[Closed] Road rage assault on cyclist - victim sought

To ensure a driver hears you when locked into his car, you need to shout, to attract his attention, thats why cars have horns to attract attention, the driver was an idiot, who obviously failed the safe driving course,and anger management course, and need to be prosecuted for assault, driving into an ASL box, and using threateneing behaviour.

But as per usual he will have some daft excuse,like late for work, the cyclist was threatening him so he defended himself and many more pathetic excuses for poor driving.

Wouldn't all this have been avoided if they had proper phased lights with a 10 second head start for cyclists ?

[quote=MidlandTrailquestsGraham ]Wouldn't all this have been avoided if [s]they had proper phased lights with a 10 second head start for cyclists ?[/s]the driver had abided by the law?

I haven't read many of the responses here, due to the high amount of arseholes on the forum.

After watching the video, it is clear that the man who got out of the car committed an act of force against the cyclist. This is not acceptable.

The cyclist chose to chase down the car and swear and shout at the driver. This is also not acceptable.

The whole situation cou7ld have been avoided if the cyclist had just ignored the car. He chose to remonstrate the driver, then chose to chase after him and become aggressive.

They are as bad as each other, but most conflict can be avoided.

You reckon that driver wouldn't have gone on the cyclists' green, MTG?

[quote=handyandy ]I haven't read many of the responses here
...
They are as bad as each other

Oh gosh, not another one. Try reading some of mine which explains why that isn't so.

I will treat drivers and cyclist differently here, as it seems a common theme to suggest that cyclists who run red lights are just as bad as drivers who do (or commit numerous other traffic offences). For those thinking such a thing, check how many drivers have been killed by cyclists in the last year.

The whole situation cou7ld have been avoided if the [s]cyclist had just ignored the [/s]car hadn't entered the ASL box.

Really? Self-defence against being shouted at? It's not as if the cyclist threatens to use violence himself.

As above, verbally abusing someone can be a crime with considerable penalties. It's certainly an arguable point according to this:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jun/16/verbal-abuse-law

It's because his actions are justifiable (see defence for public order offence) as he's complaining about the driver's actions which came close to injuring him

Chasing him down then shouting with his face right up to the window? Hmmm....

Agree with aracer - plus the passenger is a) in a car and b) not the recipient of the vitriol from the cyclist. No way in a million years is that self defence!

I see you've missed/decided to ignore the bit where I said 'if that happened in the street', and that getting out of the car to do it makes it different.

[quote=grum ]As above, verbally abusing someone can be a crime with considerable penalties. It's certainly an arguable point according to this:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jun/16/verbal-abuse-law

I already covered that under the statutory defences for the public order offence (which that article doesn't mention - not unreasonably as it appears to be discussing a different situation in which the statutory defence wouldn't apply). Though interestingly the article does make it clear that your "self defence" of any sort certainly wouldn't apply, so it seems kind of strange to link it when arguing against my suggestion that punching somebody isn't appropriate self defence for being shouted at. I don't think there's any argument at all about that.

I haven't read many of the responses here, due to the high amount of arseholes on the forum.

After watching the video, it is clear that the man who got out of the car committed an act of force against the cyclist. This is not acceptable.

The cyclist chose to chase down the car and swear and shout at the driver. This is also not acceptable.

The whole situation cou7ld have been avoided if the cyclist had just ignored the car. He chose to remonstrate the driver, then chose to chase after him and become aggressive.

They are as bad as each other, but most conflict can be avoided.

+1 the only thing I could to add to this is he could have reported it to police rather than going after the driver. IMHO you lose any moral high ground being confrontational

[url= http://gifsoup.com/view/834879/dog-chases-tail.html ]This thread now[/url]

I'm not condoning violence of any sort and this was an unfortunate act ... However if your prone to getting very shouty and sweary it's wise to have the ability to throw a haymaker whilst wearing cycling shoes !! 😉

Grum as others not you may expect that if you shout at someone - though of course you are ignoring the fact they started the aggression in the first place with the illegal act 0 that some of them will hit you but it is still an offence to hit them so it is better to focus on the illegal acts than blame the victim. I am not saying that if they altered their behaviour the end result would not have happened but it is a stretch to say they deserved it IMHO or that the getting out the car was "self defence" not least as they were not being shouted at and they were in a big box with a door that locked.

Its also fair to say that had the cyclist not done that they would not have got hit but they are still the victim of a crime and guilty of poor behaviour not illegal behaviour.

IMHO you lose any moral high ground being confrontational

I don't get why [s]drivers[/s] road users get all arsey when you call them out on stuff they have very obviously done wrong. Why is the initial response always aggro?
Driver last night pulled out on me, I gave his rear view mirror the hard stare but did nowt - it's a nice night I'm on my bike staying calm, noticed he was on phone, I am calm as a hindu cow, next junction he joins right turn only lane, I am not surprised to see him tear arse across the junction to jump the straight ahead queue, next junction I am next to his window (I'm going right he's going left) he is still on the phone so I motion to him to open his window and none swearingly (but possibly not politely) suggest he put his phone down and concentrate on driving, sure enough I get a load of abuse - not sure on what basis other than I called his driving into question.
And - for balance - the rider on camera on a recent thread who kicked off when he was called an idiot for RLJing.

There's only one driver I remember ever holding his hand up and saying "yeah my fault" when I've complained - normally after them scaring the shit out of me by pulling out or a close pass.

Have had better reactions from people who have actually hit me, I guess introspection is more [i]likely[/i] to kick in when you have actually harmed someone.

jameso - Member
In all this I think it's interesting how 'bad' from our POV a lot of driving is in Asia. No-one there seems to gives a toss, the traffic flows while people undertake, cut in, make squeezing, scary overtakes and tailgate all day. There's accidents and taxi rides there scare the crp out of me at times. But I've never seen any road rage. I'm not judging it aside from thinking it's risky, really just observing.

All I can think of is the differences in culture, our sense of ROW, ownership, entitlement and self vs their sense of being just one of many, not wanting to stand out much or make a fuss, a more accepting go-with-flow nature, something like that. Generalising but there's some truth in it.I'm not sure but it's interesting.
Makes me wonder if we create many of the issues around us ourselves yet perceive them as the fault of others by our defensive, fault-seeking nature. Choose your attitude etc. Amateur psychology BS, sorry ) but it affects how I react to these situations.
Dissecting incidents or rights of way etc doesn't change how people are, bad driving is a knock-on effect of stressed lives, ignorance etc. It's a bigger issue than just the driving and the police are too underfunded to address it as mentioned above.

+1000 to all of that.

These topics gets dragged out into the circular debate on who is at fault who has broken what laws and how much more awesome some of us would have been in the same situation.

Perhaps we lose sight of the bigger question, how has our society gotten to the point where such levels of impotent rage are no longer unusual, the "Clarkson" thread yesterday sort of illustrated the same thing, there seem to be a lot of people on the roads (in/on all forms of transport) teetering on the brink of their [I]fight or flight[/i] response, certain the world, or at least some group or another, are out to **** them over...

The UK is becoming a bit of a psychologically mess TBH...
Thank god relatively few of us have Ready access to firearms eh?

Though interestingly the article does make it clear that your "self defence" of any sort certainly wouldn't apply, so it seems kind of strange to link it when arguing against my suggestion that punching somebody isn't appropriate self defence for being shouted at. I don't think there's any argument at all about that.

It says this though:

it is a defence to charges under sections 4A and 5, but not 4

Section 4A:

threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour, in a public or private place, with intent to cause and thereby causing harassment, alarm or distress

I think chasing someone then aggressively leaning right into their window and shouting at them could easily fall under this. As I said (at least twice) though getting out of the car makes it a bit different, IMO

It also says this:

Under section 4 it is an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting language with the intention of making someone else believe that immediate violence will be used against them or of provoking an immediate violent response. The offence is also committed if the effect of the person's language is that someone else will think that immediate violence will be used against them or a violent response provoked.

it is a stretch to say they deserved it IMHO or that the getting out the car was "self defence" not least as they were not being shouted at and they were in a big box with a door that locked.

Are you referring to me? I already said (multiple times) that the guy getting out of the car doesn't really fit with any argument of self-defence.

I still think the cyclist technically committed an offence though (as did the driver and passenger).

IMHO you lose any moral high ground being confrontational

like say entering a zone illegally and aggressively in a 2 ton box and then hitting someone who shouts at you? Neither is great but it is obvious which is worse and illegal.

Both used intimidation. I'm not saying either are in the right.

The driver should get penalized for the motoring offense and assault. Both should go on separate anger management courses.

I think they should hug, kiss and say sorry to each other for acting like fools.
Maybe swap numbers and go for a drink later.

Perhaps we should send them on the same course on the same day 😉
Its not that unreasonable a point tbh

Good point from DONK as car drivers, no matter how poor their behaviour, always go ape shit if someone says anything to them.

I still think the cyclist technically committed an offence though

I think its time to all join hands for a round of kumbaya 🙂

do we get to block the road whilst doing this? 😉

As long as we're in the ASL.
We'll all hold hands in a circle.

Cyclist shouts abuse at the driver, then chases him off down the road?

What did he expect, a man hug?

Almost looks like he was out looking for trouble, being intentionally confrontational.

(Plus, we don't know if the cyclist/driver had any 'history' prior to the footage - perhaps at the previous traffic lights?)

Aw, it was all ending so nicely too..

😀 definitely, although a campfire in the ASL might not go down too well in rush hour traffic

I'm surprised none has pointed out waht a good time trialist our punch bag cyclist appears to be. Fuly togged up in a suit, bulging rucksack, up a steadt incline.... Not a bad effort.

More seriously I'm shocked at how many of you think that punching someone is Ok. What if it was your wife? GF, daughter or gran? How can violence ever be justified? Especially when no-one has hit you first.

I've lived in London 23 years, been to loads of roughish pubs and footie matchs (in the 90's mainly) and seen only 2 v minor fights in that whole time. I havent hit someone since I was 14.

I think I know who this is, will check.

Good point from DONK as car drivers, no matter how poor their behaviour, always go ape shit if someone says anything to them.

And your evidence for that undeniable statement of fact is?

I had a lovely chat to a cabbie last night in a traffic jam. I spotted his reversing lights were on, so tapped on his window and said I thought his car might have a fault, as the lights were on. He looked down, laughed and informed me it wasn't the car, but the driver that had the fault. He'd put it in reverse by mistake (Auto box).

On the flip side, after politely informing a fellow cyclist that the red lights meant he ought to stop, I was subjected to a stream of abuse.

I think, Junky, what you meant to say was that;

some road users, regardless of the means of transport, no matter how poor their behaviour, always go ape shit if someone says anything to them.

🙂

Cyclist shouts abuse at the driver, then chases him off down the road?

Almost looks like he was out looking for trouble,

being intentionally confrontational.

Doesn't look like there was any previous as car was there already and cyclist didn't give it a second look until the ASL incursion.

by the looks of it [url= http://lcc.org.uk/articles/police-and-transport-for-london-prepare-to-increase-enforcement-against-motorists-who-ignore-advanced-stop-lines ]london ASLs[/url] can get a bit busy so the two riders pulling infront of the audi (and the audis subsequent inability to actually put any real distance between himself and the cyclists despite all that powwwweerrrr) looks reasonable. I'm not sure about ASLs, there are arguments for and against but seeing as how popular they are with road planners you can't really criticize cyclists for using them.

Recipient of punch is aware of the video. I might not post him a link to this though. Some comments are a bit harsh.

Also been reported to the police.

CFH you just kind of enforced my point, I've let drivers know about flat tyres and stuff, they are cool with that but mention their (lack of) road use skillz and they get very defensive as did your cyclist.

and I said [i]road users[/i] and included a cyclist example in my post 🙂

But yes, all anecdotal

Crazy legs is bang on the money - run for office dude.

So, the bloke's been found and the incident (or this thread) reported to the police.

Can it stop now? Please.

doctorgnashoidz - has victim been in contact with police?

I cycle around their most days. Would be nice to know somethings being done about the driver/passenger. I can cope with being shouted at, punched and/or driven at not so much.

And your evidence for that undeniable statement of fact is?

Yes; it has been reported to the police and a statement will be made in due course.

I once traded words with a driver, followed him through the village. Then got assaulted.

Despite being in the right, and the driver being cautioned, it made me tone down my response to poor driving. I find a gentle "tut" soothes my soul just enough

might I make 3 observations ? :

Audi was overhanging the ASL (a bit) at the start of this

the Tweed-caped Crusader wasn't the first cyclist to leave the gutter and make (the intended) use of the main body of the bike box

He [b]justifiably[/b] took the prime position as he KNEW he was the boss of that particular peloton. The audi's lucky he didn't demand they pass him up a bottle or adjust his mech 8) 😉

Apologies, Junky! Didn't know what I was thinking! (It was rather a good lunch, you see...)

[quote=doctorgnashoidz ]Yes; it has been reported to the police and a statement will be made in due course.

Good.

[quote=grum]
It says this though:

it is a defence to charges under sections 4A and 5, but not 4

You seem to be getting confused (either that or not articulating yourself well). The defence mentioned in that article which you refer to is the statutory defence which somebody could use in court if charged with the public order offence. The defence which wouldn't require a particularly good lawyer to get the cyclist off using (if the CPS charged him - the guidelines make it fairly clear they wouldn't). No possibility at all of him being charged under section 4 - it clearly fails the test for that.

Nothing at all to do with claiming "self defence" for punching somebody who's shouting nasty words at you - as the article makes clear, that is not a valid defence.

I really, really, really wish I lived in London! On all the youtube clips posted it always looks great! 😆

[url= https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=greggs+london&safe=active&ie=UTF-8&ei=FIfiUvi-GYbwhQe8n4GYDw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ ]Binners, old chap, just look at it! The streets are paved with steakbake! [/url]

Binners, old chap, just look at it! The streets are paved with steakbake!

What I think would be really valuable on this forum is some code that would interogate threads and lock them if the ratio of new opinions to total posts falls below, say, 1:10.

Can we make this part ofthe hiring criteria for the new PHP monkey? (I have nop idea what PHP is)

Theres more Greggs than that in Burnley Flashy! 😀

Well, yes, but they're in Burnley!

[img] [/img]

[quote=Love Tubs ]Crazy legs is bang on the money - run for office dude.
I'll not vote for him until he answers my question

scotroutes - Member - Quote

crazy-legs »
Although the cyclist was doing nothing wrong from a LEGAL point of view (initially anyway) by taking the ASL, he was (IMHO) unwise to do so since it caused an unnecessary boxing in of the car.

Why do you think the ASL is the full width of the lane?

A good point, well made.

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-23849081 ]though I did briefly think you'd popped up[/url] 😉

Yes; it has been reported to the police and a statement will be made in due course.

Is that the statement someone is writing for him, Just say sorry and have a man hug and its over with, or a long term relationship blossoms.

have zero sympathy for the cyclist whatsoever I'm afraid, total overreaction to a poor but not dangerous bit of driving.

If you pick fights with people in an aggressive fashion then you need to be prepared to back it up. Probably spent to long banging on the windows of old women trying to intimidate them and has always got away with it.

Won't surprise me if he now goes squealing to the police either...

for balance, guy who did the punching is a nob head as well.

Can someone please post that gif of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day smashing his alarm clock please 😀

Won't surprise me if he now goes squealing to the police either...

London - what a dump.

scotroutes - Member

I'll not vote for him until he answers my question

scotroutes - Member - Quote

Why do you think the ASL is the full width of the lane?

If I was being cynical Colin, I'd say that ASLs are the full width of the lane so that councils can say to cycling campaign groups "Look, we've given you some highly visible infrastructure, now sod off and leave us in peace"

If I was being kind, I'd say that it was so that right-turning cyclists could position themselves correctly in the lane.

ASLs are seen by cycling campaign groups as some sort of cure-all win for sustainable travel.
They're seen by councils as a way of spending their "green travel" budget and keeping the pesky cyclists quiet.
Experienced riders treat them as another optional extra in the generally woeful cycling infrastructure quiver.
Novice riders think they're some sort of sacrosanct rule that they must obey and MUST use.
And for drivers, they're just one more bit of meaningless paint on the road.

Sometimes, they can be useful.
Sometimes, they can quite literally be fatal, tempting novice riders up the inside of trucks and right into their blind spot.

All I'm saying is that [b]in this instance[/b], the cyclist was wrong to position himself there where it gave him zero advantage and actually increased the risk to himself and to the other riders. That's not to say that 10 minutes later, it may well have been the best thing to do based on the traffic and road conditions at that time.

So do I get your vote now?

You have my vote, CL.

London - what a dump.

That was my first thought but then recalled the week I spent down there with work at the end of last year and it was actually ok.

Its the fact that its got a higher ratio of bell ends on bikes and ****ers in smart cars who think cyclists are vermin than anywhere else that is the problem.

If you can't back your mouth up the dont give out the shit, no need for the rider to give the abuse if he'd have done somthing like cut him up the fair play, he should if put the bike through his windows as he's punched him don't think he'd be calling the police on him

Wow, this has worked up quite a response.
Car shouldn't have been in ASL, agreed. Cyclist could be there if he wanted, fair enough he got a bit heated.

BUT: it's London. You don't chase someone down and rap on their window because precisely this happens. The passenger is a thug and should be cautioned. He won't - and more importantly, the cyclist got a smack. Because in London, this kind of stuff happens.

I'd ask to get that video removed ASAP. It does our image no good at all and makes us out to be easy prey for the road bullies. A brother cyclist getting a beat down from an old man wearing corduroy trousers??? The only consolation is that he was English, but i feel shame all the same 😆

172,000 views now, that motorist is going to be very popular with cyclists and the Police then.

Jeeze,some of you wouldn't make very good witnesses in a court of law. The driver never left the car. You can see him at the end of the video through the open window wearing a cream sweater and you can see him pulling the drivers door closed from the inside whilst his friend throws a punch !

Best bit of this is the suited man on his hybrid speeding past the body condom clad pro riders. Just when he appears on the right, has me in stitches every time.

According to the comments on the video, both the driver and the passenger have been arrested and charged (it also gives their names if you want to go and look, but I'm not sure that is all that relevant).

Result - and if starting this thread helped with that, then I'm feeling very pleased with myself.

[img] [/img]

I'd be properly tooled up if i lived down there. taxi driver type stuff.. retractable daggers in my slip-ons, knuckle dusters under my fingerless gloves, all that shit.

Is it me or are 90% of the cyclists ( and drivers, and pedestrians ) in London complete militant knobs - I'm so glad I don't live amongst all that aggression.

[quote=buzz1024 ]Is it me or are 90% of the cyclists ( and drivers, and pedestrians ) in London complete militant knobs - I'm so glad I don't live amongst all that aggression.
Remember, you're only seeing a snapshot of the worst behaviours. In the main, it's not like that at all. It would be pretty boring if everyone uploaded a video of their daily commute every day.

Scotroutes, I realise your point re youtube uploads but having spent time in that there London I am still of the opinion that 90% of the inhabitants both male & female are knobs - the attitudes, the aggression, the militantness of all the different groups - to me, it's a sh1thole.
To give some balance though - having driven in many places on this planet, I reckon the drivers in Edinburgh are the worlds worst for jumping red lights.

Having spent most of my life in Britain has made me realise that, much add I love this island it is mainly populated by complete knobs. Not just in London.

Good examples are the videos posted up by that Black Country Cyclist knob on YouTube.

This post has been up a while so I thought I would just add my 2 pence worth.

First I think the title of this thread is misleading. It leads the reader to believe that the driver had road rage and assaulted the cyclist. In my opinion the cyclist had the road rage here and got what he deserved.

The cyclist, was looking for a confrontation, he chose it with wrong people. At first he pipes up, ok job done. However his feelings were hurt as the Audi just sped off and didn't listen to him. That's when the red mist descended. Dis you see how he powered down the street like a crazy fool to catch up? Then he got his arse kicked. well I think he deserved it for acting like that. His behaviour has done nothing good for the cyclist today. Oh and did you see that after he got floored he turned back and went back up the road from where he came? it means that he has gone out of his way to hurl abuse at someone.

Now just consider this. Imagine that was you in the car and you had your child in the back? that kind of threatening behavior would have proper scared them.

According to the comments on the video, both the driver and the passenger have been arrested and charged (it also gives their names if you want to go and look, but I'm not sure that is all that relevant).

Result - and if starting this thread helped with that, then I'm feeling very pleased with myself.

I thought your original post was so the cyclist could come forward and press charges for assault against the driver.

It's the cyclist being sought, not the driver (for those of you thinking the driver is the victim ) - no charges without a victim. Oh, and the thug throwing punches isn't the driver either.

Now the cyclist has been arrested too! I wouldn't say it was a result you were looking but definitely one for common sense and hopefully other road users, whatever they drive or ride, will think twice about their actions.

[quote=chief9000 opined]Now just consider this. Imagine that was you in the car and you had your child in the back? that kind of threatening behavior would have proper scared them.

Maybe if you've got kids in the back of the car you should drive more carefully. You did realise that he got angry because the car squealed off whilst he was stood very close and nearly ran him over?

Though congratulations for adding to the chorus suggesting that you deserve a punch for shouting at somebody (strangely the law doesn't see it that way, hence why the driver and passenger have been charged, and I presume the cyclist hasn't).

[quote=craigxxl opined]Now the cyclist has been arrested too!

Has he? Where do you get that from? What has he been charged with - as discussed above he has a statutory defence, and the CPS wouldn't press charges for what he did.

You're correct I misread your post as I thought it just said both, not the driver and passenger. Should have had my morning coffee first.
I still stand by my comment that hopefully all road users will think twice about their actions.

It always surprises me that drivers think they are the bigges person when in the car and also when they get out of it. I know a lot that would see that approach backfire on them and them end up getting a pasting off a pumped up cyclist.

Whatever was the case, the passenger assaulted the cyclist. You could say the cyclist took it too far or that he just stood up for himself!

Can the next video show the cyclist retaliate and paste the driver then put his bombers through his window please?

[quote=craigxxl opined]I still stand by my comment that hopefully all road users will think twice about their actions.

Which is a totally reasonable comment. I'm not defending the cyclist's actions at all or suggesting he was sensible to chase the car down - would have been far better off to leave it, though I can't be sure in the heat of the moment I wouldn't do the same. I'd suggest that the majority on here, even those saying the cyclists "deserved it" would also have likely done something a bit silly having had a car screech off at high speed when they're standing that close to it - I think a lot are missing that's the reason he get angry, not the ASL issue (actually I reckon those who think a punch is reasonable and can't rule out using violence themselves are more likely to have reacted like that). I can be sure that I wouldn't have jumped out of a car to punch somebody who was shouting at me.

As discussed ad nauseum above, the law also views punching somebody differently to shouting at somebody, hence why I'd not expect the cyclist to be charged, and why I was guessing you'd misinterpreted the bit about driver and passenger being charged.

Driver,idiot for entering asl.
Cyclist,idiot for chasing him down and swearing.
Passenger idiot for punching the cyclist.

Thread closed

Now how 'bout dem cannibal rats?

If I'd been the cyclist I would have left it after the initial pointing out of what the ASL is for. I wouldn't have moved right next to the car do that though as I'd be placing myself in danger like an idiot. I don't think the cyclist had his foot run over either if he'd chased down the driver like he had done. The driver proved himself to be dick head. If he'd still have been at the next lights when I got there I would have just shaken my head and laughed out loud.
Going after someone you've already established is a dick head with such aggression is only going to escalate the issue. If the cyclist can't control his rage then he has no right to be on the road and should stick to walking instead.
I would like to see the driver get a punishment to reflect his stupidity but in reality he will only get a fine and points. The punchy car passenger will probably only get a caution or at worse a small fine as his stupidity will be passed off as an heat of the moment snap.

What this should hopefully do is send out a message about the use of video cameras. Without the video chap this would have gone unknown, unnoticed and unreported and yet it happens daily. It's sad that so many people feel the need for cameras on their bikes but this incident shows the power they have.

I think that in big cities it's very easy to feel safe whatever your actions are through anonymity. Within five seconds of an incident you can be separated and never see each other ever again. Cameras change that.

I'd also suggest people take from this the huge and overwhelming strength of the cycling 'community'. It appears that through a massive and yet uncoordinated social media campaign, a random individual in a huge city has been tracked down to what will hopefully be a successful conclusion.

For all the 'I would have left it' crew, the problem is adrenaline is one hell of a drug.

Once upon a time in that London I was clipped by a car. I was in the wrong place in the road, I had positioned myself to make a right turn which a car couldn't make. Mr Mercedes came up on my left, and clipped me with his wing mirror. I stayed up, but I lost my mind. The next couple of minutes went down almost exactly like the video. I caught him at the lights, ended up calling him a **** (giving him the v for added effect), he gets out, takes a swing, a scuffle ensues (you are vulnerable when astride a bike, never mind with SPDs), he gets in the car and drives off.

I am not a confrontational person by nature, and will and have always walked away. However, on that day, the blood got up and it could have ended a lot worse. Lesson learnt for me and hopefully for everyone in that video.

It's not great that physical abuse of cyclists is so prevalent and neither is it so great that victims of such aggression seem to be frequently blamed for their own mistreatment - by police, public, other cyclists.

I don't believe the black, gay or female communities won their battles by blaming their own members for their mistreatment. Not being a member of any of them, I don't know but it does sadden me that when a cyclist appears to be standing up to someone who has quite definitely broken the law (moving into the ASL) that other members of the same community suggest it's his own fault for getting hit...

I hope the more widespread use of video in conjunction with social media can broaden the debate and begin to bring about change. Cycling has so much going for it for the general population yet the fear of getting hurt remains a massive barrier to mass participation...

I hope the more widespread use of video in conjunction with social media can broaden the debate and begin to bring about change. Cycling has so much going for it for the general population yet the fear of getting hurt remains a massive barrier to mass participation...

Well said.

Thankfully social media can have a bigger effect on peoples behaviour than any court can impose, and the idiot who attacked the cyclist last year and was prosecuted for asault after the video went Viral featured last night on a driving programe, and he got a large fine as well as been shown on primetime tv.

This chap http://road.cc/content/news/38853-breaking-bexley-video-attack-man-arrested