Video: Richmond Park driver intimidates female cyclist by beeping horn before overtake

Another sunny weekend, another case of a cyclist being intimidated by a motorists in London’s Richmond Park – in this instance, a female rider who was beeped loudly by a driver who was about to overtake her, a disconcerting experience for anyone on a bike.

The footage was posted online by Twitter user The Department for Parks & Recreation, who had been filming motor traffic in the Royal Park.

The tweet prompted a reply from London Cycling Campaign, which urged The Royal Parks to act upon the results of its own consultation and ban through traffic from the southwest London beauty spot.

This system is a choice. We call on @theroyalparks to stop the through-traffic as per their own consultation to prevent this unacceptable intimidation and harassment of park users. No one should be frightened off from cycling in a park https://t.co/1f9yXoPitX

— London Cycling Campaign (@London_Cycling) June 12, 2021

Despite calls from road safety and active travel campaigners for through motor traffic to be permanently banned from the park, earlier this year the Royal Parks confirmed that it was prolonging its trial Movement Strategy there by a further 12 months until March next year.

The trial, which started last August to coincide with motor vehicles being allowed back into Richmond Park after they were excluded during the first lockdown, is aimed at reducing through traffic while allowing access to car parks, although posts on social media regularly show the roads there choked with cars.

In a separate incident, Royal Parks has said that a cyclist was involved in a crash in the park this weekend in which a young deer was killed.

While the age of the animal was not disclosed, some Twitter users questioned whether a cyclist would have come out of such a crash uninjured.

Who witnessed this incident, or is someone making an assumption? I find it hard to believe that anyone who hit a deer hard and fast enough to kill it would have been in any state to walk/ride away.

— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) June 13, 2021

The post also drew a number of comments critical of cyclists using the park, in response to which one Twitter user linked an article by Friends of Richmond Park which said that human carelessness was responsible for the deaths of around 20 deer there annually, with the article specifically mentioning speeding drivers, out-of-control dogs and littering – but not cyclists.

Who witnessed this incident, or is someone making an assumption? I find it hard to believe that anyone who hit a deer hard and fast enough to kill it would have been in any state to walk/ride away.

— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) June 13, 2021