The responsibilities of a taxi driver

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PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
I don't see what Matthew is doing that you think is unsafe? As for him not wanting his parents to see what life is like on the roads, that's more of a condemnation of UK car culture, and not of Matthew specifically.

FWIW I'm in a much worse position than any of you in small towns with few cyclists. I'm by far the most identifiable and recogniseable cyclist in my area.
Confronting drivers, uploading videos on you tube, leaving himself openly recognizable in what he does is dangerous imo.
I dare say you can handle yourself, anyway you know what you're getting yourself into. A wee bit of daredevil spices up life, no? ;)
What use is "condemning UK car culture" gonna be to young whippet Matt when he's lying in a ditch with a black eye, his bike smashed on top of him?
Ah, but he was right! Cycle chat told him so!
As I said, I am uneasy about all of this, sorry, I think you should not stress the "being right" in your posts, I think you should also warn about the dangers of confrontation in some instances.

I DID NOTHING WRONG!
With the aid of his passenger/partner, they pursued me around town, chasing and chastising me. THAT WAS WRONG!

Yes, Matt, you did nothing wrong at all. They were wrong all the way.
But maybe at some other time you had a confrontation with one of their friends or family, they wanted to get back at you.
 
Troubling stuff and the car occupants are a strange breed. Unpleasant and somehow spiteful.

My daughter (a keen cyclist and now a driver) is 19. She is working abroad at present, but when in the UK she rides long distances through towns, cities and deep,deep countryside.

I taught her to wobble along in car parks and shed her stabilisers and taught her how to ride on the road. Incidents like the one covered by this thread will resonate with me and other parents like me who have cycling offspring of Matthew's age.

I do not blame the (dreadful) behaviour of the car occupants on Matthew, but I do draw a correlation between his own Youtube posts over the months and the unpleasant and unwarranted treatment he seems to be receiving in the new footage.

Had any of my (keen cyclist) children behaved, honked, arm-waved and shouted at motorists as the OP has in the past (and if I'd heard about it) I would have spoken to them sternly. The sort of Airzound vigilante who has been filming his own policing of Rhyl motorists over several months will not have gone unnoticed and will certainly have ruffled some feathers.

The Minicab occupants are ghastly and bullying and wrong and weird.... But I say again what I and others have said many times before: Ill-considered and shouty headcam vigilantism is not the way to go. Enjoy the ride and ride for enjoyment.
 

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
Location
Glasgow
On a lighter note, next time somebody shouts at this middle aged little slow woman while on her bike, they are gonna get it! :boxing::laugh:
.... I've just fitted a Marathon Original tyre using only my bare hands! :training:
Good night all, hope you presents were good, Matt :hello:
 
OP
OP
Matthew_T

Matthew_T

"Young and Ex-whippet"
On a lighter note, next time somebody shouts at this middle aged little slow woman while on her bike, they are gonna get it! :boxing::laugh:
.... I've just fitted a Marathon Original tyre using only my bare hands! :training:
Good night all, hope you presents were good, Matt :hello:
Huh? Presents? I havent had any. (I prefer money though).
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Confronting drivers, uploading videos on you tube, leaving himself openly recognizable in what he does is dangerous imo.

Yeah, not really. The danger isn't increased by people knowing you carry a camera, I believe, but a little reduced. The real danger comes from bad drivers, so discouraging repeats of that behaviour is the best strategy.

Besides, hiding your head from bullies is only going to make the problem worse, and make no mistake, people will try to bully cyclists. Knowing that there will be consequences without any doubt at all will do more to discourage them and more to discourage future bad driving from them.
 

400bhp

Guru
With what has happened i may be worth contacting your local media channels and submit both the videos. You may get it onto online websites through media organisations. If you get the media involved it should provoke a favorable response from company council and police. A response you most likely would not have got without the medias involvement.
The Media i suspect will still be on a mini high after the the war on Britains roads but with this make sure you check what they are going to say about the situation.

I don't think stuff like that helps, more so with Matthew.

It's with the police, let them deal with it.
 

Mugshot

Cracking a solo.
The video which was posted by the taxi driver is not directed at Matt, the video is titled "Monkeysnuts is a tit", if you don't know Monkeysnuts is Matts youtube pseudonym. I think it's quite clear that the video has been posted as a response to Matts videos of his 1500 incidents, not to his taking the lane on NYE/NYD.
Why is everyone refering to other things?
Because Matt it would appear that this incident could well be the result of "other things"
I don't think I have commented on one of Matts videos for over 12 months. I used to suggest that his films had the potential to get him into trouble when somebody really took umbridge at them, rightly or wrongly I tired of the usual suspects jumping in telling Matt that as he was young and was learning and that as motorists were all scum bags he should carry on. Others have tried to help Matt, with similar results. You were also advised to protect your anonymity more effectively having posted your full name and video footage of your house to which you replied, if I remember correctly, "Why should I, I'm not scared of anyone" :headshake:
I've read and reread this post trying to avoid it sounding like an "I told you so", it really isn't meant to but I think I'm failing. I want you to be safe on the roads (I want all of us to be safe on the roads) make a resolution (I hear they're very popular at the moment) that you're going to think very long and very hard about every single video before you post it.
The actions of the taxi driver are reprehensible the fortunate thing is that he was stupid enough to film it, the next one that follows you may not. Take it as a final wake up call, review your youtube account, remove things like wheel spinning vans and airzound abuse. Don't let this incident drop, the taxi driver needs to learn that actions have consequences, but the fact is you do too.
Best of luck with getting a good result with the taxi driver :thumbsup:
 

PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
The video which was posted by the taxi driver is not directed at Matt, the video is titled "Monkeysnuts is a tit", if you don't know Monkeysnuts is Matts youtube pseudonym. I think it's quite clear that the video has been posted as a response to Matts videos of his 1500 incidents, not to his taking the lane on NYE/NYD.

Because Matt it would appear that this incident could well be the result of "other things"
I don't think I have commented on one of Matts videos for over 12 months. I used to suggest that his films had the potential to get him into trouble when somebody really took umbridge at them, rightly or wrongly I tired of the usual suspects jumping in telling Matt that as he was young and was learning and that as motorists were all scum bags he should carry on. Others have tried to help Matt, with similar results. You were also advised to protect your anonymity more effectively having posted your full name and video footage of your house to which you replied, if I remember correctly, "Why should I, I'm not scared of anyone" :headshake:
I've read and reread this post trying to avoid it sounding like an "I told you so", it really isn't meant to but I think I'm failing. I want you to be safe on the roads (I want all of us to be safe on the roads) make a resolution (I hear they're very popular at the moment) that you're going to think very long and very hard about every single video before you post it.
The actions of the taxi driver are reprehensible the fortunate thing is that he was stupid enough to film it, the next one that follows you may not. Take it as a final wake up call, review your youtube account, remove things like wheel spinning vans and airzound abuse. Don't let this incident drop, the taxi driver needs to learn that actions have consequences, but the fact is you do too.
Best of luck with getting a good result with the taxi driver :thumbsup:

Good, sound advice: Matt heed it for your own good!
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
just send a copy of the video the taxi driver made to the licensing authority. he clearly says he can't stop or he will lose his licence. unless rhyl licensing is as toothless as the PCO in London
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
just send a copy of the video the taxi driver made to the licensing authority. he clearly says he can't stop or he will lose his licence. unless rhyl licensing is as toothless as the PCO in London

I have a feeling Denbighshire Licensing already know about this, as the Taxi Company is aware/Police are investigating. Oh and North Wales Police don't pussy foot around drivers. They are very strict (I'm regularly in Rhyl/Prestatyn from March-October).
 
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