An Aberdeen cyclist has uploaded a video of when a driver flashed him a fake police ID in an attempt to intimidate him. The exchange took place shortly after the driver had passed at a distance the rider in question estimated to be less than half a metre.
The cyclist, who wishes to be known only by his YouTube username of Aberdeen Cycle Cam, told Aberdeen’s Press and Journal: “I have been cycling to work in Aberdeen for about 13 months. After ten months of harassment, bullying and a few near-misses on the road I decided to record all my commutes. This was the closest pass I have ever experienced.”
When the cyclist is on a roundabout, indicating to exit, the driver blasts his horn before executing what Aberdeen Cycle Cam has described as a ‘punishment pass’. When the man is then confronted at a subsequent red light, he blames Aberdeen Cycle Cam for riding in the middle of the road before claiming to be a serving police officer while brandishing the fake Northumbria Police ID.
“It is aggravated by the fact that the driver had clearly seen me previously on the roundabout and the close pass was on a double lane road. I wasn’t surprised that he tried to blame me – it’s common practice.”
Aberdeen Cycle Cam reported the incident to the police and a spokeswoman confirmed: “This man is in no way connected to Northumbria Police.”
Writing underneath the video, Aberdeen Cycle Cam says that both Aberdeen and Northumbria Police have spoken to the driver who is said to be ‘very remorseful’, attributing his actions to ‘a moment of madness’. A verbal warning was issued.
32 thoughts on “VIDEO: Driver displays fake police ID to cyclist after being confronted over ‘punishment pass’”
I would have thought easy,
I would have thought easy, low hanging fruit;
Evidence of careless driving:
impersonating a plod.
Oh, not on a bike.
A weird thing happened to me
A weird thing happened to me a couple of years ago. I was driving my car at night in the rain and found myself in a lane I shouldn’t have been in. I indicated that I needed to move left, I took my time, I thought I looked carefully in every mirror and then I manoeuvred. With a flashing headlight in my rear view mirror I then discovered that I’d accidentally cut up a scooter rider. At the next set of lights the guy drew up at my side window and had a go at me. For some bizarre reason I told him that I couldn’t see him because he was all in black. I have no idea why I got so defensive when I simply should have apologised for what was entirely my mistake. The scooter rider then got overly aggressive and so I had to drive off, but I was so ashamed for behaving like such a cock. There’s something about driving a car turns ordinary people into bell-ends.
My point? I’m not sure. Probably the fake police officer cobblers. A very silly thing to do, but worthy of a bollocking only. Over the years of commuting by bike I’ve come to the conclusion that confrontation is best avoided if possible, no matter how right you are.
I think I am a safe driver
I think I am a safe driver but twice over the years have had motorcyclists give me grief for pulling out in front of them. In one case, I was in a Land Rover with its less-than-perfect visibility, pulling out of a T-junction with a blind approach. I literally crept out, but a guy (doing a good 60 mph in a 30 zone) claimed I had cut him off.
Second time, in London traffic, I indicated a lane change, head checked and as I moved over, got hooted at by – again – a motorcyclist who had been behind me in my lane (so should have seen my indicator) but with his aggressive acceleration “took” the lane.
I’m also a motorcyclist (through about 20 countries now) and in general, I think the driver behind has to be aware that the driver in front may have limited visibility. If you see a vehicle indicating a move and ignore it – or think “I’m in the right – I don’t have to move” you’re courting trouble.
CanAmSteve wrote:If you see a
You’re correct but the cyclist rode in an almost perfect manner and the “copper” in the Volvo attempted to undertake him on a roundabout before endangering his life with a punishment pass. This incident isn’t about courtesy on the roads but a wilful disregard for the safety of a vulnerable road user.
To be honest a lot of people here are clamouring for him to be charged for impersonating a police officer – I’d feel a lot happier if he was pursued for the more serious offence of dangerous driving or at least driving without due consideration for other road users – it sounds like the police didn’t even entertain this so we protest that he wasn’t charged with an arguably less serious crime as a means to punish him for his real transgression.
CanAmSteve wrote:I think I am
If your car, van, lorry or whatever has limited visibility then it’s not fit to be on the road and the driver has a responsibility to sort it out or get it off the road. You can’t use limited visibility as an excuse.
Jonny_Trousers wrote:A weird
I was talking to one of my commuting buddies about just this thing the other day.
I, like, I suspect, most of us who ride a bicycle, also drive and I ride a motorbike. It obviously gives you a perspective right across the board. As a cyclist and a motorcyclist I witness driving that beggars belief, leaves me dumbfounded when I see it. And yet, as a driver, I have to stop myself from getting worked up when I’m made to pause during my journey for anything that I see as unnecessarily holding me up: I had to give myself a right talking to on one drive to work last week because I got annoyed at having to briefly stop whilst someone let their kids out of the car in front of a school.
So, yes. Getting behind a wheel really does turn people into absolute dickheads. Even those who have plenty of experience as more vulnerable road users. I’d love to know what it is about the car that flicks this switch? Is it the inherent feeling of safety and/or superiority because you’re surrounded by metal and glass?
So the police aren’t bother
So the police aren’t bother by him impersonating a police officer, isn’t that a crime ?
I find this puzzling, its
I find this puzzling, :/ its one thing to say you are an officer…but to happen to have to hand a fake i.d.? That is surely not a moment of madness, unless in his stress he magiced it up…
I’m sure he doesn’t have a
I’m sure he doesn’t have a fake police Id just to pull on cyclists. Surely it suggest some other criminal behaviour
I just assumed he was
I just assumed he was blagging it. Flashing any old ID and claiming it was for the police.
It’s a criminal offence to
It’s a criminal offence to have an article of Police equipment, this includes a warrant card. Impersonating a Police officer or PCSO is (depending on extent and circumstance) subject to imprisonment or at the minimum a fine.
The fact this character had a fake card in his wallet and used it to justify dangerous behaviour suggests he’s up to far more than ‘just’ cutting up cyclists and it’s amazing he got off with a warning.
Velo_Alex wrote:
The fact
[[[[[ So who says the fake cop was given a warning? The Police say he was given a warning….I wonder if the police really did that (despite the seriousness of the offence). Call me cynical, but I could well believe the report got binned, given a recent news-shocker about unfiled reports of far more serious crimes than this one. Cyclist fobbed off with fib?
P.R.
Thick cunt driver.
Thick cunt driver.
Sometimes you have to wonder
Sometimes you have to wonder why we have a police force, especially if they treat IPO so lightly X(
Getting a bit bored of this
Getting a bit bored of this site just re-hashing news from other cycling sites, I saw this at the weekend
Police Act 1996 Sec 90
Police Act 1996 Sec 90 sub-Sec 1 “Any person who with intent to deceive impersonates a member of a police force….or makes a statement or dose any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is a member or constable, shall be guilty of an offence…. up to 6 Months or a level 5 fine”
If your not happy with the way you have been dealt with…Complain…. that’s why we have MPs let them earn there keep
good quality Video =D>
Well done cyclist, perfectly
Well done cyclist, perfectly polite.
But the driver was completely calm, i dont believe the moment of madness claim…
On thinking, he does not say
On thinking, he does not say he is northumbria police, so presumably whatever he showed had that on it? Otherwise all he said was ‘i am serving police officer….’
Which suggests he did have something fake set up….
And nobody even considered
And nobody even considered that the police may not be telling the truth?
How can carrying a Fake
How can carrying a Fake Police ID possibly be classed as a moment of madness? Never mind the careless driving. Its about time the police took incidents like this seriously.
I had a close pass from a guy
I had a close pass from a guy who claimed to be police. He was just as idiotic as this fella, saying I was well out from the side of the road, etc etc. he didn’t have a piece of card, just full uniform and a liveried transit.
Quote:Aberdeen Cycle Cam
How is this ‘a moment of madness’ for which a verbal warning was issued? He had a fake ID!
I was under the impression its a criminal act to impersonate a police officer…? Like, a “get him to court and if he falls repeatedly into a wall then ho-hum” criminal act?
(Mind you, stopping beside a car, looking very serious and starting your sentence with “Is there a problem, sir?” when screamed at is always a good way to defuse a situation on the road… They might think I might be a police officer, but I couldn’t possibly comment)
Seems fairly typical
Seems fairly typical behavior;
– Dangerous driving
– Driver unable to see how their poor driving is the problem and is the cause of the incident
– Blames it on someone who is exhibiting textbook riding
– Makes up non existent rules/laws (you need to ride in the edge) or gives a false representation of events (it was single lane) to justify their arguments
I see this all the time. As to claiming to be a police officer, I couldn’t really tell from the video if the ID he flashed was just a library card or was make up to be a fake police ID. If it was the former then I think a caution is OK, but if the latter then this is a deliberate and premeditated crime and they guy clearly needs to be investigated and arrested. As someone else said, having a fake police ID could indicate other criminal activities.
Who would be surprised to
Who would be surprised to find the driver was not really interviewed?
Or that he is a retired police officer with an old badge?
This guy should be getting
This guy should be getting arrested for this, no dought about it!!!
A verbal warning is not
A verbal warning is not sufficient for what this guy did. He should be prosecuted. Otherwise, the message it sends out is that this kind of dangerous bullying behaviour is tolerated.
I would be interested to know if he is a retired police officer.
I believe the police are
I believe the police are fed-up with cyclists and with their general low morale following cuts, despite the danger on the roads being from drivers. I sense a cannot be bothered attitude and doubt if the report was actioned in the way they say. My PC brother says it’s a serious offence – well, we all know that!
This fake PO is a wet noodle
This fake PO is a wet noodle bit like that Ritchie Porte fellow.
Real PO would start flaming you on how he’d have you for dinner only if it wasn’t for the fact he was off duty.
What you see here are two idiots just asking for it.
I’ve had the same thing –
I’ve had the same thing – someone pretending to be a police officer after some pretty shit driving. Police weren’t interested.
‘The inherent feeling of
‘The inherent feeling of superiority” , there’s something in that. I have to remind myself i’m in charge of two tons of metal sometimes. Each mode of transport does ‘implant’ a bit of predisposition. Motorcycling too has its impact as the brain works faster everything else seems time lagged. One guy gave me a ‘wave’ when he had to change his line on a bend during the summer. I could totally sympathise with his fustration at not carving the apex, though in reality it would have been stupid for me to start taking evasive action for something catching up at such a closing speed. I’m worried if I drove an artic I’d be running ‘rolling roadblocks’ rather than put a finger on the cruise control after a few months….
None of which excuses fake id, looks like plod needed to dig a little deeper there.
Childish dickhead driver
Childish dickhead driver flashes library card and calls it police id in a pathetic attempt to shut up some knob who rides around trying to engineer situations so he can post it on youtube in fit of attention seeking puffed up self rightious indignation. What a pair of pillocks, they deserve each other.
Very bored of such behaviour.
Very bored of such behaviour. I’d rerefer to police demanding they use the powers given to them by parliament and refer to CPS for correct prosecution. No more excuses, either something is illegal or it isn’t.
The police cannot adopt a fairweather approach to the law, it’s unjust and a very slippery slope.
Insist he’s prosecuted, I see no reason for police apathy at all.If they drag their heels demand your MP takes an interest.