UPDATE: Police looking into moped rider caught on cam trying to kick London cyclist

Some of the responses to your post were a bit over the top, better to vent on a forum than to commit some kind of road rage though.

fatsimonstan wrote:

I hadn't really appreciated the sheer stupidity and aggression of some drivers towards cyclists. Far above what I experience from drivers when I'm behind the wheel myself.

Sadly, it seems the general equation goes, human beings + power-over-others = viciousness. (Though maybe there's a +X on the LHS of that equation, where X is some mysterious cultural factor.)

Cycling on the road sometimes feels like participating in that infamous Stanford prison experiment as an inmate.

Whirlio wrote:

- this and other slightly less aggressive driving (and cycling) happens all the time in Central London. The place is full of road rage, as well as careless, unqualified, and uninsured driving, lemming-like pedestrians and terrible cycling. The video is frightening and does show violent road rage but I'm almost numb to it because I see a lot that is, say, a quarter to half as bad as this.

I agree with you completely on this. I cycle every day in Central London and have lived and cycled all round the city and experienced all levels of craziness/aggression/competency from cars, vans, taxi's, buses, scooters, pedestrians and cyclists, I’ll even admit that I've done the occasional stupid thing myself (sacrilege I know).

On the morning of this post an M&S van driver actually lent out of his window and tried to push me into another lane because I was in the right-hand lane to go right (where I was going) instead of the left-hand lane to go left (where I wasn’t going) and only going about 25mph. He couldn’t get to the red light 50 yards up the road quickly enough apparently.

That's one of the more extreme examples, as is this article, but it did make me break out in a wry smile seeing the angry comments later that day as the (thankfully very) occasional violent attack as in this case, or, more much frequent lack of road manners or becoming enraged at someone else wasting 3 seconds of your oh so valuable time is very common amongst all road users in London it seems to me. When I first started cycling in the capital I used to get very angry myself all the time at the near misses, abuse and occasional use of vehicles as weapons. I now just give them a smile and try to engage them in a friendly discussion (most of the time). This doesn't always work but makes me a much happier cyclist. I stopped in front of the van on this occasion and another cyclist who saw the incident from behind got very angry and urged me to take his license number, which I should have done, but, because I was late for work I just cycled on after umm’ing and arr’ing for a minute only for the full realisation of what had happened to hit me once I’d stopped for a minute later on. I don’t have a camera myself, but it’s incidents like this that remind me it’s sadly almost a must in Central London if you cycle every day, I can’t speak for other cities.

I’d also like to say that despite all the above it’s still by miles and miles the best way to get around and I arrive at work in a much better mood (most mornings) than I ever did using public transport or driving.

Whirlio wrote:

The place is full of road rage, as well as careless, unqualified, and uninsured driving, lemming-like pedestrians and terrible cycling. The video is frightening and does show violent road rage but I'm almost numb to it because I see a lot that is, say, a quarter to half as bad as this. We need to somehow concentrate on a productive and constructive response that improves attitudes and relationships. I haven't got any great ideas myself apart from trying to be a considerate cyclist and not react angrily every time I nearly get knocked off, but inviting comments on these videos seem like endless negative reinforcement. My petty comment about core activation was an example - distasteful and I'm sorry again but it was meant to show a potentially constructive use of the video.

From this section, it sounds like you've gotten used to the abuse and see it as a 'normal' by now. I can understand that, doing Zone 1 & 2 myself most days of the week, including weekends.

However, the type of behaviour we deal with every day isn't at all OK, and that's why your statement is getting such a vitriolic response.

I actually do feel that the behaviour in the video is intentional, criminal, and should be pursued not as a 'road traffic issue' but as attempted GBH at least.

Yes, lots of "us cyclists" are knobs... and very high on our metal or carbon horses. Plenty of us drive, and hopefully well, but a section don't and won't ever get it.

But the problem is the careless, and at times straight out homicidal, drivers of armoured metal boxes.

jmaccelari wrote:

Having ridden New Kent Road in these conditions on many occasions, all I can say is that Chi's taking of the primary position is quite understandable, both from a visibility as well as a road conditon point of view. There are some horrible potholes and covers nearer the pavement.

Fine, take the primary position when you spot a pothole, then pull back in once you've past it. Simples!

pants wrote:

On another note, I've been waiting for an update for the moped rider to be caught, but nothing so far. Hopefully the poo-lice will actually do something with the number plate in full view. That road is a part of my commute everyday.

The po-lice DGAF. I guarantee they will do absolutely NOTHING.

pants wrote:

From now on whenever I get out the saddle I will shout 'CORE ACTIVATED!'.

shortly after that will you deploy the flux capacitor..and attempt 88mph...

seven wrote:

"Whirlio" wrote:

Better would be to concentrate on activating your core so your upper body doesn't waggle around so much

Kelcha was too polite to say it, but I'm not: In the context of the rest of your comment, have you any idea how much of an ar5ehole that statement makes you look?

You're saying what many of us are thinking.

There's a distinct whiff of victim blaming in most of these sorts of comments. If I'm feeling charitable then I assume that the poster is trying to reassure themself that "it couldn't happen to me because I $insert-magic-here". If I'm feeling grumpy then I suspect that the poster is lacking in intelligence or morals.

I've got to say that "activating your core" is a good one, must be something that people do after aligning their chakras.

Whirlio wrote:

I'm going to play devil's advocate here... firstly I'm glad nobody got hurt and I understand this guy probably didn't start this altercation (although we don't know), but riders with GoPros who act all haughty when observing substandard driving and shout out car / moped registration numbers for their youtube followers.... well I find them pretty annoying and embarrassing too, even as a fellow cyclist. To then post your video on youtube to whip up the baying mob and potentially not show the police, well it just doesn't sound very constructive to me.

Better would be to concentrate on activating your core so your upper body doesn't waggle around so much, rather than posting this to enthusiast websites, which just invites comments like one of the above, offering to slash the tyres of the moped if it can be found; it all just escalates the us vs them mentality which is really unhelpful.

I guess you missed the bit where the moped rider tried to kick the lad off his moving bike, then?

I agree with your sentiment in general. It just doesn't fairly apply here.

Hi Whirlio

I just wanted to clarify a few things as I know your comment is based on some assumptions.
Chi is actually a good friend of mine and it was actually me who asked road.cc to publish the story to spread the word, obviously with Chi's consent.

Firstly Chi uploaded the video to youtube not because he has a big following of fans but because he uses a android and wanted to share this awful commute home with his friends and fellow cyclist such as myself. Google + uses youtube as a way to share video.
Chi chooses to cycle with a camera as he has had many incidents of people running across his path whilst on the way to work (his commute includes navigating down whitehall Regent street and Soho. He wanted to make sure if anything serious happened to him or a pedestrian he would have proof of the incident instead of being blamed point blank.
n such weather conditions he did not known if he would be able to capture the plate on video so he actually calls out the number plate as he knows he wont be able to remember it during the shock of almost being kicked of his bike, its actually called fast thinking. Sure he could have edited or bleeped it out, but again it was suppose to be for his friends to view.
And lastly, yes the video was actually sent to the police, it went to Metro after submitting as evidence to the police.
I hope this paints a better picture of what actually happened and that he is not doing this for thumbs up on his youtube video.

Whirlio wrote:

I'm going to play devil's advocate here... firstly I'm glad nobody got hurt and I understand this guy probably didn't start this altercation (although we don't know), but riders with GoPros who act all haughty when observing substandard driving and shout out car / moped registration numbers for their youtube followers.... well I find them pretty annoying and embarrassing too, even as a fellow cyclist. To then post your video on youtube to whip up the baying mob and potentially not show the police, well it just doesn't sound very constructive to me.

Better would be to concentrate on activating your core so your upper body doesn't waggle around so much, rather than posting this to enthusiast websites, which just invites comments like one of the above, offering to slash the tyres of the moped if it can be found; it all just escalates the us vs them mentality which is really unhelpful.

Critchio wrote:

You have a decent offence of Causing Danger to Road Users there, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment (yes it covers cycles).

Lifetime ban from driving would be a more suitable punishment. The points/suspensions consequences involved in dangerous driving cases (not just ones involving cyclists but also where victims are other motorists or pedestrians) can be bizarrely lenient, even where death is caused.

You can argue the toss about the use of prison in these cases as a deterrent, a punitive measure etc. but the is no question that this sort of criminal should, if convicted, never be allowed on the road again as an issue of public safety.

Ghedebrav wrote:

Critchio wrote:

You have a decent offence of Causing Danger to Road Users there, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment (yes it covers cycles).

Lifetime ban from driving would be a more suitable punishment. The points/suspensions consequences involved in dangerous driving cases (not just ones involving cyclists but also where victims are other motorists or pedestrians) can be bizarrely lenient, even where death is caused.

You can argue the toss about the use of prison in these cases as a deterrent, a punitive measure etc. but the is no question that this sort of criminal should, if convicted, never be allowed on the road again as an issue of public safety.

You are correct; Causing Danger and Dangerous Riding. That takes care of the ban