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GBH charge after Oxford road rage attack in which motorist hospitalised in row with cyclist

Thames Valley Police renew appeal for witnesses to incident that left driver needing hospital treatment

Thames Valley Police yesterday arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of GBH with intent and criminal damage in connection with a road rage attack in Oxford on Saturday.

The incident took place on Parks Road after a motorist exiting the University of Oxford’s site there was involved in a near miss with a cyclist.

Police say that the latter then assaulted the driver with his bike lock and also damaged the vehicle.

The victim of the alleged assault had to be treated at the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital for facial injuries.

The man arrested spent yesterday evening in police custody, but officers have repeated an appeal for anyone who witnessed the incident or has information about it to come forward.

The investigating officer is PC Matthew Leney, who can be reached on the telephone number 101, or alternatively, information can be relayed anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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21 comments

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kevinmorice | 10 years ago
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I have to preface this post that I am a 60 miles/week cyclist because having read it back before posting there is a danger that people may assume I am a bike-hating car-owner.

I have no sympathy for the driver's behaviour, and he should have had a heavier punishment but…

Magnatom is an utterly terrible cyclist. Watch his other videos of supposedly bad driving behaviour. He regularly jumps red lights, cuts lanes, rides in the wrong lane, cuts in between traffic, lane hogs, moves into faster lanes and then slows his speed, cuts right hand corners, passes MUCH closer to vehicles than they pass to him …… and so on.
And when any driver reacts to his bad cycling behaviour he stops and behaves aggressively towards them.

And that is just the footage he posts, how badly does he ride in the bits that he cuts?

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ironmancole | 10 years ago
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SMIDSY...just with a lock weighing a couple of pounds intead of a car weighing a couple of tonnes. Odd how its taken seriously when the tables are turned isn't it?

Don't condone violence at all but how many people on bikes face such injury every day with the police being less than interested but this attracts witness appeals?

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silkred | 10 years ago
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riding up a hill seeing a car come the other way I heard one behind start to accelerate not brake - they all passed me at once and I was clipped by his wing mirror which smashed all over the road - he stopped and came running down to - I thought - see me as I was quite shaken - I guess he was doing 60mph - he wanted to know where his wing mirror was - for some reason, not sure why at all, he got a spontaneous and quite vicious nose bleed so possibly in shock ran away like a girl...

I am not surprized at all to read this story - reading elsewhere about a badly broken up cyclist seeing his protagonist get a £55 fine - I hope this cyclist is given some understanding...

however - sadly - I doubt he will...

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doc | 10 years ago
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If (and it's only if) there was use of a lock against someone, then the law should be left to take it's course. Any other reaction because one person is on a bike and another is driving a motor vehicle is of no consequence. Escalation is never pretty.

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Stumps | 10 years ago
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Possible scenario;

driver pulls out from exit and nearly hits cyclist. Cylist remonstrates and hits car with lock causing damage. Driver gets out to remonstrate to cyclist about damaging his car so cyclist then hits driver with lock as well causing severe injuries.

Hope there are witnesses to this incident as without any its one persons word against the other and unfortunately the cyclist might walk.

I wonder how that will be greeted on the forum  39

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Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Apparently folk on here think assault is amusing...unless its a cyclist who is assaulted.

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Fixie Girl replied to Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Beaufort wrote:

Apparently folk on here think assault is amusing...unless its a cyclist who is assaulted.

Agreed, assault is assault. No excuses, I hope the forum doesn't jump on the cyclist pity party again of how its only a poor cyclist defending his rights etc etc

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farrell replied to Fixie Girl | 10 years ago
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Fixie Girl wrote:

I hope the forum doesn't jump on the cyclist pity party again of how its only a poor cyclist defending his rights etc etc

Again? Can you point me in the direction of where the original cyclist pity parties were? They sound like fun.

It was a bit of gallows humour as we've constantly have these reasons rehashed and used as acceptable reasons for the deaths and injuries of cyclists.

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SideBurn replied to Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Beaufort wrote:

Apparently folk on here think assault is amusing...unless its a cyclist who is assaulted.

It depends whether the person was assaulted or just came second in a fight; there is not enough information to decide what happened here.
My comment was prompted by the bullshit excuses I have heard motorists say over the years to excuse their stupidity.

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ironmancole replied to Beaufort | 10 years ago
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Beaufort wrote:

Apparently folk on here think assault is amusing...unless its a cyclist who is assaulted.

To be fair we don't know the full story. However, in response to your comment I'd point out a person in a car can cause horrific injuries or death and use the flimsiest of excuses to evade any real justice...check out the stats and the typical 'punishment' handed out.

I suspect the sentiment here is that when the table is turned and the motorist comes off worst the police are suddenly interested. Smacks of double standards and lack of equality.

The motorist gets to use the car to injure or kill on a daily basis and it is automatically assumed to be an accident...as if the driver gets in and the car just takes off by itself with the occupant pleading desperately for the car to behave itself.

The car is an extension of the person inside, it does not operate itself! None of us get in our cars planning to kill or maim but I don't believe the word accident cuts it in the majority of cases.

If I set a gun up on a hare trigger rigged to a door I can't claim accident when someone comes in and gets shot. Get in a car and then drive it into another human being because I'm being an idiot however and that is declared as an accident.

I would call both inevitable, preventable and forseeable incidents...not accidents.

The cyclist and the motorist in this case each brought what they had to the party. One their car, the other a lock. They are both probably guilty of being hot headed and do no favours to the human race in general but on this occasion instead of the motorist accidentally hurting the cyclist (as is the rule 99.9% of the time), the cyclist accidentally hurt the motorist.

I think its all part of a shambolic system that needs addressing, irrespective of death or injury being accidentally caused by a lock or by a car.

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SideBurn | 10 years ago
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Maybe if he just clipped the motorist with the lock in a momentary loss of concentration (or on the 'phone as it is also known) it would be OK?

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Ush | 10 years ago
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I'm glad to see the police were on this quickly. It shows that we're all safe.

Well done the filth.

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farrell | 10 years ago
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Maybe the sun was in his eyes?

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gw | 10 years ago
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Would like to know more, but possible the drive had to get out of his car to get hit? Was he squaring up an lost out, or is the cyclist just unhinged? Far to many variables to judge....

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mrchrispy | 10 years ago
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What he should have done was follow the driver home then got find himself a car wait out side the guys house. Then just run the driver over next time he leaves the house. 3 points and a fine at most even if he had to chase him down the pavement before running him over.

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Not KOM | 10 years ago
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I hit my brother with a chain-lock once, and it definitely was an accident. I'm pretty sure if I was going to cave in someones face with a bike lock, it'd be deliberate. Once is an accident, twice, three or four times - that's assault.

However, if the driver in someway threatened him with the vehicle, he could claim it was proportionate self-defence (I'm not pre-judging the case or saying the cyclist was correct, but that the law allows a plea depending on the circumstances)

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kitkat | 10 years ago
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That's because hitting someone with a car is an 'accident' presumably because it's hard to prove that it was intentional (as opposed to bringing a d-lock down on someone's head).

Google-car should fix this sort of driving 'accident'  1

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WolfieSmith replied to kitkat | 10 years ago
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Maybe hitting someone with a bike could be classed as an accident too?

The gentleman got out of his car and as I tried to swing my bike around to flee he happened to run into my chain ring officer...'

Terrible but maybe a case of accidental clipping surely?

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SideBurn | 10 years ago
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Interesting to see what happens here; it seems that you can use your car as a weapon against cyclists and not be charged (see "related stories" above) but what happens if you fight back?

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Farky | 10 years ago
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Freaking out is no suprise but actually assaulting someone??? Get back in your car where you belong!...along with red light jumpers.

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mrmo | 10 years ago
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Not saying it is right but not surprised, the legal system offers no protection for cyclists.

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