Driver sacked after Twitter 'joke' about hitting a cyclist

A young stockbroker has been sacked this afternoon after joking on Twitter earlier today about hitting a cyclist.

Rayhan Qadar, a graduate at Hargreaves Lansdown posted this to Twitter at 8:05 this morning:

That tweet elicited a storm of criticism from other Twitter users. Qadar later apologised and claimed it had been "a bad joke on my part".

But that doesn't seem to have been enough for his employers. 

A spokesman for the investment company told the Bristol Post: "One of our employees has failed to conduct themselves to the standards we expect of our staff.

"We find these online comments totally unacceptable.

"Upon becoming aware of this issue we have terminated this person's employment with immediate effect."

Qadar's initial tweet caused a swift and angry reaction from other Twitter users.

David Stewart posted: "You really are a #cockwomble, enjoy your visit from the plod"

Adam Whittaker said: "You know what's dumber than leaving the scene? Tweeting it for the world to see. I'll be following your case."

Annabel Staff said: "Dear oh dear, you ignorant prick, hopefully you won't have a job to get to by the end of the day, enjoy going to court #Scum"

Germain Burton said: "That's not funny you clown!"

And Greater Manchester Police had this advice: "If you hit a cyclist, you are obliged to stop. I suggest you call 101 as soon as possible, I will forward the details on."

A few hours after his initial post, Qadar claimed it was all a bad joke.

He tweeted: "My previous tweet about the cyclist was obviously not true. I did not hit cyclist. Not today. Not ever. A bad joke on my part it seems."

Followed by: "Sorry if anyone thought i actually hit a cyclist. Anyone who follows me on Twitter know 99% of the things I tweet is nonsense."

Mr Qadar told the Bristol Post: "“I am 100 per cent sorry. It was a joke gone bad. I didn’t think that would happen. I understand now that I can’t say things like that.

“If I did have an accident I would not drive away.”

Police are reported to be investigating.

The #bloodycyclists effect

Another driver who landed in hot water after boasting of hitting a rider on Twitter was trainee accountant Emma Way. On May 19 2013 Ms Way posted: "Definitely knocked a cyclist off earlier - I have right of way he doesn't even pay road tax! #bloodycyclists".

Norwich police investigated Ms Way even though she deleted her Twitter account. After the rider she hit, Toby Hockley, came forward she was charged with  careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

She was eventually found guilty of failing to stop and failure to report but was cleared of the careless driving charge. Ms Way was fined £300, had her driving licence endorsed with seven penalty points and had to pay £337 in costs.

In between the tweet and the court case, she was fired from her job as a result of the adverse publicity the incident attracted.

Her lasting legacy has been the hashtag #bloodycyclists, which was appropriated by Twitter's cycling community as in this comment on the Qadar case:

Ooh. He's been dismissed from his job. Don't mess with #bloodycyclists!

— Borghert Borghmans (@StripyMoggie) January 6, 2015