First incident with a driver!

[Danny251]

So I am cycling in the right hand lane due to parked cars in at the left.
The parked cars were about 5 seconds away and I was planning on moving back into the left after I had passed them but this taxi driver decided to honk his horn about five times and instead of overtaking me.

He then came up next to me very closely and shouts abuse about how it's a big road and I shouldn't be cycling out here in the second lane. The whole time I was pointing at the parked cars and shouting how do you expect me to cycle when there's parked cars there. You could tell he wasn't even listening to me. He was giving me little space and basically trying to bully me into the side of the road.

Well I reported this to the police as I got his number and hopefully they caught it on camera as I know there are cameras on that street.
They said that if there is no evidence then the best they could do is warn him but tbh you can't ask for more than that.

I know a lot of people will disagree with my decision to phone the police but the taxi company weren't helpful at all and they actually recommended that I phone them. It is my first proper altercation on the roads and I think that is why I reported it but I will definitely be purchasing a helmet cam as I know this will happen time and time again.

 

[BSRU]

My experience of taxi companies is they don't give a sh1t, every time I have complained to a taxi company I have heard nothing, even the taxi licensing authority, the local council, are useless as they are only interested in incidents after the driver has been punished by the legal system.

If it's bad enough and there is cctv evidence it could be a more positive result and the taxi "driver" may have form for this sort of behaviour.

Apparently I'm well known to the local taxi drivers and seem to have had no trouble from them for ages, probably jinxed myself and will be mown down by one tomorrow .

 

[aberal]

You're right to be aggrieved and the taxi driver was clearly a bit of a tosspot. Reporting him to the company was the right thing to do, but I'm not sure that he did anything which justified reporting him to the police. Did he break the law in any way?

 

[BSRU]

You're right to be aggrieved and the taxi driver was clearly a bit of a tosspot. Reporting him to the company was the right thing to do, but I'm not sure that he did anything which justified reporting him to the police. Did he break the law in any way?

Three offences.
Taking his hand of the wheel, you should basically have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear.
Bullying a vulnerable road user.
Shouting profanities, if that happened, is a public order offence, apparently.

 

[Danny251]

Three offences.
Taking his hand of the wheel, you should basically have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear.
Bullying a vulnerable road user.
Shouting profanities, if that happened, is a public order offence, apparently.

Yeah so it is an offence to bully other road users then?
EDIT: Done a bit of research and it seems yep he has broke the law in that sense.

 

[515mm]

I phoned the police after a similar incident. Coppers called back to discuss the incident and ask me what I wanted done.

After fighting down the urge to say "His immediate apology and suicide, obviously." I asked PC99 to have a word and explain the error of his ways.

The following day PC99 phoned me again and explained that this fella was driving his girlfriend's car, she's told him off for his impatient driving in the past and "Now he's forcing people off the road."

PC99 went on to say that she said she was sorry for what her bloke did and was going to give him hell when he got back from work. Now if this fella is reported again, he'll have form...........

 

[Digital_Cowboy]

My experience of taxi companies is they don't give a sh1t, every time I have complained to a taxi company I have heard nothing, even the taxi licensing authority, the local council, are useless as they are only interested in incidents after the driver has been punished by the legal system.

If it's bad enough and there is cctv evidence it could be a more positive result and the taxi "driver" may have form for this sort of behaviour.

Apparently I'm well known to the local taxi drivers and seem to have had no trouble from them for ages, probably jinxed myself and will be mown down by one tomorrow .

A few years back I had a close call with a taxi cab. I called cab company/dispatcher. The dispatcher took the attitude of "he didn't hit you, so what's your problem?" He didn't realize that what his driver did was illegal and unsafe. He just took the usual attitude of "no harm/no foul." Drivers and companies that employ them need to learn that cyclists have rights. And that their bullying/strong arm tactics will no longer be tolerated.

 

[Bicycle]

Three offences.
Taking his hand of the wheel, you should basically have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear.
Bullying a vulnerable road user.
Shouting profanities, if that happened, is a public order offence, apparently.

Certainly the cab driver sounds a rum one on the basis of the OP (and one cannot fault the decision to go to the rozzers), but I'm not sure anyone will be hauled up in front of the beak for breaking that hoary old statute 'you should basically have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear'.

It is certainly desirable to keep both hands on the wheel, but I'm not sure that failure to do so constitutes an offence.

I have a 1960 roadster which is terribly difficult to drive one-handed (even two-handed at times), but my late-model econobox Eurohatch was pretty much designed to be driven so.

If my memory serves me, a man called A Scott-Brown made a fairly good career out of motor-racing a few decades ago until he met an early death. He had only one arm, no power steering and no semi-auto 'box. A slightly trite point, but I think the 'offence' of driving one-handed can be over-blown.

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

I could be mistaken, but I think there licence to drive the taxi is issued by the local council - I know ive rung the town hall previously and spoken to the licensing dept about a taxi driver who was just driving like a knob, they had a description of the driver that matched mine - they said that his actions would be noted, but obviously it could be a 'one off' or me being a knob and reporting him for the hell of it, but if it happened again they would now be aware there was a problem and review his licence.
Try the town hall.

 

[PaulB]

My experience of taxi companies is they don't give a sh1t, every time I have complained to a taxi company I have heard nothing, even the taxi licensing authority, the local council, are useless as they are only interested in incidents after the driver has been punished by the legal system.

I'd be making a lot of calls for them to come to a pub out in the wilds and pick me up. A LOT of calls. You feel like you're getting a bit back off them that way.

 

[sabian92]

Taxi companies generally don't give a shoot - you were right to report it to the Police. Taxi drivers often feign ignorance or act like a knob because they know they're wrong but don't want to admit it, in my experience.

Next time, don't even bother with the company. Go to the Police (if it's serious enough) with video evidence and they're more likely to at least try and help you.

 

[BSRU]

It is certainly desirable to keep both hands on the wheel, but I'm not sure that failure to do so constitutes an offence.

It's a "should" rather than a "must" in the highway code, therefore not illegal but can be used as a contributory factor in an incident.

 

[Bicycle]

It's a "should" rather than a "must" in the highway code, therefore not illegal but can be used as a contributory factor in an incident.

Well... I still don't see how that makes it one of three offences.

Also, there is no mention (I think) of the driver removing a hand from the wheel.

The cyclist does some pointing, but unless his bicycle is very different from mine he is more likely to have a handlebar than a steering wheel.

So the 'should' looks like a 'didn't' and how the 'didn't' contibuted to the incident is not clear.

Had the cab driver removed a hand from the wheel, how might that have contributed? it all starts to get a little whimsical.

I think he probably had a bald rear o/s tyre too... they often do, that lot.

I haven't driven a car built in the past 60 years that required me to take my hand of the wheel to shout or honk.

I still think the cab driver was a (very) rum one, but I'm not sure we should be speculating about a charge sheet whose content differs from the scenario described.

 

[StuartG]

Yes the taxi driver was in the wrong and you were right to report it to the taxi company. If the guy is regarded as a pillock there then this might add to the dissatisfaction. A letter to the licensing authority can do no harm. If a big pile starts to build on a particular driver then something should be done. H&S might say something has to be done.

But expecting something to happen on the basis of one incident (rather than the complaint that breaks the back of the manager's patience) is a shade optimistic.

Frankly the best advice is - if you ride correctly which you appear to have been doing - you are going to attract honking and displeasure of motorists because many (most?) don't understand why you are doing it. They see the downside (to them) but they wouldn't want blood on their bonnets anyway.

It is very important IMHO to learn to live with it, To expect it and, when it happens, to re-convince yourself you were doing the right thing and why. What is bad is if you react to the intimidation, getting angry, which is not a long way from the road rage we deplore from motorists. The difference is when we become emotionally involved our concentration and judgement is impaired. And we are the road user most likely to be injured by it.

Not to mention a comment on the taxi driver's driving/parenthood is likely to re-inforce their perception of you.

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

I could be mistaken, but I think there licence to drive the taxi is issued by the local council - I know ive rung the town hall previously and spoken to the licensing dept about a taxi driver who was just driving like a knob, they had a description of the driver that matched mine - they said that his actions would be noted, but obviously it could be a 'one off' or me being a knob and reporting him for the hell of it, but if it happened again they would now be aware there was a problem and review his licence.
Try the town hall.

I've done this too. Got a numberplate and a description of the driver when he was on his phone with customers in the back of his cab. Phoned the council, spoke to someone in the taxi licensing department and then sent an email. The chap I spoke to said a note would be put on the driver's file and the incident brought up when his licence comes up for renewal.