Yesterday, but I've been re-mulling it in the light of a few other discussions.
So I'm cycling down Blackfriars Road towards the lights with Union St outside Southwark Station. I'm pretty much taking the middle of the inside lane at a merry old pace when a taxi slides up besides me, too close for comfort, but black cab intimacy is not exactly unusual. He's indicating left but hey, I'm in the way. OK, at this point I'm familiar with the considerate ways of the London cabbie and ponder the relative benefits of discretion versus valour but I was feeling a little bloody minded so I stand (or rather ride) my ground but I also prepared for the inevitable. Which, of course, inevitable it was, as he promptly attempted the left-hook. As I was anticipating it, we both went around into Union Street. Had I kept going forward there was no doubt in my mind that he would have simply driven over me.
I don't normally get into it with drivers. Nothing good comes of it in my experience, but feeling calm and unfeasibly reasonable about the entire thing, I decided to have a word with him. So at the next lights I ride up beside him and tap on the window and he rolls it down. This is pretty much the conversation we had, none of it particularly heated. I tried to be perfectly calm and agreeable.
"You did see me there, didn't you? You could have knocked me off."
"I was indicating. I have a witness," he nods to the fare in the back who just looks like she'd rather be elsewhere (considering his driving skills, that wasn't a bad idea).
"Look, I'm really not trying to start an argument. But come on, wouldn't it have been better for us both if you'd been courteous enough to slow down for a moment. I'm sure you'd not like someone in your family to be injured or killed like that."
"I'd run over someone like you."
"What do you mean, like me?"
"Cyclists. Knocking one of you lot off would make my day."
At that point, I figured I was just going to get angry so I let him go. To be honest, I feel sorry for people like that. Five minutes later, I was happily cycling along, he'll still be carrying that toxic attitude for the rest of his undoubtedly shitty life.
But I'm kind of frustrated in retrospect knowing that someone with that attitude (and it wasn't just words, he would have run me over) is actually being paid to drive and there's nothing I can do about it. In any other context, say someone was sitting there twiddling a knife and telling people he wanted to stab someone, we'd reasonably be alarmed enough to take action. In a car, it's seems perfectly fine to expound such homicidal fantasies. I didn't take his number and I doubt any complaint would achieve any outcome.
