Police in Wiltshire have arrested a 38 year-old man on suspicion of dangerous driving after a video of a car swerving towards a cyclist went viral on social media.
The arrest follows an incident near Ashton Keynes earlier this month that appeared to show the driver of a Peugeot car swerving towards a cylist.
Other riders came forward to say that they believed they had been subject to similar treatment by the driver of the same vehicle, with one urging that the motorist needed to be stoppped "before someone is killed."
Sergeant Barrie Card of Wiltshire Police said: "I want to reassure cyclists in the county that we take all matters involving their safety on the roads extremely seriously.
"I know that this has been a distressing time for the cyclists involved in these incidents and I would like to thank them for their kind co-operation and assistance with our enquiries.
"If any cyclist or member of the public witnesses a similar incident, I would strongly urge them to report the matter to the police as soon as they can."
Police are still seeking information about this specific incident, or similar ones. They can be contacted via 101, or people can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
27 thoughts on “Wiltshire Police arrest driver after video of car swerving at cyclist goes viral”
I am guessing this is going
I am guessing this is going to get closed, but anyway,
here’s hoping that if the arrest is actually the offending driver. That the CPS and the courts treat this with the seriousness that this deserves.
Ooh comments are open on this
Ooh comments are open on this one, can I restrain myself, can YOU restrain yourself? Lets assume justice will take its natural course and the erroneous gentleman will reenter society sufficiently chastened to avoid further complications. Perhaps Karma would be the removal of his drivers licence, he may gain an appreciation of cycling then.
The first two comments are
The first two comments are far too sensible, where’s the ones demanding that he be hung, drawn and quartered?
We’ll close comments if and
We’ll close comments if and when charges are brought.
Living and cycling in Leeds i
Living and cycling in Leeds i have the occasional car swerve towards me including a group of young lads in a 4×4, informed the police they said there was little they could do.
Be interested to see what if anything happens other than a £30 fine.
Unless he pleads guilty I
Unless he pleads guilty I doubt it will even go to court. Even with the video evidence it doesn’t show the driver clear enough, and no lawyer will tell his client to plead guilty with a clear lack of evidence.
Das wrote:Unless he pleads
Mobile phone records can be quite useful in establishing that a driver was in fact in the car despite their denials. Not something the Police would bother with often, but it’s been used in the past and they seem to be investigating these incidents with the seriousness they deserve.
If driver, sorry registered
If driver, sorry registered owner doesn’t fess up then plod should say that since he refuses to tell them who was driving then they believe the car to being driven whilst uninsured, that he conspired to allow this then seize and impound his car. Ha-ha! If then he still doesn’t tell who the driver was then crush it and bill him for it as well. But if the footage is good quality it might well be possible to zoom in on the driver and his mates….. Bingo! Also charge him and them with attempting to pervert the course of justice. Lets hope he gets properly punished for what he has done. What a complete tosser!
“I want to reassure cyclists
“I want to reassure cyclists in the county that we take all matters involving their safety on the roads extremely seriously”, “If any cyclist or member of the public witnesses a similar incident, I would strongly urge them to report the matter to the police as soon as they can” & how many of us done this & got nowhere with the UK Police force?
I think it was only acted on due to it doing the rounds on social media not coz the Police cared. I’ve tried reporting a few to Police & it went nowhere.
String ’em up!! It’s the only
String ’em up!! It’s the only language they understand! No. Hang on. ‘Anging’s too good for ’em. Luvva duck.
Happy notfastenough?
MercuryOne wrote:String ’em
Once more with enthusiasm, intent, I want to see emotion!! 😀
Would Wiltshire’s finest have
Would Wiltshire’s finest have pursued this without the social media storm?
Will Wiltshire’s finest take this any further?
Will the CPS take this any further?
What will the driver be charged with?
What punishment will be handed out if any?
Is the arrest just an attempt to pour oil on troubled waters until the fuss has died down?
All questions, no answers.
Surely this is similar to a
Surely this is similar to a speeding case? The registered owner is liable unless he can prove he was not the driver?
Make him cycle the wrong way
Make him cycle the wrong way down the motorway for a couple of junctions, if he makes it, let him go. TRIAL BY COMBAT.
It absolutely drives me
It absolutely drives me bananas that the following seems to be absolutely acceptable to the UK justice/police system…
Police officer: “excuse me sir, are you the registered owner of this car?”
Car owner: “I am indeed”
Police officer: “Great, this vehicle was seen committing x offence on y date, was it you driving?”
Car owner: “no, sir, not me”
Police officer: “Ok, as registered keeper could you tell me who was driving on y date?”
Car owner: “gosh…. no, sorry, I have absolutely no idea officer, it could have been anyone”
Police officer: “OK, fair enough, looks like the drivers got lucky and got away with it this time… thanks for your help, you go have a great day”
How… just how can this be OK?
Jimmy Ray Will wrote:
Police
That’s not entirely accurate though as regards the justice system – if the registered keeper fails to provide details on request that would help identify the driver, then they may be guilty of an offence under the RTA 1988.
Jimmy Ray Will wrote:It
Yep, had this sort of thing before. Some little scrote (passenger in small car) slapped my arse as they (well, the driver) drove past. So, a) they were way too close and b) it was rather a large shock and, given that I was tramping along (downhill) at 25-30 mph, could have been rather painful. Fortunately, I didn’t throw myself off the road.
When I reported this to the police, it just seemed to be a bit of a joke. I provided descriptions, reg no, etc. They tracked down the driver, but the driver was unwilling to give up the passenger – her boyfriend, or at least friend, I suspect. So, I was given the choice of insisting on pushing this further. But the police very much gave the impression that a) it wouldn’t get very far and b) they really couldn’t be arsed.
I gave up!
I probably shouldn’t have, but the thought of having to stand up in court and describe getting my arse slapped and then to lose and pay costs for the pleasure just didn’t appeal.
Back on track, though, I really hope that this arsehole gets their comeuppance. It’s just not acceptable to drive like that.
Jimmy Ray Will wrote:It
Logically, to me, if one has shown that at the very least one isn’t keeping tabs on one’s licenced deadly weapon, that weapon should be confiscated (and possibly the owner banned from owning another one). But is that how it actually works with other such weapons?
How does it work in the US with regard to guns? If a gun is shown to have been used in a crime, and the legal owner is located, still in possession of the gun, what would happen? (I genuinely don’t know the answer, am curious)
What strikes me as odd is
What strikes me as odd is that if you threaten someone on Twitter, the police are all over it. If you threaten someone on the road then … meh.
I think the point is…
I think the point is… ‘may’, they ‘may’ be guilty of an offence.
They ‘should’ IMO be guilty of perverting the course of justice as standard. What reason could there be for this not being the case?
There is less chance of
There is less chance of anything happening to the driver than there is of England winning the World Cup.
Wouldn’t have taken much on
Wouldn’t have taken much on either part for the outcome to have been much more tragic.
The driver deserves to be banned as they are clearly not mature enough to be in charge of what is essentially a deadly weapon (and was being used as such in this case).
Or if you want to be a bit more extreme, give Darwin a hand and sterilise them – I’d rather not have those genes continue for another generation.
And what will happen? fuck
And what will happen? fuck all probably.
Didn’t the leicestershire lot say the same with a similar driver? heard nothing after that, probably didn’t even find them.
Here’s an idea: If this is
Here’s an idea: If this is going to get thrown out because of some lack of proper driver ID, I propose a novel solution…
We can already ID the driver. By the car.
So take the car and have it scrapped. If it was the driver, he loses out financially. If it was driven by someone he knew, let him go after them himself.
It might actually encourage people to drive responsibly rather than performing ludicrous and dangerous stunts because they think they can get away with it.
In my ideal world, people who do this kind of thing just wouldn’t be allowed drive or hold positions of any importance. It’s the lowest form of scum that does this kind of thing. I’ve never had to “dangerously overtake” cyclists to get anywhere, I’ve never been held up by bikes anymore than any other kind of traffic, and I’ve never found the urge to drive head on at someone for a bit of fun. If he had hit him, and not knowing he had a camera, I’m sure the “I didn’t see him” or “A dog jumped out of a hedge” defences would have been wheeled out.
While I’m not a fan of helmet cams because a lot of youtubers wearing them seem to be deliberately antagonistic on the roads, in these circumstances they are great and the courts should come down so hard on offenders.
If only one of the victims
If only one of the victims (or non-victims as the (police) case may be) was non-white, then any of us could claim it was a racist attack, and all hell would be unleashed on the driver.
Ah! Wear a turban instead of a helmet. Then you could claim it’s racially motivated and would produce a response.
Anyway, the case filmed is an assault by the definition of the crime:
An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal or civil liability.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/assault
racyrich wrote:If only one of
My black brother in law can tell you how much more attention the police pay to non-white road users.
He has often been stopped by the police whilst driving, to check that he is OK. They sometimes help him out when he is walking too. Just to make sure he isn’t inadvertently carrying something odd.
felixcat wrote:My black
A black mate of mine found that once he started wearing a kilt, he’s not had a single stop and search. He’s recommended it to many people, but none have copied his style.
Maybe your brother in law will give it a try? If he cycles as well, it’s a good way to show off the guns.