Terrible driving - so who do I call?

[Twenty Inch]

Does anyone know if United Utilities has a dedicated transport manager, responsible for driver behaviour? I suspect going to the MD will just vanish into a massive inbox black hole…

Try cc-ing to your local councillor, MP, police sergeant etc., making sure you put the cc list on your original to the transport manager and MD.

 

[hydridmatt]

I have followed the advice and put together a quick video here

Any thoughts appreciated...BTW Audio VERY NSFW

 

[magnatom]

Uugh! That was nasty!

You can quite clearly see that he has hardly pulled out at all as he passes.

Also notice the sunken drain that he is forcing you to ride towards.

Very, very poor.

Good luck with your complaint. Keep us informed.

 

[BentMikey]

Wow!!! Terrible terrible driving. That's as scary and dangerous as Magnatom's tanker lorry, IMO. Police material.

 

[Origamist]

Dreadful driving - if any part of the vehicle had snagged you, you would have been under the wheels...

 

[magnatom]

On the bright side, it is nice to hear someone else swearing for a change!

 

[BentMikey]

p.s. I don't think your language was at all over the top. Of course we'd all like to avoid that, but that was very bad driving!!!

 

[swee'pea99]

Jesus, that was horrible. I would have been shaking like a leaf for half an hour after something like that.

DEFINITELY pursue, with extreme prejudice. As advised above, 'cc to your local councillor, MP, police sergeant etc., making sure you put the cc list on your original to the transport manager and MD.'

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Even watching that I have that tense feeling that you get in the legs after a near miss.

 

[thomas]

I have followed the advice and put together a quick video here

Any thoughts appreciated...BTW Audio VERY NSFW

I had shivers go through my body when I saw it....I think partly because I could tell just how frightened you were as well as the appalling driving.

I would definitely write to the company to show them the video. Don't waffle on, just give the facts of what happened, the video and things...but don't start quoting highway code and things.

I would be very tempted to show the Police too!!

 

[Crankarm]

Nasty.

You need to get the date sorted out on the footage as it shows 01/06/2008 IIRC. Don't worry about your language it vindicates what happened to you.

I would contact the Police, Driving Standards Agency as he is a tanker driver and then company, in this order. F*ck the driver, he should be taken off the road as he's clearly dangerous. Did you see the oncoming silver Golf pull right into the verge on their side of the road to try to avoid being struck by the tanker? If the footage is clear enough maybe the police can establish the registration and the driver can act as witness.

I would NOT tell my my family or show them the footage as sooner or later they would try to make me give up cycling as they would take the view that the risk of being killed simply wouldn't be worth it.

You MUST report this to the police and DSA.

Good luck.

As a note - a few well timed wobbles can deter a vehicle from passing if you think you might be forced off the road or close passed. In your situation I would have spent as much time looking behind as in front and stood on the pedals putting in as I say a few well timed wobbles between 2ndry and primary to make the self-gratification artist tanker driver think better of trying to pass and risk crushing you.

 

[martynjc1977]

Frightening, and piss poor driving, glad your ok dude, report them.

 

[jonny jeez]

I watched without sound, then with, just to see what difference it made to the "impact" of the vid.

without sound, it doesn't seem so nasty (somehow) with sound you can clearly pick up on your concern (prior to the overtake) and the feeling that you were already being bullied into the side of the road, even before he began the move.

I do take your point about the language, not because of any potential offence that could be caused, but that it "could" make you come across as a yob.

So, I would advise you keep the audio...Why not bleep out the really offensive words...just google a Bleep WMV and insert it at the relevant point on the audio track (whilst cropping out the offending words)...or even add anothe audion layer and play the bleeps over them.

 

[siadwell]

I would contact the Police, Driving Standards Agency as he is a tanker driver and then company, in this order.

Don't think the DSA will be interested. From their website, they are only concerned with driving tests and instructors.

Similarly, VOSA only seem to be concerned with bad vehicles, not bad drivers.

Both are part of DfT's Motoring and Freight Services (MFS) Group which has a budget of £1.2 billion a year. But no part of this body seems to be concerned with bad drivers.

Looks like the police are it, then.

 

[thomas]

I do take your point about the language, not because of any potential offence that could be caused, but that it "could" make you come across as a yob.

So, I would advise you keep the audio...Why not bleep out the really offensive words...just google a Bleep WMV and insert it at the relevant point on the audio track (whilst cropping out the offending words)...or even add anothe audion layer and play the bleeps over them.

I'd keep the swearing. Yes, you might not use some of them around your mother...but the people who need to see the video will all be grown ups and appreciate that they were in context....and no way yobbish! It's not an episode of Jerry Springer...it's serious

Keep us updated Matt