[the little onion]

So, here is video of what I thought was a cut and dry road traffic offense. As I was riding to work at about 30mph in a 30mph zone (because I was going downhill, not because I’m MvdP), I was being tailgated by this driver. I then signal and move right to go round the parked cars. This driver then cuts up the INSIDE of me, driving very close to me, and then has to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front

https://vimeo.com/1079291114/f8d5ab5f41?share=copy

I uploaded the file to the portal for West Yorkshire police within a few hours, providing all the necessary details. They are declining to prosecute, apparently because this doesn’t meet the necessary criteria for being considered as a crime.

This is an absolute disgrace. What exactly do you have to do in West Yorkshire to be considered as a dangerous driver? I wonder if the failure to prosecute is related to my previous run-ins with WYP?
 

 

Topic

[Bungle_52]

Have you contacted CUK about

Have you contacted CUK about this? If yes what did they say?

[the little onion]

As I mentioned in my

As I mentioned in my submission to the police, the driver (“she”, by the way. It was a Middle Aged woman) was happily tailgating me at 30mph on a 30mph road.

[wtjs]

I repeat, risking the

I repeat, risking the annoyance of those who have read this many times before, that it is difficult to fail to despise the police. Don’t imagine that conditions on the roads can’t get worse for cyclists- they can and they will and the prime cause is (you knew this was coming) the attitude of the b*****d police. It’s not just West Yorkshire…

https://upride.cc/incident/wk66uhc_transporter_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/md19lxp_fiesta_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/pn68byl_mercedesa_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/unknowntractor_bigtrailer_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/w2agw_barbarian_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/yg25tsz_bmwix_closepass/

https://upride.cc/incident/pn70vux_polo_closepass/

And that’s just July 25. The police apologists will be spouting ‘what can the police do when there are so many’. There are so many because of the unthinking, uncaring anti-cyclist pro-motorist beliefs prevalent in these increasingly hostile forces. 

[chrisonabike]

No mention of what the driver

No mention of what the driver might have been doing.  This reads like “it’s him again, we’re not going to entertain his timewasting” (e.g. “The RP has ridden without consideration to others prior to this.”).

Of course “consideration to others” is judged entirely from a motorist viewpoint, and of course things like “was the person you were supposed to show consideration to driving sensibly or even within the law (e.g. under speed limit / not causing others to have to take avoiding action)” are usually not considered.

Another data point for the idea that while a substantial majority of road users are drivers attitudes won’t change – and cyclists will be “in the way” regardless of speed.  We could probably improve the policing a little but ultimately because “mass motoring” it’s the viewpoint of society that wins out.

Other countries show that drivers can come to accept co-existence with cyclists to some degree, under certain conditions.  But I think in the final analysis we need either separate spaces (in fact for any types of traffic substantially different in momentum / other characteristics) or motorists being substantially outnumbered by cyclists where they mix.

[Rendel Harris]

the little onion wrote:

the little onion wrote:

I wonder if the failure to prosecute is related to my previous run-ins with WYP?

It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out…I bet they were disappointed that you didn’t swear so they couldn’t get you on a public order offence, although I daresay they’ll probably decide that “Whoooaaa!” is actually threatening and could cause alarm and distress.

[the little onion]

Why bring facts into the

Why bring facts into the equation when you can operate purely on the grounds of prejudice?

[mdavidford]

Even if you’d been riding

Even if you’d been riding right over in the gutter, and even if they could have done so without breaking the speed limit, I can’t see where in that clip they think anyone would have been able to safely overtake you anyway, given oncoming traffic, parked cars, bend in the road, junctions, etc…

[the little onion]

So, I now have the police

So, I now have the police response, after requesting a Right of Access request. This is the full police notes on the incident, with RP meaning reporting person (i.e. me)

“RP is reporting a vehicle undertaking him. The RP has ridden without consideration to others prior to this. He is riding at speed in the middle to right of the road, not allowing any vehicles to pass. The driver could say that he thought the RP was turning right as he was riding fully in the middle of the road.”

This is so awful victim blaming. Firstly, this is schrodingers’ cyclist – both speeding and going too fast (no speed mentioned!), yet not letting any vehicles past. Secondly, as per the highway code, you should take primary when moving at the same speed as the rest of traffic. Thirdly, it is the middle of the carriageway, not the road. Fourthly, I explicitly mention the hazards such as pinch points, pot holes and parked cars in my submission. Fifthly, absolutely no mention of the close pass, which would be too close even if I were turning right.

 

Complaint incoming to West Yorkshire police. Thanks a lot, PC 371 Earlie and PC 2394 Ransom.

[HoarseMann]

Yep, that’s appalling. I had

Yep, that’s appalling. I had something similar involving a bus – no action taken by Thames Valley Police.

[wtjs]

More standard police tactics-

More standard police tactics- I don’t understand why more people do not vocally agree with me that the major factor leading to reducing safety for cyclists in the UK is the ‘bloody cyclists are too much trouble’ attitude of the police.

[the little onion]

I complained to west

I complained to west yorkshire police, asking for more details as to why it wasn’t considered dangerous. I did this via the official complaints portal. I was told that it would be too onerous a task, involving too much staff time, to reply to me.

They aren’t doing themselves any favours here……

[OldRidgeback]

That is bad. I could see from

That is bad. I could see from the road surface conditions why you were slightly closer to the centreline too. I’d have done exactly the same. Why the police didn’t take action doesn’t make sense. The driver made two traffic offences, the close pass plus the overtake on the inside. 

[Sam_OT]

Interesting. I had a similar,
Interesting. I had a similar, but less extreme case. A large van undertook me *in the same lane as me* approaching a roundabout. Police insisted driver thought I was turning right, so wasn’t a crime. Even MP (call him out: Jeremy Wright, former QC, Kenilworth) said the same, amongst other gaslighting.

Finally, I spoke to head of policing in the area, who assured me both were wrong… but, over six months had passed, so window to act.

[Author]

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