Beware blue Mazda in Edinburgh J7 RXY

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Kirst

Well-Known Member
Location
Edinburgh
Cycling to work this morning, in the greenway on Gorgie Road - a greenway being a lane of the road painted green and marked as only for buses, cycles, taxis and motorbikes between certain hours. This particular stretch is buses, bikes, motorbikes and taxis only between 7.30am-6.30pm.

The right hand lane had a queue of slowly moving traffic and I was whizzing past it all in the left hand greenway. I was quite far over to the right of my lane because I was looking to see if there was a gap where I could get in to that queue so as to be able to turn right across the other side of the road into our car park. All of a sudden I could hear a car behind me in the greenway, revving its engine repeatedly. There wasn't much I could do about it, and it shouldn't have been there anyway, so I ignored it and carried on. I realised I wasn't going to be able to get into the right hand lane, so decided to pull into the kerb, get off, and cross the road at the island. I started to move left and once the car behind saw what I was doing, he absolutely floored it and sped past me, missing me by about 6".

If I had hit a rut in the road, or had to swerve round a hole, or been caught by a gust of wind, I'd have been under the car. He was so close.
I got the number and went into work, got showered and changed and phoned the police. Reported it as a complaint of dangerous driving and was given an incident number and asked to present at a police station to make a formal statement at my leisure. Went tonight - the police station being just outside my door - and the desk officer just told me that without witnesses they can't take it any further, which I suppose makes sense, and they can't do anything. But she did say they'd go round and talk to him about it. I doubt it'll do any good, he'll just deny it, but maybe he'll rethink his driving a little bit. Cretin.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Glad you're alright Kirst.

Hope the word the police have shocks some sense into the driver.
 

domtyler

Über Member
Glad you're okay Kirst, what can you do about these tossers? Not a lot really, you probably did the right and get out of his was and let him get on with it. Hopefully he'll crash into a tree or something soon.

The worst thing is that most people driving like that are doing so because they know they can get away with it, probably an unregistered motor.
 
Nasty! Kirst is there any CCTV cameras along that stretch of road? Surely it would be the police's duty to at least check that.
 

yello

Guest
the desk officer just told me that without witnesses they can't take it any further

"Without witnesses"! What are you? Cream cheese?

Seriously, I find that interesting. It's not like you were involved in an accident where there might be some difference of opinion.

Do I take it then that if one were to phone up the police and report a burglary in progress that they'd need someone else to report it too before taking action!?
 

domtyler

Über Member
Unfortunately this seems to be the state we are in nowadays. We used to have a real police force, now it is just a large bunch of pen pushers filling in spread sheets to 'prove' that they are hitting their targets which they then get rewarded for with large end of year bonuses.

When it comes to tackling actual crime they are simply too important to be troubled with it nowadays, unless it is going to get them onto the front of the red tops.
 

4F

Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Location
Suffolk.
yello said:
"Without witnesses"! What are you? Cream cheese?

Seriously, I find that interesting. It's not like you were involved in an accident where there might be some difference of opinion.

Do I take it then that if one were to phone up the police and report a burglary in progress that they'd need someone else to report it too before taking action!?

No you just have to tell them you thought you saw a firearm and they would be there before you could say BANG :blush:
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
It thing like that that make me think I should get a helmet cam, so that you do have the evidence to show the police, not that they seem that interested...
 
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Kirst

Well-Known Member
Location
Edinburgh
yello said:
"Without witnesses"! What are you? Cream cheese?

Seriously, I find that interesting. It's not like you were involved in an accident where there might be some difference of opinion.

Do I take it then that if one were to phone up the police and report a burglary in progress that they'd need someone else to report it too before taking action!?
More lard than cream cheese, I think. I think it's because I'm in Scotland. The law requires more proof than just my word against his.

It did make me think about getting a helmet cam. I might think about it a bit more.
 

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
Sorry to hear about that, Kirst.

HLAB - from a few recent stories in the Evening News, I get the impression that the police up here are quite good at going after folks who attack cyclists / put their lives in peril through dangerous driving.

Could be wrong though - let you know the first time it happens to me and I have to speak to them.

I'm almost sold on the idea of a helmet cam for my 40th Birthday pressie... :smile:
 

MLS

Senior Member
domtyler said:
Unfortunately this seems to be the state we are in nowadays. We used to have a real police force, now it is just a large bunch of pen pushers filling in spread sheets to 'prove' that they are hitting their targets which they then get rewarded for with large end of year bonuses.

When it comes to tackling actual crime they are simply too important to be troubled with it nowadays, unless it is going to get them onto the front of the red tops.
Are you sure about that, Domtyler?
 
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OP
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Kirst

Well-Known Member
Location
Edinburgh
I decided just to draw this for you rather than try to describe it.

I'm the little green and orange (hi-vis) blob (you can't see my helmet though) waiting in the box for a green filter so I can turn right. The blue boxes are all the cars queueing. The yellow blobs are the path of black car SK55 LGN driven by a man who was way too important to wait in the queue where he should have been in case he had to wait through another change of lights.

SlatefordRoad4thMarch2008530pm.jpg


So I've just been in to the local cop shop and spoken to the duty sergeant. He was quite frank but reasonably apologetic, pointed out that they can't go round and warn people any more, they have to either charge or not charge, and with only one witness they can't do anything. I said yes, I understand that, but I want this logged anyway. I drew out a little sketch and gave him that with a note of the reg and he says he'll go round and speak to him and ring me tomorrow.
I need a helmet camera.
 

snorri

Legendary Member
Kirst said:
I think it's because I'm in Scotland. The law requires more proof than just my word against his.
I don't think it is a Scottish thing, perhaps pressure of work or lack of energy down in the capital;)
I have reported a couple of incidents, which I considered to be near misses, to the polis in the last 2 or 3 years and on each ocasion they came back to me with some response. From what they said the driver said, I am in no doubt that they had spoken to the driver and not just made up a story to get me off their backs. (As if I would even think of such a thing:ohmy:
I was happy to accept they would have been unable to take further action without independent witnesses, I just wanted the driver to be spoken to.
 

lazyfatgit

Guest
Location
Lawrence, NSW
It's always worth reporting incidents, if you deem them serios enough, especially if you have a registration number.

On the last occasion I made a complaint (I was actually on foot at the time), the vehicle reg must have had something unusual, because sergeant who dealt with the incident called to say that although i didn't have another witness, an individual had been charged with other motoring offences.
 
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