Jeremy Vine has shared footage of a van driver in London swinging across the middle of the road ahead of an oncoming cyclist while making a left turn and then shouting "f*** off" out the window when the BBC and Channel 5 broadcaster acknowledged the driving.
Vine, whose Twitter videos of incidents and near misses while cycling around the English capital have racked up millions of views, attention from national newspapers and thousands of replies and likes, was tempted to confront the driver, but decided he "quite fancied getting home alive", instead laughing with a group of passing youngsters.
In the footage, shot in Fulham, the driver can be seen making a left turn, crossing the white line in the middle of the road as a cyclist approaches the turning, no more than a few metres ahead of the front of the van.
As both parties swerve away from a near-collision, Vine exclaims: "Ooh, wow" and is met by a shout of "F*** off" from the van's driver who then stops further up the road.
Taking in the scene, Vine is told: "It's alright, boss, you're in the right" by one of the three teenagers walking by, who the Radio 2 presenter then tells: "It could be dangerous. He seems like the sort of guy who might not come to my birthday party".
"Crikey. I was about to have a word with this van driver, and then decided I quite fancied getting home alive," he concluded on Twitter.
> Jeremy Vine tells cyclists to "cycle in anything you like" — wants media portrayal of cyclists to move away from Lycra and race bikes
Two weeks ago a courier who called Vine a "p***k" while crossing the road in west London was suspended from work while his employer investigates.
The 50-year-old man, named as Tony in an interview with the Mail, was filmed crossing the road in front of Vine — as the broadcaster rounded a van stopped in a bike lane.
As Vine passed, continuing his ride through Hammersmith, the man turned around, saying "Vine you p***k" before some other inaudible dialogue.
The warehouse worker later insisted he did not regret anything and "called him a p***k because he was acting like one" and claiming that the presenter had almost hit him. Vine subsequently shared a second camera angle raising doubt about how close the apparent collision had been.
Add new comment
16 comments
My biggest bugbear is drivers cutting the corner. Every junction you're turning right on you always have to be aware of drivers cutting onto your side of the road to save a half a second.
The masochist in me wants to click the "Read 299 replies"
Every other fibre of my being is screaming not to.
People in the office are wondering why I am muttering "Twitter is the bad place. Twitter is the bad place" to myself.
I preferred it when Twitter wouldn't allow non-users, like myself, access to more than a handful of comments before asking you to sign up/log in. Now us non users can end up down a hate filled rabbit hole too.
It's exactly what you'd expect - "He didn't hit the cyclist, did he? What's the problem?", "Have you ever driven? Big vans need swing-room!", "Stop being such a drama queen!", etc.
If the van driver had taken the corner like that and forced another driver to take evasive, precisely 0% of the public would be sticking up for him. However, seeing as it was a cyclist, any level of risk and endangerment from motorists is A-okay as long as it doesn't result in contact, apparently.
Surely there's one about road tax, RLJ, Lycra louts. I need them for my line in the Bingo 🙄
Don't go there 🤔
Drivers shouting abuse after being dick heads is pretty normal. I nearly got doored by a distracted passenger outside the local kids football club where every bugger parks on the cycle lane [ sanctioned by the council and police in Walsall ] , I suggested they park somewhere other than the CL , "fuck off " came the reply.... yeah... and you mate.
I think that translates as "How DARE you criticise my driving?!"
It doesn't actually matter how badly they are driving: a lot of people think that the British Way is to (pretend to) ignore the bad behaviour of others ("Somebody Else's Problem").
It should be so much easier to lose your driving liscense.
This driver should have to do a retest. They proved in this very short clip they lack both the skill and the temperament to operate heavy machinery.
Because might is right, innit?
(no, I don't believe that, but plenty do)
Yeah but I bet a big onion would feel differently
Big onion would make you cry
Unfortunately this kind of corner taking is very common amongst the unskilled. They appear to have no idea where the 4 corners of their vehicle are at any point in time.
Such drivers should be restricted to mopeds until they have undertaken further testing to demonstrate their improved spatial awareness.
Telling Jeremy Vine to f-off is acceptable, however.
Why, it's almost as if Jeremy expected that van driver to slow down and negotiate the corner carefully...
Pretty much every car driver would be loosing their shitz if that van did that to them*
But because the van driver did it to cyclist, then all is good in the world.
* based on 30 years experience of driving vans, 7.5tonners, rigids and artics in towns and cities around the UK.
And this sort of thing is a regular occurence on rides around here. As is the driver's reaction.