Rammed by driver in Clapham Common

While I agree that justice must be served, suggesting criminal retribution in a public forum doesn't make us look like the good guys.

Hope you are doing ok. Similar incidents have forced me to always ride with at least one camera (usually a rear light cam but on my commute front and back).

It is a sad state to have to do it but it is fucking great when you get a prosecution from them (I have on several occasions). My local plod (Avon and Somerset) are really good at following this shit up when there is evidence.

That really sucks. I wouldn't have imagined a person in a smart car with an attitude like that. Plate in can be a good thing. I had delayed reunion on my collar bone and it took 14 weeks to knit together. Also if you have continued pain with it after you've been discharged from ortho, follow it up with gp and keep it up with them until it resolves. I got fobbed off on my ankle, waited a few years, as was recommended, and had to have it all taken out, with permanent tendon damage.

Too much of this going on.Who do people think they are?,police are useless as usual ,as long as your taxes pay their wages that's all that matters.Don't expect much in return.Drivers seem to think they have more rights than cyclists for some reason and this makes it ok to put your life at risk.React and it's us that goes to court.Seriously ,there needs to be some real improvements for cyclists on the roads as our numbers are growing.

Thought I would give a quick update on this.

So it took me a while to report it but I did get round to doing an online report. I gave all details, times, dates etc. The form is not great and I would of preffered to speak to an officer before but as they didn't really help at the time, the form was the next option.

I received a call today from an officer who firstly started to question me about the date of the incident while sounding a bit annoyed. I explained that I had an inury and admittedly have been slow at reporting but felt it was important to report it incase the driver was a danger to more people.

For the whole call the officers tone was very much, this is routine and not worth their time but they have to make the call before they bury it. The officer ended with she doesn't know what route they will go down but they will be in touch. We can all make our own conclusion on that one I think. It felt like she really had no interest which didnt surprise me and definitely confirms why a few of us have doubts about reporting this kind of incident.

I hope the driver has reflected and doesn't act like an aggressive arsehole towards other cyclists because I'm sure he is now aware that he can get away with it. Maybe the met will surprise me but I doubt it.

I was rammed several times Saturday morning but avoided being hit, the altercation ended with the driver pulling beside me with window down and spraying (what thankfully turned out to be) water all over me (twice).

I have a rear camera that caught and initial close pass and his registration. Unfortunately the incidents that followed only captured the side of car, so there could be an element of 'it wasn't me gov'.

Have sent report and footage to police and am waiting to hear back.

Wow that sounds pretty shit. I've had a few incidents where drivers have started turning into me trying to intimidate me during altercations and one time an angry guy on a moped chase me down portobello road while trying to grab me. Always terrifying.

Oh, and one time on Camden Road a drivers partner started screaming at me which led to an exchange of words which then led to the driver getting out with a knuckle duster hidden behind his back. I saw it and with the help of adrenaline, I told him to put it away and that he wasn't going to use it. Thankfully he put it away. He was shaky AF and we both knew he wouldn't use it. He had 2 kids in the back of his car. I use to just stand my ground but after all of this, I don't think they are all bluffing.

I'm glad you are ok and I hope the footage you have helps your case. I'm definitely investing in cameras when I am back on the bike.

spraying (what thankfully turned out to be) water all over me

Would freak me out. Unknown liquid suddenly on you, horrible behaviour.

Would a report full of peoples experiences like this, sent to the right person, help make changes to how cyclists are protected? Maybe something like that has been done, i don't know. I have no idea how this isn't just going to get more frequent with the lack of interest from the met and an increasing hostility towards each other on the road.

I'm glad you are ok and I hope the footage you have helps your case. I'm definitely investing in cameras when I am back on the bike.

Thanks, annoyingly I have a front camera as well but I don't tend to bother with it at the weekends (just for commuting) but I always have the rear on as it is a light as well. I think I may just ride with both all of the time now. A&S Police are pretty pro-active with following these things up so it is worth trying to get some action against these people when these rare incidents occur.

Would freak me out. Unknown liquid suddenly on you, horrible behaviour.

It wasn't until a few secs after it happened that the possible ramifications hit me. You can see the water spary in the rear camera but unfortunately not him actually throwing it.

After the initial close pass with me he had an altercation with another car and was stopped in the road, that is how I caught him back up. He must have been having one hell of a bad morning, or perhaps is just a raging psychopath most of the time.

Unfortunately, drivers are always at a huge advantage of being inside a metal box so throwing something or veering into you is something they won't think twice about if they are aggressive and feel insulted that their inconsiderate driving was questioned.

I just got a call back and have been told it is being treated as a personal injury case. The driver will receive a letter and that I should contact a solicitor. I just spoke to an injury claim solicitors who said unfortunately they can't take on the claim but are providing me with a list of services that may help. It doesnt surprise me as the injury was later in the day after I had adjusted the bike.

A bit annoying that it is now dropped by the police as a criminal offence case but I do understand there is no evidence for them to pursue it.

Chase this up now! Make a complaint write to your local council. Was it on a tfl road? Annoy tfl. Be as big a pain as possible.

So basically fuck off as we don't want to deal with it.

Usual shite, your life does not matter

A driver jumped out of his car and threw me off my bike then held me and wouldn't let me go for a couple of minutes. All the other drivers did was beep so they could continue on their way. Even as I was shouting for someone to help me and stop the assault.

Hope you are all right.

Jesus, what did you do? Bet it was something as utterly despicable as touching their car. Well, not their car, but the car they're borrowing from the dealership for a couple of years at 40% of their takehome pay.

I would be stopping and offering to be a witness if I saw that shit going on.

I actually did it once when a car was having an altercation with a motorcycle and deliberately rammed it at traffic lights.

Kind of hoping someone may have done the same Saturday but not holding my breath.

You are few and far between. Been there done that.

Oh bet it was something worse such as overtaking him or getting in HIS way.

People get behind the wheel and become utter shit filled hate bags.

Of the many I have been involved with, the best was being threatened on tower bridge that the small white van man threatening to run me over and then wanting to go some where without cameras to settle this.

Have many stories of hit and runs while driving and have been threatened to be stabbed by a screw driver and met did fuck all.

When I reported a road rage in Norwich the copper said "I wouldn't cycle these days" and I bit my tongue.

Yeah, Norwich coppers give zero shits about us.

A couple of years back, I was hit as I rode the Bullitt with our then 2yr old daughter on the front. It was nighttime but I had reflective gear on, a hella zingy rear and front light and everything else. The car saw me because it was behind and revving aggressively because it wanted to get around me on a blind corner. So he went for it, with a car oncoming, and rammed into me sideways, hitting us over and leaving us laying in the road as he sped away. Cue me not having the guts to ride for almost a year.

We went to the police as we had a witness (their dashcam failed but they gave an eye-witness account of the "extremely hard to watch aggressive attack that almost looked personal, like the driver knew us". The driver was located, damage to the car consistent with the height of the Bullitt confirmed and he was told to "treat cyclists with respect on the road." Fuck ALL this. Oh and the copper didn't understand how my bike could be as expensive as it is.

Flash forward to this year and Gavin was hit by a taxi. This time we had full Go-Pro footage (an investment after the last incident). Again, nothing was done.

I'm so sorry you experienced this @3c70. Utter shits. Nobody will be happy until they kill us all and really teach us that lesson that I can't quite understand (that being healthy, causing less emissions etc is worthy of death...?). However, I think we can all enjoy the irony of the twat that hit you being in a Smart car.

What a thoroughly depressing story. Glad you were all ok though, hopefully your daughter would have been too young to remember it.

Sounds like extremely poor policing.

I had the total opposite when I got squashed on St Stevens a couple of years ago.
A taxi driver did a uturn without looking or signaling and hit my front wheel. He drove over my SWorks and I sort of bounced off their door. He drove off and pulled into the rank a little down the road. Their passenger made them come back.
The police where so helpful, the officer that took my statement, a day later after a trip to hospital etc, didn’t ask if I was wearing a helmet and a cyclist was ‘gunning’ for a conviction.
It took a good year to come to court and in the end he excepted liability and got 6 points, a hefty fine and lost his cabby license.
My point is I think it’s luck of the draw with who you get as an officer and what they feel about cyclists

Norwich police boasted on Twitter that an officer walked past a window, smelled cannabis, knocked on the door and arrested the bloke. They got a shed load of dog's abuse off the public in replies and deleted their tweet in the end.