First time someone's tried to knock me off my bike

[aglet]

I thought I'd type this in while I was still fresh.  This all happened around 08:35 this morning, 4 April 2008.

The towpath under Mare St bridge on the Regent's Canal is closed for refurbishment, so I decided to use the roads instead; Andrew's Road, Regent's Row, Denne Terrace, Dunston Road, and then South on Kingsland Rd.  map

I was doing somewhere around 20-25 mph, and since there are triple humps along that Andrew's road was well out in primary, to avoid the humps while keeping out of the gutter.  There were cars coming the other way, they were keeping to their side.  This fellow came up along behind me and gave me a couple of toots.  Rather than let him past (remember, I was doing more than 20mph on a road with speed bumps on it!), I stuck to my line.  In retrospect, that was rather a bad idea, because he shot past amazingly close, came back left sharply, brushed my front wheel with his rear wing and pulled in front.  Where he proceeded to brake, and swerve violently from side to side as we pulled up to the Kingsland Road Goldsmith's Row/Broadway Market.  He banged my wheel again; I'm amazed I didn't fall off.

I jotted down his number plate a minute or two later, but didn't get the make & model.  A dark blue hatchback, driven by a fattish grey-haired balding man, mid-fifties I'd say, registration no. R430 VLB.  He went South too, but I didn't catch up with him.

I don't think anyone's actually actively tried to kill me before.  I think a cup of tea is in order.

disclaimer: I'm going to double-check the road names later.  edited 7/4/08 Just as well I checked; in fact the incident happened here,  on Andrew's Road coming up to the crossroads by Broadway Market.  The car went  left over the bridge, along Goldsmith's Row.

[Charlotte]

Damn 

Glad you didn't come off.

Have you called the police yet?

[bobmick]

That arse needs a talking to!  Any witnesses?  Police might take it seriously if there were.

Glad you are OK

[IanDG]

Glad you're Ok, scary experience, long time since something like that's happened to me, IME the police wont take any action if you're not hurt and there are no witnesses. Report it anyway tho' so it's logged and filed

[andygates]

Bloody hell    Call the cops while it's still fresh in your mind.

[Mr Larrington]

Computer says Fraud Siesta LX (auto)

[rae]

That area is not one where I'd choose to "assert my rights".   Unless you are tooled up, you have no rights around there.

[rogerzilla]

Computer says Fraud Siesta LX (auto)

That's a psychopath's car if ever I saw one.  Anything that old (OK, my car *is* that old, but it's worth about 20x as much) has nothing to lose by attempting to occupy the same point in space and time as you.

[MSeries]

That area is not one where I'd choose to "assert my rights".   Unless you are tooled up, you have no rights around there.

What town is this ?

[rogerzilla]

Hackney, norf-east Lahndon.

[Martin]

That area is not one where I'd choose to "assert my rights".   Unless you are tooled up, you have no rights around there.

What town is this ?

Hackney E London (I had several incidents when I lived there 20 years ago but nothing like as bad as this; most of the time the bike was off the road awaiting new bits after bits being nicked)

[Charlotte]

In that area, I'd largely agree with Rae if it was an old BMW full of early 20s IC3s playing loud music.

...driven by a fattish grey-haired balding man, mid-fifties I'd say

Less likely to be "tooled up", more likely to just be an arsehole...

[clarion]

Report it.

[rae]

That's a psychopath's car if ever I saw one.  Anything that old (OK, my car *is* that old, but it's worth about 20x as much) has nothing to lose by attempting to occupy the same point in space and time as you. 

Round here, that will be:

1) Uninsured
2) No MOT
3) Probably not driven by the real owner

It really isn't worth getting into an argument with such vehicles/people.   They will knock you down and drive off, and when you call the police, the registration will link back to a pensioner in Scotland.

[rogerzilla]

You can blame the late Paul Smith for the last tactic.  Probably a *dead* pensioner in Scotland.

[Charlotte]

I know that it's over now, but for future reference, it's better to report it immediately. 

When something like this has just taken place it's legitimate emergency.  Dial 999, ask for the police and say that you'd like to report a crime which has just taken place.  Tell them that someone has deliberately tried to injure you using their car.  Time is very definitely of the essence.

Give them the index number of the vehicle and a description of the driver.

If they have any cars nearby (and round there, they almost certainly will have) then it's quite possible that they could be just round the corner and they could pick chummy up within minutes.

Leave it even a short while and the best you can hope for if you have no witnesses is that the car was actually registered to the driver and that he's stupid enough to admit to it and accept a caution.  That rarely happens.

[Julian]

Crikey, aglet, that's not nice. 

Report it and I hope they find the chap.

That's my neck of the woods.   

[fuzzy]

Report it to the Police. Allegation of Dangerous Driving. Any CCTV in the vicinity?

[Basil]

Aglet, I'm really pleased you're uninjured.

I wonder if we shouldn't take a leaf from the poofballers' book?  A little bit of "diving"?

I'm sure that a controlled collapse/fall after contact with another vehicle, followed by a few moments contemplation before getting up would result in someone calling an ambulance and/or the police.
I guess 20 mph is not the speed to be trying that trick, though.

[aglet]

I've called Hackney police and made an initial report.  The woman who took the details was very nice and said she'd write it up as a "road rage" incident, which seems about right.  I'll fill out a proper report at Forest Gate police station tomorrow; as other posters have said there's a low probability of action, but it's still more than zero if I don't do anything.

Thanks for expressions of support, etc.

[Fi]

They'll ask you for a statement. I'd prepare it beforehand if I were you, and just copy it onto the form.  Once you're there, and someone's watching you and there's nowhere to sit comfortably and think, it's harder to make your report coherent.

 Horrible thing to happen.Glad you're not injured.

[aglet]

I filled out my Self Reporting Accident Form in Stratford nick yesterday morning; the PC ticked the boxes for "aggressive driving", "following too close" and something along the lines of dangerous driving.  He was quite sympathetic: "so, he was behaving like a cock then?" was one phrase that stuck in my mind...  I basically copied out my initial post from here (took along a printout), and added a diagram.

I'll follow up next week with a proper paper letter to Hackney's Criminal Justice Unit asking 'em what they're planning on doing about it.  If I can find their address, that is, the Met web site is a right state.

[civvy]

I know that it's over now, but for future reference, it's better to report it immediately. 

When something like this has just taken place it's legitimate emergency.  Dial 999, ask for the police and say that you'd like to report a crime which has just taken place.  Tell them that someone has deliberately tried to injure you using their car.  Time is very definitely of the essence.

Give them the index number of the vehicle and a description of the driver.

What about if there was no direct threat to you? I saw a guy earlier driving very dangerously, passenger leaning out the window shouting abuse at just about everyone else on the road, nearly hit a guy on a motorbike, and what I believe to be an unrestrained child in the back.

I rang the 0845 number for the local station, but had to wait on hold for a few minutes. They did say they would look out for the guy, but looking back on it, I was wondering if it would have been better to call 999, or if they'd be just as likely to find him either way...

[Charlotte]

If a serious crime^* is being committed or has just taken place, you shouldn't feel precluded from calling 999 as speaking straight to the emergency dispatcher will help the police get someone there faster and could result in an arrest being made.


_{^*This is the bit that's hard to reckon, I suppose.  My feeling is, anything where someone has been put in danger or in fear is serious enough.}

[alexb]

If a serious crime^* is being committed or has just taken place, you shouldn't feel precluded from calling 999 as speaking straight to the emergency dispatcher will help the police get someone there faster and could result in an arrest being made.


_{^*This is the bit that's hard to reckon, I suppose.  My feeling is, anything where someone has been put in danger or in fear is serious enough.}

I think it also de[pends on the despatcher. I phoned 999 when I had some "yoots" waving bits of wood at me and trying to knock me off riding through one of the Estates on my way home from work and the despatcher wouldn't take the call or refer me to any other number I could call.
In the end I found some community PSO's who took the details and radio'd it over to a car. They were appalled that the despatcher hadn't taken the call as it's a known trouble spot (news to me). I also got a couple of follow up e-mails from their local community police unit.