Do I call the police?

[her_welshness]

Gosh... I can see I'm not as outraged by this as some other members of the cycling community.

But really, you didn't spend £120 because someone slapped you. You spent it beecause you wanted to.

It won't stop it happening again (cameras are hard to see) and the absence of a camera didn't stop you reporting it.

I'm worried by this talk of the SOR. If, as you suggest, this was a teenager having fun at the expense of a member of staff at their college.... a talking-to by the Police seems about the strength of it (if not slightly harsh). But the SOR?

Such use of the SOR may be defended by people saying "What if it was a pedestrian passing you as you walk down the street?" or "What if it had been a middle-aged man driving past a young wman?"

It wasn't.

I wouldn't say that we were outraged. Outraged would be if we were shocked by this behaviour. It is not a rare occurrence. The behaviour by the person in the car was outrageous.

I agree that it is not the same as somebody coming up to you in the street and slapping them on the backside..it is actually much worse than that. The cyclist was in a narrow street and he could have had a serious injury. If it had happened in a group ride (like the earlier example) then there is a chance that others would get injured as well as the cyclist being targetted and injured.

Slapping is assault. Sorry, I don't know what you mean by SOR.

 

[TheSandwichMonster]

SOR - S*x Offenders Register

 

[byegad]

As with all 'sex' offences, reverse the incident if an older guy leant out of the window and patted a 16 yr old girl's bottom he'd be pilloried. And rightly so!

 

[Arch]

What she did was stupid and dangerous. A word from plod might deter them from doing it again. However, anyone suggesting that the girl should be put on the SOR wants to have a word with themselves. Would you really want a young girls life ruined over this? Glad you're ok anyway, OP.

She and her mates could easily have ruined the OP's life. Ended it even, by driving so close.

I think we need a new register. The "I acted like a complete tosser" register. Inclusion to expire after 2 years of no further incidents.

 

[Hip Priest]

She and her mates could easily have ruined the OP's life. Ended it even, by driving so close.

I know.

That's why I said it was stupid and dangerous and stated how glad I was that the OP was okay. She still shouldn't be on the SOR, and anyone claiming she should is experiencing a chronic lack of perspective.

 

[John the Monkey]

I think we need a new register. The "I acted like a complete tosser" register. Inclusion to expire after 2 years of no further incidents.

In the absence of being able to crush their cars in front of their stupid faces, that's an excellent suggestion Arch.

 

[Crankarm]

I wouldn't say that we were outraged. Outraged would be if we were shocked by this behaviour. It is not a rare occurrence. The behaviour by the person in the car was outrageous.

I agree that it is not the same as somebody coming up to you in the street and slapping them on the backside..it is actually much worse than that. The cyclist was in a narrow street and he could have had a serious injury. If it had happened in a group ride (like the earlier example) then there is a chance that others would get injured as well as the cyclist being targetted and injured.

Slapping is assault. Sorry, I don't know what you mean by SOR.

Possible I s'pose but what is more likely to happen is the big guys, the spirnters in the group would catch up with the scrotes and give them an early christmas present .

Slightly OT. Years ago I was cycling to college with my mate who was well into club racing, I had yet to join a club at this time. Approaching some traffic lights in Brighton the occupants of a white transit van started giving him some abuse and drifting toward him trying to buzz him. They came to a stop adjacent to him at the red light. Passenger window of the van slowly comes down and the passenger spits at my mate. Bad move. My mate was 6ft4" and built like a sh1t brick house. He, quick as a flash, got off his bike putting it up against the railings, then turned and smacked the passenger door of the van so hard I thought he was going to go through it. A huge dent was left in it. Having seen it all as I approached as I was a slow coach then, just as I rock up alongside, WVM driver jumps the red light. My mate cooly gets back on his bike, clips in and we ride off. He didn't hurt his hand as was wearing well padded cycling mits. The look of fear on the slob's face in the passenger seat who gobbed at my mate was priceless. My mate though was not a happy bunny for the rest of the day. Never saw the van ever again.

 

[her_welshness]

Possible I s'pose but what is more likely to happen is the big guys, the spirnters in the group would catch up with the scrotes and give them an early christmas present .

Slightly OT. Years ago I was cycling to college with my mate who was well into club racing, I had yet to join a club at this time. Approaching some traffic lights in Brighton the occupants of a white transit van started giving him some abuse and drifting toward him trying to buzz him. They came to a stop adjacent to him at the red light. Passenger window of the van slowly comes down and the passenger spits at my mate. Bad move. My mate was 6ft4" and built like a sh1t brick house. He, quick as a flash, got off his bike putting it up against the railings, then turned and smacked the passenger door of the van so hard I thought he was going to go through it. A huge dent was left in it. Having seen it all as I approached as I was a slow coach then, just as I rock up alongside, WVM driver jumps the red light. My mate cooly gets back on his bike, clips in and we ride off. He didn't hurt his hand as was wearing well padded cycling mits. The look of fear on the slob's face in the passenger seat who gobbed at my mate was priceless. My mate though was not a happy bunny for the rest of the day. Never saw the van ever again.

I suppose there is the real possibility that they could pick the wrong cyclist and that the consequences for them would not be good. Mind you, large groups cannot offer total protection, as evidenced by that group of cyclists that were cycling through the lovely area of Bexleyheath and the car driver punched one of their group. From the helmet cam it looked nasty.

 

[Crankarm]

I'd not worry. The Police & then CPS will decide whether it's appropriate or not, not the posters to this forum.

Again, I'm mystified by your contention that "...this was a teenager having fun..." and that a "...talking-to by the Police seems ...slightly harsh."

Is it because the OP was on a bike? I'm genuinely puzzled here. If you smack someone's arse "for fun" in almost any other context, you'll either be collecting your teeth from the floor, or having a long talk with the boys in blue, at minimum.

You're right, it's not like it happening on the street, as it's happening at speed, in a context where the slightest misjudgement by the idiots in the car could have seen the OP being severely injured - so surely that would be more serious, right?

And thankfully on this occasion the CPS's reluctance to do anything rather than your over the top response will mean she will only get a talking to, not even a caution. As other's have suggested the driver should be punished more so in my opinion for driving so closely that she was able to lean out and slap him. It was a joint enterprise imho. Given that the driver was at least 17 or even an adult 18 then he or she was more at fault. Simply by giving a wider berth to the cyclist the slapper would not have been able to make contact therefore no slap.

If the parties had been reversed then yes an adult male would have immediately been found, arrested, spent a night in the cells and then charged with a sexual offence. He would then be branded a p****phile by the knuckle dragging scum who inhabit local papers and the DM. His life ruined, loss of job, house, family, divorce, prison, then let out to a life of hostels and living on the streets. Yep it's terribly unfair but this is how the fuzz and the law operates. The girl in this instance will get little if any punishment. In fact I think plod will say that they cannot identify her. The driver won't offer up any anything. It will be your word against theirs. End of any investigation.

 

[John the Monkey]

And thankfully on this occasion the CPS's reluctance to do anything rather than your over the top response

Crushing the car? Exaggeration for comic effect, Crankarm, I think we both know that that's vanishingly unlikely. In seriousness, I'd sooner see someone daft enough to think this ok removed from the road, but would happily settle for them never, ever, doing it again.

If you're talking about the SOR, I've not expressed an opinion either way. I doubt the motivation for the assault was sexual, for what my opinion is worth.

As other's have suggested the driver should be punished more so in my opinion for driving so closely that she was able to lean out and slap him. It was a joint enterprise imho. Given that the driver was at least 17 or even an adult 18 then he or she was more at fault. Simply by giving a wider berth to the cyclist the slapper would not have been able to make contact therefore no slap.

You and I are in agreement here.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Gosh... I can see I'm not as outraged by this as some other members of the cycling community.

But really, you didn't spend £120 because someone slapped you. You spent it beecause you wanted to.

It won't stop it happening again (cameras are hard to see) and the absence of a camera didn't stop you reporting it.

I'm worried by this talk of the SOR. If, as you suggest, this was a teenager having fun at the expense of a member of staff at their college.... a talking-to by the Police seems about the strength of it (if not slightly harsh). But the SOR?

Such use of the SOR may be defended by people saying "What if it was a pedestrian passing you as you walk down the street?" or "What if it had been a middle-aged man driving past a young wman?"

It wasn't.

I'm with you on the SOR, it's a kid being a dumbass and not considering the consequences.

However, maybe the police should explain that that this sort of behaviour can land you on the SOR if you keep doing it and the consequences of that could be devastating to her future, for the sake of performing a silly prank.

Maybe they should also explain the consequences if there had been an accident...actually, don't. A fine and three months picking up litter isn't a consequence, in fact it's almost a reward.

 

[sabian92]

What she did was stupid and dangerous. A word from plod might deter them from doing it again. However, anyone suggesting that the girl should be put on the SOR wants to have a word with themselves. Would you really want a young girls life ruined over this? Glad you're ok anyway, OP.

But if you reverse it and consider she could have ruined somebody else's life by killing them, suddenly it doesn't seem so bad.

Maybe the CPS should make an example out of her and show the general public that intimidating cyclists won't be tolerated. People get put on the Sex Offenders' Register for far less than this in other countries, so why is it that because she's a teenager she should get off?

This lad is 19. A teenager. Should he have been put on because he did something sexually wrong when he was a teenager? I know this lad as well. I went to college with him.

http://www.runcornan...or_girl_s_rape/

 

[Hip Priest]

This lad is 19. A teenager. Should he have been put on because he did something sexually wrong when he was a teenager? I know this lad as well. I went to college with him.

http://www.runcornan...or_girl_s_rape/

Are you really comparing what happened to the OP with that? My God. The SOR is precisely for people like him. Not young idiots doing daft stuff in cars.

I find it ironic that you admit to wearing a t-shirt with 'Bus self-gratification artists' on it - which comes from a clip which shows exactly this sort of behaviour - young lads / girls going round in cars trying to cause mischief and offence.

 

[Crankarm]

Are you really comparing what happened to the OP with that? My God. The SOR is precisely for people like him. Not young idiots doing daft stuff in cars.

I find it ironic that you admit to wearing a t-shirt with 'Bus self-gratification artists' on it - which comes from a clip which shows exactly this sort of behaviour - young lads / girls going round in cars trying to cause mischief and offence.

+1.

 

[Crankarm]

But if you reverse it and consider she could have ruined somebody else's life by killing them, suddenly it doesn't seem so bad.

Maybe the CPS should make an example out of her and show the general public that intimidating cyclists won't be tolerated. People get put on the Sex Offenders' Register for far less than this in other countries, so why is it that because she's a teenager she should get off?

This lad is 19. A teenager. Should he have been put on because he did something sexually wrong when he was a teenager? I know this lad as well. I went to college with him.

http://www.runcornan...or_girl_s_rape/

This isn't going to get anywhere near the CPS. The police are going to have trouble identifying the occupants let alone arresting and charging anyone to put any case to the CPS. If the vehicle is identified the driver and any passengers are going to deny it. Then it will be the OP's word against theirs unless there is other compelling evidence. Case closed. Move on.