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news
Wing mirror spikesOwner of van with spiked wing mirror claims it is to deter vandals, not harm cyclists
The owner of a van in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, that was pictured earlier this week with spikes protruding from its nearside wing mirror has claimed that he made the improvised modification to deter vandals.
As we reported earlier this week, the vehicle, carrying the livery of a painting and decorating firm, was reported to a “sceptical” call handler at Greater Manchester Police by Twitter user OneAdultSwim1, who had also spotted two other vehicles in the area with similar spikes on the wing mirror.
> Car wing mirrors studded with spikes reported to Greater Manchester Police
Responding to the picture he tweeted, Surrey Police Roads Policing Unit said that it constituted an arrestable offence for possession of an offensive weapon.
According to the website Lad Bible the vehicle’s owner claims that he places the spikes on the vehicle while it is parked up over the weekend to prevent the wing mirror from being vandalised.
Jonathan Tomney, aged 41, said: “I’m sick to death of my property being vandalised.
“Every Saturday night when I park the van up somewhere I put the spikes on.
“I only put it on over the weekends to stop my property from being vandalised.”
“I just hope that if one of the little b******s tries to take my wing mirror again they’ll sever their hand,” he added.
OneAdultSwim1 originally posted to Twitter on Sunday, saying that there “Seems to be a growing trend in my area of adding crude spikes to the passenger side wing mirror … usually in the form of large screws through the mirror casing.
“Spotted one, and another and a third today all on different vehicles. I'm going to get a picture next time. Be warned.”
He subsequently posted a picture of it on Monday evening and, prompted by other Twitter users, many of whom wondered if the device was targeted at cyclists, reported it to police on Tuesday morning.
While the owner of the van insists the wing mirror is only covered with spikes when parked at the weekend, the other two vehicles spotted with similar devices were both in moving traffic.
Speaking to road.cc on Tuesday, OneAdultSwim1 said: “Last week I've seen three vehicles with this modification. The first two I saw were in the same line of traffic a few cars apart on Station Road in Cheadle, in the middle of last week.
“They were both rugged-looking vehicles with intermediate off-road tyres and air intake rams, rumbling down the small high street here.
“However the image I posted is on the side of liveried van (painter and decorator) which is also in the Cheadle area, I noticed this on Sunday, went past again yesterday and gave them a close-up inspection, just to check they weren’t rubber or anything.”
He reported the van to police on the non-emergency number 101 to what he described as “a very sceptical call handler.”
He continued: “I was reluctant to post as might give others ideas, but decided to post in the end after consideration.
“I also asked during the call if there was any way I could pass on the images but they don’t have that facility. The report was made about 08:30 and the lady said she would ‘pass it on’.”
We approached Greater Manchester Police for a comment on Tuesday but have not received a reply from them.
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.
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48 comments
Ah, expanding foam. The scourge of anti-social motorists everywhere.
Particularly effective when inserted into the bean tin exhaust pipe of an illegally modified chavmobile. The resulting noise reduction is almost miraculous. 👍
@Eton Rifle
Thanks for the tip. Araldite in the keyhole used to be my favourite before electro-mechanical locks became the norm.
Things have moved on since Axel Foley's banana in the tailpipe ruse.
er...wont they just smack the side of the wing mirror without spikes?
...or just bash it off with a baseball bat or something similar?
Why am I thinking of buying a baseball bat...
When I first saw this story last week, I did wonder if it might be an (ill-advised) attempt to deter vandals from knocking the mirror... until half a second later I realised just this - anyone wanting to cause mindless criminal damage would hit the other side anyway.
They would need to walk in the road to hit the other side.
This makes more sense the the suspicion it is intended for injuring cyclists, as anyone hit by the mirror of a passing vehicle is likely to come off badly regardless of any spikes.
I meant that if you wanted to damage a wing/door/a-pillar mirror, you would probably hit it from the back (glass) side, as many of them are designed to fold in if hit from the front, so spikes would do little to deter vandals anyway. Though anyone attaching spikes to their car, for any reason, probably hasn't thought that far ahead.
Exactly, they are designed to fold in hit from the front, so that in theory gently knocking the mirror of a passing car at low speed they fold in rather than get broken.
As demonstrated by some numpty plumber in Pimlico if you want to smash off a Rolls Royce mirror you kick it from the mirror side, from a bike, and the CCTV will magically cut away for the instant of impact, and return a fraction later to show that the cyclist never even wobbbled.
This is just his hastily thought up "how can I get away with this" excuse. If it's just a wrap around a vandal will more likely steal it, but it appears to be secured rather well with tape to believe the "I just put it on at weekend" line.
So he admits that he's modified his vehicle specifically so as to cause harm to others? Not sure the police will look too kindly on that...
Even spikes on wheels wouldn't be so bad, but spikes at the height of a child's head is particularly malicious.
Looks like the car has joined the Cenobites.
Oh yes of course, vandals are well known for being very specific on passenger side mirrors.
And of course you carefully strip down the mirror, lovingly remove each and every screw, every time you jump in your facking van to go to the facking pub, you psychopathic w@nker!
Perhaps the driver is assiduous about following rule 239 (do not park facing against the traffic flow), so the passenger side mirror is always the easier target.
Well, yes, it is the pavement-side wing mirror they kick, ninja style. Happened to my car a couple of times. I fail to see how the spikes would deter or prevent since I'm guessing they kick the mirror up from underneath, or land their foot on top to smack it down. Kicking it horizontally will only cause it to fold, maybe even to dislocate the hinge, but most mirrors are designed to breakaway in that axis, and survive.
It looks like there is a cover added over the top of the mirror with screws driven through it, then taped on. It's not a 'repair' ...
Blatant pavement parker.
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