Cabbie tried to take me out - advice please
Roastie
Posts: 1,968
Hi,
Hope everyone has been having a great time riding over the last few months. I've been happily commuting, and have taken on a lot of the advice given here - so thinking about positioning, educating myself and no more RLJing.
Anyhow, this eve I had a very unfortunate incident. While riding back from work, I'd turned right at a roundabout. The road coming off the roundabout is quite wide, so merging into traffic usually isn't a problem at all. Anyhow, driver of a cab clearly didn't like me being where I was, so took a sweep really close to me, pushing me right up to the pavement. Completely unneccesary given that the road is probably wide enough for two cars abreast there, but anyway...
Next, as the driver is pulling up to stop at a ped crossing, he pulls as cose as possible to the kerb to block me, so I moved to pass him on the right. All legal.
At this stage it was all pretty normal stuff, car drivers often seem to dislike being overtaken by a bike and often seem to make attempts to hold me up (and other guys I talk to, it'd seem). I make a point of not getting wound up so I was ready to just pass him and get on my way.
Next thing, just as I'm about to pass the cab, the driver tries to knock me down by opening his door! Fortunately I was able to avoid the door!
Approaching the next roundabout the driver again passes me way too close, shouting some abuse at me (including the word "kill"). Of course, I once again pass him 20m later. Honestly worried about my own well being, I decided to stop and a) let the driver go to avoid any further altercations and b) calm down a bit.
About a minute later, the cab goes by, and I get back onto the road. Now shock has become tinged with anger and I want the plate #. Given Fri evening traffic, I soon catch him in gridlocked traffic, but this time commit the reg # to memory.
So the question is, what do I do now? Do I complain to the Swindon Council (who I assume issue the licenses?) or should I report this to the police? Usually I'd let something like this go, but given that this guy was wilfully trying to hurt me I really feel like something should be done.
I've had someone point a gun in my face before, and frankly my emotions were similar being faced by a driver trying to take me out with 2t of cab. Trying to inflict, or threatening to inflict grievious bodily harm or worse with a weapon surely must be against the law?
Cheers in advance.
Hope everyone has been having a great time riding over the last few months. I've been happily commuting, and have taken on a lot of the advice given here - so thinking about positioning, educating myself and no more RLJing.
Anyhow, this eve I had a very unfortunate incident. While riding back from work, I'd turned right at a roundabout. The road coming off the roundabout is quite wide, so merging into traffic usually isn't a problem at all. Anyhow, driver of a cab clearly didn't like me being where I was, so took a sweep really close to me, pushing me right up to the pavement. Completely unneccesary given that the road is probably wide enough for two cars abreast there, but anyway...
Next, as the driver is pulling up to stop at a ped crossing, he pulls as cose as possible to the kerb to block me, so I moved to pass him on the right. All legal.
At this stage it was all pretty normal stuff, car drivers often seem to dislike being overtaken by a bike and often seem to make attempts to hold me up (and other guys I talk to, it'd seem). I make a point of not getting wound up so I was ready to just pass him and get on my way.
Next thing, just as I'm about to pass the cab, the driver tries to knock me down by opening his door! Fortunately I was able to avoid the door!
Approaching the next roundabout the driver again passes me way too close, shouting some abuse at me (including the word "kill"). Of course, I once again pass him 20m later. Honestly worried about my own well being, I decided to stop and a) let the driver go to avoid any further altercations and b) calm down a bit.
About a minute later, the cab goes by, and I get back onto the road. Now shock has become tinged with anger and I want the plate #. Given Fri evening traffic, I soon catch him in gridlocked traffic, but this time commit the reg # to memory.
So the question is, what do I do now? Do I complain to the Swindon Council (who I assume issue the licenses?) or should I report this to the police? Usually I'd let something like this go, but given that this guy was wilfully trying to hurt me I really feel like something should be done.
I've had someone point a gun in my face before, and frankly my emotions were similar being faced by a driver trying to take me out with 2t of cab. Trying to inflict, or threatening to inflict grievious bodily harm or worse with a weapon surely must be against the law?
Cheers in advance.
David
Engineered Bicycles
Engineered Bicycles
0
Comments
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Did you get the registration/license number?
Qualified threats to kill are quite a serious offence, and using his cab as a weapon is too.
This guy might go on to actually hurting somebody, worth reporting, even if they only caution him they'll have it on record if he ever does.0 -
Yep, got the reg no. Tks.
Reading some of the other recent threads, it seems I'm hardly alone. Makes me sad, 'cos I've been having such a great time commuting all year - even after Monday when I lost a bit of skin after what was probably a patch of black ice...David
Engineered Bicycles0 -
Nasty!
My bro in law lives nr Caversham - will have to warn him to beware!
I would use medievel violence but that isn't that appropriate these days :roll: :evil:0 -
I am sorry to hear about your incident. You should definitely report it!
And some folk STILL wonder why I bother with the helmet cameras... :?
PS. Ordered the 15cmx15cm CCTV sticker. Should come next week
EDIT: Your story made me wonder: maybe I should have gotten the 30cmx30cm one? :?0 -
Using a car as a weapon is serious this guys clearly a nutter better to do your part and report him now than let him think he can get away with it and the next cyclist not being so lucky...
The guy probably has no clue on what a cyclist can legally do and is probably overly hormonal over some
I believe threats to kill alone are an offence.
I cant wait to get myself a helmet cam incidents like that can probably be avoided in the first place if the driver knows they're on camera... If they do happen youve then got all the evidence the police could want...0 -
I know how you feel. Happens to everyone in one way or another at some time.
All I can say is, if he was really trying to kill you it would have been very easy,
just smack into you and run you over. Dead. I doubt he was trying to do this. Probably
just trying to scare you and doing a good job of it. This sort of thing is not uncommon
between cyclists and cars. Hopefully no one out there actually trying to kill anyone.
Dennis Noward0 -
dennisn wrote:I know how you feel. Happens to everyone in one way or another at some time.
All I can say is, if he was really trying to kill you it would have been very easy,
just smack into you and run you over. Dead. I doubt he was trying to do this. Probably
just trying to scare you and doing a good job of it. This sort of thing is not uncommon
between cyclists and cars. Hopefully no one out there actually trying to kill anyone.
Dennis Noward
Dont bet on it:- http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/m ... list-133700 -
Must say that thouhts of that article were passing through my mind as this was happening ...DavidTQ wrote:dennisn wrote:I know how you feel. Happens to everyone in one way or another at some time.
All I can say is, if he was really trying to kill you it would have been very easy,
just smack into you and run you over. Dead. I doubt he was trying to do this. Probably
just trying to scare you and doing a good job of it. This sort of thing is not uncommon
between cyclists and cars. Hopefully no one out there actually trying to kill anyone.
Dennis Noward
Dont bet on it:- http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/m ... list-13370David
Engineered Bicycles0 -
Report it. At this scale I'd do it to police, local authority and the cab company if you've got the name.
If you don't report it 'it never happenned'
Could be the last piece of evidence needed to get the loony off the road.
At the least it'll be another statistic.0 -
Oh sympathies mate, that's a horrible experience. Here's a virtual hot cuppa for you... I'd say report it, with emphasis on the threat to kill you.
To cheer you up, every once in a while a driver like this will get his or her come-uppance. I remember some of my quaddie (aka old school roller skates) mates were skating in London, and got some fairly severe, i.e. life threatening, aggro from a cabbie. Queue 20-odd quaddies kicking the absolute everything out of every single panel on his cab, and then skating off. Absolutely wrong, but well deserved.0 -
Oh, and having a helmet camera might have stopped any further behaviour after the first encounter. I would have pointedly filmed his face and his registration number, and told him it was a video camera.0
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Roastiecp wrote:
Must say that thouhts of that article were passing through my mind as this was happening ...DavidTQ wrote:dennisn wrote:I know how you feel. Happens to everyone in one way or another at some time.
All I can say is, if he was really trying to kill you it would have been very easy,
just smack into you and run you over. Dead. I doubt he was trying to do this. Probably
just trying to scare you and doing a good job of it. This sort of thing is not uncommon
between cyclists and cars. Hopefully no one out there actually trying to kill anyone.
Dennis Noward
Dont bet on it:- http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/m ... list-13370
I stand corrected. There are nut cases out there.
Dennis Noward0 -
how people restrain from dragging someone like that outta the cab and slapping him sensless is beyond me. we done for keeping your cool, i think I wouldnt have remaind so calm.0
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Report it, that's way of of order - it's the only way these fools will learn. Report it to the police and the local council's taxi licensing department.
Just not on.... FFS - they (i.e. black cab drivers) are supposed to be professionals ?0 -
Wouldn't discourage reporting it, but based on my experiences of a similar (but less serious incident) you won't get far.
Licencing authority asked the driver for explanation, and inevitable he came back with a rather wrong version of events. Unfortunately he also came up with an 'independent' witness aka the passenger in his cab. Not sure how it came about our how genuine it was, but the independent witness statement was also totally wrong and used incredibly similar wording to the cab drivers.
Therefore unsurprisingly, nothing happens, although apparently they do keep all complaints on file to consider come relicence time, which is at least something.0 -
The other possibility is that you have a look around the area and see if theres any CCTV?0
