Assaulted on Finchley Rd...

[her_welshness]

I think all are agreed the driver was completely wrong to do what he did.
Some of us are suggesting that the OP's actions were unwise, not that it was his fault.

Why was it unwise? He has every right to challenge the driver and ask him why he was doing this. I cycled past a taxi the other day and got a beepbeep so I yelled out 'Umm, why did you do that?' He could see quite clearly that I was heading for the ASL, he was taking umbrage that I had pootled past him. They have to understand that they cannot use their horns with the precise aim of intimidating other road users.

As the original poster has said this driver was being very aggressive and intimidating with his manner, for just a mere matter of yards. We all know the score. They are (car drivers) desperate for that extra more 'further on' that they can create. We may be looking at a driver who could have done a lot of damage to anyone, the hope here is that his company have had a word with him and this will put a cessation to his sub-standard road behaviours.

 

[Adasta]

I think it's important to report this to the employer at the very least.

 

[CopperBrompton]

He has every right to challenge the driver and ask him why he was doing this.

Absolutely he does. He also has every right to stand outside Millwall Football ground wearing a Man United shirt and yelling "Come on then, if you think you're hard enough." Having the right to do something does not necessarily equate to it being advisable.

 

[CopperBrompton]

(I know absolutely nothing about football, by the way, so may well have made up names of football clubs for all I know ...)

 

[dawesome]

Absolutely he does. He also has every right to stand outside Millwall Football ground wearing a Man United shirt and yelling "Come on then, if you think you're hard enough." Having the right to do something does not necessarily equate to it being advisable.

What a fair and equal comparison.

 

[CopperBrompton]

What a fair and equal comparison.

It's known as exaggerating to make a point.

You're welcome.

 

[dawesome]

Your post is exactly like punching kittens.

For goodness sake, look up "Using the horn" in the HC.

Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. If it's a cyclist get out and slap them on the head whilst swearing in a Burton suit

 

[oldfatfool]

Should have been reported the same day. IMO you are trivializing the incident yourself by not being bothered to find the time, I doubt you ever will now, shame.

 

[BentMikey]

Eml, did I miss you saying you didn't report it?

I know Atkinson McLeod have had to deal with the adverse publicity from this video and have acknowledged seeing it, and I'm sure at least talked to the driver. Did you also report it to the police?

 

[oldfatfool]

Eml, did I miss you saying you didn't report it?

I tend to agree with you. It happened a couple of weeks ago and I still haven't got round to reporting it because it is such a massive inconvenience and so time consuming.

 

[mr_hippo]

Why was it unwise? He has every right to challenge the driver and ask him why he was doing this. I cycled past a taxi the other day and got a beepbeep so I yelled out 'Umm, why did you do that?' He could see quite clearly that I was heading for the ASL, he was taking umbrage that I had pootled past him. They have to understand that they cannot use their horns with the precise aim of intimidating other road users.

As the original poster has said this driver was being very aggressive and intimidating with his manner, for just a mere matter of yards. We all know the score. They are (car drivers) desperate for that extra more 'further on' that they can create. We may be looking at a driver who could have done a lot of damage to anyone, the hope here is that his company have had a word with him and this will put a cessation to his sub-standard road behaviours.

You have answered your own question there. A few years ago, my wife and I were travelling home in a taxi. At the traffic lights there was a minor incident - so minor that I would call it miniscule! Taxi driver got out of the carm pulled a baseball bat out from under his seat and then set about `customising' the other car and hurling abuse at the other driver. Yes, I know that that happened in Bangkok but similar incidents have happened in the UK sometimes with fatal results. Are you brave enough to risk it?
Isn`t there a thread on here where a cyclist was killed by a motorist and the newspaper report states that the victim may not have been the object of the driver`s annoyance?
In case you are wondering, my wife and I took the shopping out of the taxi and got another cab home.

 

[benb]

What did the guy in the white soft-top say?

My only criticism of the OP is that they haven't reported it to the police. I would have reported it within a couple of days at most.
If you don't take it seriously enough to do something about, why should the police?

 

[Crankarm]

What did the guy in the white soft-top say?

My only criticism of the OP is that they haven't reported it to the police. I would have reported it within a couple of days at most.
If you don't take it seriously enough to do something about, why should the police?

I think the OP hasn't and won't report it to the police as the considered view of the forum has helped him realise that while the driver was in the wrong there are aspects to the OP's behaviour that MAY have contributed to what happened and the police MAY take the same view and therefore not take any action which would make reporting it pointless. At the end of the day this was a confrontation between two road users who had a hissy fit at each other. To devote stretched police resources to this would not be in the public interest imho if the OP himself is reluctant to make a complaint to the police. He should really have reported it within the first 48 hours which seems to me a reasonable period of time after the incident. Which just leaves the video on Youtube and the response from the driver's employer ...............

 

[subaqua]

You have answered your own question there. A few years ago, my wife and I were travelling home in a taxi. At the traffic lights there was a minor incident - so minor that I would call it miniscule! Taxi driver got out of the carm pulled a baseball bat out from under his seat and then set about `customising' the other car and hurling abuse at the other driver. Yes, I know that that happened in Bangkok but similar incidents have happened in the UK sometimes with fatal results. Are you brave enough to risk it?
Isn`t there a thread on here where a cyclist was killed by a motorist and the newspaper report states that the victim may not have been the object of the driver`s annoyance?
In case you are wondering, my wife and I took the shopping out of the taxi and got another cab home.

yes. i am fairly well built and have a long reach and a heavy dlock thats readily accesible . just reaching for it has made a few arseoles get back in the tin box and beat a hasty retreat.

i am also aware that if i do clonk somebody with it thats an assault for which i may very well end up being mummy to bubbas daddy in the scrubs. . the benefit does not therefore warrant the risk of clonking somebody unless i am defending myself . if somebody gets out of a car with a bat i would certainly argue vigourously ( or my barrister would) in court that i was fearful of my life. this is the time that a camera is useful as a contemporaneous record of events

 

[BentMikey]

Reporting assaults like that is a serious consumption of your time, as a few of us can attest. You really must do it though, because that sort of behaviour needs changing. Let him get away with it this time, and the chances are that he'll not only do it again to someone else, but he'll get worse too, IMO.

You have 6 months from the incident - get yer skates on and report it. Make sure that the officer takes it down as a common assault, not a traffic incident, as they'll waste months of time shunting it around the Sidcup TJU before sending it back to be dealt with as a common assault.