Sussex police have identified the driver of a Jaguar car who launched an expletive-ridden tirade at a cyclist and also appeared to punch him in a road rage incident earlier this month.
Cyclist Eddie Bell, aged 38, posted video to YouTube of the incident, which took place near Pevensey Bay, East Sussex, the weekend before last. He made a note of the vehicle’s registration number and passed it on to Sussex Police.
Quoted in the Argus, a spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “Police have the video and have identified the driver. They will be investigating this as an incident of public place violent crime.”
Here’s the video of the incident. With 25 swear words in 37 seconds, it’s very definitely Not Suitable For Work:
From what Mr Bell says in the description to the YouTube video, it seems that the driver may have interpreted what the cyclist says was “a cheeky wave” as an altogether more insulting gesture, although even so the reaction would strike most as being way over the top.
Mr Bell said:
This guy pulled into the green cyclist box on the approach to Pevensey Bay indicating that he was turning left so I gestured as if to say what are you doing this is a cyclist / motorcycle box to protect us from what you're about to do.
He wound down the window and spat some abuse and then sped off turning left towards Beachlands. I gave him a cheeky wave (not anything more) and cycled on towards Eastbourne forgetting about the matter.
He later passed me very close and drove down to Martello Road where he waited for me. I noticed that my go-pro was dead and this is when I got my phone out as I could see what was going to happen. There is no preceding footage as my go-pro battery had died.
I took the video on my phone as I thought it would deter the driver from over reacting. With a bike between my legs and one of my feet still cleated into the pedals, what more could you expect me to do?
59 thoughts on “Police identify driver who unleashed torrent of abuse on Sussex cyclist (+ video)”
self protection on a bycyle:
self protection on a bycyle: http://zapatopi.net/blog/?post=201105171350.self-protection_on_a_cycle
Auto Pause… No wonder he
Auto Pause… No wonder he crapped his pants.
Interesting behaviour on
Interesting behaviour on British roads, I had a teenager shouting similar abuse at me on Huddersfield road not that long ago. He was driving behind me for about half a mile beebing, even though there was no oncoming traffic and I was not cycling in the middle of the road. (at least not until his beebing got on my nerfs) So he could have easily overtaken me. I still have visions of what i wish (but probably would not have done) if the guy had confronted me like that.
Who did he think he was ?
Who did he think he was ? Alan Ford or Ray Winstone ..definatly got his script from Guy Richie though :H
Yes driver of the car for
Yes driver of the car for your info you are a wanker a complete wanker infact, he would of been eating cleat & picking up parts of his car too
I think his brother must be
I think his brother must be driving the 760 TransDev bus from Leeds to Keighley last night.
Had a word with him after he came across the cycle lane to get round a right turning car.
He was out of his seat about to give me what for, until he noticed that three other cyclists had stopped to back me up… 😀
RedfishUK wrote:I think his
I hope you got a number plate, or at least an approximate time, combined with a half decent description of the driver it might be worth letting the company know. Both the driving behaviour and the response to your remonstration are entirely inappropriate and bring the company into disrepute.
Jeez those GoPros are clever
Jeez those GoPros are clever things. They even run out of battery when there’s a chance of recording something that might reflect badly on the owner.
Rather cross, isn’t he? As he
Rather cross, isn’t he? As he appeared to throw the first punch (and there looked to be witnesses to the fact, and his stance on the roadside was clearly premeditated), I’d like to think a subsequent chainring/cogset to the face and removal of his carkeys to the top of the nearest tree would have calmed things down and allowed time for the Police to arrive.
Of course, no-one wins a war.
KiwiMike wrote:Of course,
Except, of course, the winner?
Predictably the comments in
Predictably the comments in the local rag are supportive of the driver.
All this stuff will not stop until theres better education for all road users and the highway code is actually enforced.
‘Predictably the comments in
‘Predictably the comments in the local rag are supportive of the driver. ‘
Not surprising, given that we only see one side of the story…
andyp wrote:’Predictably the
W-T-***ACTUAL***-F has that got to do with it?
Would you mind clarifying what behaviour on the cyclist’s behalf would justify (morally or legally, take your pick) this sort of reaction?
KiwiMike wrote:andyp
W-T-***ACTUAL***-F has that got to do with it?
Would you mind clarifying what behaviour on the cyclist’s behalf would justify (morally or legally, take your pick) this sort of reaction?— andyp
‘not surprising’, not ‘rightly so’.
This guy is clearly an absolute plank. But, what happened before could have been *anything*. You and I, as cyclists, know to probably 99% accuracy that it was almost certainly absolutely nothing. Others don’t. So, some people are going to side with the driver in the absence of any evidence to the contrary. Human nature 🙁
andyp wrote:’Predictably the
It’s become more apparent to me a helmet cam or similar is a valuable device, particularly on certain routes, and this is a perfect example. I wear one daily on the bike commute.
What really shows how daft the driver is .. the cyclist is HOLDING a camera phone! You can’t get more obvious than that unless a camera crew follows you around everywhere. The driver deserves everything he’ll get, not only is he clearly a wanker, he is a stupid wanker.
In regards to those commenting in the local rag — they’re also the ones you need a helmet cam for.
Looks like the driver will be
Looks like the driver will be charged with assault.
What is wrong with this guy?
What is wrong with this guy? It really depresses me that there are people around who behave that way, and it depresses me even more to think that they might be in charge of a ton or two of metal.
It scares me that there are
It scares me that there are people out on the road like the car driver. What get’s into peoples heads to behave like Cavemen? Here’s hoping he gets charged and the experience is enough to dissuade him from behaving like this in the future, but he might hate cyclists even more……
I genuinely don’t know how i
I genuinely don’t know how i would react to that, my natural reaction would be to smack the silly c**t back twice as hard. But knowing how easilly i could be knocked over in cleats and over the bike, it would restrain me. I probably would’ve stopped by his car and waited for him to get back to it actually before remonstrating in the same manner…it just doen’t get any better.
As for what happened, the driver clearly thinks he was called a wanker, as he repeatedly states on the video. So we have a version of his side of the story too, if that’s all it takes to get him so very angry i worry for anyone else who meets him
This video illustrates why
This video illustrates why it’s never worth getting into a spat – you just never know when you’re messing with a psycho. Conversely, of course, I’d love to imagine the next cyclist this guy picks on is some pissed-off cage fighter that’s just found out his wife’s left him…
dafyddp wrote:This video
I’m constantly puzzled by the way the crazy-aggressive types manage to avoid getting into conflicts with each other more often than they do. I think they must have some sort of organisation working hard behind the scenes to avoid such inter-nutter conflicts. They probably work out schedules and time-tables to ensure they don’t cross paths too often. Or maybe they can sense each other’s presence in some mysterious fashion?
FluffyKittenofTindalos
=))
brilliant
Quote:Jeez those GoPros are
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
Read the description…
Its filmed with a mobile phone, not a GoPro (hence the ‘vertical’ video)
The owner got the camera out when the he saw the driver waiting for him. He’s not edited out anything.
ribena wrote:Quote:Jeez those
I was just about to say much the same thing. If his GoPro’s battery hadn’t run out he could have still edited the footage to remove whatever happened before.
thelimopit wrote:ribena
I was just about to say much the same thing. If his GoPro’s battery hadn’t run out he could have still edited the footage to remove whatever happened before.
Was also about to observe that! Surprised the comment got so many recommendations when it really doesn’t make sense – if there was something ‘reflecting badly on the user’ he could have just not mentioned the GoPro’s existence at all – it appears to have played no part in the affair.
I’m not quite sure why the
I’m not quite sure why the cyclist stopped. Having made the point in wasting the drivers time, i.e. he’s now stopped. I’d just carry on my merry way leaving the driver stood by the road looking silly.
I had a young lad pull over,
I had a young lad pull over, jump out of his car and stand in the road waiting for me. When I arrived, I stopped and straddled the bike for a bit of stability as he put his face in mine, just a couple of inches away.
“Did you call me a w***** because I drove too close to you?” He screamed at me. :))
Lost for words I was. :S
Words he
Words he forgot:
Willy
Fanny
Poo
Bum
Norks
Wimblers
Flaps
Danglers
Bugger
Balls
Banjax
Biscuits
Starfish
Crisps
Fish
Merkin
C*ttlefish
Here’s another word he
Here’s another word he forgot
Nobjockey
…he is just another ‘road tax’ freak, would be my guess.
Could be wrong.
stealth wrote:Here’s another
My guess is that he’s just a wanker, that knows, through repeated feedback from everyone that he comes into contact with, that he’s a wanker.
Unfortunately, because of the dominant trends in popular culture which suggest that cyclists may be messed with this particular wanker thinks he is going to get away with it.
This is a case where my inner liberal capitulates to my conservative super-ego and urges that caning and imprisonment are too good for him.
Don’t think I would have been
Don’t think I would have been so kind to the old w@&ker c@nt. I think reasonable force could have been applied to prevent him further assaulting the rider.
Whatever happened before,
Whatever happened before, this driver has clearly got anger management issues. The sooner there is a “fit and proper” caveat added to driving licences because mentally, this guy should not be on the road. If the rozzers can introduce a speed awareness course for speeding offences then surely it is time for an anger management course ? If you can’t keep it together you shouldn’t be behind the wheel of the car.
I hope this guy is made an example of. From the comments section it is patently clear this is needed “pour encouraged les autres”.
I really hope and wish that I
I really hope and wish that I dont ever get in to this situation as I will definitely put a fist on his face if he hits me. im sure once adrenaline kicks in I can somehow take off my shoes.
denzzz28 wrote:I really hope
This is only the internet, but I’m with you. I try to avoid this sort of thing, but if some git stops and threatens me then I hope to defend myself, and if you do succesfully then good on you.
Watching this it says that
Watching this it says that the cyclist put up his hand to show that the driver is in the wrong.
Although there’s nothing wrong with this, but I think I forget that hand gestures are so much more “visible” than in in a car.
I will try and be doubly cautious next time I’m remonstrating.
Judging by the driver’s
Judging by the driver’s behaviour I think he has done this or similar before. Maybe has a record already. If he doesn’t he will hopefully have one soon. He needs locking up. A Jag is a very poor choice of vehicle.
Airzound wrote:Judging by the
[[[[[ Er…no, because there’s always a first time for this stuff….but it certainly is behaviour “likely to lead to a breach of the peace”, or whatever they call it now. Makes you wonder if one-jag had been at the booze.
P.R.
PhilRuss wrote:Airzound
[[[[[ Oops! Sorry,this WAS a breach of the peace, committed by a thoroughly nasty piece of work.
P.R.
Dear Sussex Police,
We know
Dear Sussex Police,
We know the identity of the victim of this assault [1], now how about releasing the identity of the alleged perpetrator (i.e. the foul-mouthed, flabby old, pathetic cock in the video?)
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault
That incident made the local
That incident made the local paper!! My god even less happens in Sussex than here in North Wales.
Problem is this excuse for a human being will be a cult hero in his local pub to his face for making the papers but most people will know what he really is.
Judging by his age and car,
Judging by his age and car, there’s a possibility he’s a company director/owner. I’d like to see him identified and the full weight of a cyclist/friends-of-cyclist opprobrium brought down upon his wallet.
very very typical of the
very very typical of the attitude of british drivers who think they own the road.
If that had happened to me
If that had happened to me I’d have put my d-lock through his window screen as I rode passed his car.
I would have end up regretting if afterwards.
I’m sure that despite the fact that he had assaulted me the damage to his car would be seen as the greater offence
*sigh* Yeah … I’d rather
*sigh* Yeah … I’d rather have more cameras everywhere and more resources for the police. I don’t want to inflict violence on people, I want people to get done for it when they inflict violence on someone.
I’d wager his bark is a lot
I’d wager his bark is a lot worse than his bite.
How is it that we have
How is it that we have widespread campaigns to stop domestic violence, bullying/intimidation in the workplace and online. Yet as soon as someone gets in a car it is OK/accepted to bully/intimidate other road users whether they be in cars, on bikes or pedestrians. ~X(
It’s just not fair! I never
It’s just not fair! I never get to have these discussions with car drivers.
The wife says it’s because I’m 6’2″, 100kg, with a shaved head, beard and “a natural air of belligerence” [Whatever that means].
I think their just being unfriendly!
levermonkey wrote:
Haha…it’s well worth it when it happens. Happened to the bf & I once. Watching the little shit desperately trying to crawl up his backside & scuttle away apologising was hilarious!
I would have ridden down the
I would have ridden down the road and then wobbled off my bike and fallen into car as some sort of delayed reaction to getting punched kicked in. That lovely Jag might have got proper scratched up in my post face punched state.
Sorry but I’ve been in that
Sorry but I’ve been in that situation myself.
He was a wanker as well, I told him so again and when I threw my bike in the verge and approached him at speed he ran away like the wanker he was.
Am afraid that in the heat of the moment I would have reduced this particular wanker to a heap of shit snivelling for his mother.
You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry :&
Piss poor cyclist.
OAP
Piss poor cyclist.
OAP sitting behind the wheel of the Jag has more gaul than the active, not-so-fit cyclist.
Got to laugh, he’s waiting for him at the side of the road.
dogcc wrote:Piss poor
You have to be joking? Piss poor cyclist, why? Because he is a cyclist not a fighter? Get real. If that OAP had of been put on his arse there would have been an out cry. I remember a similar incident happening to me when the driver locked himself in the car because I sort of lost it. Big mistake on my part, the bloke was then sat in a few tone of iron I got away with out getting run over. Best to stay cool and report to police. It may be piss poor to some but being adult to most I suspect, I wish I had that much calm control in such a confrontational situation
Beefy wrote:dogcc wrote:Piss
You have to be joking? Piss poor cyclist, why? Because he is a cyclist not a fighter? Get real. If that OAP had of been put on his arse there would have been an out cry. I remember a similar incident happening to me when the driver locked himself in the car because I sort of lost it. Big mistake on my part, the bloke was then sat in a few tone of iron I got away with out getting run over. Best to stay cool and report to police. It may be piss poor to some but being adult to most I suspect, I wish I had that much calm control in such a confrontational situation— dogcc
Why?
Because he found himself in that situation and didn’t back himself up. Comes across as a wimp, surely after offering first bate by ticking the driver off surely.
As a cyclist you’ve got to be a ‘fighter’. Maybe now you know Why.
A good posting by the cyclist
A good posting by the cyclist I say, if it had been the other way round no doubt the press would be all over us cyclists like a rash..
if you are going to call
if you are going to call someone a wanker, you need to be prepared to back it up with firmly pointing out what he did to cause such a reaction. I have no idea what preceded this altercation. Had the cyclist said words to the effect ” sorry for swearing at you but you endangered my safety by…………..” some good might have come out of this. As it is , it just reinforced the drivers belief he had nothing wrong and had been unfairly abused.
“Am I a wanker or not?”
Yep,
“Am I a wanker or not?”
Yep, you’re a total wanker.
We should have a poll, Wanker
We should have a poll, Wanker /Not a Wanker….and once his name has been published(hopefully), send him the link. B-)
Always thought that a “
Always thought that a ” Driver’s permit 2 was required to drive a Vehicle , not an overdose of aggression ?
Seem to recall that some lose their licence for ” road rage ” , guess shanks pony is about to become the drivers means of transport , since i doubt he has the intelligence to ride a BIKE ?
Those that want to support Cyclists should ” LIKE ”
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vision-ZERO-Worldwide/540123632761709
costs a few seconds but the LIFE you help save , may well be your OWN !
I think that the cyclist
I think that the cyclist shows a good deal of self-control here. If I had found myself in this situation I almost certainly would have hit the bloke back. Looking at his body language as he approaches and the simple fact that he stopped his car to engage in a confrontation I might even have hit him first, probably with my chainring.