cyclist punched by car passenger but was he asking for it?

chris_bass
chris_bass Posts: 4,913
edited February 2014 in Road general
http://fullist.co.uk/2014/01/cyclist-pu ... on-street/

not sure what he was hoping to acheive by chasing after the car and swearing at it but this is probably the outcome i would have expected!
www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
«13

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Really? I can't think of one reason why a grown up person would want to hit another person?
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    sjmclean:- Professional Boxer?
  • buckles
    buckles Posts: 694
    Bloke obviously should not have hit him, no justification for that.

    But... why go looking for trouble? Chasing after a motorist and gobbing off, what do you expect...
    25% off your first MyProtein order: sign up via https://www.myprotein.com/referrals.lis ... EE-R29Y&li or use my referral code LEE-R29Y
  • I wonder if he picked up any PB's on that Strava segment.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    I think that there are a few cyclists out there that feel that the world is against them, add adrenaline and ...........

    A few folk need to take a chill pill and just get on with it, life's too short just get on with it.
    Over the last 7 years of marriage I've developed selective hearing loss, I feel that as a cyclist you need to develop something similar to deal with these minor altercations with other road users.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Life is way, way too short. I really cannot understand why people get themselves into these situations. I cycle because it relieves stress
  • The Audi driver deliberately drove into the cycle area and broke the Highway Code, the box is there for a reason and if a driver sits there and behaves in a way that cyclists don't expect, someone could get badly hurt. The cyclist shouldn't have cycled off after him and started gobbing off though. I know that it's hard to keep calm sometimes but you've got to be an adult about it. Both of them are idiots, but I'd say the fault lies 75% on the driver and 25% on the cyclist.
  • vimfuego
    vimfuego Posts: 1,783
    Agreed. I can understand getting frustrated when other road users put your life in danger for no real reason & it's hard to turn the other cheek when you've had three or four near misses on the same ride (I've been there myself) but after a while you just accept that it's best to keep schtum & not obsess about it - it'll just eat you up inside. Getting involved rarely gets you anywhere anyway, just increases the risk.

    Last time I said something to someone out of frustration was to another cyclist who'd jumped their third red in a row and nearly wound up over the bonnet of a car as a result. I pointed out that they were possibly in the wrong & just got a mouthful of abuse for my trouble.

    Your best bet is to just assume that every other road user (including pedestrians) is a blithering idiot until proven otherwise & just concentrate on your own ride.
    CS7
    Surrey Hills
    What's a Zwift?
  • cmhill79
    cmhill79 Posts: 138
    Probably one of the rare cases where the cyclist was in the right. Number plate was clearly visible. Charges of common assault should be laid.
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    The cyclist was obviously correct regarding the cars position but I do think he aggrevated the situation somewhat.

    There is little point even trying to gently educate these types, so a full on verbal assalt with profanity is only going to end one way.
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    The cause of the punch is 100% down to the cyclist. If the cyclist had never said a word then the chap would never have hit him.

    As to whether the driver did anything wrong... of course he did, but the cyclist is not the police, so if he chooses to mouth off he's probably old enough to know if you have a go at someone you can get a response like that.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    bad_moose wrote:
    The Audi driver deliberately drove into the cycle area and broke the Highway Code, the box is there for a reason and if a driver sits there and behaves in a way that cyclists don't expect, someone could get badly hurt. The cyclist shouldn't have cycled off after him and started gobbing off though. I know that it's hard to keep calm sometimes but you've got to be an adult about it. Both of them are idiots, but I'd say the fault lies 75% on the driver and 25% on the cyclist.

    So no blame at all for the bloke who got out and punched the cyclist in the face? Odd.
  • I pretty sure I read somewhere that when the Audi sped off from the first set of lights that he ran over the foot of the cyclist. If true that might have explained his reaction when he caught up with them. I doubt I would have kept it to a few expletives if I was in the same situation ...
  • IMO both are in the wrong and as you are more vulnerable on a bike I'd be more likely to avoid the conflict than get into it. It's just not worth it.

    He wasn't a cyclist, however a friend of the family was punched once in the face, fell back, hit his head on the pavement and was killed. As many have said - life is too short, chill the **** out.
  • For the sake of an ASL violation, the cyclist took it too far. No excuse for the punching of course.
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    keef66 wrote:
    bad_moose wrote:
    The Audi driver deliberately drove into the cycle area and broke the Highway Code, the box is there for a reason and if a driver sits there and behaves in a way that cyclists don't expect, someone could get badly hurt. The cyclist shouldn't have cycled off after him and started gobbing off though. I know that it's hard to keep calm sometimes but you've got to be an adult about it. Both of them are idiots, but I'd say the fault lies 75% on the driver and 25% on the cyclist.

    So no blame at all for the bloke who got out and punched the cyclist in the face? Odd.

    Something happened off the film to make the driver drive into cycle area, so chances are we don't know the full story.

    My take on this, if I am not happy about some idiots driving that could have caused me serious injury, I will mouth off also but also expect the same idiot to come out guns blazing
  • Both parties behaved abysmally
    Raymondo

    "Let's just all be really careful out there folks!"
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    For the record I don't go chasing them down though :-)
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    zx6man wrote:
    keef66 wrote:
    bad_moose wrote:
    The Audi driver deliberately drove into the cycle area and broke the Highway Code, the box is there for a reason and if a driver sits there and behaves in a way that cyclists don't expect, someone could get badly hurt. The cyclist shouldn't have cycled off after him and started gobbing off though. I know that it's hard to keep calm sometimes but you've got to be an adult about it. Both of them are idiots, but I'd say the fault lies 75% on the driver and 25% on the cyclist.

    So no blame at all for the bloke who got out and punched the cyclist in the face? Odd.

    Something happened off the film to make the driver drive into cycle area, so chances are we don't know the full story.

    My take on this, if I am not happy about some idiots driving that could have caused me serious injury, I will mouth off also but also expect the same idiot to come out guns blazing

    I used to let it get to me until a guy in a car almost hit me at a junction (his fault) I made my feelings know and he pulled up in front of me, forcing me to stop, got out and was going mad! Was sure he was going to hit me but in the end I apologised and he drove off.

    after that I decided its just not worth it, shouting and screaming at people doesn't solve anything I've come to learn!
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    You just cannot go around hitting people, cyclist could have avoided the conflict though.

    White audi - I'm assuming it was his wife/girl friends car ;)
  • zx6man
    zx6man Posts: 1,092
    diy wrote:
    You just cannot go around hitting people, cyclist could have avoided the conflict though.

    White audi - I'm assuming it was his wife/girl friends car ;)

    This :-)
  • Keith1983
    Keith1983 Posts: 575
    If I witness or am on the receiving end of some bad driving I tend to display how dismayed I am by gesturing as if to say what the hell was that? I don't rant and rave and I don't go chasing cars. Most people are a bit embarassed when they realise they've been driving like a muppet, however if you shout and scream then you're asking for the same back.
  • Pituophis
    Pituophis Posts: 1,025
    The bloke in the car was a d*ck, but if you are going to chase after someone, hurling abuse, you better be prepared to fight them or you will look as big an idiot as this cyclist did! What did he expect to happen?
    I have gotten into this situation once or twice in the early days when other people's behaviour came as a shock to me, but now I try my best to laugh it off. I know my best fighting days are behind me :oops:
    Surely no one is naive enough not to have noticed the country has changed, and not for the better?
    If you are not going to hit them back/first, don't go chasing after people to "vent your feelings" or it won't be long before you too get a surprise :roll:
  • If you are going to scream and shout and poke a bear - don't be surprised when he rips your head off.
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    just to clarify, i wasn't suggesting the guy was justified in hitting him, just as others have said, if you chase after someone screaming, swearing and insulting someone, regardless of who was wrong or right, chances are you'll not get a pleasant response
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • vimfuego wrote:
    ur best bet is to just assume that every other road user (including pedestrians) is a blithering idiot until proven otherwise & just concentrate on your own ride.
    +1
  • keef66 wrote:
    bad_moose wrote:
    The Audi driver deliberately drove into the cycle area and broke the Highway Code, the box is there for a reason and if a driver sits there and behaves in a way that cyclists don't expect, someone could get badly hurt. The cyclist shouldn't have cycled off after him and started gobbing off though. I know that it's hard to keep calm sometimes but you've got to be an adult about it. Both of them are idiots, but I'd say the fault lies 75% on the driver and 25% on the cyclist.

    So no blame at all for the bloke who got out and punched the cyclist in the face? Odd.

    Sorry, my mistake. 75% on the driver and the passenger collectively.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    zx6man wrote:

    Something happened off the film to make the driver drive into cycle area, so chances are we don't know the full story.

    My take on this, if I am not happy about some idiots driving that could have caused me serious injury, I will mouth off also but also expect the same idiot to come out guns blazing

    Possible - but I've seen plenty of cars stopping in the cycle box.

    The guy punching should be done for assault - but the cyclist seemed to be a bit of an aggressive nob. Probably a new one as most of us learn that its a bit foolish to shout at blokes in metal boxes who can crush us if they are riled. There are better ways to point out the drivers errors.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,249
    I suspect something may have happened earlier as the Audi only enters the ASL after the guy he hits has entered, we don't know what went on before. The bloke is not unreasonable when he tells the bloke he's in the ASL, although as has been said it is better to just leave things along sometimes. The car then takes off and in doing so it would seem drove over his foot. I think I'd be a bit miffed if somebody drove over my foot. Even if he did swear at them that really doesn't warrant that kind of reaction. Besides being in a white Audi you think they'd be used to a bit of abuse.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Kind of reminds me of an incident I saw in London when a small car 'slightly' cutup another car at a roundabout. The driver of the car that had to do a very minor adjustment to speed then approached the small car at the next lights and had a right old rare up. The small car door opened and a HUGE chap managed to squeeze himself out (how he got in I'll never know) but cue one very sheepish climb down and apologies all round.

    Moral of the story, be careful with who and why you pick a fight. Personally, I may tut every now and then at an ASL encroacher but would I risk life and limb to remonstrate? Nah!