Just had a "punishment pass"… What next?

I’ve had some close calls in my time as a cyclist, but on the way home from a ride tonight (literally about 10 mins ago) somebody clipped my bars with their mirror, and made it very obvious that it was deliberate (gestures that I shouldn’t be on the road and that I should move over etc…)
I should point out that I was riding on a main road (about 100m after the cycle lane down the side of it inexplicably stops) with my wheels less than a foot away from the yellow lines. Everyone else managed to get past without issue, I spotted but this guy (with his family in the car) out of the corner of my eye approaching and appearing to come towards me. He then clipped my bar with his wing mirror, not enough to knock me off but certainly enough to shake me up (although in my book, any physical contact with a car while you’re on a bike is too much!)
I shouted simply to make him aware of the fact I was there, thinking maybe he’d just not seen me, and that’s when the torrent of abuse started.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a helmet camera or anything, but I did get a note of his reg number and description of the car.

I’m not sure whether to just let it go, or whether it’s worth reporting. The problem is, without any evidence it’s just my word against his, but the guy’s clearly got a problem with cyclists on the road, and I’m not sure I can let that lie.

Any suggestions? Other than weeing in his shoes 😉

but I did get a note of his reg number

Ring the Police. Now.

Report it. Even if they don’t do anything they do file it in case he’s reported again.

I’m not sure whether to just let it go, or whether it’s worth reporting.

I’d deffo report it, it’ll only take a little bit of your time and you might even find the experience cathartic – but it might end up being loads of hassle for the driver.

they do file it

Do they do that? If so, how does it work?

I’m not sure whether to just let it go, or whether it’s worth reporting.

Imagine i walked up to you in the street and gently stabbed you with a big knife……not enough to draw blood but just enough to scare you

RING THE POLICE
I fail to see the dilemma
Whether anything happens is not the issue

+1 for giving the plod a call.

Ultimately it may be that they cannot substantiate any driving offences but, for all you know this guy may have done this before. And if nobody else has reported it previously, he will go on doing it. At least if the Police go to speak to him, at the very least, his card will be marked, no?

^ +1 !!

Contact CTC too. They might just possibly assist but can record it for campaigning.

Ring Police, they may call round in a riot van or just a Police Hyundai, but either way it will give him and his family a surprise and hopefully alter his behaviour.

oh and report it on CTC SMIDSY.

Old bill now

Your OP was 15 mins ago. I hope you’re on the phone now.

Dial 101 for cops. I belled them earlier when a drunk was being aggressive towards people on the local packed high st. He got sorted out before anything serious happened. It’s what they’re paid to do.

Just been on the phone to 101 and reported it. Got a reference number for the incident- apparently they’re classifying it as a hit and run RTC!

It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of it.

deffo report it, he’s obviously a dangerous person if he did it deliberately & maybe a word from the Police will change his attitude towards cyclists.

On the other hand this maynot be the first time he’s done this to a cyclist & your reporting it will mean its about time the Police took action.

I thought this was going to be about a mardy wife telling you to go out on your bike…

Well done for reporting it

It’ll be interesting to see if anything comes of it.

Don’t expect too much. It’s down to your word against his, and as you’re not injured / assume there is no damage to your bike it may be that he receives words of advice.

Even if he gets a bollocking off his Mrs after the cops have been (assuming she witnessed the torrent of abuse), it will have been worth it. And once he’s come to the attention of the cops, he may be less inclined to act the same in the future.

I thought this was going to be about a mardy wife telling you to go out on your bike…

So did I 🙂

You never know, someone else might have seen it and reported it too (I had a nutter try to pull me out my car once and someone else reported it so that when I called in they said they would be going to arrest him there and then!).

The fact that this sort of behaviour has a name means it’s already too close to being considered part of riding on the road. Everyone needs to do whatever they can to stop that being the case.

Well in PT!
Good reaction from police. Hope they follow through…

http://www.ctc.org.uk/news/ctc-launches-road-justice-campaign

Right thing to do. You are very lucky, another inch towards you and you might not have been able to post the incident or ring the police!
The guy needs to be dealt with by the law.

On behalf of all cyclists, thank you for finally reporting it!

Please keep on top of it and make sure the Police take action.
It’s one thing to dislike another form of transport and quite another to deliberately try and harm someone because you don’t like their form of transport.
We desperately need people who drive like this taken off our roads.
Thanks for taking it as far as you have…

Oh and it sounds like the Police have a better definition of it than your thread title – ‘punishment pass’ is, IMO, totally inappropriate for action like this…

You did well to restrain yourself and you probably did the right thing. I wouldn’t have called the police personally. Mainly because i’d have dragged him out of his car a beat 7 shades of shite from him – making sure his family saw it.

Well done for reporting this.

Even if he tries to claim you hit him, the Highway Code is clear that cyclists should be given as much room as a car when overtaking, so he’s been driving without due care and attention.

Euro – Member
You did well to restrain yourself and you probably did the right thing. I wouldn’t have called the police personally. Mainly because i’d have dragged him out of his car a beat 7 shades of shite from him – making sure his family saw it.

And add fuel to the fire of ‘BikeHaters’ out there?

Not a good idea.

I’d be getting alongside him at the lights getting off the bike and launching it into his windscreen.

Good on you, OP. Visit by the police this evening might properly p**s on his barbeque.

Which leads me to another thought. Possible he might have been drinking. Possible the police might catch him in the act.

I was “pipped” by a motorist for pulling up at a T junction on my bike this evening. With my 2 yr old daughter on the back FFS.

And add fuel to the fire of ‘BikeHaters’ out there?
Not a good idea.

Calmly sitting here at the computer i’d agree, but if someone went out of their way to hit me with their car and then hurled a mouthful of abuse in my direction, i wouldn’t be calm. I’d be the exact opposite of calm.

well done on reporting it.
Someone drove at me last weekend deliberately but didn’t hit me and I still reported it.

If they keep getting away with it, they’ll keep getting away with it.

Maybe a good twatting would show the driver were not all passively going to stand for this behaviour and can get pretty darn peeved at an attempt on our lives. It may make him think twice next time, or he may move over an extra foot and take a cyclist out, in which case no one wins. Except lawyers and people who like to say “I told you so”.

maybe post his details on here so we can watch out for him.

He’d only do it to someone else, and his next victim might not be so lucky, so good on your for reporting it.

Should always report contact especially if he didnt stop and there was some deliberateness.

We all get accidentally cut up/pulled out on etc from time to time on the bike or in the car and i have more tolerance for that. There is human error in all we do. Sometimes the consewuences are horrendous but more often a fright and a scuff is the outcome. Clearly we can do things to manage the human error risks but direct aggression is harder to compensate for and always should have the law’s intervention.

Report, if you have the reg they will at least get a visit.

The guy who hit me and then tried to assault me is awaiting his summons.

That sort of driver would eventually have hit and maimed someone and called it an “accident”.

At least now his card is marked.

Even if the police can’t charge him, they have to follow things like this up – there’s a chance he might realise that he won’t get away with that sort of behaviour.

Good on you for reporting him, and I hope you’ve recovered from the stress of it.

Good work OP. It’s hard to get things like the license plate in high stress situations like that. You clearly have a very cool head when others have lost theirs!!!

And again today. Loud “Oi”, calculated to startle, from a motorist for doing nothing other than riding along. 2 yr old on the back as before. Where do these bell-ends get off?

Bell End clearly. It’s a popular stop!