And this is why people get pissed off with us.
It's already been offered to have a quiet word with the guy so why not leave it at that? Yes it's in bad taste but going after the guy and trying to get him sacked helps nobody and does nothing except harbour resentment. Way to go.
Some of you need to have a word with yourselves.
It’s already been offered to have a quiet word with the guy so why not leave it at that?
Is exactly the correct approach.
And this is why people get pissed off with us.
It’s already been offered to have a quiet word with the guy so why not leave it at that? Yes it’s in bad taste but going after the guy and trying to get him sacked helps nobody and does nothing except harbour resentment. Way to go.
Some of you need to have a word with yourselves.
No-one's suggested doing otherwise since the offer to have a word came in, have they?
getting someone sacked for what is a bit of a joke, well that’s a bit harsh isn’t it ? Sure it’s in poor taste, but come on…. seriously.
If he’s that stupid to think putting that sticker on his car is a good idea, then I doubt I’d want him to turn up and try to fix my internet tbh…
If you’re not prepared to face the consequences of putting stickers on your works van, don’t put stickers on your works van. *shrugs*
Also this..
He's not gonna get sacked anyway, they'll just tell him to stop being a **** and take the stickers off. Then an email will go round to all other van drivers telling them not to be ****s and don't put stickers on works vans.
woah woah woah…. getting someone sacked for what is a bit of a joke, well that’s a bit harsh isn’t it ? Sure it’s in poor taste, but come on…. seriously.
I drive a large fast heavy machine on the roads next to many squishy people.
Hundreds of said squishy people get killed or injured on these roads every year.
Drivers of my particular type of large fast heavy machine have a reputation of aggressive and dangerous driving, especially towards said squishy people on bikes.
I think I'll display to everyone that I dislike squishy people, celebrate them being killed and wish I killed them myself.
Hilarious 🙄
Just the right kind of person to be trusted with a large fast heavy machine in public.
I think I’ll display to everyone that I dislike squishy people, celebrate them being killed and wish I killed them myself.
Other points of view are available.
If he’s that stupid to think putting that sticker on his car is a good idea, then I doubt I’d want him to turn up and try to fix my internet tbh…
Not sure what his competence at his job has to do with this. I know intelligent folk who are unbelievably useless and some thick mofos who are great at their jobs.
He’s not gonna get sacked anyway, they’ll just tell him to stop being a * and take the stickers off. Then an email will go round to all other van drivers telling them not to be * and don’t put stickers on works vans.
Is that the official company line or did you make that up?
Man driving van thinks it is appropriate to display his negative attitude towards other people who choose a different form of transport. Said negative attitude is illustrated with a sticker applied to the outside of his vehicle. Sticker is similar to those used by service personnel to display 'kills' and illustrative of the results of criminal activty. Van is often the largest and thus most dangerous vehicle in interactions.
If you want see similar attitudes persist - do nothing. Negative action starts with negative intention from a negative attitude/set of beliefs. Don't be a bystander - that's how all kinds of prejudice has flourished.
Will getting him sacked change his attitude then ? Will he then think "ok, i'll be nicer to cyclists" ?
Or is he arguably more likely to get even more angry ?
Will getting him sacked change his attitude then ? Will he then think “ok, i’ll be nicer to cyclists” ?
Or is he arguably more likely to get even more angry ?
Well obviously (or ideally) it should come with some form of education. Anyway what kind of argument is that? Should we never punish anyone for anything because it'll just make them angry?
It isn't cyclists who'll get him sacked it's his own attitude and behaviour.
Granted it's more important to change that behaviour than to punish, which is why as pondo pointed out no one has actually called for sacking since the quiet word was suggested. Hopefully that will work.
@spooky_b329 please let us know the outcome 🙂
And this is why people get pissed off with us.
It’s already been offered to have a quiet word with the guy so why not leave it at that? Yes it’s in bad taste but going after the guy and trying to get him sacked helps nobody and does nothing except harbour resentment. Way to go.
Some of you need to have a word with yourselves.
That's awesome how you've somehow managed to turn this around so that this ****wit is now the victim, and the people who object to jokes about being killed are somehow the aggressor.
Way to go.
Is that the official company line or did you make that up?
🙄
A plastic covered note on his windscreen reading -
Lose the 'knocked down' stickers on your van door, or find out how offensive they are the hard way.
The hard way is a report to your bosses and Openreach head office asking if they condone these type of stickers on their works vans, accompanied with a picture of your van, including the numberplate. Which will probably result in a meeting between you and your bosses, lots of frowning and incredulous looks, many choice words, and no tea and biscuits*
I don't expect to see them there tomorrow.
Thank you .
See how that goes, passive/aggressive and no need for a confrontation.
*Great line @Onehundredthidiot 😆 very apt and conveys the right terminology.
Will getting him sacked change his attitude then ? Will he then think “ok, i’ll be nicer to cyclists” ?
Or is he arguably more likely to get even more angry ?
Shall we stop jailing burglars in case it makes them angry and want to do it again?
(Actually, a pretty poor example)
If it's his first offence, it will be a warning and a reminder to all staff not to do it.
Think of it as enforcing Rule#1. If we enforced it more often, a lot of other bollocks might be avoided.
I think a very boring and long cycling awareness course with no tea or coffee and not in paid work hours is the answer to dickheads like this in the first place. No second chances for any anti cyclist behaviour either.
jesus wept, what an utter bunch of professionally offended bedwetters, yes it a bit #### but #### me sideways you lot are daft.
What an erudite response.
That’s awesome how you’ve somehow managed to turn this around so that this **** is now the victim, and the people who object to jokes about being killed are somehow the aggressor.
Way to go.
I refer you to Weeksy's comment. I'm not saying the perpetrator is a victim at all but it's better to educate than punish.
Will getting him sacked change his attitude then ? Will he then think “ok, i’ll be nicer to cyclists” ?
Or is he arguably more likely to get even more angry ?
@ads678 it was a genuine question, optimistically worded to provoke thought. Unless you work for Openreach then your comment was nothing but mindless speculation and, if I'm honest, more than a little naive. That's the sort of thing that could see someone getting a serious disciplinary where a quiet word would be more appropriate.
You are never going to change anyone's attitude by going in all guns blazing.
And on that, I've said my piece, I'm out.
well any sticker on vehicle is a bit crap, be it a god bothery one, a darwin fish, things powered by fairy dust, or some sports club toot. to choose some daft anti bike thing to get worked up about is just plain silly, want to get angry about something, at least pick a topic that actually makes a difference, or take direct action, you know like kicking the hell out of c18 and the bnp, being a hunt sab, freeing animals, feeding the starving, promote postive cycling locally, but some whineycockbag response about some cack humour and going after the persons work.... mental
promote postive cycling locally,
I thought we were, by making idiots realise joking about hitting cyclists wasn't acceptable, which might encourage more people to try, you know, cycling locally or something.
@sqirrelking
@ads678 it was a genuine question, optimistically worded to provoke thought. Unless you work for Openreach then your comment was nothing but mindless speculation and, if I’m honest, more than a little naive. That’s the sort of thing that could see someone getting a serious disciplinary where a quiet word would be more appropriate.
TBF My speculation is just as informed as anyone who has said the guy will get sacked if it was reported.
In normal conversation people don't always says "in my opinion" to clarify things, but as this is the internet words are meaningless without evidence. Apologies for the emoji response, I just get a bit bored of the constant, "have you got evidence to back that up" responses on here. Sometimes people are just talking.
I would be shocked if he got sacked on the spot for putting a sticker on his van. IMHO, but i'm not the only one with that opinion. See MCTD's post above.
Shop him tweet it etc, why not? Might raise awareness. Any action taken by his employer is another matter
Will getting him sacked change his attitude then ? Will he then think “ok, i’ll be nicer to cyclists” ?
Or is he arguably more likely to get even more angry ?
Getting sacked for something like this is nothing to do with cyclists. You work for a company who spend god knows how long and how much building up a reputation (OK Openreach probably aren’t the best example). You buy new vans an spend more on branding them to spread your reputation, and one of your employees adds a sticker to the van they use which effectively says ‘Are a bunch of ****ers’. That’s a sackable offence.
then I doubt I’d want him to turn up and try to fix my internet tbh…
I’d be more than a little unhappy if he turned up to fix my internet and I saw those stickers on the side of his van, and I’m not generally a bed wetter. However, experience has shown that it’s of little use being ‘diplomatic’ in similar situations, if he hates cyclists then there’s no way I’m going to convince him otherwise. I’d escalate it to his/her superiors and let them deal with it as they see fit (after the internet was fixed, obvs).
Good lord this place really has become sad and pathetic. You'll be complaining about your neighbours not putting their wheelie bins away next week. 😀
The solution has been presented, but no....not good enough.... you're on about changing someones 'attitude'!! 😀
I'm sure he doesn't 'hate' cyclists. Get a bloody grip will you. The sticker is clearly a joke (albeit not a very funny one).
Quick lets all take to Twitter and get someone sacked because i'm outraged about a sticker on a van!!
I bet the Daily Mash get most of their material from here...except they're funny.
The BT driver also has mobility scooters and old people with walking sticks on it. It's clearly a joke and the "intention" is a bit of light hearted fun. Or do we think they are in opposition to the elderly and infirm as well?
The BT driver also has mobility scooters and old people with walking sticks on it. It’s clearly a joke and the “intention” is a bit of light hearted fun. Or do we think they are in opposition to the elderly and infirm as well?
Serial killer with a points system.....?
The BT driver also has mobility scooters and old people with walking sticks on it. It’s clearly a joke and the “intention” is a bit of light hearted fun. Or do we think they are in opposition to the elderly and infirm as well?
We get that it's intended as a joke, and yes I doubt he really wants to kill anyone.
Incredibly stupid to stick it on your company van though, and it does show his attitude towards those groups. At the end of the day it's making a statement.
If he leant out his window and said to you "I ran over 6 cyclists today, you're next!" while next to you in traffic I'm sure you wouldn't think "light hearted fun".
Somehow I think he might see it in a different light if he cycled regularly or was disabled.
Not sure what his competence at his job has to do with this. I know intelligent folk who are unbelievably useless and some thick mofos who are great at their jobs.
Part of his job is being a professional driver.
I stand by sending the image in to head office. If some idiot was driving around our works with a similar tally on a fork lift truck I'd want to know about it.
To all those that say those suggesting shopping him to his employer are ‘bedwetters’ and over reacting, surely if that’s the case his company will just (at worst) tell him to remove the stickers and that’ll be the end of it
If he ends up getting sacked it won’t be the professional bedwetters on here who sack him, it’ll be his impartial HR team who will be the ones who decide how offensive it is
I personally think he’s a dick but I’m not going to grass him up to his company for that. If someone feels stronger about it than me and he does end up getting the sack however, fxxx him, he shouldn’t have been so stupid should he
The van next to it has an arguably worse mod.. blacking out the things that let you see other stuff in the dark and others see you.. clever
got a proper hats on meeting without biscuits
This was the funniest thing I've heard all day. I assume the young officer was also wearning brown trousers for the occasion.
I wonder if those "kill" stickers have turban or hijab options? Thought not.
I run a relatively small company with several branded vehicles. We rely on the good will of our customers to keep using us, and help generate new revenue streams. If anyone did this to one of our vans (especially when they know their boss is a keen biker), I'd be seriously looking for an opportunity to get shot of them, because they'd be a reputational liability.
I’m sure he doesn’t ‘hate’ cyclists.
What are you basing that on?
Oh hang on, my sheets are wet again...
What are you basing that on?
I’m fairness he’s also got children in prams on there so I don’t think we cyclists can take it too personally
It’s still a pig ignorant thing to put on a van however.
Why don't we test the sticker and how people perceive it, if we change the target from cyclists to another group of people who often feel aggression - although on a vastly different scale.
We could replace the cyclists with people who are black, or put rainbows so he can say how many LGBTQ+ people he runs over, or Jews - I believe there is already a precedent with yellow stars...
Seems pretty clear to me...
If I saw a member of my team with that or similar on their private car let alone a company one I'd be having a strong word about its removal especially anyone with a recognisable car. It's just plain inappropriate and unprofessional.
Firmly of the view it wants reporting to the fleet manager to make sure it's removed and a reminder issued about appropriate attitude/ behaviour to other road users.
Part of that job is driving a commercial vehicle it's not unreasonable to expect that it's not treated as a joke or the vehicle marked unofficially in a way that offends some of your customers.
I'm also with whoever above said we need to really focus on persistent enforcement of the little stuff because it's the not getting away with it every single day that will get the message across that you can't behave like an entitled **** with impunity.
Extra stickers on a car/van is Arkship Fleet B stuff anyway. I knew a bloke who had stickers of bullet holes along the side of his hand painted (camo) Marina...He was exactly how you'd imagine.
Ok - a discrete email has been sent to the guy suggesting that he should get rid of the sticker before it gets reported properly. I walk past the van fairly frequently so if it doesn't go in a month or so, i'll report more formally.
Why don’t we test the sticker and how people perceive it, if we change the target from cyclists to another group of people who often feel aggression – although on a vastly different scale.
We could replace the cyclists with people who are black, or put rainbows so he can say how many LGBTQ+ people he runs over, or Jews – I believe there is already a precedent with yellow stars…
I think ... you can make jokes about anything that affects or happens to any of us. Fate, situations etc. Cycling would be included in that. Almost anyone can ride a bike or be in that "don't you hate it when.." situation. You might be able to include someone who's excluded from that thing if the joke makes their exclusion into a positive there. Whether the outcome is funny or not is another matter. But making jokes about someone's culture or race is crossing a line, perhaps unless you belong to that culture and joke from within it. Because we don't choose most of those things, we simply are (false equivalence to say that choice of activity, transport etc is at the same level culturally or in sense of self).
So I don't think the humour in these stickers is crossing a line. It's just lame, that's all. Turn it into what you're suggesting and it would 100% cross the line though. (edit to clarify, I believe that's the point you're making, but I have read the equivalence argument so many times on here, road.cc etc)
Ok – a discrete email has been sent to the guy suggesting that he should get rid of the sticker before it gets reported properly. I walk past the van fairly frequently so if it doesn’t go in a month or so, i’ll report more formally.
👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Why don’t we test the sticker and how people perceive it, if we change the target from cyclists to another group of people who often feel aggression – although on a vastly different scale.
I agree with jameso that it's not a direct equivalent, and I wouldn't claim it was.
I did play a game on a Teams call once where I described the abuse I regularly got from passing motorists, how I'd had things thrown at me from vehicles, how a driver had got out his car to assault me, and then asked the audience why they thought I'd got that abuse.
They worked through race, sexuality, gender etc before someone who knew me in real life finally twigged it was because I was riding a bike.
Possibly why I felt so strongly about the stickers