I've kicked a hornet's nest with this elsewhere

Kieran_Burns

I did allude to this in the Bunny Hill post, but I think it got missed...

This is the post copied straight from another forum I frequent:

Cycling home tonight - I've come up behind a line of traffic waiting for some temporary traffic lights.

The guy driving the car in front of me takes a can of Stella out of the drinks holder and takes a slurp.

It's a line of traffic - it's come to a halt, so I pull up alongside of him and make the following suggestion:

"I'll make you a deal, you pour that drink away and I'll not report you to the Police. How's that?"

He agreed, really quickly. His girlfriend looked confused but he's telling her to pour the drink out of her window - so she does. Whole can - on the road on her side.

So, was I righteous pillock, or doing my bit?

Oh yeah, and I had a helmet cam, so the whole thing is captured for posterity (and if anyone wants to get into the whole debate about Helmet cams for cyclists - start another thread... I got mine for the fun stuff)

asprilla

Good work.

Mate of mine got reported leaving the pub by a mutual friend and lost his licence for a year. He's marrying said mutual friend later this year.

JamieRa

fair play to the man! its better he put it away than become another statistic on our roads!

Wallace1492

Why a hornets nest? This is pefectly fine.... drinking and driving just do not go together, what a Jackass teh guy was/is.

I think you acted correctly. In fact you should probably report to police anyway, a ticking off froma cyclist will not deter him and he could maim or kill.

In fact the more I think about it, bugger the deal, get him reported!!

bails87

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I did allude to this in the Bunny Hill post, but I think it got missed...

This is the post copied straight from another forum I frequent:

Cycling home tonight - I've come up behind a line of traffic waiting for some temporary traffic lights.

The guy driving the car in front of me takes a can of Stella out of the drinks holder and takes a slurp.

It's a line of traffic - it's come to a halt, so I pull up alongside of him and make the following suggestion:

"I'll make you a deal, you pour that drink away and I'll not report you to the Police. How's that?"

He agreed, really quickly. His girlfriend looked confused but he's telling her to pour the drink out of her window - so she does. Whole can - on the road on her side.

So, was I righteous pillock, or doing my bit?

Oh yeah, and I had a helmet cam, so the whole thing is captured for posterity (and if anyone wants to get into the whole debate about Helmet cams for cyclists - start another thread... I got mine for the fun stuff)

I think it was a reasonable thing to do (speak to him, not drink beer whilst driving!). I saw a woman sat in a car drinking (also) Stella, she was in the driver's seat, the engine wasn't running but it was reasonable to assume she was going to be driving at some point in the near future. She was parked up, of all places, in the road outside the magistrates court. Possibly enjoying something to calm her nerves before going in to her drink driving case? :roll:

Anyhoo.....i called the non-emergency police number and the guy on the phone told me that having an open container of alcohol while in control of a vehicle (just being in the driver's seat is enough) was an offence and they'd send someone to check it out. No idea if either of things were true, but I didn't feel like i'd done anything wrong.

Agent57

Why would you be being a righteous pillock? Are you suggesting you should have just turned a blind eye to someone drinking at the wheel? I hope you reported him as well as getting him to pour the can away.

rick_chasey

May be correct, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to rile a guy drinking stella from a can behind the wheel of a car.

S'more dangerous than jumping red lights.

suzyb

Should have just reported them.

Who knows how many cans they'd had before you spotted them slurping one or how many they'd have after you were out of sight.

bails87

Wallace1492 wrote:

I think you acted correctly. In fact you should probably report to police anyway, a ticking off froma cyclist will not deter him and he could maim or kill.

In fact the more I think about it, bugger the deal, get him reported!!

I'm tempted to agree, for all the OP knows he'd had 5 cans already, he may have poured that one away, but he might be hammered already, or have an entire crate in the car.

Keith1983

I say well done to you mate, there wasn't alot more you could have done in the circumstances. I would also report him as well!

bails87

Thinking about it, if he can't even drive somewhere without having a beer, he's probably got a problem, in which case he may well have been over the limit from the moment he had his breakfast gin.

roger_merriman

after the fact isn't going to wash as the plod need to catch folks in the act with a Blood/Alcohol over the 0.8%

What kills off this sort of stuff is it being socially unacceptable rather than being caught by the police.

ie well done mr Burns now ride up that hill on a SS/FG ;-)

Kieran_Burns

Couple of things after I had a chat with the Police:

it is not an offence to drink Alcohol while driving - people get confused about this and DUI (and he would need to be breathalysed at the time to determine this.) The offence was 'due care and attention' as the ACT of drinking would leave him not in control of the vehicle.

The policeman did also say that even if I had reported it right there and then it would be impossible to convict for DUI as he would be off and away and it would not be possible to determine his alcohol level at that time.

jonny_trousers

I guess it's the blatancy of this instance that makes it stand out. Chances are there will be drivers far more pissed-up than that bloke who 'just went out for a quick social couple after work' putting us in greater danger, but of course, there's not much we can do about that lot.

You did your bit KB and well done for doing so. Now, if you could just come to London and sort out the problem with idiots who still think it is fine for them to talk on their mobiles while driving, I will be eternally grateful.

rjsterry

Can't see a problem with what you did, and thankfully, the driver seems to have acted sensibly (or at least from there on). I guess if he had kicked off, KB could have just reported him anyway. Nothing self-righteous about it at all as far as I can see.

BTW, as the responses are pretty consistently positive here, I'm guessing the other forum of which KB speaks had a more equivocal view of drink-driving.

Kieran_Burns

It's was more "bloody self-righteous $%^£^%^" and "all cyclists are £^£$%^£&" kind of comments.

Very mixed reaction tbf - some supportive, some outraged, some more thoughtful "did the right thing, but what if he'd pulled out a knife / kicked off / run you down?"

clarkey cat

don't think we've forgotten your inexcusable behaviour on that little incline though

t4tomo

Re the offence of being "drunk in charge of a vehicle", I was once told that just being in possession of the keys was enough technically to be charged. That may be a urban myth however.

Kieran_Burns

clarkey cat wrote:

don't think we've forgotten your inexcusable behaviour on that little incline though

put that down to mental hurdles to be overcome and leave it at that

raymondo60

There's a huge subject here; as cyclists, particularly regular/commuting cyclists, we do spot a LOT of illegal behaviour by other road users, and yes, that includes other cyclists.
I reckon on any given day on my commute through South London and back I could 'report'

about 30 drivers holding a mobile 'phone to their ear
about 10-20 vehicles with defective lights/brake lights
5-10 vehicles with other defects, like broken mirrors, flat tyres, smoking exhausts etc
5-10 drivers not wearing seat belts
5-10 cars that drive past with a VERY strong smell of mary jane!
10-20 cyclists not obeying the Highway Code to the letter (I'm one of them by the way)
Dozens of pedestrians who ignore traffic/crossing signals etc
Hundreds of passengers in the back of Black Taxis NOT wearing seatbelts (it''s illegal - look it up!)

The list could go on. Consider the Cycling Policemen (and women) - they could probably report about 50 drivers on 'phones every day if they wanted to. That's £30 a pop, multiplied by 50 = £1500 per day per bike cop! £7500 per week!!

If you want to see what the world is really about, ride a bike!

spen666

Wallace1492 wrote:

Why a hornets nest? This is pefectly fine.... drinking and driving just do not go together, what a Jackass teh guy was/is.

Timely remark?
Link

I think you acted correctly. In fact you should probably report to police anyway, a ticking off froma cyclist will not deter him and he could maim or kill.

In fact the more I think about it, bugger the deal, get him reported!!

roger_merriman

Raymondo60 wrote:

Dozens of pedestrians who ignore traffic/crossing signals etc

which isn't illegal.

considering how long and convoluted the crossings are it's no wonder folks give up and just cross.

jonny_trousers

Raymondo60 wrote:

There's a huge subject here; as cyclists, particularly regular/commuting cyclists, we do spot a LOT of illegal behaviour by other road users, and yes, that includes other cyclists.
I reckon on any given day on my commute through South London and back I could 'report'

about 30 drivers holding a mobile 'phone to their ear
about 10-20 vehicles with defective lights/brake lights
5-10 vehicles with other defects, like broken mirrors, flat tyres, smoking exhausts etc
5-10 drivers not wearing seat belts
5-10 cars that drive past with a VERY strong smell of mary jane!
10-20 cyclists not obeying the Highway Code to the letter (I'm one of them by the way)
Dozens of pedestrians who ignore traffic/crossing signals etc
Hundreds of passengers in the back of Black Taxis NOT wearing seatbelts (it''s illegal - look it up!)

The list could go on. Consider the Cycling Policemen (and women) - they could probably report about 50 drivers on 'phones every day if they wanted to. That's £30 a pop, multiplied by 50 = £1500 per day per bike cop! £7500 per week!!

If you want to see what the world is really about, ride a bike!

That's exactly why we cyclists should be issued with guns, or at the very least tasers.

Joking apart, I think your more-bobbies-on-bikes idea is a very good one. I'm sure they could pay for themselves with the revenue they would make on fines.

DonDaddyD

Personally I get irked by people who don't mind their business. I mean the guy wasn't causing an offence, he hadn't. He wasn't drunk and behind the wheel and sure we may question his judgement but that's largely subjective as we cannot determine whether he was over or under the limit..

All this preventative bullcrap is just that, bull-crap. Frankly I just think you encroached on his civil liberties to make a mistake. Nanny state at its worst!

And there is an element of hypocrisy about this! How may cycling offences do we see a day RLJers, pavement huggers etc Do we threaten to report them! Further victimisation of the motorist if ever I saw it!

And if you made it this far... I'm joking of course, I think you did the right thing and then some! Well done!

raymondo60

roger merriman wrote:

Raymondo60 wrote:

Dozens of pedestrians who ignore traffic/crossing signals etc

which isn't illegal.

considering how long and convoluted the crossings are it's no wonder folks give up and just cross.

Point taken Roger, but you appreciate where I'm coming from. This is from someone who was nearly arrested for 'jay-walking' in LA many years ago!

rjsterry

Kieran_Burns wrote:

It's was more "bloody self-righteous $%^£^%^" and "all cyclists are £^£$%^£&" kind of comments.

Very mixed reaction tbf - some supportive, some outraged, some more thoughtful "did the right thing, but what if he'd pulled out a knife / kicked off / run you down?"

I'd guess that these were from the kind that like to think that drink-driving is only 'technically' illegal.

I'd certainly think twice if it were me (approaching the driver, not the reporting bit), but that's mostly down to an awareness of my lack of physical presence.

mudcow007

Good work Mr Burns

Wallace1492

spen666 wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Why a hornets nest? This is pefectly fine.... drinking and driving just do not go together, what a Jackass teh guy was/is.

Timely remark?
Link

I think you acted correctly. In fact you should probably report to police anyway, a ticking off froma cyclist will not deter him and he could maim or kill.

In fact the more I think about it, bugger the deal, get him reported!!

It was indeed intended as a pun.... Good on you Spen, first to pick it up!

Monkeypump

So the guy hadn't committed any offence (from a strictly legal POV), and you don't know if he was actually drunk (i.e. over the legal limit to drive) or not?

Not commenting on the rights/wrongs of your actions, but perhaps a little presumptive?

Cleat Eastwood

Rick Chasey wrote:

May be correct, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to rile a guy drinking stella from a can behind the wheel of a car.

S'more dangerous than jumping red lights.

+1

Also I think you did behave like a tit, since you're up there what gradient is it exactly to the moral high ground?

Wallace1492

Monkeypump wrote:

So the guy hadn't committed any offence (from a strictly legal POV), and you don't know if he was actually drunk (i.e. over the legal limit to drive) or not?

Not commenting on the rights/wrongs of your actions, but perhaps a little presumptive?

Come on!! So might not be strictly illegal.... but you need to question the integrity and outlook of someone that sups on a can of wife beater as they drive along. Diet coke it aint!

Incidentally then, drinking a can of diet coke is just as illegal as drinking wife beater, as both involve "losing" control of the car.