Cycling UK Forum

Today, in a busy Hampshire shopping street I am riding along and see an elderly man fall over. He was with his wife at the time so I pulled over, got off the bike and tried to give some assistance by offering to call an ambulance. A few people walk past as I'm getting the phone out of the bag and a man stops and begins shouting at me. I'm being accused of riding on the pavement and running the gentleman over. Of course, the gentleman begins to get a little distressed and a couple more people stop.

Before I know it there is a mob of about five or six accusing me of this. Men and women. I try to explain, all the while this is delaying me from using the phone to call for help, and in the end the wife of the gentleman suggests I should leave for my own safety (one of the men in the group began prodding me in the chest).

I rode away.

I dont feel good about this. I feel like things have changed for us. Sorry for this being my first post, but I dont feel I can continue riding (I've used it for years to get to work and occasionally the shops). Drivers have been slowly getting closer and more dangerous, I know there are those that stubbornly suggest not giving up, but I just feel I can't put myself (or my family) through this. Even when its not the traffic its the attitudes of people who seem to assume you;re up to no good.

That is a terrible story. It goes under the category of 'no good deed goes unpunished'. I need to weep and can believe your version of events. Get the local press to shame these idiots who did nothing to help this old man.

There are certainly streets in my town where ambulance men will not attend without a police escort.

Illegitimi non carborundum

atlas_shrugged wrote:That is a terrible story. It goes under the category of 'no good deed goes unpunished'. I need to weep and can believe your version of events. Get the local press to shame these idiots who did nothing to help this old man.

There are certainly streets in my town where ambulance men will not attend without a police escort.

And out of hours doctors routinely only come out with an escort. its a sad reflection on standards today.

Proof that brain donors can survive the procedure.

Ulinga wrote:Today, in a busy Hampshire shopping street I am riding along and see an elderly man fall over. He was with his wife at the time so I pulled over, got off the bike and tried to give some assistance by offering to call an ambulance. A few people walk past as I'm getting the phone out of the bag and a man stops and begins shouting at me. I'm being accused of riding on the pavement and running the gentleman over. Of course, the gentleman begins to get a little distressed and a couple more people stop.

Before I know it there is a mob of about five or six accusing me of this. Men and women. I try to explain, all the while this is delaying me from using the phone to call for help, and in the end the wife of the gentleman suggests I should leave for my own safety (one of the men in the group began prodding me in the chest).

I rode away.

I dont feel good about this. I feel like things have changed for us. Sorry for this being my first post, but I dont feel I can continue riding (I've used it for years to get to work and occasionally the shops). Drivers have been slowly getting closer and more dangerous, I know there are those that stubbornly suggest not giving up, but I just feel I can't put myself (or my family) through this. Even when its not the traffic its the attitudes of people who seem to assume you;re up to no good.

not good but just give it time to get over it

atlas_shrugged wrote:Get the local press to shame these idiots who did nothing to help this old man.

This.

+1. Most likely the elderly man and his wife set the record straight with the mob after you left and the individuals concerned saw their mistake, but it might make you feel better if you got it off your chest by writing to the local rags and telling them what happened. Depending upon how serious it got at the time, you may also want to let the police know.

Ulinga wrote: in a busy Hampshire shopping street.

Where did this happen?

jgurney wrote:

Ulinga wrote: in a busy Hampshire shopping street.

Where did this happen?

+1 .... Really would like to know more about this incident ...
"Busy shopping street" ...... it's all on CCTV ......

LollyKat wrote:

atlas_shrugged wrote:Get the local press to shame these idiots who did nothing to help this old man.

This.

I would probably be trying that too.

I also agree that you shouldn't let these people stop you cycling. Not mobile phone motorists, but I thought things are getting better in most ways recently. There's always a few nutters about, sadly.

This has "Urban Myth" and "false news" written all over it ......
Which town, which high street ???

This smells ....

landsurfer wrote:This has "Urban Myth" and "false news" written all over it ......
Which town, which high street ???

This smells ....

Especially as it' s a first post.
False news?

I don't know if the first post is true or not, I like to give new contributors benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, let me relate a somewhat different experience from foreign parts:
On Bank Holiday Sunday (last day of April) we arrived at Riva del Garda on italy on our (non-cycling) travels - and purely by chance found the Riva Bike Festival (Riva.bike-festival.de). The trade show for this annual primarily mountain bike event was spectacular, and there appeared to be a very wide selection of rides for all abilities and ages.
But.
In the town centre - a very pretty historic town - I witnessed some appalling behaviour by a large number - probably the majority - of riders in respect of pedestrians. I saw an elderly French (?) tourist nearly knocked over and then abused by the rider, I saw toddlers reduced to tears, and older people having to dodge very fast moving riders. Most riders were aggressively riding through the alleys, narrow streets, and the waterfront at clearly inappropriate speeds often in groups. The bikes ranged from fat bikes, e-mountain bikes, to traditional mountain bikes, and a few road bikes.

I want to defend cycling, I want to defend cyclists, but if this is the future of mass recreational cycling then I want no part of it. But as a ‘cyclist’ I can be tarred with the one brush.

I realise that there will be an element of ‘mob mentality’ where a lot of like minded people together may not behave how they would on their own - in this respect the event attendees - those I witnessed, could easily have been football fans, motorcyclists, hang-gliderists, or chess players.

I feel angry at the behaviour of those I consider my peers, I feel saddened by the example set by so many riders.

Similar - but different?


You can easlily remove the Tapatalk spam using settings on YOUR phone

The ability of "witnesses" to fill in the blanks in what they really saw is pretty common and it's reinforced if there are several together. A few years ago when my late mother was still living independently with help from me, I took her shopping to Marks and Sparks at Owlcoates in Pudsey. As we were walking across the car park, she was, in her own words, paying more attention to somebody else's business than looking where she was going and she tripped and fell. I put my carrier bags down and lifted her back to her feet: she was a tiny 90 year old weighing little. Happily, she was unhurt but within seconds I was surrounded by concerned women, brushing me down, checking I had not been hurt by my fall and reassuring me that my milk was OK in the carrier etc.