Please report dangerous drivers to the police - Roadsafe. Report to plod, not just whinge here.

+1

Going home last night at about 7ish, headed west along the Grosvenor Road (just after Claverton St) was in the prime position when some bellend overtook me with about 4 inches to spare (possibly undertaking the van in the other lane- I was too busy shouting obscenities/ trying not to die to fully see all the detail).

Lucky for me the motorcycle policeman at the side of the road (in a lay by), almost perfectly in line with me and the car, heard my shouts and after my attempts to catch up with the car began to flag (after a 30 rd 'sprint') I saw the blue flashing lights zoom up the road in the car's direction.

Ah the joy it brought me! After all this time seeing dick head road users doing idiotic and dangerous stuff on an almost daily basis there was a police bod there at just the right time and I got to see a crap driver get a telling off straight away.

Thank you Mr Policeman!

(Mentioned this in another thread but thought it was more appropriate here)

I had the joy of cycling home last night along Dunbursy st in Islington by the canal with some boy racer constantly revving behind me. Its usually a fairly quiet road that I can hammer it along with out much bother. This guy wouldn't let up, he would race to over take then every time I'd hit a speed bump I'd gain distance on him.

That was until a got stuck behind a taxi at a bottleneck on the road, it turned right leavin gme in open space and sure enough this guy was up my arse- he forced me to the side of the road through several pot holes. Looking round to find he was less than 2ft from my back wheel. Stupidly I gave him some hand gestures at which point he tried to physically force me off the road with his car. Luckily I managed to get my speed up and took quick left out of there- I'm annoyed I didn't catch his plate but I'm sure it was a dark blue golf with body trims and black/grey alloys.

Sorry rant over

with people like that it's best to just hang back and let them go on ahead. They're not going to stop being a dick so you just need to remove yourself from the hazard (them).

+1

with people like that it's best to just hang back and let them go on ahead. They're not going to stop being a dick so you just need to remove yourself from the hazard (them).

I totally agree- was going to try and back up my reaction but you are totally right- whatever I started typing I was thinking: well I could have let him past before it got to the point I was getting forced out the way. Got to keep anger at bay when it happens and not try and prove a point.

I know exactly how you feel. I get it all too often going down bethnal green road/roman road.
Hell, yesterday there was a couple guys in balaclavas on trial bikes buzzing everyone on roman road.

I know exactly how you feel. I get it all too often going down bethnal green road/roman road.
Hell, yesterday there was a couple guys in balaclavas on trial bikes buzzing everyone on roman road.

Ye there are always the usual points on my cycle between stokey and soho that you are bound to come across something irritating- whether its cars, pedestrians or cyclists themselves ( as much as I hate saying). Although people riding around in balaclavas giving others unwanted buzz cuts sounds terrifying....haha

Appreciate thoughts on whether the response below is at all reasonable, before I pen something fairly blunt about cycle paths not removing obligations for safe driving. There's no real single incident, just a constant lack of space from every single one of their vehicles...

My grumble:

Dear sirs

Give cyclists more room. Your drivers consistently pass too close to cyclists, particularly on the 50mph stretch of the A814. This culminated in two separate incidents last Friday afternoon with your coaches passing within 18 inches of the edge of my handlebars at 50mph.

Might I remind you of your obligations under the highway code to give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (rule 163), to not overtake when you force another road user to take avoiding action (rule 167), and all the comments on vulnerable road users in 211-213.

Unless you can assure me that you have a process in place for taking action on this, I'll simply report the next occurence directly to the police under driving without due care, in line with recent successful prosecutions made in England in similar situations.

Plenty of cyclists now carry cheap video cameras to combat dangerous driving. Please don't force me to become one of them.

Yours sincerely

Their response:

I have noted your comments however, i can not take any action against drivers if i do not know who they are. Many of our vehicles now have cctv with external cameras so any issues of poor driving standards are recorded but i would require dates, times and registratiuon numbers to follow this up.

Might i suggest that you use the cycle path provided on this strech of road and such issues will not occur.

Regards

Alistair Wilson
Wilson's of Rhu Ltd.

So is there a separate cycle path on the A814?

I would always report near misses to the police as well as the company, if you can get the reg no.

his reponse "get out of the way". nice.

i'd be angry!

There's a shared pedestrian/cycle thing running alongside, which occassionally becomes a full road and finally merges into a definite footpath only. Surface is crap mind, and it's fairly popular with dogs and their owners connected by the hilarious invisible bungee lead things.

In fairness, non-cyclists have no idea about the overall uselessness of cycle paths.

Also in his favour

• he responds
  
• he explains why he can't act
  
• he explains that he has the ability and willingness to act (with some help from you)
  
  

Personally I wouldn't rant back at him as it will make him less likely to do something next time (and there will be a next time) you get buzzed by one of his coaches.

Why not reply with something like:

Dear Mr Wilson,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to me.
I am really pleased that you have invested in equipment that encourages your drivers to behave responsibly.
Hopefully, there won't be a next time, but if there is, I won't hesitate to send you the license details and time of any incident.

Just briefly on the cycle path, I would much rather use it but it is very popular with dog walkers and has an extremely dangerous surface which is forever puncturing my tyres and causing me to fall off. Even with the very occasional run-in with a Rhu Coach, the road is much safer for everyone!

Yours blah, blah...

Might i suggest that you use the cycle path provided on this strech of road and such issues will not occur.

Wac!

I wouldn't necessarily rant back at him, but that comment has to be contested, in a stronger way than walm here ^ suggests.

The main points I've thought up are:

• His idea that the solution to inconsiderate/careless/dangerous driving by his drivers is to remove other road users from their vicinity suggests his drivers aren't capable of driving safely around other road users; if this is the case they shouldn't be on the road

• He suggests you use the cycle path to avoid 'such issues'; you could just as well suggest that his drivers don't drive along that particular road and use a different route instead, which would also prevent 'such issues'. You have your reasons for choosing the road, just as his drivers have theirs, and its equally unreasonable for either of you to suggest the other changes their route - what your actual reasons for choosing the road over the cycle path are not relevant and I personally wouldn't bother trying to explain them

• You using the cycle path would not in any way address the issue of his drivers driving inconsiderately/carelessly/dangerously, and so is no solution to the problem at all. e.g. what about when they do the same thing where there isn't a cycle path/to other cyclists who haven't been so lucky as to have received his wonderful advice etc.

I'm with walm, the coach guy might be ill informed but so are 90% of non cyclists (and 99% of cyclists! :) most people have no idea of the problems with cycle lanes and to be fair what can he do unless you give him regs?

If you are going to reply, be polite.

Most people here will read what he says, be annoyed by it and so disregard it as rubbish, he will do the same to your letter if you start preaching or sounding like a dick yourself.

I'd also wonder if he had in fact known which driver it was and they've said to him "well he shouldn't have been on the bloody road there was a cyclepath anyways" so he's towed the company line and been nice and polite but ultimately given you the brush off.

Cheers all for the advice. Agree that flying off the handle is unlikely to improve bus/cyclist relations, so will go with a fairly neutral response, agreeing to take him up on the cctv in future. As it happens the only one of their coaches to pass today gave me much more space, so a warning may have rippled down through their drivers about my nagging.

Here's hoping...

Keep up the good work, Rob. Always remember that traffic isn't an 'us and them' situation. All road users benefit from better relations and more cycle and cycling awareness. Drivers are often stressed and many basically need better working conditions. We tend to assume that it's the driver that's at fault, but quite often it could be their employer.

@Always remember that traffic isn't an 'us and them' situation.

Wat world is you livin in? if gettin from a-b on a bike dont involve cussin, spittin or abh on a motorist, i start thinkin something aint right. an goin to the cops is a wasta time, those guys just dont give a fuc even if youre in the right.

Swapping my pump to an iron bar under the top tube has done my commutes the worlda good

Good advice and thanks for the switchboard number!

tying large stones to the drops like grenades works a treat too... for those w@nkers that cut u up on roundabouts an the like

Today reminded me that it's not just cyclists that are the brunt of stupid drivers.
Riding down Chelsea Embankment this morning, fast moving traffic. I hear a 3.5 tonne lorry beeping madly at a moped rider, for no apparent reason - he was in primary position, the same speed as other traffic. The Lorry then came up alongside the moped and swerved into him, shoulderchecking him and sending him swerving across the other lane (luckily there was no traffic in it) towards the kerb, luckily he was able to bring the moped under control just before he hit the kerb, but it could have been really nasty. I then saw the moped rider banging on the window once he had caught the lorry up at the lights, then the lorry beeping at him again and turning right over the bridge.
unfortunately for the lorry driver, he didn't realise that I'd got his plate, and caught up the moped rider to give it to him along with my number and tell him that I'd happily be a witness.
The old boy on the moped was pretty shook up - said the Lorry driver was laughing at him when he was banging on the window, I hope he reports it.

Yes Claire please report him and to the company he works for if you know it.

sadly I don't know it, from what I can remember it was a non descript white van.
also I've now forgotten the number plate, so I'm not sure how much I can actually report, I just have rough location and time. Hopefully the guy will call me.

OK, time to see how Pimlico Plumbers deal with letters of praise. I must ask them to thank one of their drivers for the adrenaline rush (s)he gave me on the way home this evening. Not slowing down for a junction where I had right of way was just what I needed.