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news
Driver tries to ram cyclist off bike Motorist drives into cyclist moments after shouting abuse for not using cycle lane
*UPDATE 12/03/2022* The road.cc reader who sent us this video complained to Thames Valley Police...
"I have just got off the phone to someone who explained that 'due to staff absences' my submission via their website was missed and the footage not viewed in time to send out a notice of intended prosecution (served within 2 weeks)," they told us.
"Had this error not occurred I was assured it was something they would have prosecuted for, and the driver was spoken to by a police officer about his actions in addition to the warning letter. Given Covid I can understand that, I suppose.
"Next time something of that nature happens (because it will sooner or later) I think I might take my video to a police station rather than submit online."
Just days after a road.cc reader sent us some shocking footage of an incident involving a West Midlands driver repeatedly trying to ram them off their bike, we have been sent another concerning video.
This time the video comes from Berkshire, where a Land Rover driver, angered by an earlier exchange about the rider not using a cycle path, drove into the cyclist, pushing them towards the kerb.
Shockingly, the road.cc reader involved reported the incident to Thames Valley Police, who decided, after three months of waiting, to send the driver a close pass warning letter.
"It has taken Thames Valley Police the best part of three months to send a warning letter for a 'close pass' when the car [driver] clearly purposely hits me," the reader told us.
"The incident starts with a close pass as the driver shouted at me out of his window about not using the rubbish cycle path. It contains some rude words, sorry.
"The driver of the car behind stopped to see if I was okay and the passenger had also videoed it so I gave the police their details too. Obviously any sort of investigation or desire to make roads safer is not important to them.
"I'd love to know what the warning letter said... 'if it wouldn't be too much trouble could you consider not ramming cyclists with your car please?' or something like that!"
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
On Friday, we shared footage of a shocking road rage attack on a cyclist in Hagley, West Midlands, after they threw an arm up in frustration at a close pass.
The motorist chased after the rider, matching their speed before a series of attempts to ram the cyclist from their bike.
> Shocking footage of road rage driver repeatedly trying to ram cyclist off bike
West Mercia Police twice downgraded the report from assault to dangerous driving, finally settling on driving without due care. The driver admitted the offence and walked away with a £100 fine and three penalty points.
When we contacted West Mercia Police with the footage and outcome, the force first suggested it had not been under their jurisdiction, before later saying they had nothing new to add and the cyclist would have to contact their police point of contact directly.
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
Latest Comments
- mctrials23 30 min 18 sec ago
Completely agree. Every 5-10 years wouldn't be out of the question IMO. What I found quite funny recently was Americans acting all superior and...
- GMBasix 40 min 45 sec ago
(emphasis in the original)...
- alexuk 1 hour 7 min ago
Like for that handle alone!
- mdavidford 1 hour 12 min ago
Not really - just like all those other things, there is a negative externality of driving (increased pressure on the NHS, due to health...
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Depends what you want to count (e.g. on the West - how wide you'd cast the net over deaths due to the Western military). But I'd point you in the...
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Did you make that screenshot, and then save it, upload it, and think "that's exactly what I was going for?" That's art.
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This does show the effectiveness of peaceful protest (unless you're protesting against environment destruction in which case the UK will imprison...
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I cycled in Italy on a holiday once. I can't claim my 4 or so bike rides were representative, but even in that short time, yeah, saw a number of...
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How did you find the Planet X Titanium frames? You never see reviews of them anywhere, but they look good value.
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103 comments
If a collision has ocurred (which it did) then AIUI the driver MUST report it to their insurance company irrespective of any claim.
I really think that a hassle factor and making dangerous drivers a bad choose to insure is the best way forward to keep cyclists safe.
(Well, until the police and courts act on the copious video evidence already sent to them)
When we contacted West Mercia Police with the footage and outcome, the force first suggested it had not been under their jurisdiction, before later saying they had nothing new to add and the cyclist would have to contact their police point of contact directly
And if he does, they simply won't reply if they're anything like Lancashire. I've been trying for months to obtain an admission that they did absolutely nothing about this- although the silence is as good as an admission
It's the ironic sticker on the back that gets me...
It's the ironic sticker on the back that gets me...
It is difficult to describe to 'foreigners', although nobody can say I haven't tried, just how bad Lancashire Constabulary is and how thick the officers are. Only today I received a NFA from them over a dire close pass at speed from a Transit-based lorry where the VED hasn't been paid for 2 years 9 months: HY66 ZZB. Grime had been allowed to accumulate on the number plate, but I got the reg and spoke it to myself. It can be seen on the photos if you lighten and enlarge them, and it's a very distinctive vehicle. LC's reason for NFA is that the TacOps officer has decided he can't read the plate on the video. I have delivered the ultimatum: change the decision or the complaint begins
The sticker is obviously an instruction to ride in line with the right hand side of the bus, that way they will not be able to close pass you!
The sticker is obviously an instruction to ride in line with the right hand side of the bus, that way they will not be able to close pass you!
This is to save looking all the way down the topic: it refers to the very close pass by a Stagecoach bus on 1.10.21 shown on a photo below. I have been trying for 5 months to obtain an official admission of what is obvious: Lancashire Constabulary did absolutely nothing about it. By coincidence, only today I have received the official reply: PE01544286GJHBB – No Further Action – No offence made out.
You may wonder what that means, as I do, since there was a perfect video, a .pdf file full of stills and a lucid account of a terrifying close pass by a professional bus driver. You may think yourself lucky you don't live in an area with a police force as bent and as crap as Lancashire
I had the same thing happen the other day - car swiping at me for not using a "cycle lane" pavement - I did confront them at the lights and held them up for a cycle - this sort of behavior is so futile especially in an urban setting - quite apart from the fact that its really bloody dangerous. Hope you are ok and keep on keeping on.
Warning letter... I didn't get a warning letter from TVP when I was flashed doing 56 in a 50 on a quiet A34. I did not drive into anyone, deliberately or otherwise. Rather than a fine and 3p, I opted to spend a morning on a course, hearing harrowing stories about accidents and the people who died.
At the very minimum, surely this driver should be made to go on a course, to hear of the consequences of what happens when cyclists get hit by vehicles.
A warning letter in this instance is frankly an insult to the memory of any cyclist killed or injured by careless drivers and sends a clear signal to drivers that its OK to drive into a cyclist if they annoy them and they'll only get a raised eyebrow.
It certainly seems that some police forces are working from very odd definitions of "close pass" and "due care and attention"...
Not wanting to make to obvious a comment because it is an ongoing case, but recently a single mother was killed near Solihull. The police have now untangled what happened.
An old driver, 82 apparently, clipped the cyclist causing her to fall. As the cyclist gathered herself up, a following motorist blinded by the low sun didn't see her and ran her down. (I can attest that the sun would have been particularly blinding but of course that should mean that you should moderate your speed accordingly).
My point is that often people see close passes or deliberate nudges as trivial - little harm done. The reality is that on occasion the results are catastrophic. Same with people who wouldn't see 60mph in a 40 as a big deal - until you find the Porsche driver lost control and span off the road, bringing a cyclist down underneath them.
Until you cycle, you don't appreciate how bad driving is. Yesterday, I had half a dozen interactions I would class as dangerous with motorists. Motorists barely interact with cyclists on a daily basis, it is a novelty (I think that is why Ashley Neal was genuinely bemused to the hostile reaction to drivers sounding their horns).
This mornings task is a FOI request from TVP requesting details of the number of videos submitted by cyclists, and a breakdown of the action taken by TVP, between NFA, Warning Letter, Driver Improvement Course & Penalty Points/Fine
You missed "Couldn't be arsed to even look."
They can't be arsed to record those ...
Let us know how you get on. I tried it last year and got a "Nah, this will take too much effort."
Let us know how you get on. I tried it last year and got a "Nah, this will take too much effort."
Anything to do with the police and their institutional 'cyclist-ist' bias involves effort, persistence and determination. Lancashire Constabulary simply doesn't comply with the Freedom of Information Act, describing themselves as 'very busy'- they are... very busy covering up for all the things they've done wrong. In addition, even more of the same qualities are required when pursuing information the public bodies are really desperate to 'not disclose'. NHS England is a £120 billion public body which has tried so hard to avoid disclosure over 11 years that it has now taken to just refusing to respond or comply with the Act. They have already tried the 'vexatious request' dodge and lost, so the Information Commissioner has now been obliged to order them to respond (ICO Decision Notice IC-149221-D4V4 14.2.22)- they haven't done so yet. You have to be ready to go to these lengths, because public bodies- especially the police- are prepared to waste lots of time and public money acting against the public interest in thwarting requests.
I obviously don't reccomend this as a course of action, but when I used to commute as a student through Notting Hill Gate and Kensington on my way to Hammersmith, before cycle lanes - nuts i know - I always used to get 'nudged' about and I found the best defensive manouvre was to dig my clawed pedals into the side of the vehicle and then take the dive - it cushioned the swipe especially if they were turning into a corner. To a man, when they came out to inspect what had happened they first went to the damaged panel before checking if I was alright/alive, etc, etc.
The greatest danger on High St Kensington were taxis which would stop sharply in the middle of the road when hailed, and once on a rainy day I ended up on the roof of a London cab. I rememeber as I slowly slid down I could see the driver looking through the mirror to see when I was clear as the passenger climbed in and he then he took off. Luvely jubbley.
Has Road.cc ever asked for an interview with the relevant Government Ministers to discuss the frankly abysmal service given by the Police / Justice System?
I for one would be fascinated to read if a Road.cc journalist took this on... its a huge topic, surely worthy of proper exploration.
If the police refuse to protect others from dangerous drivers perhaps the insurance industry could instead?
Post this clip to the insurers social media and ask why they underwrite such aggression and what would lifetime support of a seriously injured person cost them?
Price the dangerous off the roads
Post this clip to the insurers social media and ask why they underwrite such aggression and what would lifetime support of a seriously injured person cost them?
This I could get completely behind. There would be challenges, especially in underwriting, but risk rating appalling behaviour is reasonable.
I'd also love to see the dickheads on social media denigrating* more vulnerable road users, demonstrating fuck all knowledge of road rules and/or a desire to breach road rules get priced off the roads.
Of all the challenges though, I suspect the biggest is that a lot of terrible motorists are uninsured or would happily drive uninsured.
*the irony isn't lost on me that I am a dickhead on social media denigrating the denigrators.
My daughter is in the police and she corrected me on assault. I thought you had to make physical contact but it is sufficient for you to believe that someone is going to hit you for it to be an assault.
I think that it is wrong for police to be using careless driving legislation when there is clear evidence of a deliberate attempt to knock someone off their bike, especially in this case where the attempt was not in the moment, but sustained. If the driver got out and swung their fist, it would be assault, yet when they use their car which is a far more effective weapon... well, you get my drift.
I'd really love to crowd fund a test case on this. Find a certainly egregious case where plod couldn't be arsed and bring a private prosecution, preferably for Assault rather than a motor offense.
I have a day dream fantasy of running a not-for-profit that goes after these type of drivers all day long.....
Sadly, it is very easy for the CPS to adopt a private prosecution, then kill it. Still, it has been tried before: I think the Cyclist's Defence Fund sometimes tries it.
it is very easy for the CPS to adopt a private prosecution, then kill it
I'm fairly sure the CPS really does exist, and is not just a dodge by the police to excuse not doing anything about anything. However, that is the way the name is deployed by the police far too often
It seems the 'Five Monkeys' experiment story is unfounded, but it tells a truth: if you [CPS] condition the participants [Police] to believe a certain action [prosecuting errant motorists] wiull fail, the participants learn behaviour that it is not worth focusing on that behaviour when other behaviour yields easier results with limited resources.
I think you can blame the police; you can blame the CPS for having too high a threshold for prosecution; you can blame government for under-resourcing them both to the point where they have to dismiss some tasks completely in favour of other priorities. You can also blame government (& PCCs) for failing to address ropad safety as a police priority. And you can blame various sources, such as populist media, for perpetuating out-group myths.
Michael Mason case? Still lost.
Win or loss of a single case isnt wholly the point, though it may be incredibly painful for those involved.
Creating an awareness that this stuff isnt acceptable and you will *likely* get nobbled is.
he'd probably had a bad day.
So attempted murder is fine I guess
Sorry, your honour, it was a momentary lapse of reason. Fine, on your way, son.
The car did it, your honour, you know how unreliable Land Rovers are. Fine, on your way, son.
The sun was in my eyes so I needed to pull over urgently as I couldn't see. Sounds exceptionally careful driving to me, you are to be commended, on your way, son.
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