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news
Bristol cyclist who submitted near-miss video to police told he won’t be prosecuted for swearing
Avon and Somerset police have said that no action will be taken against a Bristol cyclist for swearing. Matt Trevers can be heard employing some colourful language in a video of an alleged near-miss that he submitted to police in the hope that the driver would be prosecuted.
The Bristol Post reports that Trevers was riding down Gloucester Road, taking a position in the middle of the lane to avoid a potential dooring by one of the parked cars. He says a driver then beeped and passed him without leaving sufficient room.
Believing this to have been a deliberate and aggressive manoeuvre, Trevers submitted helmet cam footage of the incident to police.
He was told that they would not be investigating, so he put in a complaint. He received a call six months later in which he was told he would not be facing prosecution for swearing in response to what happened.
"After I initially asked for a review of the decision, I had a fairly unfriendly call from an officer, in which he mentioned that it wasn't in the public interest to prosecute me for my 'offence'. It wasn't an official warning, but there seemed to be an implied threat that he could."
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said:
"No action was taken against the car driver as there was insufficient evidence to support the offence of driving without due care and attention. Officers also decided not to take action against the cyclist for his use of bad language.
"Subsequently the cyclist made a formal complaint about the lack of action from officers, which has been investigated by the force's professional standards department.
"It was confirmed that the criminal allegation did not meet the threshold for prosecution and a detailed response has been provided to Mr Trevers, who may appeal the decision if he is not satisfied.
"We encourage all road users to treat each other with courtesy and follow the recommendations of the Highway Code."
Trevers said he was disappointed in the response, but understood that police “often have their hands tied.”
“I had hoped that at the very least, the driver might have learnt a lesson about safety and reflected on his actions. However, immediately after leaving the station, he uploaded his own footage to YouTube blaming me for the incident. He doesn't realise or care that he put me in a lot of danger."
Duncan Dollimore from the Cycling UK's Cyclists' Defence Fund said: "The initial response from the investigating officers was completely inadequate. They should have fully investigated this and failed to do so, seeking to apportion blame upon Matt for his road position when he was riding towards the middle of the road to keep clear of possible opening car doors from the parked cars on his left."
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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45 comments
Not sure what the fuss is about? The guy on the bike was cycling down the middle of the road, the bloke trying to pass made a pigs ear of it, but nothing more. Worth reporting to the police!?
The driver was in clear violation of Highway Code rule 163, 'Rule 163: Give vulnerable road users at least as much space as you would a car', having overtaken when another vehicle was approaching in the opposite direction. The driver would never have overtaken a car at that point. However, rule 163 is not a law so the police would not have a justification for prosecuting on that ground, and I don't know whether it would have met the criteria for careless or dangerous driving. Certainly the cyclist might have made it easier for cars to overtake (when nothing was coming the other way) by staying a bit further in from the centre line, as it would have made it difficult for the car to give adequate clearance when he was so far out. Just over a metre from parked cars should be sufficient. But as a car was approaching...
Just another example of discourteous and impatient driving, unfortunately, and I know from experience that it can shake you up and put you off cycling. The police could at least have had a quiet word with the driver. Rung up, complaint received, give advice, not taking it further as first complaint etc. I.e. educate rather than prosecute.
He's a throbber doesn't he realise BMWs own the road
He pushed ahead of the other cyclist waiting at the front and then stayed over to the right, deliberately to taunt the reaction he got. As he passed the other stationary cyclist he could have fed in let the car pass and still got out before the bus. Instead he wants to demonstrate that he has no awareness or empathy for other roads users, he did jump the other cyclist as well so he doesn't really care!
At a steady rate he would have caught the car at the next lights and it all starts again.
I commuted in Bristol every day for 2 years as well as riding weekends. It's all very well being correct but it doesn't fix you up when you're in hospital.
Throbber, I wonder if he's a strava warrior and he was chasing a segment
If he hasn't already had a number of offs I would suggest he is very close to one.
Lack of action from the police as detailed in the article and then the bollocks from the spokesman is the exact reason I have no respect for the police. I am a generally law abiding citizen, but their actions and subsequent actions of the CPS and courts make me feel I have no wish to play by their rules and would be more likely to take the law into my own hands. Every so often good stories come out like the West Midlands Police, but the bad completely outweighs the good.
I was going to say I think the cyclist was at fault for being too far out into the road, but having watched the video again, he was out far enough when passing the bus, and maintained his position out in the road going by the parked cars.
Was he too far out in the road? Possibly.... BUT would it have changed the BMW drivers ability to safely overtake if he was 1.5m away from the parked car? No, there were cars and cyclists coming in the opposite direction, therefore it was not safe for the BMW to overtake. Had the cyclist moved in to 1.5 m from the cars at the edge of the road, the BMW would have used that as a indication from the cyclist to let him past, and would have overtaken in a more dangerous manner.
The fact is the BMW is an impatient numpty, because why did they use the horn all the way past the cyclist, who was clearly doing close to the 20mph speed limit at the time. I wonder if the cyclist had any GPS data at the time, which could be used to prove that they were going close to the 20mph speed limit and therefore by overtaking the BMW was speeding? just thinking......
In some cases it is safer for cyclists to maintain a position in the road which is considered too far out, for their own safety, because they know how fast they are going in relation to other vehicles.
The only credit I will give to the BMW driver, is not doing a stunt which is all too common..... the move to block the cyclist filtering to the ASL because they are waiting at the front of the queue. I tend to get one instance of that every couple of weeks on my cycle commute to and from work. It's amazing how many drivers can't see a cyclist in front of them, but can spot a cyclist filtering and take action to try and stop them..... just saying
^^THIS!^^
We can all watch a video and judge, but how do you know what experiences this cyclist has previously had there? My choice of actions vary depending on the junction/road I'm using, including the use of ASLs. Previous experience informs my choice of actions.
I wonder if A&S saw enough evidence to prosecute the moped for its failure to give way while a red light is showing, akak driving into the bike box?
I'm really struggling to see what the cyclist has done wrong here.
He leaves plenty of room to give space to move into if something unexpected happened. Wedged between a line of parked cars and an impatient driver would make any small incident potentially fatal.
We need more people on the road who anticipate and allow for the unexpected in their behaviour, and I don't care if they swear from time to time.
Besides which, if you care about "holding up" traffic, you're still holding up any vehicles that arrive behind you.
I agree with David D. It might not be logical, but the drivers you pass at the lights are then desperate to pass you again, to get 'their' place in the queue back, whereas the ones who were aleady behind you don't have the same psychology.
Having said that, it's a personal judgment, and I don't suppose either of these approaches is objectively right, and you have to do what seems right to you.
There is nothing at all in that video to say the cyclist was doing anything wrong. He filtered to the front of traffic queue, took a prominent position and planned ahead for the bus, he was gathering pace so kept a wide line from parked cars. I would of done exactly the same.
The driver had no need to beep his horn and force his way by in a 'punishment pass' when 5 seconds later the road cleared and he could of passed safely.
The rider should feel aggrieved that first the police did not contact the driver and then issue a threat 'not to prosecute' him for being in fear of his life using swearing.
Look you fuckwits, there is absolutely no justification for such a dangerous overtake!
Shit cycling & driving. Nothing to see here.
My personal opion is up to the 20 MPH sign the cyclist is too far out. after that he is spot on, and basicaly keeping up with the scooter. As for the car driver brake light out, probablly speeding, close dangrous pass, pulling in stright infront of another road user, unreasonable use of the horn and making the oncoming have to move. To me that equals dangrous driving. As for the cyclist swearing, nothing wrong I do much the same when I get a bad near miss (and I try not to swear but it just comes out) and to many people that is just normal work place banter . for me this guy has been let down by the police.
over all I do agree with burtthebike coments as well.
To all the people criticising the cyclist, I used to ride that route every working day for seven years, and where the driver decided to overtake is a very dangerous spot. It doesn't matter how far out the cyclist was, it would have been dangerous for the driver to overtake, but many of you blame the cyclist: why? It wasn't his decision to overtake dangerously, it was the driver. This is a steep downhill, and I'd regularly exceed 30mph on that section, so why was the driver so desperate to overtake?
Road law is clear: if it isn't safe, don't overtake. It doesn't say: you can still overtake even if you kill a cyclist. There is no excuse for the overtaking manouvre of the driver, they clearly put the cyclist at risk to save a couple of seconds. I'm sure the driver would have been full of remorse and would have paid the £10 fine with a tear in their eye and a spring in their step.
Hang on: using foul language in a public space is a chargeable offence? Sheesh, I've dodged the bullet a few times...
I've also never quite understood the logic of passing a car at a red light when you know the car will want to pass you 5 seconds after the light goes green. Sort of like when cars roar by a cyclist to get to the next red light 4 seconds later when the cyclist will catch them...
but maybe I'm missing something?
Agree. I normally take a judgement - 'will I get through on the same cycle of the lights if I sit behind?' If so I wait behind and in the centre of he lane. I have no desire to be riding beside a car so I sit in the traffic, draft for as long as possible and then move left to let following cars pass if there is space.
But why do they put ASL boxes on the roads? Without an early green for cyclists it just puts slower traffic on front of faster traffic.
ASL are put there so cyclists get to the front and controls the space, so(this is best practice by drivers, god willing) drivers follow rider and only pass rider when it is safe to do so.
Cycling in between cars, means that the car behind is paying more attention to the car in front and obviously wants to keep pace with it, increasing chance of accident to cyclist.
My sentiments exactly. After riding bikes for over 50 years it stil bewilders me when I see people doing it.
I myself just stop behind the cars that are stopped already. By going up the inside all you are doing is holding up the cars that were there.
People have to remember it is a 2 way street out on the road and a bit of courtesy goes a long way.
You know what happens a lot at stop lights? Rear end accidents by inattentive drivers. Guess what happens to a cyclist that is positioned between stopped motor vehicles? Besides which, if you care about "holding up" traffic, you're still holding up any vehicles that arrive behind you. You're also in danger of someone taking a turn from the opposing side since they'll see an apparent gap before they see you.
Personally, I filter to the front and wait there if there's no room to the side. On rare occasion, if I'm truly a bother to traffic, I'll wait off the side and go last.
His cycling is like bear batting. He could considered to be obstructing the flow of traffic because he is not cycling on the left or centre of the road.
That doesn't excuse the motorist, but he provokes/invites that reaction with his riding. Complete idiot. He needs a reality check.
About as useful as their neighbours in Wiltshire, there again they are sharing services with A&S & Gloucester. Last weekend I got close passed by a car overtaking me because there was a Police car coming in the opposite direction. Did the Police Car driver turn around and have a word with the driver, nope just carried on driving as if nothing happened.
In these cases there should be a simple acid test and that is if you were to carry out that manouvere in driving test, would you fail? If the answer is Yes then some form of action should be taken. Video evidence when clear as that is, should be enough evidence especially when you conside after a major incident the Police ask for peoples footage
The Police wonder why they have little support from the Public, maybe it is because they are too busy protecting the guilty and screwing over the innocent. Maybe the Police should be privatised and paid on performance, I bet they would soon be all over it.
Crikey. I lived on Gloucester Rd in Bristol in at least 4 different properties and cycled daily to and from college, work and university over 10 years. Never have I seen someone cycling like such an utter bellend as this guy. He's cycling in the middle of the road, weaving almost to the centre line. Has he got a death wish? He shouldn't be on a bike as he's a danger to himself and everyone else.
Good job he's got a camera so he can demonstrate what a suicidal maniac he is. Is he actually trying to get in drivers' way to get attention, or what? I don't get it at all.
What are you on about? Didn't you spot the bus signalling to pull out of that bus stop as he started to pass it? He moved towards the centre line just in case the bus pulled out (and having plenty of experience in cycling Gloucester Road myself I can vouch for some of the awful driving by some bus drivers). The Beemer was being driven very badly and the cyclist was probably doing the speed limit of 20 mph on that stretch (it's downhill and picking up that sort of speed is easy) so the Beemer driver should have been done for dangerous driving and speeding. I rode up and down that road for years, was knocked off by shitty drivers twice (their fault not mine), experienced two or three road rage incidents directed at me and seen at least one cycle/car accident (it was the driver's fault). I can say without a shadow of a doubt you don't know what you're talking about.
Of course he doesn't.
Besides having sketchy memories of where and many houses he's lived in, he's a troll who believes that, while on the road, we should cycle as close to off the road as possible. This is because our moton Lords and Masters have difficulty seeing us (I'd have time for this if he referenced saccades or something, but he doesn't - he says we're skinny) and judging our speed.
The answer to this is not a strategic improvement of mixed road use, or better driver training or awareness, but cyclists deferring to everything and everyone a bit bigger and more stupid. We would literally go nowhere, which suggests to me that this twonk has never ridden a bike beyond his Mum's drive.
What he said.
That bit of road is wide and you're delivered into the RHS of it due to the design. It's an easy downhill and trival to top the 20mph limit. Cars love to pass simply to slam on their brakes at the next red light.
So the cyclist is a bit towards the middle, but he's avoiding the First bus who don't give a flying fuck about anyone (and when you report them the management do SFA), and the road is bending right so it will soon means he's back towards the LHS. All is well.
Fucking idiots - excuse my French.
I've sent them a message via their general contact form telling them what I think of the quality of their decision-making. When West Midlands Police appeared to take a giant step forwards in understanding the perils that cyclists face, so Avon & Somerset prove that many forces still have their heads firmly up their arses.
"The driver chooses to overtake into the face of oncoming traffic, which the police would be trained not to do. "
Having observed a police car doing exactly that this morning (in W. Yorkshire), thereby causing oncoming traffic to brake hard, I wouldn't count on the police doing anything around here in similar circumstances!
It seems like the police over there really don't like the people they're supposedly protecting. Just watching that video, I'd bet nine out of ten cyclists probably would have responded with a few profane words and/or gestures. He nearly got hit by a motor vehicle, what is he supposed to do, applaud?
I had a similar experience from A&S Police from a close pass but mine was slightly differnet in that the car was in lane two and changed into lane 1 where I was then hit the horn as they got close then passed me closely. I uttered a profane word and gave a gesture with my hand. When the officer dealing with the case called me to give me an update he said he'd written to the registered keeper in Ireland but wasn't sure if they had received the letter or not and also told me to be careful with my language.
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