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Video: Driver cuts up cyclist - then threatens him with baseball bat

Motorist backs down once he realises he is being filmed (WARNING - Lots of swearing)

A cyclist has posted footage to YouTube showing a motorist threatening him with a baseball bat moments after he nearly knocked him off his bike – with the driver backing down once he realised he was being filmed.

Shot in Avenue Road, St John’s Wood in north west London, the video was uploaded to the site on Friday by YouTube user Amere Rider.

In the film, the cyclist was riding along a cycle lane when the driver overtook him and immediately turned left. It is not clear whether the rider came off his bike, but – unsurprisingly, given the circumstances – he reacted angrily, which the motorist countered with a tirade of his own.

“Oi what the f*ck! You stupid f*ucking idiot!” the rider shouted as he banged on the vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo.

The male driver got out of the car and after rummaging around in the boot confronted the cyclist with a baseball bat, saying, “Are you f*cking mad?”

Asked, “Is that a baseball bat, are you threatening me with a baseball bat?” the motorist replied, “I am threatening you.”

With another cyclist coming to the aid of the rider who was cut up, and other witnesses apparently nearby, the driver starting to calm down as he became aware he was being filmed.

He also insisted he did not knock the cyclist off his bike, saying “I did not hit him over. I am sure I did not hit him over,” but says he will accept “full responsibility” if it is established that he did.

Some of the commenters to the video on YouTube have urged the cyclist to go to the police with the footage.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, quoted in the London Evening Standard, said: “We are aware of the video that has been uploaded and it has been brought to our attention by the media.

“No further details have been provided to us to ascertain exactly when the incident took place.”

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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43 comments

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severs1966 | 7 years ago
0 likes

Shame that the police are not interested in this case.

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KOMcowboy | 7 years ago
0 likes

"Gunna git man baseball bat out the boot mate, yeah! 

Ohh Ohhhhh hold on, wait there, wait there, cars rolling away, just put the handbrake on a minute. That's better. 

Gunna git man baseball bat out the boot mate, yeah now I'm threatening you!"

 

wot a tool. Innit

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srchar | 7 years ago
0 likes

The driver is lucky he didn't do this to a more unhinged cyclist, given that he's a bit of a weed and obviously didn't have any intent to actually use the bat about 0.5 seconds after reaching for it. I know quite a few people who would have happily taken the bat from him and smashed his car up with it.

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vonhelmet | 7 years ago
5 likes

Ban plz ^

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Harmanhead | 7 years ago
0 likes

His name was Mohamed. The cunt did it on purpose! The road was blocked! He wasn't turning or going anywhere, he wanted to start a fight with a middle class white Bloke. He soon backed down when he realised the cyclist wasn't gonna put up the the cunt. The young Asian wasn't looking where he was going and didn't think to put on his hand brake cos he wanted to start trouble, like most young Asians in cars! 

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tritecommentbot replied to Harmanhead | 7 years ago
2 likes

Harmanhead wrote:

His name was Mohamed. The cunt did it on purpose! The road was blocked! He wasn't turning or going anywhere, he wanted to start a fight with a middle class white Bloke. He soon backed down when he realised the cyclist wasn't gonna put up the the cunt. The young Asian wasn't looking where he was going and didn't think to put on his hand brake cos he wanted to start trouble, like most young Asians in cars! 

 

Road.cc mate. UKIP forums ---> that way.

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madcarew | 7 years ago
1 like

Both people acted like unrestrained idiots. Just because someone cuts you up doesn't give you the right to unleash a hail of invective. Just because someone unleashes a hail of invective does actually give you the right to defend yourself if you believe you are under threat. The guy in the car drove like an idiot, but the guy on the bike beat him to the punch in proving himself to be one. Prime example of Ass-Hattery.

And yes, I have been in this exact situation (being a tyre iron from a truck instead of a baseball bat), and yes there was a third person who defused the situation. Fortunately for both of us. 

Yes, I understand the cyclist's pissed-offed-ness, but his reaction was never going to end well regardless of if it had been a hostile manoeuvre or innocent mistake from the guy in the car. I've been cycling for a loooong time and had this done to me numerous times. But never twice by the same driver.

 

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steviemarco | 7 years ago
2 likes

Baseball bat or not I'd have chinned the little sh*t, after turning said camera off! Oh and unless he has a glove and a ball in the boot he is actually carrying an offensive weapon, get him rozza's!

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Richard D | 7 years ago
0 likes

Very, very clear evidence of careless driving and a Section 4 Public Order Act offence by the driver.

The cyclist did nothing wrong - he doesn't "bang on the car" so much as collide with it when left-hooked.

What's the betting that the Police do chuff all?  

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Jack Osbourne snr | 7 years ago
1 like

I didn't want to say that twice but the website insisted.

Duplicate post erased.

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Jack Osbourne snr | 7 years ago
4 likes

So the guy in the car is Willo?  10

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Mungecrundle | 7 years ago
1 like

You know how I said in another thread about:

"There's always something you could have done different"

Well in this case, that nearside rear door could really have done with a bigger scratch / dent / boot mark and the driver could have benefitted from having that baseball bat put safely out of harms way by being lodged firmly up his backside.

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B1gf00t | 7 years ago
1 like

or on the insurance database

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Stumps replied to B1gf00t | 7 years ago
1 like

B1gf00t wrote:

or on the insurance database

 

You'd be surprised how many cars are not on the databse. Some lesser known / smaller insurance companies dont submit their list of vehicles to it.

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craigp | 7 years ago
1 like

Vehicle also doesn't appear on the government tax checker?

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craigp | 7 years ago
0 likes

Did anyone notice the other cyclist was wearing a Royal Marine Commando top? The videoing cyclist didn't seem too intimidated by the idiot with the bat but that was some nice back up to have.

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Batchy | 7 years ago
0 likes

"Never saw you mate" (Despite the hi vis vest and helmet )"Just going to pick my adorable children up from rounders class, what else do you think the bat is for ? "

"Stupid Cyclist. You should have been paying more attention " says judge !

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Housecathst | 7 years ago
7 likes

They should have phoned the police there and then. As long  as they didn't mention that man being threaten was on a bike and the guy with the baseball bat had got out of a car they police would have turned in seconds with a fire arms unit. 

And given the mets record for gunning down people from ethnic minorities I wouldnt have fanced the drivers chnaces, the met would have probability called it a terrorist incident. 

But seeing as he got out of a car! Just driving without due care and attention if we're lucky. 

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DaveE128 | 7 years ago
1 like

Doesn't even know what a handbrake is - vehcile rolls after he gets out!

What driving skills :-o

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kraut | 7 years ago
3 likes

If someone threatens you with a baseball bat, I presume you're allowed to hit them first in self defense? 

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CStar | 7 years ago
6 likes

WTAF! So not only did he left hook him into a dead end road, while on the phone, he then threatens him with a baseball bat. Stupid and dangerous. Straight to the Police. First charge; carrying an offensive weapon. I bet there is no baseball or glove in the back of the car so it could only be there as a weapon.

I think the twat in the Polo is lucky the Royal Marine on the other bike took a very grown up approach and didn't put him on the floor face first. He'd 've every right to do so.

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vonhelmet | 7 years ago
4 likes

Ok, I'm backtracking a bit... I'd not watched the video earlier, only read the article, and it's not really accurate. It refers to the cyclist banging on the vehicle, which would have been stupid, but the cyclist didn't really "bang" it, so much as he "crashed into it" on account of being cut up with no room at all. So forgiven in this instance, though I stand by my point that under normal circumstances touching a car probably won't end well.

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Neill_M replied to vonhelmet | 7 years ago
2 likes

vonhelmet wrote:

Ok, I'm backtracking a bit... I'd not watched the video earlier, only read the article, and it's not really accurate. It refers to the cyclist banging on the vehicle, which would have been stupid, but the cyclist didn't really "bang" it, so much as he "crashed into it" on account of being cut up with no room at all. So forgiven in this instance, though I stand by my point that under normal circumstances touching a car probably won't end well.

Ironic that drivers are perfectly happy to use their cars as weapons with no concern for any damage to their vehicle when they drive them deliberatly at pesky cyclists.

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crazy-legs replied to Neill_M | 7 years ago
1 like

Neill_M wrote:

vonhelmet wrote:

Ok, I'm backtracking a bit... I'd not watched the video earlier, only read the article, and it's not really accurate. It refers to the cyclist banging on the vehicle, which would have been stupid, but the cyclist didn't really "bang" it, so much as he "crashed into it" on account of being cut up with no room at all. So forgiven in this instance, though I stand by my point that under normal circumstances touching a car probably won't end well.

Ironic that drivers are perfectly happy to use their cars as weapons with no concern for any damage to their vehicle when they drive them deliberatly at pesky cyclist.

^^ This.

Riding home from work I was about 30m behind a mate (fortunately far enough back to appear completely unconnected to him in the incident that followed). A car overtook in very slow moving traffic doing maybe only 1-2mph faster than we were. He drew level with my mate but couldn't really get past so just drove alongside him mere inches away. Mate taps gently on window to ask please give more space. Driver went absolutely apoplectic, got closer and closer. In that situation, even if  hated all cyclists, I'd have thought "oh, my car might get scratched, I'll give him more space".

I got chased once when I banged on the side of a panel van that cut me up. I never bang on the sides of vehicles anymore...

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crazy-legs replied to Neill_M | 7 years ago
0 likes

oops, double post

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handlebarcam | 7 years ago
8 likes

That happened so quick, no amount of rational restraint would have stopped me touching the car in that situation. Yes, if someone cuts you up, and then you catch them up at the next lights, it is extremely unwise to slap the bodywork of their car in retaliation. But that was a reflexive defence action. Of course, drivers never see it that way. This one seems genuinely puzzled by the notion that someone would put the safety of their own flesh and bone ahead of the paint job on his brand new car. It's not a big step to go from that attitude to thinking carrying a baseball bat to inflict actual bodily harm on anyone who crosses you is reasonable. He's a spoilt little brat, but that is what our society encourages. And the automobile is the most effective ever tool for training people to be assholes, starting while you're still in a booster seat and watching your parents drive (which, for this guy, was probably about two years ago.)

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londonbrick replied to handlebarcam | 7 years ago
6 likes

Black cab did the same thing to me on Saturday. Intuitive bang on the body was my only self defense. I am with you on this

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Yorkshire wallet | 7 years ago
5 likes

Cyclist should have called his bluff and nutted him. You don't get a baseball bat out and then stand right up to someone, you at least need swinging room. He would have had enough evidence to call pre-emptive defence. 

 

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dafyddp | 7 years ago
6 likes

I suspect he's been rehearning his moment of confrontation in front of a mirror, Travis Bickle style. When his moment comes, he fluffed it big-time.  He's very, very lucky the cyclist didn't grab the bat and turn it on him.

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vonhelmet | 7 years ago
4 likes

Never, ever touch a motorist's car. People go mental. Not saying that's right, but honestly, the response is entirely predictable from that point on.

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