So Angry with Police

moneysniffer

baza52 wrote: »

I honestly think with all the deaths lately its time to make ALL adult cyclist's pass a test to show they know how to ride safely.
If hazard perception is essential in driving a car on a road it should be for a cyclist too.

Completely agree.

trinity_enigma

As much as I don't want to defend the OP as she has really irritated me with this thread, her rantings, and especially becase of this:

*Robin* wrote: »

The story continues with OP's husband being aggressive and shouting at the driver, who was probably shocked by the cyclist's bizarre behaviour which had almost caused an accident.

It's hardly surprising the van driver tried to impress upon the cyclist exactly who was in the wrong on this occasion, although it was obviously not well handled. QUOTE]

The following is not necessarily correct:

*Robin* wrote: »

As OP's husband must have been on the left hand side of the carriageway - in order to have avoided a collision by falling towards the curb - the van driver would have assumed that the cyclist either intended to turn left or continue straight ahead. QUOTE]

If there is a crossing at the traffic lights with a central reservation then it is plausible that there was a kerb to the right of the cyclist waiting to turn right and he could have been knocked into it by a van also turning right. Does that make sense?

Tiddlywinks

Why are the police to blame for all of this?

They acted on the report, interviewed a witness, established that the stories did not corroborate the report and so have taken no further action.

This is NOT a police state - people cannot simply be rounded up on the say so of another citizen.

To then accuse an officer of discrimination is simply toxic.

OP get to your GP asap for a referral to get that chip removed from your shoulder... maybe then you might feel a little more balanced!

**professor~yaffle**

Oh I doubt the OP is still reading..

supersaver2

trinity_enigma wrote: »

As much as I don't want to defend the OP as she has really irritated me with this thread, her rantings, and especially becase of this:

*Robin* wrote: »

The story continues with OP's husband being aggressive and shouting at the driver, who was probably shocked by the cyclist's bizarre behaviour which had almost caused an accident.

It's hardly surprising the van driver tried to impress upon the cyclist exactly who was in the wrong on this occasion, although it was obviously not well handled. QUOTE]

The following is not necessarily correct:

*Robin* wrote: »

As OP's husband must have been on the left hand side of the carriageway - in order to have avoided a collision by falling towards the curb - the van driver would have assumed that the cyclist either intended to turn left or continue straight ahead. QUOTE]

If there is a crossing at the traffic lights with a central reservation then it is plausible that there was a kerb to the right of the cyclist waiting to turn right and he could have been knocked into it by a van also turning right. Does that make sense?

Come on now this is MSE, the home of jumping on posters and imagining the worst of them!

I know just the kind of junction you mean, I cycle past 3 on my way into work and have often had a wobble due to cars being very close.

Justicia

**professor~yaffle** wrote: »

Oh I doubt the OP is still reading..

You would be incorrect in that assumption

fawd1

Is it just me that finds this whole thread slightly bizarre? Should it not just be renamed "some d**k nearly knocked my husband over and now they make rude gestures at each other"

Seriously, it's bad that your husband nearly got knocked over. But why on earth are you so furious that the police aren't doing anything? Do you seriously want them to spend their time on crimes that "could" have happened, but didn't, but the perpetrator isn't a nice person anyway, so please arrest him? What for? well, almost doing something, but not, then shouting and being rude. Is there not a law against that? But wait, my husband is foreign, surely then it is a crime because if you're rude to a foreigner it's a race hate crime, as opposed to the simple fact of some people being rude idiots?

My mother is a foreigner, and I have dealt with racial attacks. Some people are just idiots, sadly idiocy is not illegal, it tends to be genetic.

Kynthia

I was imagining the kerb was on the road they turned into, as the van tried to overtake the cyclist while they were actually turning right and got too close.

OP I sympathise as my husband is a cyclist and I do worry about him being injured on his commute. He wears all the hi-vis and lights, and as a driver too he tries to cycle safely but knowing drivers are fallible. However I can believe a van driver would get out and push someone as we've seen other cycle cams or heard of other road rage incidents (not necessarily cycle related).

Unfortunately there's no witness to the incident so after contacting those involved there's nothing the police can do. Claiming racism just because nothing more was done or a patronising manner makes you look bad as there's no evidence that anyone else would have been treated differently. As the van driver us still making an issue of this and there's a witness to this third incident then it's worth getting it logged with the police, but it won't change what happened about the driving incident. However incase things escalate it would be good to have this recorded while it's fresh in his colleagues mind.

specialboy

Probably needs to get his bike converted to LHD.

aileth

Adrenalina wrote: »

I agree 100%. I am both a car driver and a cyclist. Car drivers need to prove that they understand the rules of the road. Cyclists, as road users, should have to do the same.

I am really frightened by the majority of cyclists behaviour. I have yet to see one who keeps to lanes. At every junction on my commute, cyclists zoom ahead of stationary traffic in between lanes of cars or on my left hand side. It is not ok to cut up other road users, no matter how any wheels they're on. Unfortunately the bizarre policy of councils to put cycle "starting boxes" in front of traffic lights just encourages this dangerous practice.
And that's not even starting to talk about visibility...

Ah, reminds me of a fella who used to cycle at the same time as we commuted. Pretty sure he had a death wish. Dressed in a full suit, no helmet, no nothing. He would come careering out of his road, sometimes directly in front of cars, honking and swerving, onto the hill, and then basically let gravity take him down. He would swoop and dive in and out of cars, not use his brake once, and must at least have hit over 40mph by the bottom of the hill, where he would come straight out onto the main road without stopping. He'd then continue up to the lights, still no braking, straight through red onto a controlled 4 way junction, weaving through oncoming cars. This was the same story every working day for over a month and I still can't imagine how he avoided a collision.

Funnily enough, we haven't seen him for a few months. Wonder if his luck ran out...