UKC

I'm cycling to work and there's one side of the road closed and temporary lights. I'm cycling through the road works close to the cones. I realise I should have been riding defensively in the middle of the lane. However, a guy passes me and as it's so tight he clips my handle bars with his mirror. I wobble but stay on the bike. He pulls in to a petrol station a couple hundred meters up the road. I cycle up to him and asked if he realised he hit me. I'm not confrontational or aggressive. He is a scrotty chav (if you can excuse some bias) and immediately starts giving it large "f*ck you, I'll knock you out now or f*cking ram you off next time" etc. I'm cycling to work so realise talking is a waste of time so cycle off.

I got his registration. Should I report it to the police? Will they/can they do anything? I feel like they'll be too busy solving murders etc to have time for such petty stuff. But just feels like it wasn't really acceptable. thoughts?

In reply to Kemics:

Tricky without firm evidence. Where was this?

In reply to Kemics:

Do you have any evidence other than your word? video?

Given your description of the events it's unlikely to be acted upon. At most they may note it if they have a poor driver scheme like sussex and surrey police (they record reports of poor driving and if enough come in for the same vehicle they have a word/use against them in a more serious offence)

In reply to Kemics:

e.g. http://www.operationcrackdown.org/

In reply to Kemics:

Helmet cam for the next time.

In reply to Kemics:

Yes - he could have killed you.

In reply to Kemics:
Does the petrol station have CCTV? The aggressive behaviour may have been captured.

In reply to Kemics:

There's a close-pass initiative being trialled across a few areas and Avon and Somerset are doing it (you're Bristol aren't you?), so I'd hope they'd at the very least take it on a statistical level. At some point educating drivers more about this will become more of a priority. Always report, but don't necessarily expect much back.

In reply to Kemics:

It's unlikely in the extreme that you'll get any joy out of the police if you report this.

Take consolation from the fact that this bloke is locked into his own personal hell having to go through life as a total arsehole.

In reply to Kemics:

You should report it because he could have killed you.

In reply to Kemics:

I'd report it. Even if it goes nowhere, it will be recorded as an incident (and should be recorded as a crime) and if he's involved in further incidents in future it will help build a picture.

It also sounds like he's potentially committed a Section 4 Public Order offence (possible 4A depending on wording). If the fuel station has CCTV then they may have captured it and at the very least he might get a knock on the door and possibly a ticket etc)

Don't feel like you're wasting anybodies time. Let the police be the judge of how worthwhile it is. Ring 101, explain the situation and let it go from there. Worst case scenario, no further action is taken, in which case you've lost nothing more than a few minutes of your time.

In reply to Kemics:

Definitely. Because if he does actually ram you off next time, it will br premeditated assault? Not just an accident if u know what I mean?

Keep positive.
Cheers
Mark

In reply to Kemics:

I'd report it for the same reasons others have given. It probably won't give you any satisfaction in terms of your own incident, but could be useful to others in the future and he is seen to have recorded 'previous'.

In reply to Kemics:
Yes. Even if the police decide not to anything at least it places a 'flag' against the driver so if he's involved in another incident it points to an attitude which needs addressing. Additionally given his response he may well have a list of 'misdemeanours already stacking against him and your experience adds continuity to the historical chain . As way of a comparison I was knocked off my bike last Christmas and couldn't have wished to be knocked off by a nicer guy. He was more upset than I was offered to buy me a new bike/repair it, replace my damaged clothes, and drove me home. He came back a few days later just to check I was still ok. Flag your incident up

In reply to Kemics:

Yes, report it. There is a 'motoring asbo' that can be issued to drivers who repeatedly behave badly. I can't remember the relevant law.

I reported something similar to my local police, and they were very supportive, and encouraged me to always report incidents like that, and to encourage everyone I know to report them too. They sent a PC to my place of work to take a verbal statement.

[edit] section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002

http://www.allcorsa.co.uk/forums/showthread.php/section-59-explained-15085....

In reply to Kemics:

Sorry to hear about the incident.

I reported a similar incident a number of years ago to Cheshire Police, except it was the car passenger attempting to knock me over from a moving vehicle.

The police took it very seriously, interviewed the driver as they said he was responsible for the passenger, then asked me what I wanted to happen. I left the result to the officer who interviewed the driver.

No headcam, no witness, but they really made me feel that I was taken seriously.

Even if they don't follow up that incident it will build up a picture and help future victims or lead to 'a quiet word'. They might find the driver has court orders about behavior, uninsured vehicle or does not hold a full licence.

Hope you are OK!

In reply to Kemics:

Defintely report it. Even if the cops just go round for a word it will be worth it.

Wally

In reply to Kemics:
Report it, terrorists like that should not be allowed to get away with it.

In reply to Kemics:

I agree with the many other posters saying to report it. Ask your police force if they keep a note, and what happens if they get enough notes on one driver/vehicle. If they say "nothing" then write to your local police and crime commissioner.

I once had someone clip me with wing mirror when overtaking me whilst I was cycling, then stop to aggressively blame me for it. I was to busy getting away from them to clock a registration unfortunately. I think this situation is depressingly common.

The only down side to contacting the police is that if the car mysteriously has all its tyres slashed, its windows smashed and battery acid poured on the paintwork any time soon, you might be on the suspect list....

In reply to Kemics:

I would recommend reporting on 101. Even if police don't want to take immediate action it will be recorded and probably associated with the car on PNC. I had a similar incident (but got it on camera) and police issued a Section 59 warning against the vehicle.

Cheers
Stewie

Okay I think I will follow it up, even if nothing comes of it. I rang 101 and they said it is classified as failure to stop following an accident. They will take it seriously but I have to go report it at a police station in person which is a faff

In reply to Kemics:


I would ignore / downplay the near miss incident and report the threats to the police, they should follow that one up.

In reply to wintertree:


To which you point out that due to this persons attitude/ actions, you are likely to be only one of a long list of suspects.

In reply to Jim C:

Not a near miss, he did actually hit me and had windows open so no way he didn't know. Made a loud 'clack'


...I tried googling the ref but no luck. I wonder how one would go about finding an address?

In reply to Kemics:

Data Protection Act makes it very difficult to find an address, but you can use the DVLA and MID tools to check if it's taxed, MOT'd and insured. Try searching reg on Youtube too, as he may have had other incidents.

In reply to stewieatb:

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla

In reply to Kemics:



Report him anyway.

Chances are they won't do anything without any evidence (they often ignore it even with evidence, but that depends on the will of your particular constabulary or individual officer to take traffic offences seriously). But even if they just note his number plate in a report, if he's reported again in future then he'll have a history.

It's not a petty crime, the guy is a potential killer. And the police need to be put under pressure to take these things seriously.

In reply to Kemics:


It's annoying. OH had his car bumped image petrol station by a man who was then agressive when OH pointed it out. Police said he had to report in person to our nearest police station with a public desk within 24 hours: 15 miles away and only open 9-5, not much use to people who have to go to work!

In reply to ceri:


I once had a bad experience with an aggressive bully of a lorry driver on my way down South. I reported it on my return home the following evening, in person at the police station. The police didn't want to know but they did threaten me with prosecution for failing to report the incident within 24 hours They also made me come back to the police station with all my documents.