It’s a shocking incident involving a car occupant, a cyclist and a totally unjustified punch.
But this time it is a cyclist who struck a female car passenger through an open car window reports the Hertfordshire Mercury.
The incident happened on Tuesday July 12 at around 5pm in the Hertfordshire town of Stanstead Abbotts. A male cyclist wearing a white helmet, white cycling top with black stripe down the back, black shorts and riding a blue road bike is said to have struck the woman while the black Vauxhall Corsa in which she was a passenger was travelling along the town’s Roydon Road.
The cyclist, described as white, is said to have then thrown his bike to the ground before approaching the car. He then remounted and rode off in the direction of the High Street.
No other details of the incident are mentioned in the Mercury’s report – we have contacted Hertfordshire police to see if they can provide further details.
The victim, a woman in her 20s from Ware, sustained minor injuries to her face as a result of the assault.
PC Kerry Read of the Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “This was a busy time of the day on the roads and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed this incident or who may be able to identify the offender, to contact me as soon as possible."
Anyone with information about the assault is urged to call Herts. Constabulary via their non-emergency number or call Crimestoppers, the independent charity, on 0800 555 111.
43 thoughts on “Witness appeal for road rage cyclist who punched female passenger through moving car window”
I’m not condoning whats
I’m not condoning whats happened but this bit: “said to have then thrown his bike to the ground before approaching the car. He then remounted and rode off in the direction of the High Street” leads me to believe there was probably a bit of previous.
Again, I’m not trying to justify what he has done or anything I just think that perhaps the “innocent party” may not be completely innocent, but then I’m just going off what I have read.
Agreed that this sounds like
Agreed that this sounds like the tail end of the incident rather than the whole thing. Inexcusable though whatever happened before.
We have spoken to Herts
We have spoken to Herts Constabulary to ask if anything happened prior to the assault but so far they have not been able to offer any further details. However, as per Chuck’s post, it goes without saying that such actions are inexcusable.
There are inherently
There are inherently aggressive people who ride bikes, and inherently aggressive people who drive cars. But, in my experience, only cars can cause normally mild-mannered people to act aggressively. Something to do with the sensation of power, feeling of invulnerability at least in urban environments, and extension of the private realm into public spaces. None of which excuses this individual, but it is worth remember if this gets picked up by media organisations that have previously reported on the Bexley incident and would seeking to use this incident to provide “balance.”
Good job Cavendish and Mark “Head-butt” Renshaw have a pretty good alibi.
handlebarcam wrote:….but it
Exactly. Then we’ll never see the end of it. “No helmet camera, uh?” and “They should carry number plates”, and blah, blah, blah!
:))
Does it matter if anthyng
Does it matter if anthyng happened previous to the assault?????? I can’t believe I’m reading these comments!!! Do you think that those thugs in Bexley got out of their car to punch a cyclists because they didn’t like his clothes or his face???? Something DID happen before the incident (“I remonstrated w/the driver” but we don’t know exactly what words were said, do we?), that’s bleeding obvious, but nobody questioned that in the forum, b/c the victim was a cyclist. So when the perpetrator is one of our own, we look for justifications???? C’mon!!! We are better than that!
I don’t give a shit why this happened. I had wanted to punch a lot of drivers, scratch their cars, throw a D-lock through their windscreens, but I stopped myself b/c I’m not a freaking thug! And this guy is, end of story. You don’t punch people, full stop.
And don’t get me started on the fact that it was a woman who was punched…..
Thats a lot of question marks
Thats a lot of question marks for one post, but that aside, yes it probably does matter what happened previous to this.
If the cyclist has reacted to something and smacked the woman its wrong and cant be excused but it could be understood why he’s lost his head.
If he has just decided to belt the woman with no provocation at all then it suddenly becomes much, much worse.
LondonCalling wrote: Do you
Entirely possible. People yell at me, throw things, pass too close (while doing all the above) when I’m just riding along.
Agreed.
Again.. Assault, and you can
Again.. Assault, and you can disregard what has happened prior. There is no excuse for stopping your vehicle either 2 or 4 wheels, and punching someone. Given the victim was a woman then it brings in a whole new set of ethics.
Wow, there’s some short term
Wow, there’s some short term memory in this thread. This is the kind of shite being written in the Standard about the Bexley assault – comments basically stating “oh, well, the cyclist must have done something to cause the driver to punch him” etc.
farrell – It absolutely does not matter what happened before – assault is wrong, no question. And not only that, we’re talking about a man punching a woman – call me old fashioned, but in my book that makes him an even bigger piece of s**t…
Props to LondonCalling for the posts above!
jijiandnoah wrote:farrell –
I’m not saying he was right, I’m not justifying what he has done, I thought I had stated that previously, but if he has lamped someone with absolutely no provocation doesnt that make it even worse?
There is no excuse for
There is no excuse for punching anyone. Man, woman, it doesn’t matter. This, if it happened, because remember we don’t know what happened yet, is assault, pure and simple. It doesn’t matter what came before.
It doesn’t matter that the passenger was a woman.
Now, if the woman assaulted the cyclist first, by throwing something at him, or punching him as the car went past — things that I know have happened to other cyclists — then she should also be dealt with for assault. Perhaps a court may decide that would be a mitigating factor.
However, right now we have insufficient information to come to any conclusions. There’s no video to look at here.
Sam
If the car was moving as the
If the car was moving as the report says, and the cyclist could land a punch on the passenger, was it passing too close? Not that it excuses the assault, but it sounds pretty odd.
Don’t you need the word
Don’t you need the word “alleged” in there somewhere? At present we have a claim by one party which may or may not be true. Until there is corroboration from a witness or the cyclist or forensics then it is no more than an allegation.
Also how easy is it to cycle alongside the inside of a moving car and land a punch on the passenger’s face through the window? Not a manoeuvre I would attempt.
@Tony, possibly, but the
@Tony, possibly, but the Hertfordshire Constabulary haven’t qualified their account of what happened so on that basis neither have we.
http://www.herts.police.uk/hertfordshire_constabulary/latest_news/130611_-_0362/0539_-_130711.aspx
In terms of witnesses, you have to assume the car driver/other occupants have corroborated the woman’s story, but this appeal is, at least in part, about finding independent witnesses.
Christ!
That’s only a few
Christ!
That’s only a few hundred yards from the start of the E64/10. I rode through there last night before the I headed to the start line. I’m glad there wasn’t anyone out looking to take retribution on another cyclist.
I went back to the original
I went back to the original Bexley story here on road.cc and read the comments again.
Only one poster suggested that the cyclist might have “provoked” the attack by “antagonizing” the driver (or something like that). He was called all sorts of names by most people that post here. We are outraged by the actions of the guy in the car and we don’t even question that something might have happened before. Which it obviously has. I don’t think he goes around punching cyclists just for the kicks.
Yet, a very similar incident happens between a car driver and a cyclist in which the cyclist is the perpetrator of violence, and we start questioning it all.
I try, but I can’t help it. I really can’t. I can’t help thinking that the reason behind this questioning of the motives is that the victim is female. She is a woman, the blame must lie on her, surely.
And that really, really pisses me off!!
X(
LondonCalling wrote:I went
I must say I’m astonished by your last paragraph about people questioning motives because the victim is a woman, and is therefore somehow to blame. I really don’t see where you get that angle on it from.
I think people were just observing there is very likely more to this than somebody just riding up to a car and giving the occupant a punch, just as in the Bexley story there was more to it than a driver stopping and punching a cyclist. That’s not to suggest that the assailant’s actions in either case were somehow justified.
LondonCalling wrote:I try,
Wow, I think we have this weeks winner of the most ludicrous comment award.
What have you managed to mine that opinion out from?
The problem is that for
The problem is that for rational people to question the thoughts and actions of irrational people is just plain futile. Unfortunately there *are* people that go around punching people for the hell of it.
Arguments can get quite heated before actual fisty cuffs start, so you either have a situation where the perpetrator is irrational and or violent, or something has happened to push that person over the top. The rest s just conjecture
as bang out of order as the
as bang out of order as the **** in Bexley.
Assault is assault. It’s one
Assault is assault. It’s one thing to get annoyed at the unreasonable behaviour of another road user (what cyclist, motorcyclist or car driver hasn’t?), and quite another to use force in response. Punching someone is wrong, plain and simple. It is not an acceptable way of dealing with any altercation in civilised society, even in Bexley!
OldRidgeback wrote:Assault is
Or indeed Stanstead Abbotts. Totally agree OldRidgeback
tony_farrelly
Or in Dartford come to think of it.
Quote:I try, but I can’t help
I think if you actually read the above comments, i’d say in fact we have a clear majority against the perpetrator of the assault, and yes he’s a cyclists and we’re on a cycling forum..
I think you may have got mixed up with some of us suggesting it’s wrong to hit Women, not that it’s right to hit Men you understand. Most Men are raised to respect Women and certainly not to hit them, in any circumstance. This of course has nothing to do with the incident
wow. for once, the cyclist
wow. for once, the cyclist gets their own back on the driver.
The fact that this guy was wearing a helmet suggests that he is a regular cyclist (cue the critics). I must admit I’ve never thought of punching a driver in an incident. They always seem to be so concerned about their cars that scratching their paintwork seems much more of a good option.
I agree, he should not have
I agree, he should not have punched the girl. If he gets found then tough.
If the woman started
If the woman started something, then she has learned that actions have consequences and not all of them pleasant. (Sometimes equal opportunities are just that).
The chap on the bike should have stopped and phoned Herts police and reported any wrongdoing not meted out his own justice. The fact that the “victim” was a woman should not matter, it would be equally bad if it had been a man, child or donkey!
Referring to the BCF Road
Referring to the BCF Road Riding Guide (Section 6.01.A4) The correct procedure is to make eye contact with the offender, whip the nearside hand smartly from the bars into an upright fist and extend the middle finger. If you wish to avoid escalation – and the offending driver is a man – use the same procedure but waggle the little finger instead of extending the middle finger. It confuses the ape and by the time he realises you are referring to the size of his manhood a mile has past and it’s too late.
And in reference to Bexley
And in reference to Bexley Man – when approached by assailant: raise bike into horizontal position wheels towards attacker. Advance greasy and sharp chain rings towards face of assailant at pace. Remember: Lightweight bikes aren’t just for climbing – they’re a trusty shield and sword in one! Even the most cocky of drivers doesn’t fancy a mouthful of 53/39 or their Bench polo shirt smeared in oil.
TO be honest, what the guy
TO be honest, what the guy has done is wrong, end of.
But I myself have been on the end of reckless driving that has nearly killed me and other road users at the same time and only last week had a woman in a Freelander scream abuse at me and a mate as she tried to overtake…… I did my usual smile and wave, and she slammed her brakes on, in the middle of the road ffs, and then got out and started screaming, and I mean screaming, at us again. She almost caused a very nasty accident.
I shook my head, smiled, wagged my finger at her and rode on…….. were the police interested when I gave them her number? No. “6 of one, half a dozen of the other”
And therein, for me, lies the problem. If the authorities followed up complaints from cyclists and took them more seriously, maybe, just maybe, this sort of incident could be avoided.
Just my take folks.
PhilWalker wrote:TO be
I have said before that post traumatic stress disorder could play a part in many road rage attacks.
The bloke sounds a thug but
The bloke sounds a thug but we are only getting half the story 😕
And who were the witnesses?
And who were the witnesses? Probably just the lady herself, I expect she recieved the “minor facial injuries” doing her make up while driving…..
You can’t decide that the
You can’t decide that the cyclist was wrong because you don’t have enough information. For all we know the woman could have been hanging out of the window swinging a knife at him but as we only have her side of the story there’s no point jumping to conclusions.
And I object to the headline
And I object to the headline “totally unjustified punch.” How do we know that? If it was self defense then it could have been totally justified.
Self defence from what
Self defence from what jazzdude? She was the passenger so if he was trying to defend himself from the way the car was being driven he was going a funny way about it. Unless she had a gun he wasn’t in much danger from her was he, and if she did… well, riding up and punching her in the face could be considered reckless in the extreme… her 9mm must have jammed.
I’m sure we haven’t heard the whole story but even if we ever do (and that’s the reason for the police witness appeal) it still won’t excuse what the cyclist did.
Maybe, just maybe it’s worth considering that cyclists can be in the wrong sometimes? You might be a much more virtuous rider than me, but I know that over the years I’ve been involved in more than one incident with motorists where afterwards I regretted the way I’d behaved, but even I haven’t punched one yet… or their passenger.
My whole point is that we
My whole point is that we don’t know because we have very limited information. The self defense remark is to illustrate that maybe the punch was justified. If someone (man or woman) ran at you with a weapon and your reflex action was to punch them in the face then that would be justified. But as I said before, as we don’t know then there is no point trying to speculate.
And similarly how can the
And similarly how can the journalist qualify the statement that the punch was totally unjustified without hearing the cyclists version of events?
jazzdude wrote:And similarly
Unless she physically attacked him and the punch was self-defence, then it was unjustified. That’s the law in a nutshell.
We don’t know what she did in possibly aggravating the situation. If she said or did something that angered him then he has every right to be angry, but not to throw a punch in response. I think it unlikely that she was physically attacking him while sat in a car. In other words, the cyclist’s punch was unjustified.
She didn’t run at him tho did
She didn’t run at him tho did she, she was in the passenger seat of a car.
Speaking from experience if someone runs at you with violent intent when you’re on your bike the simplest and most effective response is to ride off sharpish it makes them look very silly when the red mist starts to fade and they are floundering along some way behind.
@oldridgeback And the key
@oldridgeback And the key phrase here is you “think it unlikely” without knowing for sure. You are all making assumptions about what probably happened and jumping to the conclusion that the cyclist was in the wrong when there is no way for you to know. That is my point. The main thing here is that the cyclist has the right to a fair hearing and until that happens no-one has the right to assume he was in the wrong.
I think its fair to say he
I think its fair to say he was in the wrong.
Surely its just a matter of finding out just how wrong.