Video: Man pushes female cyclist into traffic in East London – police appeal for witnesses

looks like he's handed himself in.

Update: The Grauniad says he has now handed himself in.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/25/man-pushes-cyclist-into-l...

Bring back hanging.

If any one sees this twat run him down. See how he likes it, pushing a woman off her bike. Piece of scum.

If he had tried this on me, he would have got a D-lock on his head, but I guess he only goes for soft targets as he's a bully.

there is a red man on the crossing as she passes. personally it wouldn't bother me but she must have felt he was too close and she might have to swerve to avoid him. It doesn't really matter, he assaulted her because he has the emotional control of a child and may soon regret his actions.

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they've seen you and they either go in front, or behind

Or you have to take some evasive action because you've read the road correctly.

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or just sound that 'here comes a bike' thing called a bell that nobody takes offence to!

I find bells wholly offensive. Pricks come up behind you ringing their bells in a demanding way, not slowing down full of expectation that the pedestrian will get out of their way.... on a shared path. Used by horrendous people.

OK, what he did was very wrong and he should be punished, but, tbh, has this woman just entered a town for the first time? I encounter numerous pedestrians like this every day; they've seen you and they either go in front, or behind. It just 'sorts itself out'. What you don't do is make an antagnostic comment with the 'finger' because, funny old thing, they might chase after you and 'lamp' you (there's some similarities to the vid with the bloke that falls over after chasing the cyclist - a camera is a safety thing, not a means of getting a 'road war' vid to show your mates). A polite shout may be necessary if someone doesn't see you and steps out right in front of you, or just sound that 'here comes a bike' thing called a bell that nobody takes offence to! Oh no...one of those naff things only seen on kids bikes and 'shoppers'. Spoils the bar 'ambience' and detracts from the Garmin. It's hard but, chill out, act maturely and '(wo)man up'! (perhaps the cops said that first time round, but they should have nabbed the offender).

A vole please, Carole.

Awkward one this, and it's not helped by shoddy camera work and strangely tight editing. Ok! Devil's Advocate time.

So what do we know?
The incident happened in Sidney Street which is near The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. Is this a factor? Do we have a distracted pedestrian? Does he have things on his mind? Has he even seen her?

He is crossing the road and as Bikebot quite correctly points out the is no such thing as a right of way in this country only priorities.

The Cyclist says "Please, Don't push me off!". How do YOU feel when you are accused of thinking of doing something that you had no intention of doing? Do you react well? Do you not feel anger towards your accuser?

He comments and receives in return an obscene gesture. He makes chase and catches up with the cyclist to remonstrate. In a fit of anger he pushes the cyclist, she falls.

Are his intentions to hurt, injure or kill the cyclist? No! He is not an animal, he is not scum, he is a person, a human being who has reacted badly.

Who are we to judge?

Lets rewind and try again.
A cyclist is riding up Sidney Street in the East End of London. She sees a pedestrian wishing to cross the road. He watches two cars pass and starts to cross the road. The cyclist who has anticipated his intentions has already slowed down, she calls out in a bright voice "Good morning" and smiles, the pedestrian smiles back. The pedestrian continues across the road and the cyclist goes behind the pedestrian. Both parties enriched by the social interaction that has just occurred.

Or am I indulging too much in the month of Elul? I don't know.

The only sexism in this video is by the cyclist. She thought she could get away with giving the pedestrian the middle finger, by playing the 'weak woman' sexist card and not fearing retaliation.

Before you attack me, yes, the guy belongs in jail for assault! Looks like valuable lesson learned by both parties to live and let live.

Right, clarification here. From the ladies speed & direction of travel, it intimates that she had just come straight over the Whitechaple Road, with the traffic lights in her favour, into Sidney Street. The pedestrian crossing at that junction was not operational due to the extensive roadworks. The pedestrian has taken it upon themselves to attempt to cross the road, irrespective of other road users. In this particular instance the other road users are NOT obliged to stop to allow him to cross.

Now, there is either some slight movement or gesture from the pedestrian (which isn't clear/visible in the video) that prompts the lady cyclist to say what she does. Pedestrian then tells the lady to "Shut it, (inaudible)", as she goes past. Interestingly, there is no deviation of the cyclists head (i.e. video) or direction that would support the 'finger' gesture, however; I wasn't there nor do I have the ladies full account of the incident. The pedestrian then clearly chases the lady down the road and upends her and her bicycle. This is an assault. What level of assault would depend on the cyclists injuries. Had the ladies injuries been serious, 'intent' would have played a part. If it was me I'd be pushing for a 'Criminal Damage' charge, as well, once offender is caught.

Those of you out there that feel aggrieved about 'intent' in English law, don't be. Ask yourself how many times you have wondered out of a shop without paying for something or left the workplace with something that possibly didn't belong to you....all by accident of course. Now for an offence of 'theft' one has to prove what the intent was, so embrace 'intent' it can be a savour!!!

No way is that bloke in his 40s, for a start.

It just looks to me as if the chain of thought in the pedestrian's head went like this: "A car can really hurt me, so I'd better wait until it's safe to cross... Oh, a bike, well, they won't want to get hurt so they'll just go around me, no need to wait for them."

Followed by "How dare you tell me anything about anything! Or criticise any part of my actions! I am the Master of the Universe and I shall smite thee!"

Or, of course, maybe the cyclist wasn't wearing hi-viz, which makes you completely invisible, so he didn't see her.

Or maybe the cyclist was wearing hi-viz, which also makes you completely invisible as far as I can tell.

No one ever has right of way, the term is priority.

Going straight forward, across a pelican crossing on green the road users have priority. All road users are obliged to give way in all circumstance if doing so would avoid an accident. In other words, you can't run someone over just because you have priority.

There's no specific criminal offence for pedestrians who ignore road priority. However, if their action results in an accident, they can be considered culpable for civil liability.

He may be male, but he's certainly no man.

farrell, we can't tell for sure from the video, but if she turned onto that road (as the article says), and if he was crossing already, then he had right of way - regardless of the state of the pedestrian crossing, and regardless of what other vehicles did, and regardless of whether he ceded right of way to those other vehicles.

Just as this can not justify his actions there-after, nor can his actions afterwards justify the **prior** lack of respect the cyclist potentially showed to a pedestrian (if she turned onto the road and he had already started crossing).

Even if technically he hadn't set foot on the road once she was on the road, she most *definitely* anticipated he was crossing and would be in her path. At which point, getting angry with the pedestrian, accusing him of risking knocking him off (thus angering the ped), and giving him the finger was not, I would submit, a shining example of how a cyclist should treat pedestrians about to try cross a road at a pedestrian crossing (and remember, his violence could *not* be a factor at this stage - it was well into the future still).

He may have turned out to be a violent twat *after*, but that can *not* excuse a lack of respect to pedestrians.

Lack of respect to pedestrians on the roads is *most definitely* a general problem in the UK, just as it is to cyclists - and sadly cyclists can be guilty of not respecting pedestrians rights to the road.

There is no such thing as jaywalking in the UK. I think she should have let him cross, as it is my understanding that you should always give way to pedestrians no matter how silly their behaviour.

Also, the camera view of the street shows there is no other traffic, so he hardly pushed her into the flow of traffic or any nonsense like that.

However it is assault, and he should be banged up like a kipper.

And the comment of the day goes to a Mr Clive Larman, who had the following to say on the LBC website

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Typical aggressive cyclist, playing chicken with, and hurling self righteous abuse at, a pedestrian she should have stopped for at the initial crossing, but instead almost knocks down.

Unbelievable that so many view her as the innocent party, I wonder what view they would have taken of a car or lorry driver who had done the same thing.

"Stick your finger up to me? Come on then...."
Says the big hard man to a woman.
Bring it on softarse!!

His reaction was utterly disproportionate, but she did initiate the bad feeling by continuing to cycle at him and deny him his right of way. He's a pedestrian, he was well on his way across the road, and had already started crossing her lane, as she turned onto it - judging by the text of the article and the video. Not only does she ignore his right of way, she piles insult onto that offence by trying to paint him as the offender and (apparently) give him the finger.

Now, how he responds is totally disproportionate, but many here will surely also know how angry it can make one when another faster road user takes liberties with your right to use the road. There is a primal "flight or fight" response that sometimes gets triggered when other people, in charge of higher-energy vehicles threaten your well-being, and which can be hard to control in the heat of the moment. Well documented in the many cyclist videos, surely - if usually only manifested by swearing and hand gestures.

The man ultimately commits a far, far graver injustice - an actual offence and unjustifiable. However, it has to be recognised that the seed of this incident was in the lack of manners and respect the cyclist showed the pedestrian to begin with.

Pedestrians have a right to the road too. I am flabbergasted, when I walk here and try do things like cross the road, how often I am bullied by car drivers - and I've seen cyclists bully pedestrians too. As with the lack of respect shown to cyclists by motor vehicles, there is a similar great problem here with a lack of respect for pedestrians on the roads.

We need to all show each more respect on the roads. Including pedestrians.

Whilst not absolving this knobber - why did she give him the finger? Out of interest more than anything.