Very unpleasant incident

jdtate101 · Post by **jdtate101** » 20 Nov 2011, 7:50am

Cycling home yesterday after a nice spin in the countryside, I was overtaken by a lout in an Astra, he close passed me not 20cm from my arm at speed. When I remonstrated he slammed on his brakes and got out of his car to have a go. I thought it was going to be the usual shouting match, but no he goes to punch me without warning. Luckily I put my head down at the last second and his fist connects with my helmet. Next thing there is a crunching sound and I look up and he is clutching his hand...turns out I think he has broken it. At this point I think I better get out of there, but he insists he going to run me down. Thankfully I don't think he could drive, so nothing came of his threat, but why the level of aggression from the start? Some people are just too angry to be drivers....

BTW my helmets fine!!! :lol:

Gearoidmuar · Post by **Gearoidmuar** » 20 Nov 2011, 7:58am

You should report that to the Police. You've been assaulted by a lunatic.

Alex L · Post by **Alex L** » 20 Nov 2011, 8:11am

I think I'm lucky so far that anyone that has wanted to have a go is too lazy to get out of the car. Maybe it's time to carry a pedal wrench with you

Be safe, hope you have no further incidents.

paule · Post by **paule** » 20 Nov 2011, 8:36am

Report him. He needs locking up.

AlbionLass · Post by **AlbionLass** » 20 Nov 2011, 8:47am

As others have said, you must report this.
I don't suppose you got his reg. number?

jdtate101 · Post by **jdtate101** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:00am

I was on a country road with no one else around, no witnesses. So it comes down to my word against his, and he came off injured, so I think I will leave this one, lest I'm the one getting arrested. I know I should report him, but I'm jaded enough to know the police will do sod all about it. I'm going to invest in a camera for myself (call it an xmas present to myself)..

Ash28 · Post by **Ash28** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:04am

Could have been worse if he had others with him. Shame you couldn't swipe his ignition keys and throw them in a hedge further down the road. :lol:

TonyR · Post by **TonyR** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:05am

A useful tip from when something similar happened to me with a truck driver a few years ago. As he was getting out and coming towards me I held my phone to my ear and as he got close said "Yes, police please" into it. He backed off thinking I was making an emergency call. I then pretended to continue the conversation explaining (into a not connected phone) where I was, what was happening, giving his registration number and truck description and asking them to stay on the line while it resolved itself. He got back in his cab with some swearing and drove off. My crime had been not using a cycle path.

AlbionLass · Post by **AlbionLass** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:09am

If you'd been walking along and someone stopped their car, got out and punched you you'd report it to the police surely? :shock:

gentlegreen · Post by **gentlegreen** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:14am

Gearoidmuar wrote:You should report that to the Police. You've been assaulted by a lunatic.

Indeed. If he hit the helmet that hard, the OP would have been in real trouble if he'd hit their face.

I'm sensing a lot of nastiness out there on the roads recently. Cameras are definitely a good idea. In my case it helps me rein-in my anger because I know I can put it on YouTube later. The snag is that as standard they tend to have record times / battery life under 2 hours.

elmo · Post by **elmo** » 20 Nov 2011, 3:19pm

You should report this incident. If he has broken his hand it is his fault not yours. Is your helmet damaged?

Post by Si » 20 Nov 2011, 5:27pm

+1 for reporting. Police might not do anything about one incident*, but if he's been having a go at other cyclists then the more that report the better the case against him.

* but you could get lucky - even if there isn't enough evidence to prosecute they could still have a word + was there any CCTV there?

Elizabethsdad · Post by **Elizabethsdad** » 20 Nov 2011, 7:39pm

Report it. I had a nearly identical incident - unfortunately in my case they didn't break their hand - they did threaten to kill me if I reported them which I also reported and the police do take death threats seriously. I didn't have a helmet camera at the time and managed to get the reg number muddled when I reported it so it didn't go any where. Also never seen them again but I have a helmet camera now in case I do. However trying to use the helmet cam to report dangerous or intimidating driving and abuse from motorists has met with a 'stop wasting our time' response from Southampton police.

northstar · Post by **northstar** » 20 Nov 2011, 9:05pm

Report it without doubt, he deliberately close passed you, then got aggressive because you dared to call him out on you, then assaulted you and threatened to run you down because he was stupid enough to brake his hand.

I would have called the police there and then, this behaviour can't be tolerated.

He sounds like the kind of idiot who would try to sue you for breaking his hand.

Ivor Tingting · Post by **Ivor Tingting** » 20 Nov 2011, 10:15pm

Let's get this straight. Some one puts their hand on your helmet and you are NOT going to report them :shock:

!

Police would 99.9999999999999999999999999% do bugger all. Do you get the car registration?

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