure I'd have the presence of mind to get the timing and technique exactly right though)
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