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

I reported a Merc driver for tail-gating me about a foot away from me down Berwick Street in Soho. Was absolutely no place for him to pass but he continued to bully me and rev his engine. It was getting dangerous so I slowed and stopped. Not even interacting with the driver. He jumped out of his car and started screaming and shouting at me asking me "What the fuck I was doing" and got right in my face etc. I told him there was no need for it and moved my bicycle to the side of the road to let him past. He screamed off down through Soho.

Reported this to Roadsafe and they replied a few days later; have to go into a station to make a statement. Suspect it's more to do with the 'public order' side of this than the traffic offence but happy to cause some hassle for an absolutely horrible individual!

Good work.

I think it is important that we follow through with these things, hopefully it will make people aware that such behaviour is not acceptable.

Canadian diplomat’s chef fends off road rage attack with £1,200 bike.

19 April 2012

A personal chef to one of Canada’s highest ranking diplomats was attacked by a motorist as he cycled home from work.

Gavin Sayer said he was forced to use his £1,200 road bike as a shield to stop the driver punching him in the head.

Mr Sayer said the man, thought to be in his early twenties, responded by getting out of the car and swinging punches at the chef.

“I was going along in the correct lane when the guy came behind me and undertook me, forcing me to swerve to avoid him hitting me.

“I cycled up alongside him at the lights. He had his window down so I said, ‘Did you not see me back there?’ I didn’t swear — I know if you swear people get very aggressive on the road.

“He shouted at me, ‘Who do you think you are?’ and got out of the car and came towards me, trying to punch me in the head.”

Mr Sayer blocked the driver with his bicycle, which his attacker then threw to the ground.

“I just wanted to stop him. I didn’t want to get in a fight. He almost knocked me over. He grabbed me and was pushing me towards the traffic. That’s when I thought, ‘I‘ve had enough.’ I wrapped my leg around him and dropped him to restrain the guy.”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/crime/canadian-diplomats-chef-fends-off-road-rage-attack-with-1200-bike-7660629.html

What a Mail-esque headline.

That’s when I thought, ‘I‘ve had enough.’ I wrapped my leg around him and dropped him to restrain the guy.

Loved how nonchalant this is.

News like Evening Standard for example, always, always put down the cost of the item the person have at the time.

*"driver hit a pedestrian with his £150,000 car"

"a £60,000 a year chef was attacked by a offender with a £400 tablet"

"a family was robbed and kidnapped in their £800,000 house"*

I wish they went into more detail.
e.g. "Forced to use his £1,200 road bike, which he purchased using the tax-efficient Cycle-to-work Scheme, saving him both VAT and 40% income tax owing to his high salary of £60,000 and which he is 9 months into paying off with the current resale valued at closer to £800."

WE HAVE TO KNOW...!

"Who do you think you are?!"

Gavin's eyes narrow, he bends his head, takes off his helmet, spits and stares evenly at the driver:

"I'm the Canadian Diplomat's chef"

he says.

They should make it into a film.

Just used Roadsafe to report the driver of a white van trying to squeeze me into a bus on the way home. Dunno what happens but at least it's on file. WAC

Some dickhead overtook me just as I was getting to the end of a road and trying to turn right, I was quite obviously trying to turn right as I was just left of the centre line in a quite narrow road and about 25 metres from the end of the road, he squeezes past me and gives me gangsta evils as he cruises off, wasn't gonna mess though, it was in the middle of moss side, I'd get merked.

wasn't gonna mess though, it was in the middle of moss side, I'd get merked.

They should rename bad areas with similarly bad names so people no to beware. Like in fairy tails. I would go to moss side thinking it was full of happiness and lichen. I think something like Slutshole would be much more appropriate.

Already been done.

tickle cock bridge

One of your cruising spots?

I think I saw you here most recently

Tease.

nearly a cluster fuck

Enough... We are well off thread.

Earlier today on Piccadilly I needed to move into the right hand lane to go round a stopped cab, as I looked back and signalled another cab - the only other car on that segment of the road - accelerated up beside me and then kept level, deliberately preventing me from being able to get round the stopped cab (or trying to, he didn't actually move into my lane and I squeezed through very close to him, mostly as I didn't want him to feel he could successfully intimidate me/cyclists). There was literally no reason at all for it, other of course than the fact that the driver was a horrible cunt.

I didn't get any details to report him, which I very much regret, as I was quite puzzled by his unnecessary dick move and while looking behind/around in search of some explanation he joined yet more cabs ahead and basically I couldn't remember which one he was.

It's a bummer when this happens. I was riding with Mrs Cog who is new to cycling in London and hasn't been on two wheels for decades, explaining that if she identifies an obstacle early and signals her intentions to go round it people will give her room to do so... First car we need to make room for her to do this performs the same move as your cabbie did. Some people are nobs, what can you do?

Call them a cunt, give them the finger and cycle on leaving them to consider how sad their life is if they need to preform such maneuvers on vulnerable road users

Have we come to any conclusions as to how best to deal with angry motorists? Twice yesterday I got cut up / left hooked and tried to talk to them calmly about the situation (first time instigated by me, second by the driver pulling over), and neither time would either of them admit any fault. The first was adamant that I only need 2' to cycle in between his range rover and a string of parked vans, the second just wouldn't comment on his driving, only on my hitting his van in attempt to stop myself getting run down. Second guy I managed to get as far as admitting, calmly, that running me down would do neither of us any good, but any mention of his driving just made him get shouty and up in my face again.

Basically I'm not sure what to do - it takes a lot of effort to control my aggression when filled with adrenaline as one normally would be after nearly getting run down. Even when I manage to control myself, be calm, polite and make conversation only in an attempt to educate, I feel everything I say is ignored to the greatest degree, even in situations when, given any amount of thought, its impossible not to conclude that a mistake has been made by the driver.

though i don't always manage to walk away and say nothing, often it would be the best thing

once someone has done something stupid and risky they are heavily adrenalised and probably not best open to a reasoned debate. as such anything you say is likely to provoke an argument (and I have aton of experience of this)

even simple questions such as "do you think that was a safe move" tend to get a tirade of abuse.

on a good day I just try to move on without commenting, though sometimes I fail to take the moral high ground and i do engage with them, and if so end up telling them exactly what i think of them and their driving skills - but I do realise that this will probably just have a further negative impact on them and me.

People pretty much never admit that they're wrong in the heat of the moment, unfortunately human minds are really bad admitting guilt even to themselves in moments like that, we just get defensive or aggressive. But there is a good chance that later, when they've calmed down, they'll have doubts, maybe change their mind and possibly even their behaviour. So it's still worth talking to drivers - as long as you can stay calm and polite.

There's two things men will never admit being rubbish at and driving's one of them.

[thatssexist.gif]