Violent bus driver and a lawyer who lied

[LOGAN 5]

This incident happend in February but I couldn't bring myself to talk about it until now - that I've calmed down that is.

I was cycling north over Waterloo Bridge in the morning rush hour when a bus driver cut me up into the bus stop. I had to stop and go round the back. A few words muttered and that was it. He then proceeds to overtake me really closely (and fast) in the bus lane (the cycle lane is quite narrow and runs adjacent to the bus lane) whilst hooting.

When he gets to the north end and stops at the bus stop I pull up by his window to say he passed really closely. He got out of the cab like lightning. Got up to an inch of my face and screamed at me. Then he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me. I then got in to the bus to get his details which he refused to give.

At this point a passenger said he would "speak for this man" and said "I'm a lawyer" (as if that was important!). I said the driver had assaulted me and all he said was "oh well" because he hadn't seen it from where he was in the bus. The driver having vented his violent rage was now strangely silent. "The Lawyer" gave the driver his card presumably to be a witness.

Anyhow when I got to work and reported it to TfL and later on to the police.

I was interviewed and the driver was arrested.

Eventually the police interviewed *I'm a Lawyer" and he LIED. He said the driver didn't pass me closely, that I was shouting at the driver (which I certainly wasn't with him screaming an inch from my face like a maniac) and that the driver didn't assault me. He didn't see the incident and then lied about it! Why would he do that for somebody he didn't even know. Why would he get involved in this way. Why!

Because this went on for several minutes with the bus not moving the passengers started to get abusive and I was called "a trouble maker". They started to get off but by that time I'd got off too as I wasn't going to get the driver to talk - obviously he only screams. As I was standing by my bike on the pavement one of the passengers (a young woman) shoved me then scuttled back on to the bus. Why why why. Was it shove a cyclist day!

Needless to say the case was dropped because the lawyer idiot lied on behalf of a violent, aggressive and dangerous bus driver.

Incredible and I try not to think about the injustice of it.

 

[gazzaputt]

Personally as soon as he got in my face I'd put him on his arse and rode off. I've given up remonstrating with drivers just isn't worth the hassle.

 

[summerdays]

That sounds like a bad day ... I can only assume that the "lawyer" saw something and then his mind made up the rest. Perhaps he has had a run in with a cyclist before and carried that prejudice into this encounter. Hopefully it will remain on the bus drivers employment record and if anything similar happens again then they will see that there has been a previous encounter.

 

[dodgy]

It happened because some people have a completely irrational hatred of cyclists.

 

[yello]

That sounds traumatic. I hope you've settled back into your karma now!

You say the police arrested the driver. Do you know what for? Was he charged with anything? Do you know if the 'lawyer' lied about being a lawyer too? Unless this lawyer fellow was totally discredited then I would have thought it came down to one word against another and I'm surprised the driver would have been arrested without proof or other witness statements.

 

[Brains]

I had a similar situation with a hit and run where the driver was stopped by other drivers boxing him in.

He was eventually stopped outside a bit of a rough pub.

Similar situation to yours in that he completly lost it, loads of witnesses.
Likewise the Police have done nothing about my driver.

I, the cyclist, are the obvious injured party (in both senses of the word), yet that does not stop the occupants of the pub turning out to have a go at me for holding up the traffic, out for all I can get for the innocent motorist, your type should not be on the road, why were you cycling in a bus lane anyway, etc etc etc

Whilst in many walks of life in the UK, the public will support the underdog, this does not extend to traffic accidents. There the agressor wins.

What I have learnt from the situation is

A. Take the law into your own hands
B Totally loose it - Accuse the driver of attempted murder, paedofilia, rape, incest and everything else
C Don't expect the police to do anything
D Get any lawyers on your side by contacting them first, as they then would have a conflict of interst and could not support the other side (Ensure this is in writing)

 

[Jake]

sorry to hear that, sounds like a nasty incident. Cue the helemt camera debate - which would have helped you out.

 

[Bollo]

That is S H I T.

I know its not the be-all-and-end-all, but this is EXACTLY why I have a cam.

 

[tdr1nka]

You might want to demand if there is any CCTV footage from the bus or of the bridge at that time.
Sorry to hear the story Logan5, London is very tough on cyclists at times.

 

[swee'pea99]

The only positive thing to come out of this truly shitty situation is that you can rest assured it *will* have been noted on the driver's employment record ('there's no smoke without fire') and even if he's the neanderthal he appears to be, self-preservation will hopefully prevent a repeat performance. He knows (and They know) and only if he's a total psycopath wil he risk doing it again. Next time it's the chop.

 

[fossyant]

The 'witness' was one of these folk inconvenienced - not going to get an accurate answer, as he won't have seen everything.

Hmm, not much you can do, like above there will be this on the driver's HR record, proven or not.

 

[Alembicbassman]

If you were physically assaulted you had the right to use reasonable force to defend yourself. A swift knee in the family assets usually suffices. I would have done this, trust me I'm an ex copper with a law degree.

 

[dellzeqq]

wait a second. Hold on, and take a breath. This incident is like a hundred, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand others, in that it shares the simplest of ingredients with all those other incidents - angry driver intimidates cyclist

And, given that it's a regular occurence it's incumbent on the cyclist to have a bit of a plan. It might be a flexible plan, but it's got to be a plan of some sort. In this case the plan was 'to get the details of the driver'. Well, sorry, but that's bollocks. Have a mobile phone with a camera. If you feel strongly about it, take a photograph of the vehicle, with the number plate, and, if you can, get a photograph of the driver. You don't need to speak to the driver, and you don't need the number on the badge of the driver - that's TfL's job. It's like asking the driver of a car for his or her name and address. There is no point. If you want to take it further, do what needs to be done.

That is as far as you can take it. I accept that the police may fail in their duty, but it's their duty, not yours, and your duty is to stay safe, so that those that love you aren't deprived of your society.

Now, I admit that I have
- reached in to the cab of a small van, taken the ignition keys out and flung them in to the bushes, leaving the van marooned in the South Circular.
- chase an artic up the Embankment, climbed in to the cab and punched the driver
- intimidated any number of drivers by rapping on the body work as they pass me (or on one occasion as I passed them on the inside)
- used stratospherically obscene language at high volume any number of times
- chased a driver round a petrol staton
- chased a car through Mayfair with such vigour that he pulled a righthander across traffic coming the other way
but I'd never pretend that I did any of this stuff for a good reason. I did it to make myself feel better. And if you're doing it to make yourself feel better don't pretend to be the victim.

 

[Lisa21]

Now, I admit that I have
- reached in to the cab of a small van, taken the ignition keys out and flung them in to the bushes, leaving the van marooned in the South Circular

LOVE IT!!!!

This "Lawyer".......sounds like he may have been a friend/family of the a****ole driving??

 

[magnatom]

It's not easy but the best thing for you now is to let it go and put it down to experience. You have been seriously wronged but nothing you can do will change that or provide justice. Just vow to not let it happen again....oh and get a helmet camera.