Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by thelawnet »

https://road.cc/content/news/257743-pol ... d-use-path

They decided his video was evidence of him riding on a footway.

Except it's not, as it's a shared path.
Last edited by thelawnet on 16 Mar 2019, 12:07pm, edited 4 times in total.
Tangled Metal
Posts: 9505
Joined: 13 Feb 2015, 8:32pm

Re: Police tell cyclist they will prosecute him for reporting bad driving to them

Post by Tangled Metal »

Doesn't surprise me. I heard of someone who was stopped, handbrake on and in neutral waiting for lights to change to turn into a side road when a high speed police pursuit car responding to a call went at speed into the back of their car. Then the police driver spent a week trying to get them to make a false statement saying it was their fault. They were in a right turn filter lane at lights that were on red and the cop car was turning right too but was looking to the left filter lane at a van that was also stationary waiting for lights.

Basically, as an ex copper who did his full time in the police once told me, they're all corrupt at one time or another. An ex copper who married into a police family with generations serving in the police so he's lived the police service for a long time.

Mind you in this case I'm sure it should be very easy to prove innocence if there's signs for mixed use all around the area of the alleged offence. Simple photographic evidence even showing the cyclist's video clip the police are using as evidence.

Surely that video would show the blue mixed use signs. They're clear enough with the white pedestrian and cycle symbols on a blue background. If they're not on the video then go back and cycle/walk it with a better video camera to get the evidence.
Bonefishblues
Posts: 10977
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Police tell cyclist they will prosecute him for reporting bad driving to them

Post by Bonefishblues »

The thread title is misleading. Could it be edited to better reflect what actually happened?
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Police tell cyclist they will prosecute him for reporting bad driving to them

Post by thelawnet »

Bonefishblues wrote:The thread title is misleading. Could it be edited to better reflect what actually happened?


I tried originally, but the allowed title length is too limited.

However it's not exactly wrong.
brooksby
Posts: 495
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:02am
Location: Bristol

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with NIP for footway riding, even though it's a shared path

Post by brooksby »

You should read the comments on the road.cc article about this: pretty scathing about the Met's behaviour generally and this case in particular. Seems to me that if the rider can demonstrate it was shared-use then they have not case to answer (get photos and evidence before the signs all "disappear". ;-). ).
thirdcrank
Posts: 36764
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with NIP for footway riding, even though it's a shared path

Post by thirdcrank »

Re the thread title, as a point of information, riding on the footway is not an offence which requires the service of a notice of intended prosecution (NIP.) If the rider has been correctly sent an NIP, then that would suggest a prosecution for careless cycling. Stories like this tend to get bigger the more they are recounted.
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with NIP for footway riding, even though it's a shared path

Post by thelawnet »

thirdcrank wrote:Re the thread title, as a point of information, riding on the footway is not an offence which requires the service of a notice of intended prosecution (NIP.) If the rider has been correctly sent an NIP, then that would suggest a prosecution for careless cycling. Stories like this tend to get bigger the more they are recounted.


The original thread title was more accurate, but there were complaints about it so it was changed and then changed again. I've changed it again.

The main problem is that the length of title supported by the forum software is too short.

It was not intended to imply that a NIP was required, merely to fit the information into the title.

The provided link clearly described what happened:

“After I reported the driver I was somewhat surprised to get an email a few days later saying that they were going to prosecute. They rarely prosecute for close passes. It turns out that they are prosecuting me rather than the driver."
Bonefishblues
Posts: 10977
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by Bonefishblues »

It's still not quite there, either :lol:
reohn2
Posts: 45143
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by reohn2 »

I watched the video and can't see what the cyclist did wrong :?
Have I missed something?
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
kwackers
Posts: 15643
Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by kwackers »

reohn2 wrote:I watched the video and can't see what the cyclist did wrong :?
Have I missed something?

Well you said "cyclist" so I don't think so... ;)
reohn2
Posts: 45143
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by reohn2 »

kwackers wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I watched the video and can't see what the cyclist did wrong :?
Have I missed something?

Well you said "cyclist" so I don't think so... ;)

Dang my first mistake :?
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Bonefishblues
Posts: 10977
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by Bonefishblues »

How about "Police use close pass victim's own video to threaten him with prosecution"
londoncommuter0000
Posts: 207
Joined: 18 Jul 2018, 10:36am

Re: Police tell cyclist they will prosecute him for reporting bad driving to them

Post by londoncommuter0000 »

Tangled Metal wrote:they're all corrupt at one time or another


The whole romantic notion of 'policing with consent' went out the door with the Miners' Strike, and aside from politicians and senior police officers who want to hoodwink the public into believing that we have even the slightest control over what happens, or that we're not actually ruled by violence, no one actually spouts this nonsense anymore.

At any time, giving power to someone and expecting him or her to exercise that power in a restrained, responsible manner is pretty unrealistic and - I have to say - hopelessly naive. The massive expansion in the powers given to the police by the Tory governments of 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 2010, 2015, 2017 and by the tory governments of 1997, 2001 and 2005 has resulted de facto and often de jure unlimited powers enjoyed by the police, as well as actual impunity before the courts.
--
Surly LHT | Genesis Flyer | Giant Defy Advanced Pro | CBoardman 29er Pro
London is a cesspit
thirdcrank
Posts: 36764
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Victim of close pass sends video to police; they reply with threat of prosecution

Post by thirdcrank »

I'd have to say that the 'New' Labour government led by thatcherite T Blair introduced fixed penalties for pavement cycling under the aegis of the-now Baron Blunkett (of Brightside?) during his inter-resignation spell as Home Secretary.

This is one of the reasons I value accuracy. For some years there was an urban myth that through his gofer Paul Boateng - who I see is now Baron Boateng (of Brent?) - Blunkett had told the police not to enforce this Victorian legislation which he had just resuscitated. :lol:
fastpedaller
Posts: 3433
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Re: Police tell cyclist they will prosecute him for reporting bad driving to them

Post by fastpedaller »

Tangled Metal wrote:Doesn't surprise me. I heard of someone who was stopped, handbrake on and in neutral waiting for lights to change to turn into a side road when a high speed police pursuit car responding to a call went at speed into the back of their car. Then the police driver spent a week trying to get them to make a false statement saying it was their fault. They were in a right turn filter lane at lights that were on red and the cop car was turning right too but was looking to the left filter lane at a van that was also stationary waiting for lights.



I had a bizarre experience about 15 years ago, driving around a roundabout the car(mini) in front of me drove straight into the car in front of him without even braking - Both drivers pulled into side of road and I continued on my way. Next thing there was a Police car behind me on blues & 2's. They pulled me over and said " did you see what happened at the roundabout?" (the Police were stopped at the give way line on the adjoining slip road) So I said "yes, didn't you also see it?" To which they replied "we were looking at the floor when it happened". It was very tempted to suggest 'driving without due care and attention like the mini-driver!
Last edited by fastpedaller on 17 Mar 2019, 10:42am, edited 1 time in total.
Post Reply