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Daisy Abela tweetDaisy Abela apologises
Daisy Abela, the driver at the centre of a twitter storm over the weekend after she claimed to have ‘purposely knocked off a cyclist’ apologised on Twitter this morning.
Ms Abela has changed the username of her primary account, which remains protected, and apologised via an account that shares the username from which she posted about driving into a cyclist and still being drunk.
Here are Ms Abela’s tweets. We’ve edited only misspellings and minor punctuation.
“I would like to start off firstly by apologising for any offence I may have caused other cyclists with my tweets on Saturday.
“I did not intend to upset anybody. Truth is I was joking with a friend, I thought it was a conversation between two people...
“Not one that would be broadcast to the rest of the world and cause such uproar.
“I understand and accept that my tweets sound incriminating and when reading them back sound frankly disgraceful
“But in fact they have been largely exaggerated and blown out of proportion. This incident was NOT a drunken hit and run.
“This was investigated by the Metropolitan Police and has been resolved. But for peace of mind I'd like to explain myself...
“On Saturday morning at around 9am I was driving behind a group of cyclists riding 3 abreast when I attempted to overtake at a clear point.
“As I did so, a fourth cyclist also tried to get ahead of the others leading to a near collision.
“I then shouted out of my open window "you're going to cause a crash riding like that" to which I received angry shrieks of abuse.
“I continued driving at around 10mph (approaching traffic) when the said cyclist caught up with me. He began hammering on my roof...
“And spitting at me as he shouted through my window "what's your fucking problem with cyclists?"
“I do not have a problem with cyclists, my issue was with the dangerous way he was cycling. We exchanged words whilst near enough stationary.
“Then there was a brief collision in which nobody was hurt. Not a "hit and run". This could equally have been caused by him cycling into me.
“Nobody was injured during the incident, there was no impact on the cyclist as he continued to scream abuse as he rode off!
“I did not lose a wing mirror it was merely pushed in. I appreciate how my tweet may have been misinterpreted.
“I strongly deny the allegations of drink driving seeing as the incident happened at 9am in the morning I was certainly not drunk.
“My tweet was referring to my silly behaviour the night before - a joke with my friend. I was NOT drunk at the time of the incident.
“My comments were terribly exaggerated and made in anger after being physically and verbally attacked by the cyclist.
“I should not have generalised all cyclists in such a way and once again I apologise for doing so and for my ludicrous comments. Thank you.”
At the time of writing, we’re waiting for a response from the Metropolitan Police to our questions about this incident. Ms Abela says she spoke to officers from Bromley police, but that is not yet corroborated.
If anyone knows the riders involved in this incident, please get in touch with the other side of the story.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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47 comments
Twitter seems to make twats of lots of people. The other cyclists must be reading this (no idea why they must be but hey, its the internet) and come forward and give their side to events. At the moment, her story sounds plausible however stupid she was in getting it out. Some of the cycling I have seen has been arrogant to say the least. Just because you are on a bike, doesn't mean you can flaunt the highway code then kick off at anyone who complains, as also previously said, whats the other sides story?
Lets be clear here, we are supposed to get apoplectic with rage, Icouldadoid and all that...but really...
Rubbish driver, rather dull too...
Quality of road usage by all people be they cyclist, professional drivers, normal drivers or walkers is a shambles...
+1
Too many people on here can't see all sides.
I meant no big groups,nor 3 abreast etc. Its difficult to cycle 3 abreast with just one friend.
Sorry if i confused anybody.
Or, perhaps a rash suggestion, we could wait for both sides to be heard.
Lots of speculation here, very similar to what is seen in the aviation world after a crash: "I know the facts aren't all out yet, but I think that what happened was ..."
Comments on here make interesting reading.
My 'two penneth' -
Unfortunately cyclists are seen as a collective - much as I wish we weren't by car drivers who hold negative views... This doesn't change the fact that we all have individual responsibility, driving, cycling, walking, whenever.
I agree with the points made about militant organisations who seem to antagonise. This is not likely to be effective, and yet I believe they do have cyclists' best interests at heart. high profile organisations such as the CTC and British Cycling are best placed to be effective political lobbyists for our cause.
On this case specifically, we cannot judge until we have both sides of the story, tempting as it is to condemn this silly woman - all we know for sure is she wrote something stupid on Twitter after some altercation with a cyclist.
I was in an organised ride on Sunday riding along with a friend.No big groups,3 abreast,etc.
We had a horn sounded at us twice,and a passenger shouting out of a window.
All 3 vehicles overtook us easily on the quiet country roads but it seemed like the drivers wanted to make some kind of statement.
Obviously none of them stopped so we could discuss it further.
The amount of angry people on the road seems to be increasing.
You shouldn't be 3-abreast. See the Highway Code.
https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82/overview-59-to-71
There was a brief collision
Priceless
It is the prolonged collisions you've got to watch out for I suppose.
what a piece of shit
Well I guess what she's said is pretty much as could have been expected. Sobered tone, apology, "it was actually the other guy's fault and no one was hurt". Which may well be true for all we know, but can't come to any conclusions yet if we only have one side.
On the other hand the story is a little unbelievable; a cyclist shouting abuse, spitting on her, banging on her car, and all she did was tell him "you're going to cause a crash riding like that". Really? He went into a fit because of that? Whilst not impossible... it seems very implausible. Certainly it gives the distinct impression that the story is quite biased. (I like how the cyclist is shown to swear at her. Naughty, naughty cyclists.)
Then the casual mention of a "brief collision" (as opposed to a... lengthy collision?). Does that mean she drove into him (albeit briefly)? It "could equally have been caused by him cycling into" her. Again it sounds kinda funny... not in a ha-ha way.
In fact her version really reminds me of Mr Burns' version of events in the "Bart gets hit by a car" episode of the Simpsons...
Overall I think it would be safe to imagine that there was verbal abuse and anger coming from both sides. Perhaps the cyclist did do a stupid manoeuvre, perhaps the motorist then did a punishment pass, causing the type of anger that usually only happens to cyclists after nearly getting killed.
The Daily Mail is a very scary place indeed.
Sounds like she's taken advice from Ms Way's brief
At 10mph she wouldn't have dropped me let alone someone on a club run
Which is why i think she overtook at a more normal speed and then slowed approaching traffic.
I thought we didn't have enough detail a moment ago?
Also:
“On Saturday morning at around 9am I was driving behind a group of cyclists riding 3 abreast when I attempted to overtake at a clear point.
“As I did so, a fourth cyclist also tried to get ahead of the others leading to a near collision."
Where does the 4th come from? Is the 4th behind the 3? And her behind the 4th? Is the 4th legitimately overtaking the 3 only for a car to try to overtake the lot?
We don't have enough detail. But the lack of detail is, of itself, worthy of comment.
we don't, it is called interpretation of what is stated, won't find many groups of cyclists traveling as slowly as 10mph to be overtaken.
Agreed, lack of awareness, not giving enough room in the overtaking manoeuvre, but then again why were the cyclist riding three/four abreast in traffic? why did the cyclist "supposedly" spit at her through the open car window. Was the fourth cyclist paying attention to the overtaking car? Lots of things are missing, particularly the cyclists.
I don't think anyone is coming out of this well to be honest, and i don't believe the cyclist will come forward, i hope they do, and can give their side of the story.
As i said before i believe she is a stupid little girl with ALOT of growing up todo. I also don't think a public witch hunt actually helps cyclists. It doesn't matter whether any cyclist thinks cyclists are or are not a group, enough of the population at large regards cyclists as a group.
Think Critical Mass, it might be a nice idea, but is it really doing cyclists any favours annoying car drivers when most people are car drivers?
All i want to be able to do is ride my bike and not worry about stupid prats on the road. I would rather crap drivers are re-educated/punished as appropriate. Than some twitter witch hunt.
I think you're misinterpreting my interpretation. At no point did I claim that she was doing 10 mph all the time. The point is that immediately afterwards she had to drop to that speed because of traffic. Suggesting that it was, as usual, that type of pointless manoeuvre. That's my interpretation of it. A failure to look, ascertain what's ahead and consider whether there's a point to it.
I think this is the bit where we differ, not sure it was immediately after, no hint given. I have chased after a car for a mile before when a tad annoyed!!!! Purely so i could get the cars number plate to pass to the police....
Anyway i am out,
We only have her side of the story, which to be honest i can believe. I would want to hear the other side before lynching her.
Crap driver, young, stupid, boastful, etc etc. yes, deliberately trying to kill someone, i don't think so.
Think what the lease company would say when she handed back her mini if it had a cyclist shaped dent in the bonnet. And how would she explain it to her mum?
very finally
i hate to link to the daily mail, but the comments are educational about some people. It is these people who scarely seem to dominate public opinion!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2384794/I-purposely-run-LOL-Poli...
That's what you get on self selecting forums where posting the most ridiculous comment you can think of gains popularity. It seeks the world is becoming an American high school cheer leader film and that's depressing.
But I wonder why ".... the Metropolitan Police says it is unable to confirm the incident was reported to them." (Mail on line) as "This was investigated by the Metropolitan Police and has been resolved." (her Tweet)
I agree to the extent that sending abuse to this silly girl only loses the cycling community it's moral high ground and fuels the anti-cyclist mob.
But I very much doubt this young lady will be re-educated or punished further than a small chat with a car-centric Plod, a bit of bad publicity, a lawyer/pr written "apology" and will, in time, re-write the whole affair in her head so she believes she was in the right all along.
I said i wouldn't comment again, ho hum,
She does believe she is right, the point is to hopefully get her to understand what she did that may have led to the confrontation and hopefully she won't do it again.
If in future she gives cyclists a bit more room then that is a win. If other motorists can be educated and do the same then even better, but as per the twitter rape comments, abuse doesn't do you any favours and could even be detrimental.
Totally agree MrMo.
Critical Mass doesn't speak for me (or more accurately in a way I would like to represented), and the increased partisan actions by the likes of them are giving cyclists a bad name.
This aggressive action, on twitter or on the streets only alienates other road users. As you point out, the responses by many on the Daily Mail website are fairly typical of a wider public opinion. I spoke to a policeman (he was giving a useful, yet undersubscribed presentation about lorry blind spots) and he mentioned the unhelpful militant action of certain groups, throwing fuel onto the fire. There will be plenty that read Ms Abela's story and think 'cyclist scum'.
Personally if there was a more politically organised pressure group, and cyclists could show themselves as organised, peaceful and reasonable (as opposed to an anarchic rabble) people might start taking the political points more seriously.....even if that means cycling in a well organised phalanx on Whitehall...but this is what all political groups have had to do - show
that they work within society and with society to get better recognition.
Also, on the pointless overtake, I often point this out to drivers if I think it's the case. My view is that if they overtake when they can see queuing traffic or a red light and I can catch them up in the queue, it's pointless. They have not made any 'progress' if I've managed to filter past them again therefore they have performed a pointless manoeuvre and potentially put my life at risk for nothing. It's worth pointing out if you can as people genuinely don't know or have a very warped perception of how much time they'll save by overtaking cyclists.
Agreed, but if your approaching a green light and overtake, but the light turns to red before you get there, was it a pointless overtake? I have ridden the 10miles between Cheltenham and Gloucester and taken just as long as a car to drive. I went faster in town and slower between towns. if the car had stuck behind me the whole way i would have gotten a tad paranoid!
I'm not really sure of your point, I stated that I think it's pointless if they can see the light is red or the traffic in front is queuing, so no, I don't expect cars to sit behind if lights are green on front and there is no queuing traffic, if the light changes, it's not their fault and the overtake would be valid in my opinion.
I also think the overtake just before turning off, whether it be onto a right hand side road or the really dangerous left hand side road is pointless too by the way, especially the need to stop to turn right, forcing me to stop too or if turning left into my path and cutting me off. These are just my opinions on pointless overtakes though, some people may believe that they're justified in taking risks with cyclists' lives for what I perceive as very little or no gain.
I think the point about collective responsibility being crap is valid, people may perceive cyclists as a group and treat us all the same due to their experiences with others but this is their problem, not cyclists. It's their view which is wrong and smacks of the same kind of discrimination we no longer stand for when judging people on race or gender. I don't hold all drivers responsible for the actions of idiots that cut me up, just as I wouldn't hate someone of a certain appearance just 'cos one attacked me once.
People can talk about the idiot they saw doing this or that but there are idiots in cars, on bikes etc, lets judge and condemn them regardless of their mode of transport. If people had that view, that everyone was responsible for their own actions, I think there would be far less hatred on the roads.
We could then try and get the idiots to act better and it'd be safer too.
I agree, we should wait for the offended cyclist to come forward for balance.
As much as I dislike cars coming too close, I also dislike it when cyclists show no regard for fellow road users and hog a road (like riding three abreast). It's the sort of attitude that seems abundant at sportive scene these days - as if paying your entrance fee means you command the road for the day - just the sort of attitude that will get sportives banned (action and consequence).
Her tweets were silly, but that is not a crime in itself.
I like the individuality of cycling, but I also realise, that like other people in a community, that my actions have a bearing on others. If I want people to respect the rules of the road I should too. We are all role models of a sort - so saying that one persons actions do not have a bearing is pretty silly in my book. Demonising this woman without the full facts does not make you a hero, and only serves to create the idea that cyclists are a law unto themselves. We should let the police do their job and if a cyclist has been knocked over then let him come forward with his story.
From stupid to sophisticated in just 3 days...
I bet that half of the words in her statement are actually unknown to her vocabulary. Nice job Mr Lawyer...
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