I had an argument with a transit van and lost

x8swift9x

I really find it hard to believe that the police are acting like that. What does your solicitor suggest about going to the papers? I bet if he purposely rammed your car numerous times the police would have followed it up...

polocini

Spoke with the police again today. They haven't found any cctv yet so they haven't traced the driver. Someone rang me to ask how I thought it was being handled so I had a good complain. I have also been contacted by victim support.

I'm going to leave it with the Police for a few more days and see what happens. If they don't find him I'll speak with my solicitor about making a claim through the Mib.

And then the worse case scenario is that I'll have to claim on my insurance. Which lets face it, they will either refuse to insure bikes when the renewal comes around or the premium will be extortionate. So I will ultimately end up losing out.

AL

Aggieboy

You said in an earlier post that his(?) name was on the side of the van. How hard can it be to make some enqs to trace him/the van. The reg' noted at the time can't be that far out. If I were you I'd find out the name of the officer allocated the crime and speak to him personally. Ask what enqs he's done specifically, if it's not being done to your satisfaction then tell him you're going to complain, in the first instance through his line manager.

tlw1

Aggieboy wrote:

You said in an earlier post that his(?) name was on the side of the van. How hard can it be to make some enqs to trace him/the van. The reg' noted at the time can't be that far out. If I were you I'd find out the name of the officer allocated the crime and speak to him personally. Ask what enqs he's done specifically, if it's not being done to your satisfaction then tell him you're going to complain, in the first instance through his line manager.

+1

mattsaw

Aggieboy wrote:

You said in an earlier post that his(?) name was on the side of the van. How hard can it be to make some enqs to trace him/the van. The reg' noted at the time can't be that far out. If I were you I'd find out the name of the officer allocated the crime and speak to him personally. Ask what enqs he's done specifically, if it's not being done to your satisfaction then tell him you're going to complain, in the first instance through his line manager.

Exactly, I just don't see how it can be so difficult. I mean with a bit of basic detective work using that information a blind champanzee could track down the damn van.

petemadoc

matthew h wrote:

Aggieboy wrote:

You said in an earlier post that his(?) name was on the side of the van. How hard can it be to make some enqs to trace him/the van. The reg' noted at the time can't be that far out. If I were you I'd find out the name of the officer allocated the crime and speak to him personally. Ask what enqs he's done specifically, if it's not being done to your satisfaction then tell him you're going to complain, in the first instance through his line manager.

+1

Keep pushing the officer, get his/her mobile number and pester every day.

polocini

There was a name of a company on the side. Let's say abc builders and then the guys first name and a mobile number. That added to the witnesses, the CCTV etc you would think it would be straight forward. I have googled the company name and couldn't find anything though.
A passer by wrote the reg number down. I know for a fact that the first five letters/digits are correct. I'm not 100% on the last two.
I also only managed to get the details of three people as I don't tend to carry a pad and pen whilst cycling. As soon as people heard the police were not coming out they left the scene.
It's turning into a total joke.
AL

rc856

While it might not be on Google, have you tried Yellow Pages etc?
If you think the first 5 digits of the VRM are correct, once/if, you get hold of the enquiry officer, ask if they can do a spec check on PNC.
Have a look at the VRM the witness gave you. There should be some digits that are more likely to have been written down wrongly than the others.
Once you have your list of VRMs, check them through the insurance site which I think someone has already mentioned.

Valy

This is pretty outrageous. I do wonder why cyclists can experience such treatments by the police....


Is there some kind of unspoken rule that negates full attention to such incidents? Not such a crazy thing to ask considering how some things have been progressing - for example the guy where the lorry driver almost clipped him on the roundabout did not lead to prosecution - even did not begin, nm actually anything being given out to the driver.

For sure you could theorise at the unsatisfactory outcomes for cyclists being because ~ "we put ourselves at risk on purpose by being on the roads on bikes", being slower than traffic and so on... except that you are to cycle on roads as part of the law. So why when there is pretty good evidence not much is being done in some cases? Exceptions or CBAs?

sfichele

In this instance the police handling does sound pretty lame. Here's the thing if an officer had attended and taken details then they could have efficiently gathered the required evidence from witnesses etc. Instead, if they decide to look into the issue at a later date then they have to do much more work to collate evidence and track down witnesses - how can that be more efficient?

Also they are probably in breach of their code of conduct. I had a google for police policies regarding road collisions, and other forces (which publish these) indicate that an officer must come out. However, I can't find any policies published by Manchester police. Anyone know where to find these?

Homer J

This guy could be local, try waiting same day and time to see if he passes by.

snailracer

This sort of thing really makes me think about getting a helmet cam.

Thick Tester

Nobody has asked this but - what exactly started the argument ?

petemadoc

Thick Tester wrote:

Nobody has asked this but - what exactly started the argument ?

I could pull a moony on you and call you a big fat farty face and shout na na na na na naarrh

Doesn't mean you can try and kill me with your van.

polocini

He was parked in the bike lane at some lights and a pal and I had to squeeze through. We pulled into the green bike 'box' in front of him. Just after the lights he swerved across us and nearly took my head off with his mirror.
The traffic was busy and every time we got near him he pulled to the left and blocked us and was laughing with his mrs.
Even further up the road he stopped at a pedestrian crossing, he was in the outer lane, I went up the inside of another vehicle in the first lane and cut in front of him.
I then stopped right side on across the front of his van. I was swearing and asked what his problem was etc. He revved his engine and moved forward. I didn't budge and gave it a 'whatever' gesture told him where to go and looked away. He then hit me.
Like the title of the thread says, I had an argument and lost.
AL

polocini

I forgot to add he ran my mate totally into the kerb at one point. Also another small point there was an ambulance on the other side of the crossing when he hit me. And it didn't stop, it drove off.
AL

cougie

I dont see the harm in posting the details that you think you have on the van.

So long as you use allegedly quite liberally ?

There may be a local cyclist who knows the van/builder or maybe we'll have more luck with google ? (although I'd not be surprised if its not a proper builder and run out of the van and a mobile number. Saves doing pesky tax returns)

petemadoc

Polocini wrote:

He was parked in the bike lane at some lights and a pal and I had to squeeze through. We pulled into the green bike 'box' in front of him. Just after the lights he swerved across us and nearly took my head off with his mirror.
The traffic was busy and every time we got near him he pulled to the left and blocked us and was laughing with his mrs.
Even further up the road he stopped at a pedestrian crossing, he was in the outer lane, I went up the inside of another vehicle in the first lane and cut in front of him.
I then stopped right side on across the front of his van. I was swearing and asked what his problem was etc. He revved his engine and moved forward. I didn't budge and gave it a 'whatever' gesture told him where to go and looked away. He then hit me.
Like the title of the thread says, I had an argument and lost.
AL

I've learnt my lesson the hard way, no matter how bad someones driving or how aggressive they or or how much they piss you off

ALWAYS yield
ALWAYS do you best to ignore them
NEVER get wound up (water ducks back attitude is best)
and NEVER put yourself in harms way

It may feel wrong but d1ck heads are d1ck heads and there's not much you can do about it. D1ck heads in motor vehicles represent a danger to life so best stay out of their way. Stay safe.

Keep us updated Polocini

colsoop

You should be able to get the company info from companies house assuming it is still trading.

If this info is current then you may be able to persue the company for your losses (assuming they own the van) or force them to reveal who was driving at the time of the incident, if they keep logs.

Any cctv footage should be released to you with the correctly worded letter, i think it comes under the freedom of info act ? although they may charge you a fee for this.

What has happened to you is awful and i find it unbelievable that the police didn't respond. You could have been killed.

jefflad

This and stories like it really put me off cycling on busy roads, everytime there's an option for cycle path away from the road I'll use it... Hope you get it sorted or if not he suffers some sort of horrible disease...

Could they have been travellers (gypsies)?

petemadoc

colsoop wrote:

Any cctv footage should be released to you with the correctly worded letter, i think it comes under the freedom of info act ? although they may charge you a fee for this.

You can request any CCTV footage of yourself that has been recorded by any person or business for a fee of £10. If it shows you it will probably show him.

dilemna

PeteMadoc wrote:

Polocini wrote:

He was parked in the bike lane at some lights and a pal and I had to squeeze through. We pulled into the green bike 'box' in front of him. Just after the lights he swerved across us and nearly took my head off with his mirror.
The traffic was busy and every time we got near him he pulled to the left and blocked us and was laughing with his mrs.
Even further up the road he stopped at a pedestrian crossing, he was in the outer lane, I went up the inside of another vehicle in the first lane and cut in front of him.
I then stopped right side on across the front of his van. I was swearing and asked what his problem was etc. He revved his engine and moved forward. I didn't budge and gave it a 'whatever' gesture told him where to go and looked away. He then hit me.
Like the title of the thread says, I had an argument and lost.
AL

I've learnt my lesson the hard way, no matter how bad someones driving or how aggressive they or or how much they wee-wee you off

ALWAYS yield
ALWAYS do you best to ignore them
NEVER get wound up (water ducks back attitude is best)
and NEVER put yourself in harms way

It may feel wrong but d1ck heads are d1ck heads and there's not much you can do about it. D1ck heads in motor vehicles represent a danger to life so best stay out of their way. Stay safe.

Keep us updated Polocini

This ^^^^.

Aside from any action or inaction from the police or tracing the driver to sue them, on a practical note remind yourself next time just do not get involved and get the hell away from pyscho motons at the first indication they display aggression. No amount of police investigation or damages when you sue him will put your life back together or that of your familiy if you are seriously injured or killed.

dilemna

snailracer wrote:

This sort of thing really makes me think about getting a helmet cam.

Don't put off today what you can put off tomorrow.

Buy one!

rick_chasey

jefflad wrote:

Could they have been travellers (gypsies)?

:?

C'mon....

Have a little moral and human integrity.

polocini

I'm not doing any 'naming and shaming' just because there is a name on the van it doesn't mean that is who is driving it.
I'm going to leave it to the police for the time being. I'm trying not to get too angry over the whole thing because let's face it, it didn't help me by getting worked up at the driver.
If the police don't do anything I will complain and then take it further.

Thanks for all the posts. I know a lot of people get worked up over stuff like this but read the calmer posts. Riding away is the best option. It could have even gone another way with me smacking the driver one and ending up getting done or let's face it me spending a few weeks in hospital or worse.

Valy

Funny thing... (here I go again) I had an encounter with a BMW X5 a few weeks ago.

I filtered to the front of the queue - about 10 cars or so, with the lights being red. The said BMW was at the front. Gave me a beep almost as soon as the light went green and then pulled up beside me (female driver/male passenger). The male passenger stuck his head out of the window and had a smiley face/laughing, then he mouthed off while keeping the said smile and then they floored it.

So yeah... what's so funny. :?

cougie

Just because a van has "John Lewis" - that wouldn't make me think it was him out delivering the goods. You've told us about an incident that allegedly happened but you're not telling us the description of the van ? Frankly I think you'd get more success on here than you would from the police judging by what we've heard so far.

All you want is to locate the van and let the police do their bit. ? None of us here have the full story anyway - I don't think there's likely to be any lynch mobs out.

polocini

The full story is on here?????Except for the name on the van.
AL

cougie

Which is really the important thing anyone would need to find it ?

straas

would be quite nice for us fellow manc's to know aswell so we can keep out of it's way!