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@dancing james
This is going to become a serious issue.
Those of us riding in primary position are encountering a lot of abuse from drivers who do not understand that we have a right to position ourselves safely.
Festus (Multigrooves), myself and David (skydancer) have all been physically attacked simply for our road positioning.
The police are currently sampling DNA from a car passenger who attacked me 2 weeks ago with a view to a GBH prosecution. If anyone else has similar cases then use your membership of LCC etc to help leverage media coverage. The police are keen to make mine a priority because it looks good for them, they get to use hi tech shit to solve a low tech problem and it is an issue that is in the public eye at the moment.
I have already spoken with David, though I am shocked and appalled at what happened I am in no way surprised by this.
At times this does feel like a fairly militant battle, but fuck I am always up for a bit of a verbal scuffle and to fuck someones day up, so we need to report them to the police, steal their keys etc.
The next time you think "should i report what just happened" fucking make the call, it does not take long and could save someone else from being attacked/injured at a later date.
The number of drivers who feel they need 3 feet clearance from parked cars but then expect bikes to travel 6 inches away is very high. The drivers have no comprehension of what makes for safe practice for cyclists.
The way we can improve this is reporting all similar cases and going for media coverage too. In this way we both address the actual drivers themselves and also the public perception of where is safe to be on the road. The number of weak cyclists who say to me "I am a really good considerate cyclist, i always ride in the gutter" leaves me really concerned as to how much re-education is required.
If you tolerate crap from motorists they will learn that their behaviour is acceptable and tolerated. Fuck that shit, we may lose the odd skirmish but we will eventually win the battle.