Armegatron
Active Member
Some of you may have noticed my cyclechat / youtube activity has gone dry lately. Thankfully this is due to a change of route that allows me to avoid alot of traffic, and a spacious timetable at University that means I only commute one day a week.
Having stopped while the ice and snow was around, I felt confident this Monday (13th...and Ive just noticed the unlucky for some association!) would be a good day to get back on the saddle.... How wrong was I...
5:15PM, almost home and approaching a set of lights where the road layout was recently changed (for the worse).
Im in the cycle lane coming down the bridge slope at a decent pace, circa 20mph. I shoulder checked and handlebar mirror checked then moved out of the cyclelane to take a sort of primary between the kerb and stationary right turning traffic (video will explain better but there is only one lane at this section). I continue past the stationary traffic until the lane splits into 3 and the cycle lane leads to a pavement / launchpad. Going straight on I took the 2nd lane in a relativly strong position. A taxi first undertakes at speed, running the amber (after moving from right turn lane (3), to straight on lane (2), to left turn lane(1)). Another car decided to move from the straight lane (2) to the left lane (1) and undertake too.
As the car is alongside me to my left, the lights turn red. Approximately 1.5 to 2 car lengths from the lights the car moves from lane 1 into my lane with no indication, forcing me to collide with him. I could have turned to the left and escaped into the other lane, but I felt that Id be more at risk of being squished if I did that.
Dialogue as follows - driver has arms folded and looking straight ahead. Speech is slurred and driver is quite scruffy:
Me: Ive just hit the back of your car mate
Him: Its alright I was trying to overtake you
Me: What was the point? It was very dangerous - your on camera. Do you want to have a look at the damage? (no response) Do you want to have a look at the damage?
Him: No your ok, Im not bothered.
Me: Im insured.
Him: No its alright Im not bothered.
Me: Well dont do it again, it was a silly trick.
Footage is available on YouTube:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGAZ0pjzM2c
Ive included the rear cam footage, as its attached to the bike you can hear the braking force increase when he cuts infront, and see a slight swerve to the left.
Following this Ive been increasingly feeling the driver should receive some kind of official response as the driving was utterly dangerous. Here is what happened today...
I went to the Police station at 5:15PM. The desk sgt said that I should have reported within 24 hours and that it was against the law not to. I responded by saying I thought this didnt apply to pedal bikes, she said its for EVERYONE.
So, I had to sit around with a bunch of drugged up chavs for 45 mins (one of whom got a lift home from a copper!) while I waited for an officer, only to be told that there is no one available and someone will probably come to my house tomorrow.
Basically when I got home I done some searching and found that the offence of failing to provide details / stop, and failing to report to police apply only to "Mechanically Propelled Vehicles"
AC10 / AC20: "Being the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle, owing to the presence..."
Approximately 8PM an officer came to watch the footage and take a statement. He has said that the driver clearly is in the wrong however it could have been argued that he simply was in the wrong lane and wanted to change, and that accidents happen etc. The officer has said that as its an S reg car his hunch is that its a "community" car used by scum, but he'll check it out. He said he isnt a traffic officer, so has no ideas to what charges he'd bring but he'd talk to his supervisor. He did suggest that a careless / dangerous driving offence could be it.
As an aside, the officer had firm views on cyclists should use cycle lanes etc as they hold up traffic. I had a bit of a rant (polite of course) that cycle lanes are inconvenient and dangerous and the road is often the better option.
The officer has called (about 1hr after watching footage) and said that the vehicle and owner is known to the police (local scum) and that if there is any damage to my bike the most he can do is a section 59 against the car. Any further action would force me to reveal my identity, but as I live rather close to the gang of undesirables this isnt a wise decision. Im feeling very lucky that I kept my cool, otherwise I could have been attacked
Im now feeling backed into a corner, and unsure of whether to persue a section 59 and risk the gang targetting any cyclists that fit my description, or not persue anything as the section 59 wont adequately solve the underlying bad driving as the driver clearly misuses the car regularly, or ask to speak to a superior officer to see if there is more that can be done whilst keeping my identity safe.
Also, its making me paranoid about riding on the road when the results from the Police (in my opinion) do not reflect the severity of the incidents reported. Instead Im considering just buying a mountain bike for off road and ditching commuting altogether
Has anyone else had a "I dont think its worth it" kind of moment before?
Having stopped while the ice and snow was around, I felt confident this Monday (13th...and Ive just noticed the unlucky for some association!) would be a good day to get back on the saddle.... How wrong was I...
5:15PM, almost home and approaching a set of lights where the road layout was recently changed (for the worse).
Im in the cycle lane coming down the bridge slope at a decent pace, circa 20mph. I shoulder checked and handlebar mirror checked then moved out of the cyclelane to take a sort of primary between the kerb and stationary right turning traffic (video will explain better but there is only one lane at this section). I continue past the stationary traffic until the lane splits into 3 and the cycle lane leads to a pavement / launchpad. Going straight on I took the 2nd lane in a relativly strong position. A taxi first undertakes at speed, running the amber (after moving from right turn lane (3), to straight on lane (2), to left turn lane(1)). Another car decided to move from the straight lane (2) to the left lane (1) and undertake too.
As the car is alongside me to my left, the lights turn red. Approximately 1.5 to 2 car lengths from the lights the car moves from lane 1 into my lane with no indication, forcing me to collide with him. I could have turned to the left and escaped into the other lane, but I felt that Id be more at risk of being squished if I did that.
Dialogue as follows - driver has arms folded and looking straight ahead. Speech is slurred and driver is quite scruffy:
Me: Ive just hit the back of your car mate
Him: Its alright I was trying to overtake you
Me: What was the point? It was very dangerous - your on camera. Do you want to have a look at the damage? (no response) Do you want to have a look at the damage?
Him: No your ok, Im not bothered.
Me: Im insured.
Him: No its alright Im not bothered.
Me: Well dont do it again, it was a silly trick.
Footage is available on YouTube:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGAZ0pjzM2c
Ive included the rear cam footage, as its attached to the bike you can hear the braking force increase when he cuts infront, and see a slight swerve to the left.
Following this Ive been increasingly feeling the driver should receive some kind of official response as the driving was utterly dangerous. Here is what happened today...
I went to the Police station at 5:15PM. The desk sgt said that I should have reported within 24 hours and that it was against the law not to. I responded by saying I thought this didnt apply to pedal bikes, she said its for EVERYONE.
So, I had to sit around with a bunch of drugged up chavs for 45 mins (one of whom got a lift home from a copper!) while I waited for an officer, only to be told that there is no one available and someone will probably come to my house tomorrow.
Basically when I got home I done some searching and found that the offence of failing to provide details / stop, and failing to report to police apply only to "Mechanically Propelled Vehicles"
AC10 / AC20: "Being the driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle, owing to the presence..."
Approximately 8PM an officer came to watch the footage and take a statement. He has said that the driver clearly is in the wrong however it could have been argued that he simply was in the wrong lane and wanted to change, and that accidents happen etc. The officer has said that as its an S reg car his hunch is that its a "community" car used by scum, but he'll check it out. He said he isnt a traffic officer, so has no ideas to what charges he'd bring but he'd talk to his supervisor. He did suggest that a careless / dangerous driving offence could be it.
As an aside, the officer had firm views on cyclists should use cycle lanes etc as they hold up traffic. I had a bit of a rant (polite of course) that cycle lanes are inconvenient and dangerous and the road is often the better option.
The officer has called (about 1hr after watching footage) and said that the vehicle and owner is known to the police (local scum) and that if there is any damage to my bike the most he can do is a section 59 against the car. Any further action would force me to reveal my identity, but as I live rather close to the gang of undesirables this isnt a wise decision. Im feeling very lucky that I kept my cool, otherwise I could have been attacked
Im now feeling backed into a corner, and unsure of whether to persue a section 59 and risk the gang targetting any cyclists that fit my description, or not persue anything as the section 59 wont adequately solve the underlying bad driving as the driver clearly misuses the car regularly, or ask to speak to a superior officer to see if there is more that can be done whilst keeping my identity safe.
Also, its making me paranoid about riding on the road when the results from the Police (in my opinion) do not reflect the severity of the incidents reported. Instead Im considering just buying a mountain bike for off road and ditching commuting altogether
Has anyone else had a "I dont think its worth it" kind of moment before?
