Jeremy Vine has been accused of ‘bias’ after the Radio 2 presenter posted a video on his Twitter account which showed a private hire taxi driver throwing a glass bottle at a cyclist following an altercation.
In the video, which was shot yesterday, a cyclist can be seen arguing with a driver while the pair are stopped at traffic lights. Though the initial cause of the confrontation is unclear, the motorist appears to have opened his car door to speak to the bike rider.
The cyclist then hits the car’s side window, shutting the door in the process. He smacks the window a second time before remounting his bike, at which point the motorist emerges from his car and immediately hurls a glass bottle, which smashes underneath the cyclist’s wheels as he rides away.
Following the incident, Vine rides across to tell the driver he “can’t do that”. When questioned by the presenter about what happened, the motorist is heard to reply: “he pushed my car”. Vine replied that “you can’t throw glass at someone”, before riding off.
Today’s madness — right in front of me, a cyclist smacks a car window and then the driver gets out and throws a glass bottle at him. pic.twitter.com/n1z2W1TRHF
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) January 31, 2022
The broadcaster, who regularly posts videos of his London commute on Twitter, has been heavily criticised for sharing the footage, which one account claimed presented “a biased view without full facts”.
Bizarrely many of the replies under Vine’s tweet actually defended the driver’s reaction, and accused the presenter of ignoring any potential wrongdoing by the cyclist.
Chrissie Jones wrote: “What about the fact that the cyclist goes through a red light putting a number of people in danger? What about the fact that he shouldn’t antagonise the situation by banging on the window in the first place? It’s never the cyclist in your book Jeremy!”
One account, connected to a courier firm, replied: “You only react when the driver does something, which pretty much says you’re ok with a cyclist banging a car window?”
“Don’t have much sympathy for the cyclist,” another user said. “Aggressively banging on windows isn’t great and will just aggravate any situation, as will running a red light. Driver wrong to throw bottle but (mainly middle class) cyclists need to remember that the roads aren’t nice places to be.”
> Jeremy Vine films motorist driving down Hyde Park cycle path
Elinor also said: “It’s not clear what preceded this, but the cyclist isn’t completely without fault here: that was a rather aggressive window bang. It didn’t deserve a bottle thrown in retaliation, but it was always going to illicit some kind of reaction.”
One user was even blunter, responding: “What’s he expect? Driver to just ignore him smashing his car? Cyclist is the one that’s mad.”
Staggeringly, another account even appeared to doubt the veracity of Vine’s regular videos, replying: “You seem to film something against cyclists every day, are you sure you’re not just staging these incidents?”
Others, of course, were quick to jump to Vine’s and the cyclist’s defence. Lindsey wrote: “The replies to this are astounding. Does anyone REALLY believe someone would slap a car window for no good reason? The driver bias is ridiculous,” while another user said that there was a “surprising number of people who consider that there are many scenarios where aggressively throwing bottles at people is perfectly acceptable behaviour!”
Some also linked yesterday’s incident to the mainstream media’s controversial coverage of the Highway Code updates, which came into place over the weekend.
Welcome to the hostile environment created by the media over the last week.
This is on you. #HighwayCode https://t.co/0UZfACgiWx
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) January 31, 2022
I just literally cycled there where Jeremy films it this morning… That’s what feeding motorists with hatred against cyclists ends up with. https://t.co/z3u8sZqQih
— Łukasz M Sielski ?♂️?♂️?? better than ? (@sielay) February 1, 2022





















67 thoughts on “Jeremy Vine posts video of motorist hurling glass bottle at cyclist… and is accused of ‘bias’ against drivers”
So the cyclist running a red
So the cyclist running a red light is bad but throwing a glass bottle to smash all over the road is fine? Okaay then…
Surely a report to the
Surely a report to the licensing authority?
nosferatu1001 wrote:
You think they may be operating an unlicenced bar in there?
nosferatu1001 wrote:
Yes, local council is the authority for public carriage, i.e. mini-cabs. The council license logo must be clearly displayed and of course the normal DVLA plates so that there is some accountability.
My local council licencing office is keen to hear about incidents and take action. I hope you are so fortunate in the postcode lottery.
Cyclist committed the
Cyclist committed the cardinal sin of touching a car unforgivable to some people.
Amazing how quickly a dispute can escalate to an attempted GBH?
That’s how road rage
That’s how road rage escalates.. clearly, the cyclist was upset about the driving of the hire cab driver; I doubt the cyclist thumped his window without good reason, but reacting like that is never a good idea; the hire cab driver may have continued on and run the cyclist down in his rage.
Love that the risk of
Love that the risk of scattering broken glass on the public highway is completely ignored by the drivists.
Captain Badger wrote:
If they were concerned about what they leave in the environment, they’d be trying to not drive.
They wouldn’t be driving –
They wouldn’t be driving – except it’s not safe walking or cycling because of all the drivers and the buses get stuck in traffic.
Vine deserves considerable
Vine deserves considerable credit for his efforts in general.
He does for going to confront
He does for going to confront that guy, I dont think I’d have been brave enough to get anywhere near him after witnessing that even an empty 330ml bottle weighs 200-250grams that’s going to cause serious injury if it hits you intact
That’s what I thought,
That’s what I thought, definitely discretion would have been the better part of valour for me in that scenario, I would’ve tried to get close enough to clock his plate but certainly wouldn’t have confronted him.
God those comments are
God those comments are depressing. The cyclist touched the car! Oh my God! He was lucky it was only a glass bottle and it missed
Who routinely carries a glass
Who routinely carries a glass bottle with them. Did the taxi driver go ‘equipped’ in expectation of such an incident?
Pub bike wrote:
Nah, purely cooincidental. Sometimes y’just need a little nip of JD to pep you up…..
Just be glad it’s not Florida
Just be glad it’s not Florida https://news.sky.com/video/man-shoots-own-windows-out-11-times-in-road-rage-incident-12530288
When I was a nipper I went to
When I was a nipper I went to several anti-apartheid rallies. One in particular outside South Africa House turned a bit nasty and several bottles were thrown. I can assure you that the police did not see the justification for such violence and arrests were made. I would like to hope the same applies today.
Taxi drivers in case they are
Taxi drivers in case they are caught short. Maybe the cyclist and JV be glad there wasn’t a yellow liquid in the bottle ?
Just like to point out that
Just like to point out that the taxi driver did not leave his vehicle. The minicab driver did thought. It’s important to differentiate so as not to point the finger of blame in the wrong direction.?♂️??♀️
Crabdiver wrote:
Aaaaargh! This is going to turn into another wing mirror debate, isn’t it…
brooksby wrote:
A door mirror debate surely?
stomec wrote:
Who mentioned wing mirrors?
Who mentioned wing mirrors?
Crabdiver wrote:
Crabdiver wrote:
You’re only on 2 posts so you may not be aware that a regular of this parish has a real bee in their bonnet about whether those reflective things sticking out the side of cars, that you use to look behind you, are referred to as wing mirrors or as door mirrors.
They are quite insistent that the fact that everyone on the planet knows what you are talking about when you talk about ‘wing mirrors’ isn’t good enough, because they are not attached to the wing of the car.
I was making witty repartee, based on your insisting on a distinction between ‘taxi’ drivers and ‘minicab’ drivers.
M’kay? 😉 😀
It’s not in their BONNET, it
It’s not in their BONNET, it’s on their DOOR.
mdavidford wrote:
You mean under the Bonnet
You mean under the Bonnet right?
None of the ladies I know, have been seen with bees in their bonnets since before covid! I believe this is something to do with bears*.
*Source
Still don’t get your point
Still don’t get your point even after the explanation. Why is this a wing mirror debate wham all I was doing is pointing out that the chap who got out and threw the bottle was a minicab driver , not the taxi driver?
Pretty much to do with your
Pretty much to do with your pedantry regarding the taxi drivers. It was simply a witty comment drawing a parallel with one of our more vocal pedants whose needle was stuck on wing/door mirrors resulting in his being sin binned. The fella seems to have learnt his lesson as he hasn’t bitten since. Seems to be a bit of a whoosh moment for you though.
I see your pedantry though and raise you with mine and point out that one of the drivers is actually a hackney carriage driver.
Why so rude?
Why so rude?
I’m new to this forum so did not realise you were already having difficulty with a pedant.
I don’t see what’s wrong with differentiating between taxi driver and minicab driver.
We would want all cyclists tarred with the same brush now would we?
Sorry about that. Didn’t mean
Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to be as blunt. Was tired and wound up about other stuff. Hope it doesn’t put you off hanging around. It’s a good forum and most get on and there’s some good humoured banter. There’s others who…. well you’ll get the gist.
Anyway. Welcome. We look forward to you joining in with all the shenanigans!
I don’t know about difficulty
I don’t know about difficulty, I kind of enjoy their persistence and determination, their indefatigability.
Crabdiver wrote:
Collins English Dictionary: Minicab (n): a taxi which you have to arrange to pick you up by phone.
They pick you up by phone?
They pick you up by phone? How does that work? And these days can they just download you via an app?
I knew as soon as I pasted it
I knew as soon as I pasted it that you’d be on it!
(No subject)
Ladies and gentlemen, eyes
Ladies and gentlemen, eyes down for troll bingo!
– Cyclist must have done something far worse we can’t see
– What do you expect in [Khan’s lawless – thanks CB] immigrant-packed London that’s why I live in leafy Essex
– Entitled cyclist holding up hardworking motorists trying to get to work
– Cyclist wasn’t actually injured so no harm no foul
– Hope the police arrest the cyclist and charge him with incitement
– Cyclist should write a letter of apology to the car driver and be made to clean off his window
– Another cyclist thinks he can make his own laws running the red light
– Why does busybody Vine think he has a right to intervene
– Something about sexism and ableism that’s totally unrelated but makes me look as if I give a shit
Rendel Harris wrote:
No mention of…..
Amended.
Amended.
“You seem to film something
“You seem to film something against cyclists every day, are you sure your not just staging these incidents.”
Where’s that ascii face palm when you need it ?
(-_Q) or Q-/ apparently.
(-_Q) or Q-/ apparently.
or
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😉
I can’t help thinking that
I can’t help thinking that Vine doesn’t help the cause sometimes. Not because he is wrong, he isn’t, but as much because he creates so much anger, in both sides, posting this stuff, to the point that some drivers are expecting aggro when they see a bike, and therefore it almost creates anger, before drivers or cyclists have had a chance to do anything wrong.
I’m not sure Vine adds anything to understanding on the roads. I think the ‘close pass of the day’ feature on here at least has a chance of showing drivers what it feels like to be a rider on UK roads. I don’t think much of what Vine posts does that, I think it is mostly just a catalogue of anger on our streets.
Saintlymark wrote:
It’s an interesting point. It could be that those so vehemently against were already and won’t change – and perhaps they don’t do their cause any good. JV is after all largely good-natured, and (IMO admittedly) comes off looking better than they.
I’m not sure Vine adds
I’m not sure Vine adds anything to understanding on the roads. I think the ‘close pass of the day’ feature on here at least has a chance of showing drivers what it feels like to be a rider on UK roads
I don’t agree with this! The landmark NMotD 700 shows that the item is having no effect, and we all know that from personal experience. You appear to be a classic Uncle Tom: don’t upset those drivers, they might not be nice to us in future!
I’m not sure Vine adds
I’m not sure Vine adds anything to understanding on the roads. I think the ‘close pass of the day’ feature on here at least has a chance of showing drivers what it feels like to be a rider on UK roads. I don’t think much of what Vine posts does that, I think it is mostly just a catalogue of anger on our streets.
[/quote]
Vines reach far outstrips anything that pretty much any cycling media can hope for. I very much doubt if anyone not regularly on a bike comes to look at “close pass of the day”. His raising awareness of idiotic behaviour is OK in my mind.
Saintlymark wrote:
There isn’t really a “cause” as such, but just people wanting to not get hurt or killed just by cycling around on the roads.
I don’t think you can blame Jeremy for causing anger except for the motorists that he catches on video and they shouldn’t be getting angry, but apologetic at their own behaviour. As for other motorists getting angry – they’re mis-directing their own frustrations with over-congested roads at cyclists which is obviously ridiculous as cyclists reduce congestion.
The bigger problem is that certain media outlets promote cyclist hate with complete falsehoods and seem to do their utmost to denigrate cyclists as an out-group when in reality people are often switching between walking, cycling and driving.
Vine might end up getting some people to look up traffic laws and have a deeper understanding of roadcraft, but I’d agree that he’s probably focussing on publicity and venting some of his anger with the poor driving he encounters. I think it’s worthwhile and hope he continues although I don’t follow him – I just see some of the stuff posted on here.
The close pass of the day
The close pass of the day daily feature is rather pointless though. Drivers (not including those who also cycle) don’t exactly flock to Road CC and any that do aren’t likely to watch these videos. I also don’t understand Road CC’s approach. A campaign needs to have aims – achievable ones. Road CC’s seem to focus on providing content for the website. Fine as far as it goes, but hardly meaningful.
Surreyrider wrote:
It’s not a campaign, it’s a ‘feature’ – it says so on every NMotD article. Road.cc isn’t a campaigning organisation – it’s a media organisation. You could argue that all of its output is ‘hardly meaningful’ in those terms.
You touched the glass window
You touched the glass window on my car and left a handprint – it’s my right as a motorist to assault you with a weapon and potentially seriously injure you.
FFS.
The country that the hire car
The country that the hire car driver emigrated from probably allows such behaviour..
That’s pretty presumptuous.
That’s pretty presumptuous.
grOg wrote:
Casual racism – you must be Australian
It’s the criminals we
It’s the criminals we exported out you wanna watch out for. Them and their descendants spewing bile.
All the NMotDs have had no
All the NMotDs have had no effect on passing like this, so anyone with a high profile displaying the problems of cyclists is doing us a favour. The police, with a few honourable exceptions, are going to do nothing for us until we are seriously injured or killed- and not much even then. Passing like this continues because the police have moved on from completely ignoring reports to joke non-penalty penalties, and still refuse to deploy proper punishment. We really are up the creek at the moment, with no end in sight to anti-cyclist driving! This is VW Tiguan PF19 TEO
Quote:
With feckin’ psychopaths slinging bottles at you, it’s kind of difficult to forget!
The Punctures! Unnecessary.
The Punctures! Unnecessary.
How does JV get camera shots
How does JV get camera shots that look down on his helmet?
ride2smile wrote:
you can’t send those photos to people you know.
wycombewheeler wrote:
You most certainly can!
(No subject)
wycombewheeler wrote:
wycombewheeler wrote:
and definitely not to people you don’t know
He has a 360 deg camera
He has a 360 deg camera (sorry andystow for wrong use of deg and spacing). You can also see this used in the Winter Walks series on iplayer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001226k/winter-walks-series-2-1-amanda-owen
You mean a 4pi steradian
You mean a 4π steradian camera, surely?
I believe he has an Insta360
I believe he has an Insta360 ONE X2 camera mounted on his headwear.
Correct:
Correct:
https://twitter.com/theJeremyVine/status/1473360326531989511