I find this whole thread extremely depressing. I’ve been on the receiving end of this kind of thing. There’s so much aggression and tension in our lives waiting to spill out. I ride on the road as little as possible, preferring the quiet trails but even on my short hop to the local station i’ve had agro from car drivers. In these instances its sad, but for some riders and their families it becomes tragic.

THIS
He admitted an assault. There was not threat or danger from you as he was inside a metal box that they got out only to hit you
I would not accept anythin gless than a prosecution

I complained. It was investigated. The officer did nothing wrong and there are more important things to deal with was the wording and impression I got. A prosecution was what I wanted but when the investigating officer and their superiors say no there’s not much you can do. Once he’d been told to write the letter then I don’t think he could be reinvestigated and given a different punishment for the same crime so it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway.

This is why I believe every regular cyclist in the UK should take out legal insurance, after reporting an incident to the police I would want my own legal representation to make sure it is handled properly.

We are brought up to believe the justice system will always do the right thing, unfortunately for those of us who are rarely likely to come into contact with it throughout our lives, we do not know how to handle the system to get the correct outcome.

I am not condoning the driver who has rightly been fined but cyclists not using the bike planes provided is indeed a source of frustration.

Yep, I often get frustrated by poor quality bike lanes.

not sure i would have let it go

Perhaps i should try clipping a [plastic] copper on a bike getting out of my car chinning them and I am sure an apology will do just fine

Shocking decision tbh

IME bike lanes are very hit and miss.

I dont use any locally as they are pretty rubbish – the ones through the new town they built are much better but shared use and walkers stand on both sides

I agree with some of the comments in the link that there should be some psychological element to a driving license – people like this are too irrational to be on the roads.

Also agree about bike paths. There’s a lovely one near me that runs parallel to a very busy dual carriageway. Unfortunately it’s also near a school so in the morning it’s full of kids texting and mums with pushchairs!

To the IPCC?* TBH I reckon the more important thing is to get the police to change their attitude than to get that particular motorist prosecuted, and that certainly could be achieved by escalating the complaint.

* I’ve just had a phone call from the professional standards unit of a police force regarding a complaint I raised about something completely different (longing to discuss on here, but he mentioned a possible prosecution for the officer, so probably best not) – when I raised that online there was an option to go via IPCC rather than the force’s own complaints procedure.

Still agree
I cannot see what protocol/procedure allows them to ignore an unprovoked assault.

https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/appeals

Very interested in this.

A few years ago I reported something similar. A guy in a car gave me a friendly nudge while I was waiting for a rubbish truck to get out of the way so I could turn right. He threatened assault, I took his plate down and complained to the police.

The letter I got back from the police said they’d interviewed the person who did it. He admitted a “road rage” incident and that was all they could do because there were no witnesses.

TL;DR: Got bumped by a motorist. Complained to cops. Motorist admitted it but cops said nothing doing because there were no witnesses.

I don’t buy the “there’s more important stuff to investigate” excuse if they’re not competent enough to arrest/charge someone who admits to a crime. How exactly is that supposed to happen?

Also agree about bike paths. There’s a lovely one near me that runs parallel to a very busy dual carriageway. Unfortunately it’s also near a school so in the morning it’s full of kids texting and mums with pushchairs!

There’s one near me that’s OK, but it’s completely segregated from the carriageway but the access to it is from a traffic lighted spiral roundabout and on my way into work it’s on the wrong side, so getting onto it it’s easier to ride along 1/2mile to the next roundabout and go round that one to get across.

Without fail get the *bbbbbbbbbeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppp* and finger wagging at the path, usually form a black 4×4 of some kind.

A wandsworth council van tried to ram me off the same road some years back, then lept out and shouted abuse. The council apologised for the bad language, but couldn’t care less that their employees were trying to kill people.

Shared space cycle paths are rarely fit for purpose IMHO, I’ve tried a few and invariably they’re full of meandering people staring at their smartphone screens.

I’ve had a couple of people beep and point at the cycle path. My response is usually along the lines of “Show me where in the Highway Code it states that I must ride on a cycle path”. This invariably results in much confusion from the inevitable simian behind the wheel as they attempt to process this.

[ninja edit]

The law is an ass. There are so many instances where a cyclist has been assaulted by a motorist and the authorities seem to take the view that the presence of a bicycle constitutes an act of provocation. This will only change if we take the police to task on this, with help from our elected representatives.

Of course, this sort of thing never happens anywhere else, does it?

not in places with real beer and hills it doesnt. FACT

IIRC you need corroboration to convict someone – i.e. 2 or more witnesses (not including the perp, under HRA he/she can’t incrimiate him/herself)

That particular bike lane, IMO, is not fit for purpose.

It’s no more than a line painted on the pavement, no physical segregation between pedestrians/cyclist. There certainly isn’t enough room for cyclists to pass each other & pedestrians at the same time. There’s been no attempt to widen it anyway – it’s a weak, poor, failed, CHEAP, excuse of a bike lane & very poorly thought through!

Can you tell I don’t like it??

Of course they can make a confession and admit guilt.

under HRA he/she can’t incrimiate him/herself

Put the daily mail down and step away slowly.

Does the fact that the cyclist is also a bit shouty (I think TBH i would have been as well ) make a difference in a court case?

Does the fact that the cyclist is also a bit shouty (I think TBH i would have been as well ) make a difference in a court case?

Can’t see how, considering the shouting was after he veered at the rider with his vehicle. Which I presume is what he was convicted for.

I challenge you to find where in the law it says that. Do you have plenty of time to waste?

How do you need corroboration when they confess they did it and a victim reports?

Does that mean I can rob a shop as long as there is only one person in there ?

Rape would seem to be an easy crime to get away with as we will never be able to prosecute due to lack of witness ETC

Can’t see how

Escalating the situation?

Obviously he doesn’t have to take whatever the driver throws at him, but they do seem to just manage to wind each other up more and more. (I’m not trying to defend anyone’s actions just trying to get an idea how the ‘law’ views this sort of thing?

Police are always “Anymore of that language and it’s curtains” I just wondered if a dim view is taken?

On a lighter note…I did a 10 mile ride around our local town yesterday, about 40 of us, of all age groups from 4 yrs to probably 70 yrs plus. We had appointed marshals zipping ahead to stop traffic & can honestly say we didn’t encounter a single bit of abuse from any drivers who were held up.

I’ve just realised how stupid a comment that is to post to the STW daytime crowd 😳

At the end of the video the two cyclists rode off two abreast nattering to each other. No chance of that annoying the next approaching motorist then. 😆

MrSmith – Member

not in places with real beer and hills it doesnt. FACT

Bavaria?

Aye fair enough, it’s Sctochland where you need corroboration, and HRA means you can’t force someone to incriminate themselves.

But if they’ve volunteered the information, HRA doesn’t make it inadmissible.

I don’t know much about Scottish law (even less than I know about English law), but surprised if the statement of a single witness is inadmissible – for reasons outlined above. Up to the court to decide whether to trust it.

God help anyone who complains about his food.

http://brew-cafe.com/

aracer – Member
I don’t know much about Scottish law (even less than I know about English law), but surprised if the statement of a single witness is inadmissible

It’s not inadmissible, just not sufficient to convict (with some exceptions)

Be surprised!:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corroboration_in_Scots_law

A cornerstone of Scots law, the requirement for corroborating evidence means at least two different and independent sources of evidence are required in support of each crucial fact before a defendant can be convicted of a crime.[2] This means, for example, that an admission of guilt by the accused is insufficient evidence to convict in Scotland, because that evidence needs to be corroborated by another source

If you look at his Twitter (assuming it’s the same bloke) he’s posing with a meat cleaver…

Is the bloke in the brew-cafe website the maniac nutcase on video ?

Is the bloke in the brew-cafe website the maniac nutcase on video ?

Someone on Roadcc has named him and linked him to that business. It looks like it could be the same bloke… but that’s not the same as an official confirmation!

Is the bloke in the brew-cafe website the maniac nutcase on video ?

I wanna know…

Shall I leave a negative Tripadvisor review?

😛

shall we do a group ride to see 😈

Do it.

Looks right, has the right accent, is in the right place. Not definitive proof, but it seems likely.

A load of MAMIL’s should reserve a few tables on a weekend, order a glass of water each, nothing else and take about 4 hours to drink it. If he’s the one of course.

That HAS to be the same guy.

Mahoosive PR fail!

Is there a way of sending all his twitter followers a link to the video?