Today’s submission in our Near Miss of the Day series shows an incident at London’s Old Street roundabout where a cyclist riding in a cycle lane gets cut up by a driver – who then gets out of his car and who asked the cyclist “why did you put your bike there?” and advised him to “be careful next time.”.
It was filmed by road.cc reader Ben, who suggested that it was more a case of “knob of the day” rather than “near miss of the day” – and also flagged up the close passes at the end of the video.
Today’s submission in our Near Miss of the Day series shows an incident at London’s Old Street where a cyclist gets cut up by a driver – who then gets out of his car and who asked the cyclist “why did you put your bike there?” and advises him to “be careful next time.”.
It was filmed by road.cc reader Ben, who suggested that it was more a case of “knob of the day” rather than “near miss of the day” – and also flagged up the close passes at the end of the video.
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 – Why do we do the feature and what have we learnt from it?
Over the years road.cc has reported on literally hundreds of close passes and near misses involving badly driven vehicles from every corner of the country – so many, in fact, that we’ve decided to turn the phenomenon into a regular feature on the site. One day hopefully we will run out of close passes and near misses to report on, but until that happy day arrives, Near Miss of the Day will keep rolling on.
If you’ve caught on camera a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind with another road user that you’d like to share with the wider cycling community please send it to us at info@road.cc">info@road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
If the video is on YouTube, please send us a link, if not we can add any footage you supply to our YouTube channel as an unlisted video (so it won’t show up on searches).
Please also let us know whether you contacted the police and if so what their reaction was, as well as the reaction of the vehicle operator if it was a bus, lorry or van with company markings etc.
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 – Why do we do the feature and what have we learnt from it?
Over the years road.cc has reported on literally hundreds of close passes and near misses involving badly driven vehicles from every corner of the country – so many, in fact, that we’ve decided to turn the phenomenon into a regular feature on the site. One day hopefully we will run out of close passes and near misses to report on, but until that happy day arrives, Near Miss of the Day will keep rolling on.
If you’ve caught on camera a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind with another road user that you’d like to share with the wider cycling community please send it to us at info@road.cc">info@road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
If the video is on YouTube, please send us a link, if not we can add any footage you supply to our YouTube channel as an unlisted video (so it won’t show up on searches).
Please also let us know whether you contacted the police and if so what their reaction was, as well as the reaction of the vehicle operator if it was a bus, lorry or van with company markings etc.
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
51 thoughts on “Near Miss of the Day 260: Driver cuts up cyclist then confronts him (now with video)”
Link?
Link?
What am I supposed to be
What am I supposed to be viewing ?
Its a nice frame shot at the
Its a nice frame shot at the head of the story, but it doesn’t really give us much information
Please can we have a link to the video?
brooksby wrote:
‘kin ‘ell… yes, it’s in the story now. Finally. Sorry about that
Talking about knob of the day
Talking about knob of the day, if that term could be applied to a woman, the interviewer on You and Yours on R4 today might well qualify.
“…..and cyclists die all the time.” Not a shred of concern or interest about why they die.
“….but we’ve seen loads of examples of cyclists just flagrantly ignoring the law. You’ll accept that won’t you?”
“Should cyclists have to take a test to go on the road?”
The BC spokesman, Nick Chamberlain, did his best, but the utter bias of the BBC towards cycling is demonstrated yet again.
Oh, and she said that Bernie Shrosbree had been found guilty of assault, which isn’t true.
Starts at 20:41. I’d complain, but to be honest, if all the complaints I’ve made to the BBC with overwhelming evidence can be dismissed, what’s the point.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0002r0c
burtthebike wrote:
There’s some sort of weekly feedback programme on R4 – see if emailing them gets you anywhere. TBH I stopped at the clips of knuckle draggers should “f**king this F**king that, I’ll kill you, get out of the lane” – don’t need that sort of negativity in my life.
Look555 wrote:
Its called Feedback: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1WbP92b6YbpP9j4mwwbtc9Q/contact-us
Look555 wrote:
Thanks, I’ve bunged them an email asking when they are going to have a prog which even mentions the overwhelming benefits of cycling, as demonstrated by the mass of evidence of the past thirty years, rather than their continual cycle bashing.
burtthebike wrote:
‘When Geordie Greig tells us to’.
There. I saved them the trouble.
burtthebike wrote:
Listened to the segment, it was horrendous. Just trying to enrage everyone. Sent an email for them to ignore, as they do with other evidence. Told them to speak to a Mr Vine who I believe works for them.
burtthebike wrote:
I’ve listened to this on iPlayer and it is shockingly anti-cylist bias from the presenter. I have submitted a complaint to the BBC
rcbroughton wrote:
DId you do so via actual paper letter? That’ll let them save a bit on bogroll.
burtthebike wrote:
For extra shits and giggles, head over to the Daily Mail and look for any article on the BBC, and laugh as you read the dribbling retards’ comments about how ‘the BBC is leftie’.
That degree of stupidity should be rights earn you a cancellation of your right to vote, but hey.. this is Britain.
A driver gets out of his car
A driver gets out of his car following a ‘near miss’ or an altercation, you have to assume that he is going to hit you.
You do not need to wait until he does so, before defending yourself.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
I believe that’s known as “getting your retaliation in first”.
fukawitribe wrote:
No. It’s known as exercising one’s right to self defence.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Yes, you don’t have to be hit to he assaulted, but in fear of being hit.
hirsute wrote:
No. It’s known as exercising one’s right to self defence.
— fukawitribeYes, you don’t have to be hit to he assaulted, but in fear of being hit.— Legs_Eleven_Worcester
“A driver gets out of his car following a ‘near miss’ or an altercation, you have to assume that he is going to hit you.”
Assumptions can be dangerous. Burden of proof will ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. So going full tilt and decking someone because they got out the car, especially in a ‘their word against yours’ situation may not be the best. I reckon I would at least trying to defuse the situation, possibly then shouting ‘back off, or the police are called’, and getting my bike in the way, that kind of thing – before going all ninja…
dassie wrote:
No it isn’t. The standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ is essentially a court room test, and concerns the act and the state of mind of the accused (see actus reus and mens rea).
The test on ‘reasonableness’ where force has been used and the accused invokes the right to self defence, is subjective, and will be based on what you honestly believed to be the case at the time of the incident (R v. Williams (G) 78 Cr App R 276) and R. v. Oatbridge, 94 Cr App R 367)). Then there is an objective element, which is: would a reasonable person placed in the same situation, consider the force used to be reasonable?
In Palmer v R 1971 AC 814, Lord Morris stated that ‘.. it will be recognised that a person defending himself cannot weigh to a nicety the exact measure of his defensive action’.
Your right to self defence is a common law doctrine, and one provided for by statute – see s. 3(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 and s. 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
My favourite quote is from Palmer: ‘it is good law and good sense that a man who is attacked may defend himself. It is both good law and good sense that he may do, but only do, what is reasonably necessary’.
I would not advocate that, faced with a 5” woman who gets out of her car, you respond with a D-lock to the face followed by multiple stab wounds. To do so would be symptomatic of a not inconsiderable degree of psychopathy in someone suggesting such a course of action. But if you remember the case where the geezer in a 4×4 (I think he had his own catering business or something?) got out and threatened the cyclist, the test for ‘common assault’ was complete in that case, I believe.
I have used force twice. In both cases, I have been vindicated, even when in one of them, the driver sustained injuries. But the only reason I stuck around was that there were CCTV cameras all over the shop, and several other drivers who were witnesses. Had the events happened on a country road in rural Wiltshire, I’d have acted the same, but would have scarpered after putting the driver in the recovery position and removing the keys from his vehicle (to send anonymously to the police later on).
But I would never advocate such a strategy.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Thanks for the clarification.
I naturally try and avoid confrontations, and ‘leg it’ first if possible, when things look nasty, ‘works’ for me… Fortunately not been in this situation.
dassie wrote:
I hate confrontation, too. Contrary to the image I might portray here, I’m not spoiling for a fight every time I get on the bike.
But I will not under any fucking circumstances get out of someone’s way because he ‘pays road tax’ and I don’t. And I’m not anyone’s punchbag.
Much is made in the media of ‘respect’ between road users – although of course, almost all media outlets in this pisshole of a country redefine ‘respect’ between car drivers and cyclists as the latter deferentially (even reverentially) getting out of the way of the former, lest their progress be hindered by even a second.
Treat me with respect, and I shall do likewise. Treat me like your punchbag and you’re in for a sore face.
(unless you’re bigger than me, in which case I’ll get the sore face, but if necessary, I’ll die defending myself)
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
It’s useful to know where to hit someone, punching someone in the head isn’t the best idea… and can kill (which I think could be argued to not be reasonable).
The chest is a good target and the throat is likely to stop someone from further assaulting you.
dassie wrote:
I’d just add here that if the shit hits the fan and you defend yourself, you’re probably going to find yourself in front of one of the stupid Tory fucks called ‘a magistrate’. Magistrates are accompanied by a trained legal advisor, but they are still almost hardwired to believe everything that plod tells them. And as Tory filth (yes, I know .. is there any other kind of Tory?), they are almost genetically predisposed to hate cyclists. So expect a guilty verdict at first instance. But once you appeal, and you get before an actual judge who has a good chance of having an IQ over 85 (unlike most of the magistrates I’ve met), then you can expect a different result.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Didn’t we already have that Walter Mitty remake with Ben Stiller? This garbage is probably funnier though.
Love you to drop in Harehills and see how long you lasted if you started on with militant, cycling-hardman act.
Good to see you admit you’re not Jason Bourne though as I don’t remember him throwing concrete slabs onto drivers. This is probably more your level
Rick_Rude wrote:
Sorry, I missed this. I’m sorry you felt threatened by my comments. There, there.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
Agreed, if a 5″ person of any sex confronts you, just pop your empty water bottle over them until they calm down and then release them. Don’t be tempted to throw their tiny car over a hedge.
MonkeyPuzzle wrote:
I would not advocate that, faced with a 5” woman who gets out of her car, you respond with a D-lock to the face followed by multiple stab wounds.
— MonkeyPuzzle Agreed, if a 5″ person of any sex confronts you, just pop your empty water bottle over them until they calm down and then release them. Don’t be tempted to throw their tiny car over a hedge.— Legs_Eleven_Worcester
“I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem may have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.” – David St. Hubbins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR7vpgFRuXo
fukawitribe wrote:
or the Steven Gerrard defence
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
By law this is very true.
Ive just come out of a job where i constantly had to deal with a lot of drunk and disorderly people.
One evening one got up real close to me and made cut throat gestures and threats about attacking me.
He attempted to attack me 3 times and each and every time i ejected him from the premesis but he kept coming back.
He carried on harrassing people on the street and the police were called. When he was eventually arrested and taken away i was approached by an police officer to take a statement he asked me why I didnt just deck him/give him a wallop when I was the suspects focus of attention.
I stated that I didnt know if i was allowed to and I also didnt want to lose my job for ‘attacking’ someone, even in self defence unless it was a serious case of life or death.
The cop told me that I could have knocked the guy out in self defence and the law wouldnt of touched me because I had already thrown him out 3 times and his behavior was irratic.
Bottom line is, if its clear that a confrontation is unavoidable and you fear that youre going to be attacked. you can throw the first punch or make the first move. Shove the attacker away and try to get away from him to desecalate the situation – This even more so if the attackers behavior is irratic which can be an effect of acohol or drugs.
Just lay him out…. if he’s got a knife though then of course you can grab whatever you have near to you and tenderise the attacker in self defence but only till he is no longer a threat. Its not a WWF wrestling match. When the attacker is down, thats when you call or wait for the police.
The BBC thing, it’s almost as
The BBC thing, it’s almost as if 5 people were not killed on our roads today by the incompetence of motor vehicle drivers.
Superficially, the bbc slot
Superficially, the bbc slot seemed OK. Simply putting common views forward and allowing a reply. Yet the whole context was wrong from the symmetrical approach that bikes are as dangerous as cars, cyclists break lots of laws, a man damaged a car (as though that never happens n any context). Where were the bits referring to drivers deliberately hitting cyclists or getting off Scot free after killing cyclists?
Anyhoo- does anyone know when
Anyhoo- does anyone know when/if we’ll get to see the NMoTD video?
brooksby wrote:
New series needed near miss near miss of the day of the day.
Blimey lots of comments and
Blimey lots of comments and we still haven’t seen the video yet. Better be good after all this.
Eds- Any chance of seeing the video, at all?
Scream like a little girl and
Scream like a little girl and run away has always been my mantra. My rationale is that even the most hardened hardnut would be too embarrased to hit me and by the time they get over their revulsion at my abject cowardice I’ll have scarpered.
Dear Simon MacMichael – your
Dear Simon MacMichael – your story is missing a certain something. Like, the actual video we’re all supposed to get all righteously indignant over. Just sayin’…
brooksby wrote:
Is it ok to get indignant about the vid being missing? I’m sure I could work up a head of steam about being forced to imagine the horrific scene and the beetroot faced gammon.
Definitely one for titanium
Definitely one for titanium knee sliders and motorcycle boots. He’s deliberately chosen to collide with the cyclist, and then gone on to initimidate and cut in on cyclists further on down the road.
Probably his usual route to work, I think I’d look out for his motor with a small sledge next time.
Having watched the video, the
Having watched the video, the driver is fairly lucky to not have a very large bill for damage to his Mercedes (you can take this two different ways.)
He’d have got a mouthful of education from me, he’s clearly not learnt from his dangerous mistake.
I presume the Met are investigating the dangerous driving?!
I love the way he just stops
I love the way he just stops on a double red, because you know, the cyclist needed learning.
I’m getting a lot of
I’m getting a lot of buffering, but still no video.
I’m interested. How many
I’m interested. How many people on here have been actually physically assaulted? I’m not talking about someone veering into you or even knocking you off. But, someone getting out of their car and either grabbing hold of you and threatening to rearrange your features or actually punching you?
The former happened to me; just because I called someone a dick for going through a red light past me. It is truly frightening. I’m 70 kg, 178 cm tall and have avoided physical altercation since primary school. To be lifted up by your ruck sack straps and dragged down the street is not pleasant. No matter how much you think you’d be able to handle it – no you won’t.
Jimbonic wrote:
It depends on what you mean by actually assaulted. If you mean the layman’s definition of someone laying hands on you, then no. But in law, an assault does not require physical contact. My first physical altercation took place when I took exception to borderline psychopathic driving, and voiced this exception quite loudly. The first one swerved his car into the kerb in front of me, blocking my escape, and came around the side of the car at me. I struck first and put him down. The second time I was actually off the bike when someone didn’t like the fact that I standing on ‘his road’. I refused to move. Again, he was quite obviously gearing up to hit me, so again, I hit first, by kicking him in the stomach/chest area. Again, he went down. Both times, plod were called, and both times (with the help of cameras and witnesses), I walked away.
Yes, it’s awful. No one in his right mind actually relishes the prospect of doing violence to another human being. And afterwards, I felt sick. Even now, I wonder ‘could I have done it differently?’ Even when in the right (as I was – incontrovertibly), I feel bad for having hurt someone.
But at the end of the day, if someone comes at you with the intent to do harm and gets harmed instead, he is the sole responsible. I might have got gobby when I was almost knocked off, but I did not threaten and I did not abuse.
My advice is to be ready. Go to self defence classes. I’ve been doing Krav Maga for a good number of years, specifically because I hate violence and I want to be able to avoid it whenever I can. If the ballon goes up, defend yourself and get out of dodge. It might be tempting to ‘punish’ the driver, but that’s not your call. Once he’s no longer a threat, walk away. If you can get away without involving the police, do so. Otherwise, stay and explain yourself.
Be courteous, but do not be anyone’s punchbag.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
It depends on what you mean by actually assaulted. If you mean the layman’s definition of someone laying hands on you, then no. But in law, an assault does not require physical contact. My first physical altercation took place when I took exception to borderline psychopathic driving, and voiced this exception quite loudly. The first one swerved his car into the kerb in front of me, blocking my escape, and came around the side of the car at me. I struck first and put him down. The second time I was actually off the bike when someone didn’t like the fact that I standing on ‘his road’. I refused to move. Again, he was quite obviously gearing up to hit me, so again, I hit first, by kicking him in the stomach/chest area. Again, he went down. Both times, plod were called, and both times (with the help of cameras and witnesses), I walked away.
Yes, it’s awful. No one in his right mind actually relishes the prospect of doing violence to another human being. And afterwards, I felt sick. Even now, I wonder ‘could I have done it differently?’ Even when in the right (as I was – incontrovertibly), I feel bad for having hurt someone.
My advice is to be ready. Go to self defence classes. I’ve been doing Krav Maga for a good number of years, specifically because I hate violence and I want to be able to avoid it whenever I can. If the ballon goes up, defend yourself and get out of dodge. It might be tempting to ‘punish’ the driver, but that’s not your call. Once he’s no longer a threat, walk away. If you can get away without involving the police, do so. Otherwise, stay and explain yourself.
Be courteous, but do not be anyone’s punchbag. — Jimbonic
I am genuinely interested in people’s experiences. I’ve been knocked off five times, driven at, had things thrown at me, etc. But, the sheer powerlessness of being dragged away and knowing that if I didn’t diffuse the situation somehow I would get beaten to a pull was really frightening. Worse than any of the other incidences.
I have thought about taking up some sort of self defence class. But, a) I don’t have the time to commit to it and b) should it really be a necessary skill for commuting to work?! (I’m not having a pop Legs. Your skills are worthwhile. I take my daughter kick boxing so she can burn off energy, learn discipline and, of course, be able to defend herself/diffuse aggressive situations)
I’m not sure where I was going with this, now. Except, I am genuinely interested to know how people actually deal with these situations. Not, how they would deal with them. For instance, your get in there first strategy wouldn’t work for me, Legs. I’m pretty sure I’d end up in a much worse situation.
In my case, I weighed up the situation (I was being dragged down into a quiet street), sucked up my indignation and said, “Sorry”. To my surprise, it worked. He let go of me, called me a cunt again and walked off.
I reported it to the police. But, didn’t take it further, as my only witness said he wouldn’t want to make a statement, as the person in question was (probably) from a certain community. I got it on record, but played safe.
Jimbonic wrote:
It depends on what you mean by actually assaulted. If you mean the layman’s definition of someone laying hands on you, then no. But in law, an assault does not require physical contact. My first physical altercation took place when I took exception to borderline psychopathic driving, and voiced this exception quite loudly. The first one swerved his car into the kerb in front of me, blocking my escape, and came around the side of the car at me. I struck first and put him down. The second time I was actually off the bike when someone didn’t like the fact that I standing on ‘his road’. I refused to move. Again, he was quite obviously gearing up to hit me, so again, I hit first, by kicking him in the stomach/chest area. Again, he went down. Both times, plod were called, and both times (with the help of cameras and witnesses), I walked away.
Yes, it’s awful. No one in his right mind actually relishes the prospect of doing violence to another human being. And afterwards, I felt sick. Even now, I wonder ‘could I have done it differently?’ Even when in the right (as I was – incontrovertibly), I feel bad for having hurt someone.
My advice is to be ready. Go to self defence classes. I’ve been doing Krav Maga for a good number of years, specifically because I hate violence and I want to be able to avoid it whenever I can. If the ballon goes up, defend yourself and get out of dodge. It might be tempting to ‘punish’ the driver, but that’s not your call. Once he’s no longer a threat, walk away. If you can get away without involving the police, do so. Otherwise, stay and explain yourself.
Be courteous, but do not be anyone’s punchbag.
— Legs_Eleven_Worcester I am genuinely interested in people’s experiences. I’ve been knocked off five times, driven at, had things thrown at me, etc. But, the sheer powerlessness of being dragged away and knowing that if I didn’t diffuse the situation somehow I would get beaten to a pull was really frightening. Worse than any of the other incidences. I have thought about taking up some sort of self defence class. But, a) I don’t have the time to commit to it and b) should it really be a necessary skill for commuting to work?! (I’m not having a pop Legs. Your skills are worthwhile. I take my daughter kick boxing so she can burn off energy, learn discipline and, of course, be able to defend herself/diffuse aggressive situations) I’m not sure where I was going with this, now. Except, I am genuinely interested to know how people actually deal with these situations. Not, how they would deal with them. For instance, your get in there first strategy wouldn’t work for me, Legs. I’m pretty sure I’d end up in a much worse situation. In my case, I weighed up the situation (I was being dragged down into a quiet street), sucked up my indignation and said, “Sorry”. To my surprise, it worked. He let go of me, called me a cunt again and walked off. I reported it to the police. But, didn’t take it further, as my only witness said he wouldn’t want to make a statement, as the person in question was (probably) from a certain community. I got it on record, but played safe.— Jimbonic
I can only sympathise with what sounds like an appalling experience, and I am glad you managed to walk away with only your pride bruised.
I was also the victim of violence, although it was a while back and it wasn’t a driver. My response: I ran. And that day, I swore: never again will I run away.
Unfortunately, in today’s Britain, being able to fight is a requirement for the cycle commuter. Unless you’re prepared to spend the rest of your days being the victim. You have the right to use the road. You owe no one deference. No one has the right to use unprovoked violence on you.
I don’t know what else to say.
Jimbonic wrote:
It depends on what you mean by actually assaulted. If you mean the layman’s definition of someone laying hands on you, then no. But in law, an assault does not require physical contact. My first physical altercation took place when I took exception to borderline psychopathic driving, and voiced this exception quite loudly. The first one swerved his car into the kerb in front of me, blocking my escape, and came around the side of the car at me. I struck first and put him down. The second time I was actually off the bike when someone didn’t like the fact that I standing on ‘his road’. I refused to move. Again, he was quite obviously gearing up to hit me, so again, I hit first, by kicking him in the stomach/chest area. Again, he went down. Both times, plod were called, and both times (with the help of cameras and witnesses), I walked away.
Yes, it’s awful. No one in his right mind actually relishes the prospect of doing violence to another human being. And afterwards, I felt sick. Even now, I wonder ‘could I have done it differently?’ Even when in the right (as I was – incontrovertibly), I feel bad for having hurt someone.
My advice is to be ready. Go to self defence classes. I’ve been doing Krav Maga for a good number of years, specifically because I hate violence and I want to be able to avoid it whenever I can. If the ballon goes up, defend yourself and get out of dodge. It might be tempting to ‘punish’ the driver, but that’s not your call. Once he’s no longer a threat, walk away. If you can get away without involving the police, do so. Otherwise, stay and explain yourself.
Be courteous, but do not be anyone’s punchbag.
— Legs_Eleven_Worcester I am genuinely interested in people’s experiences. I’ve been knocked off five times, driven at, had things thrown at me, etc. But, the sheer powerlessness of being dragged away and knowing that if I didn’t diffuse the situation somehow I would get beaten to a pull was really frightening. Worse than any of the other incidences. I have thought about taking up some sort of self defence class. But, a) I don’t have the time to commit to it and b) should it really be a necessary skill for commuting to work?! (I’m not having a pop Legs. Your skills are worthwhile. I take my daughter kick boxing so she can burn off energy, learn discipline and, of course, be able to defend herself/diffuse aggressive situations) I’m not sure where I was going with this, now. Except, I am genuinely interested to know how people actually deal with these situations. Not, how they would deal with them. For instance, your get in there first strategy wouldn’t work for me, Legs. I’m pretty sure I’d end up in a much worse situation. In my case, I weighed up the situation (I was being dragged down into a quiet street), sucked up my indignation and said, “Sorry”. To my surprise, it worked. He let go of me, called me a cunt again and walked off. I reported it to the police. But, didn’t take it further, as my only witness said he wouldn’t want to make a statement, as the person in question was (probably) from a certain community. I got it on record, but played safe.— Jimbonic
It’s human nature, I think, for the strong to oppress the weak. Whether it’s a government using its power to impoverish the already impoverished, or a driver getting in your face to intimidate you.
I hate bullies. There is only one way to deal with them and that is to hit them so fucking hard that they never come near you again.
Happily, not all altercations end that way. I remember being ‘ganged up on’ once by a moped rider and a van driver. Neither approached me physically so it was just words. The moped rider said something like, ‘Look at him, thinks he’s sick with his camera’.
The use of ‘sick’ in this infantile way just made me burst out laughing. That was when he threatened to knock me off my bike. We were both stationary at that point, so ‘knock off’ didn’t mean with his vehicle.
‘Do it, man,’ I replied. ‘Do it. See what happens’.
And he fucking knew I wasn’t kidding. God, I hate bullies. I’d have fucking destroyed the c**t if he’d laid a hand on me.
He rode away.
I’m not Jason Bourne. It’s entirely possible that one day, I’ll get a kicking. But there are some principles worth dying for, and standing up to bullies is (IMHO) one of them.
Jimbonic]
We’ve had a whole thread on this, and it is “defuse” not “diffuse”.
Jimbonic wrote:
Yes, but the individual’s concerned (on two occasions I can remember) didn’t get out of their cars, but tried to punch me from inside their cars. One made contact, but so weakly I just started laughing*. The other I remember tried and missed, can’t remember my response, probably a shake of the head and move on.
Nothing like your experience which sounds horrible.
* The same driver insisted they were driving a stolen car.
Jimbonic wrote:
yes it is frightening and it has happened to me. https://youtu.be/JrrS9lcqFh4
The registered owner refused to identify the driver and ended up with 6 points and a hefty fine. We’d all like to think how macho we’d be….this scared the crap out of me. I swore at him once for an extremely close pass and this was his reaction. Pleased it was acted on.
It seems to me that its all
It seems to me that its all entirely the cyclist’s fault for deciding to use the cycle lane that the council has painted on the road. How very dare he!
/sarcasm=off
From the video, driver
From the video, driver actions aside, is it just me, or would anyone have tended to slot in behind the merc, given that there were signs of the traffic moving off and the merc/kerb gap is pretty narrow? I haven’t busy/city commuted by bike in many years.