Incident and police response



B

burtthebike

Guest
On monday, riding home, daylight, dry, good visibility, I had an "incident"
with one of those strange people who drive cars. Going down steep hill,
tailwind, 40mph limit, doing well over 30 (Filton Hill on the A38 north of
Bristol for those who know it). Lights change at the junction at the bottom
of the hill, so I start to slow down and I'm coasting to a halt at the
lights, about 10m away, when a horn is sounded behind me, I'm my usual metre
out from the kerb. I ignore the horn as it can't be anything to do with me.
Wrong! A car pulls alongside, the driver winds down the passenger window
and tells me to "effing get on the effing cycle path". I point out that it
is perfectly legal to ride on the road, the lights change and we both move
off, except that he stops 100m farther on, flings open his door and stands
in my way. Thinking that I'd rather point out the error of his ways here
and now, rather than having him driving behind me, I stopped. The
conversation was pretty much what he'd already said though, but with a lot
more effing and blinding and a finger shoved within an inch of my face, and
accusing me of blocking the traffic - it's dual carriageway and plenty of
room for buses to pass no prob. I could see that there was no point in
carrying on the conversation, so I turned around to walk off, and as I did
so, he gave me a shove, which made me stumble, but I managed to stay upright
using my bike as a support. I turned around and said that I would be
reporting him for assault, whereupon he threatened to run me over if he saw
me riding on the road again. I took down his number and waited until he
drove off before carrying on myself. It was only when I got home that I
realised that there is no cycle path at that point, it starts about 300m
farther on, not that it would have justified his behaviour anyway.

When I got home, I wondered about reporting this to the police, having read
of many instances on this group where they just weren't interested, and
there were no witnesses. Whatever, I went on line and reported it,
including as much as I could remember about the guy, but I wasn't expecting
anything to happen other than a polite acknowledgement. I was pleasantly
surprised to receive the polite acknowledgement and a phone call from the
police at work early next morning, telling me that they were taking it
seriously and that they would come to my house to take a statement, which
should be happening tonight.

The driver appeared to be a post office worker, there is a big depot on the
A38 very close to where this happened, so I reported it to them too, but no
response as yet.

I'll post updates when there is anything to report.

I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?
 
"burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On monday, riding home, daylight, dry, good visibility, I had an
> "incident"

....
>
> I'll post updates when there is anything to report.
>
> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
> action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
> thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


I don't know whether it's possible to generalise, but they look like they're
doing the right thing this time. Seriously, somebody showing that amount of
anger and roadrage should not be allowed on the road in a vehicle.

Graham
 
Ask them to check if there's any CCTV covering the area to aid
identification of the driver.
 
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:05:52 GMT someone who may be "burtthebike"
<[email protected]> wrote this:-

>I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
>action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
>thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


The police are not a homogeneous organisation. Rather they are a
series of organisations within which there are many individuals. You
appear to have been lucky with the individuals your message was put
through to, which is good.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54
 
"burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
> action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
> thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


I reckon the fact he gave you a shove and threatened to run you over rather
than just swearing at you makes the critical difference.

Hope it works out properly.

cheers,
clive
 

>
> > I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
> > action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
> > thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?

>
> I don't know whether it's possible to generalise, but they look like they're
> doing the right thing this time. Seriously, somebody showing that amount of
> anger and roadrage should not be allowed on the road in a vehicle.
>
> Graham


Ask him if ,when it is recorded, it should be labeled as a complaint
that will be struck off if there is no corroboration within a short
time or as a suspicious incident that will be kept on record for a lot
longer or even better as both. The bobby should go and have a word
with him. That can be surprisingly intimidating for some people,
especially if his employer is involved in the appointment. He sounds a
bit special. Not many people will get out and threaten another road
user particularly for ,apparently, no reason. It makes you wonder what
else he gets up to and the police will be aware of that.

TerryJ
 
Yea, I had a bloke kick me for exactly the same reason as your
trouble. The police were great but the bloke was on fake plates, which
he told me he was as I was taking a picture of his car. I await for
his arrest for another motoring crime to identify him!
 
burtthebike wrote:

> Whatever, I went on line
> and reported it, including as much as I could remember about the guy,
> but I wasn't expecting anything to happen other than a polite
> acknowledgement. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the polite
> acknowledgement and a phone call from the police at work early next
> morning, telling me that they were taking it seriously and that they
> would come to my house to take a statement, which should be happening
> tonight.


Nice one.

IME the police do take most reported incidents seriously, especially
those where someone has been assaulted as you were.

--
Paul - ***

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi 'Big and Butch'
'98 Suzuki DR 200 Djebel 'Small but perfectly formed'
Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp "When I feel fit enough'
 
"burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> On monday, riding home, daylight, dry, good visibility, I had an
> "incident" with one of those strange people who drive cars. Going down
> steep hill, tailwind, 40mph limit, doing well over 30 (Filton Hill on the
> A38 north of Bristol for those who know it). Lights change at the
> junction at the bottom of the hill, so I start to slow down and I'm
> coasting to a halt at the lights, about 10m away, when a horn is sounded
> behind me, I'm my usual metre out from the kerb. I ignore the horn as it
> can't be anything to do with me. Wrong! A car pulls alongside, the driver
> winds down the passenger window and tells me to "effing get on the effing
> cycle path". I point out that it is perfectly legal to ride on the road,
> the lights change and we both move off, except that he stops 100m farther
> on, flings open his door and stands in my way...


This certainly sounds like a nutter! Surely the A38 is pretty busy and he
would have risked being run over by other vehicles by doing this?

I probably would have hung back waited till there was other traffic going
past if the road was deserted, as at least then he might think twice doing
anything if there were possible witnesses.
 
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:59:38 -0800 (PST) someone who may be TerryJ
<[email protected]> wrote this:-

>The bobby should go and have a word
>with him. That can be surprisingly intimidating for some people,
>especially if his employer is involved in the appointment.


Or, in other cases, if the owner of the car is mummy or daddy.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54
 
burtthebike wrote:
> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some
> kind of action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking
> this kind of thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


I think it's rare for a motorist to get out of his car and assault a cyclist
(you were assaulted) - so I'm not suprised the police are taking it
seriously.

Must have been a very upsetting experience for you.

~PB
 
burtthebike wrote:
> On monday, riding home, daylight, dry, good visibility, I had an
> "incident" with one of those strange people who drive cars. Going
> down steep hill, tailwind, 40mph limit, doing well over 30 (Filton
> Hill on the A38 north of Bristol for those who know it). Lights
> change at the junction at the bottom of the hill, so I start to slow
> down and I'm coasting to a halt at the lights, about 10m away, when a
> horn is sounded behind me, I'm my usual metre out from the kerb. I
> ignore the horn as it can't be anything to do with me. Wrong! A car
> pulls alongside, the driver winds down the passenger window and tells
> me to "effing get on the effing cycle path". I point out that it is
> perfectly legal to ride on the road, the lights change and we both
> move off, except that he stops 100m farther on, flings open his door
> and stands in my way. Thinking that I'd rather point out the error
> of his ways here and now, rather than having him driving behind me, I
> stopped. The conversation was pretty much what he'd already said
> though, but with a lot more effing and blinding and a finger shoved
> within an inch of my face, and accusing me of blocking the traffic -
> it's dual carriageway and plenty of room for buses to pass no prob. I
> could see that there was no point in carrying on the conversation,
> so I turned around to walk off, and as I did so, he gave me a shove,
> which made me stumble, but I managed to stay upright using my bike as
> a support. I turned around and said that I would be reporting him
> for assault, whereupon he threatened to run me over if he saw me
> riding on the road again. I took down his number and waited until he
> drove off before carrying on myself. It was only when I got home
> that I realised that there is no cycle path at that point, it starts
> about 300m farther on, not that it would have justified his behaviour
> anyway.
> When I got home, I wondered about reporting this to the police,
> having read of many instances on this group where they just weren't
> interested, and there were no witnesses. Whatever, I went on line
> and reported it, including as much as I could remember about the guy,
> but I wasn't expecting anything to happen other than a polite
> acknowledgement. I was pleasantly surprised to receive the polite
> acknowledgement and a phone call from the police at work early next
> morning, telling me that they were taking it seriously and that they
> would come to my house to take a statement, which should be happening
> tonight.
> The driver appeared to be a post office worker, there is a big depot
> on the A38 very close to where this happened, so I reported it to
> them too, but no response as yet.
>
> I'll post updates when there is anything to report.
>
> I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some
> kind of action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking
> this kind of thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


What's the make and colour of his car? I work near the M4/M5 junction so if
it's anyone here....
 
Well done for taking this to the rozzers Burt! I commute along that stretch
of the A38 and its bad enough without dangerous idiots like this on the road
as well! Let's hope he gets a sharp wake-up call when the Police arrive on
his doorstep.

Thinking positively, if he behaves like this normally, he should be losing
his license pretty soon.

"Adrian Boliston" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Surely the A38 is pretty busy and he would have risked being run over by
> other vehicles by doing this?


Unfortunately justice is rarely that swift, or poetic! ;-)
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Pete Biggs <[email protected]> wrote:
>I think it's rare for a motorist to get out of his car and assault a cyclist
>(you were assaulted) - so I'm not suprised the police are taking it
>seriously.


Some years ago I was deliberately run into by a motorist who got out
of his car, shouted at me and grabbed me by the neck firmly enough
that the handprint on my neck was still visible to one of my
housemates when I arrived home. The attack took place in front of an
independent witness (who was parking their car by the side of the
road).

The police did come and take a statement but in the end took no action
because the assailand had a friend with him who no doubt would have
said I provoked the incident by existing.

--
Ian Jackson personal email: <[email protected]>
These opinions are my own. http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~ijackson/
PGP2 key 1024R/0x23f5addb, fingerprint 5906F687 BD03ACAD 0D8E602E FCF37657
 
"burtthebike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:AOdvj.139118 A car pulls alongside, the driver winds down the passenger
window
> and tells me to "effing get on the effing cycle path".


I had this the other morning - riding to work along a dual carriageway at
0630, so not busy. Car pulls alongside, driver winds down passenger window
and says something to me, which I can't hear as I'm listening to the radio,
but as there is a parallel cycle path it's unlikely to be "good morning".

I get in an "F*** off" followed by the Nescafe handshake gesture while I
can. Matey then slams on his brakes to let me catch up so he can argue the
toss. Sadly for him a big 4X4 drove up behind him and sounded the horn for
him to get a move on.

'bout the only time I was glad of a big SUV around me ;-)


--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/
 
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:51:29 -0000, "Clive George"
<[email protected]> said in
<[email protected]>:

>I reckon the fact he gave you a shove and threatened to run you over rather
>than just swearing at you makes the critical difference.


If there is a witless, you have him for common assault.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound
 
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:05:52 GMT, "burtthebike"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I am very impressed with the fact that the police are taking some kind of
>action and have responded quickly, so are the police taking this kind of
>thing seriously at last, or is this just a one off?


I am pleased they seem to be taking it seriously.

When I was assulted in front of 12 of my nine year old pupils in
October, the police seemed to be taking the incident seriously, but so
far they haven't even spoken to the person who assulted me.

It leaves me wondering if they'd treat the incident the same if a
female colleague of mine was holding up traffic while letting her
class cross the road and a driver got out and gave her a shove.

Or is an assault less serious because I'm already doing a supposedly
dangerous activity?
 

> and says something to me, which I can't hear as I'm listening to the radio,
> but as there is a parallel cycle path it's unlikely to be "good morning".
>
> I get in an "F*** off" followed by the Nescafe handshake gesture while I


I did that once and it turned out to be a patient shouting 'good
morning'
TerryJ
 
" cupra" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> What's the make and colour of his car? I work near the M4/M5 junction so
> if it's anyone here....


If the police action is less than satisfactory, I might be prevailed upon to
post the reg, make and colour of the car!
>
 
Update:

The police have just left! Two of them, they took a statement, gave me the
option of having them pursue it to court, which I declined in favour of them
having a stern word with him. They left, promising that this would happen,
and even possibly tonight, unless they get dragged off to do something
slightly more urgent. Apparently he's not a Royal Mail worker, so apologies
to all posties everywhere. He lives north of Bristol so he was probably on
his way home.

I feel a letter to the cheif constable coming on.