Video: taxi driver deliberately runs cyclist off the road

The cyclist being a crusader and a bit crazy should have no relevance to the fact that he was dangerously assaulted and that the penalty seems far too lenient. But while think in general it's a good thing he's out there fighting for road safety, doing away with a few of those cameras would make him a more relatable victim/witness, which also matters IMHO. YMMV.

Also,  this is a comments section of a news site and not a court of law. So outrage brigade notwithsanding, posters can comment on whatever aspect of the story floats their fancifully taken boats.

Cab driver is a complete prick, hope something more can come of this as he got off far too lightly.

Oh, come on. It looks like a clear case of assault and really should have been charged as such, but saying it's attempted murder is ludicrous.

ALL I see here is attempted murder, the rest is british court system bulshit...

How can the driver only be guilty driving without due care? He deliberately used his vehicle to intimidate the guy on the bike and then knocked him over!

And yes, camera guy may be a little odd but what on earth has that go to do with anything?

Shocking court result. That driver used 2 tons of metal and plastic to deliberately knock a cyclist off his bike at speed, albeit low.

Driver should have had his licence removed for at least 10 years and should have gone to prison for that assault for a few months. In this day and age why oh why is the justice system not fit for purpose?

Hopefully this judgement and video will be seen by drivers - taxi, van, bus and others.
Should have been much worse punishment.

eg 33 months - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6532118/Former-internationa...
and watch for sentencing of Gledhill soon - killed an experienced cyclist, trying to 'give him stick'.

Only thing I would say to Lewis is 'Don't wear a cable-lock as a noose !'

"could have been avoided"

• Lewis pulls right in to the left at the junction, and signals to let the taxi behind pass - exemplary behaviour
  taxi1 turns right instead : taxi2 is way behind
• when taxi2 overtakes, the road is clear : should have used the other lane as per highway code
• Lewis beeps to let him know he is close, but he brakes hard and pulls in front - 'brake-check' - deliberately dangerous
• then the punishment pass - attempted murder, in effect

"lack of sound is suspicious" turn your sound on ! I hear beeping + swearing OK 

"Something very wrong about people with that many cameras"
 "not your average cyclist", "not exactly everyday cycling"

Something is very wrong that we have got to the point where just a run to the shops involves equipping youself like this. Otherwise you get all kind of dismissive comments from police, and no chance of a prosecution. So drivers could kill with impunity - open season on cyclists. We need Lewis and others like him - in part he is the reason that you feel safe ! You should be thankful, rather than criticising him.

Your average cyclist, like the Met Police Chief (Hogan-Howe) and the NPCC top road policing officer (Davenport), will have given up cycling (and hence given up on road safety !), and be driving or in the back of the taxi !

Even a single camera can be seen as only weak corroborating evidence. How do you know whether you will be rammed from front, rear, left, or right ?

Many points of view give a much better sense of space and depth : the 'bowsprit' front camera suffers less from the 'objects may be closer than they appear' effect, and record the rider's actions, so that no-one could possibly accuse him of 'looking for trouble' ?)
Selfie poles are pretty weak and collapsible.

"video can be editted"
Really, really hard when you have multiple cameras and soundtracks !

"attempts at educating cyclists" "cabbie genuinely believed he had done nothing wrong"
This is why it is the drivers that need educating. eg Primary position. Should have been done when Bikeability training launched (2007?)

The taxi driver was extremely dangerous.

I wonder if this conviction will start a disciplinary hearing or revoke his license.? Does it need a complaint to initiate proceedings. ?

they're making taxi drivers retake their driving tests in Gloucester... lots of fuss over it...

http://www.gloucestercitizen.co.uk/Taxi-drivers-protest-Gloucester-City-...

I was going to comment but it looks like MikeyMike has had his pants pulled down enough.

Let me first say that the cab drivers conduct was absoluetly disgsuting and he should have got a custodial sentence and driving ban for using his vehice as a weapon. But, and it's a big but. The whole situation could have been avoided.

Any London cyclist has had a close pass by a black cab and, to be honest, this one wasn't that close. Call him a wanker under your breath and move on.  Son of the wind / Cycling droid decides to blow his loud air horn to escalate the situation and got more than he bargined for. At least he got some excellent footage and lots of youtube views.

Him and his ilk (I'm looking at you Megatron) do simply go out of their way to turn a mole hill into a mountain. I have no problem with people filming their ride in case something unfortunate does happen, personally I don't. But there is no need to have more cameras attached to your bike than the BBC covering the Olympics.  

Traffic Droid may be odd but the taxi driver was found guilty.  I would describe the taxi drivers behaviour as psychopathic, he should lose his licence for a couple of years and as part of a re-test have to prove he is pschologically fit to be on the road.

I can't understand why people are commenting so much on the cyclist and his number of cameras. Also, commenting that he's not an "average cyclist" seems facetious when cyclists are an incredibly varied group and I don't think I could describe an "average cyclist". Anyone who rides a bike is a "cyclist" and we should all be able to ride safely on the public roads (providing we abide by the various laws).

I'm shocked but not surprised by the lenient sentence. How is that not assault?

I took the train and walked to work today rather than riding in (works Crimbo do).

It's beyond shocking the number of drivers on phones in traffic. Almost 50% at most sets of lights  and probably about 10% talking in moving traffic.

Of course hardly any of them can see what the driver in front or behind is actually up to. As a pedestrian you realise that an astonishing number of delya are due to drivers not realising that the lights have changed or the driver in front has just opened a massive gap etc...

I don't use cameras on my bike, but if I did, I suspect the temptation to start documenting drivers' behaviour would drive me mad.

We've established that the taxi driver was wrong but you must admit Traffic Droid is a bit odd and not your average cyclist. Why did he call for an ambulance? He seemed perfectly capable to walk about and phone for it himself. I think his comment was "get an ambulance just in case". 

Narcissist is a good descritption of him. I wonder what his day job is, or does he get paid to make videos of bad driving?

Totally failed by the justice system. Driver education? Driving without due care? This is minimum dangerous driving and possibly assault. Why wasn't it tried as such? Sentence may be lenient or may be at the upper limit for the petty charge.

While agreeing that 'Gone with the Wind Droid' or what ever he calls himself is a bit of a 'special' case, I don't see that running people off the road is compatible with being a professional driver.  I don't imagine that deliberately driving into another car would have been treated in a similarly lenient manner either.  A short driving ban would have been more appropriate in my view as higher standards should be demonstrated by those who drive for a living.

I didn't see any bad cycling in the video but then video can be editted...

Whilst the Taxi driver deserves all he got, the cyclist was featured on a recent episode of Oxford Street revealed on BBC, where he did come across as a bit of a vigilante, provoking situations for his you tube channel.
As for the pole on the front of his bike, as a taxi driver righfully pointed out in the show, it is a danger to other road users in iteself, particularly pedestrians.
There are good and bad cyclist and drivers.
This video showed bad examples of each.

Come on Laura, it's brakes not breaks.  And it was the nearside mirror, not offside!

Brilliant - so a taxi driver deliberately knocks a cyclist over, and the main topic of debate on here is how odd the cyclist is...

Amazing that the guy didnt go and do his course - that would have saved him a lot of money. 

But given how unrepentant he is, and how he chose to take out a guy clearly festooned with cameras that would show the world his actions - is he really a fit person to hold a taxi licence ?

I can't see that any cyclist is safe with him around.  He should lose his licence. HGV drivers have been fired for less haven't they ? 

Something very wrong about people with that many cameras on their bike. Even though the evidence seems to speak for itself, the lack of sound on the video is suspicious. As a fairly fast everyday commuter with no cameras who encounters almost nothing but very good behaviour from motorists, I am concerned that there is a body of cyclinsts that go out looking for trouble. I've seen countless videos posted by commuters (not this one) seeming to assume that everybody will obviously agree that the motorist is at fault, when to my eyes it is clearly the cyclist that is at fault. Sorry, and I'm a full-on rider, not a timid kerb crawler.