Any advice anyone can give me on how to pursue a rather nasty incident
that happened to me last night? The police say that since the
witnesses' names and addresses were not collected there is nothing
they can do. The Public Carriage Office - well, the response I got
from them on the phone reminded me that they're really just a
professional association looking to protect the interests of their
white, male, members, and therefore wholly uninterested in dealing
with complaints using a proper, formal process. If anyone's had any
success through any channels in having this sort of thing addressed
properly, advice much appreciated.
I was cycling along a quiet road in central London and noticed that a
black cab travelling in front of me and in the same direction had
pulled over to the side of the road. I don't remember whether the
vehicle indicated or not. As I started to pull around the vehicle the
drivers side door opened and the driver stepped out. I had to swerve
to avoid him, and the door. This is such a common incident in London
– drivers not checking the road to ensure that it is traffic-free
before opening doors onto the road – that I didn't stop to complain.
About 20 seconds later, I realised that a vehicle had pulled up
alongside me and was trying to force me off the road. I had to swerve
onto the pavement. It's a high kerb there so to mount the kerb in
such a hurry made me almost fall off my bike. I have no doubt that he
was trying to hit me. The vehicle then drove off in the same
direction, turning right at the next T junction. I shouted at him,
noted his license plate number, and then turned left at the
T-junction.
A further 20 seconds later, I realised that the same vehicle was
pulling up behind me and that the driver was hurling abuse at me
through the open window. Terrified, I pulled my bicycle onto the kerb
again, in fear that he would attempt to run me down, and called 999 on
my mobile as quickly as possible. He then did a U turn and headed
south along the Outer Circle. All I can remember about what he
shouted was one line: "You don't like it much when someone tries it on
you, do you, you ****?" He also spat at me through the open window.
Matt
