UKC

Today someone who was driving a car, decided to swerve at me. I was cycling to work a later shift and set off with plenty of time to arrive before 7 with enough time to get changed etc. I ride a road bike but I'm not a competition cylist or dress like them, I generally wear scuffier clothes and some glasses to save my eyes from the wind.

I asked the man why he didn't give me more room, he told me I shouldn't be on the road, but on the cycle path (which occupies the pedestrian pavement). This is a standard, not particularly busy road, its my route into manchester. It's not a motorway or anything silly, there are no signs to say cyclists are forbidden. Oddly enough there is advanced stop lines (a few yards up the road from where happened, which I pointed out, and cyclist road past and pulled up in it, as perfectly normal). I said, regardless of what he thinks, he shouldn't be jeopardising my life because he thinks I shouldn't be there. He mentioned, "the road is a dangerous place", in a weird threatening way, he gave me little room because he felt I shouldn't have been there. A kind of, 'I'll show him' thing.

The weird thing is, that this is the second time on the same stretch of road (last time was 18-24 months ago tbf, I have had no other incidents in that time). I am a little worried for my safety, the next time someone wants to teach me a lesson for cycling on the road it might be more severe. Do I get a helmet/camera thing? (I didn't get a reg, I wasn't that savvy). Do I change route, try avoid routes that have off road cycle paths nearby that might enrage a small minority of road uses (by not being in them)? Stick to motorised transport as it's safer (for this niche situation)? A sign on my back or something? It's stupid and I enjoy cycling to work, I wish they'd scrub that paint off the pavement, the odd person seems to want to run me off the road for it.

In reply to FreshSlate:

Report it to the police, giving them all relevant information.
If you feel the need then buy a head cam.
Replace cyclist, with horse and rider/ pedestrian and it's evident that this is intimadation at least or the use of a car as a weapon.
If you report it, the police have powers to seize and crush the vehicle if this happens again, which is often a better action for the police force than it is to pass it to the CPS.
Whilst you haven't got a reg, you could describe the person in question and possibly give car details with regard to colour and model?

In reply to FreshSlate: Although you don't have the reg number, if you can recall a description it may be worth still speaking to the police. It may match some other reports. It varies from force to force but some have been in the cycling press requesting this sort of action.

Sadly, no matter where you ride there will be a number of drivers who consider it a reasonable response to being held up on their journey to the back of the next queue of cars. I've had one tell me he was going to run me over and then attempt to do so just because I wasn't in the left hand lane when stopped at lights (the left lane fed onto the motorway). I don't think you can reasonably change your route or actions to accommodate this group, as they will just be angry no matter where your journeys coincide. All you can do is cycle defensively and if necessary use the authorities to explain the unacceptable nature of their actions to them.

In reply to sleavesley:
If you have a smartphone, get a voice recorder app. It's much easier to just speak into a phone with things like registration number, vehicle type, rough description of the driver, than it is to try writing it down. It should also timestamp your recording, so you know when the incident happened.

Just speaking into your phone is much less likely to cause aggro than trying to photograph the prat and you can easily do it when they have driven off.