Assaulted by a Cyclist MOD WARNING post #44

68 lost souls

Joshua5 wrote: »

I did beep, I did wave him on. He refused to move and took exception to the beep and wave. I then rolled down my window and had the words. Sure I could have just sat there but its a road. I wanted to be somewhere and he was in my way. A beep, a wave didn't do the trick so what do you expect. He started it obviously by blocking me and the other hundred cars in because of a temper tantrum with a taxi man who had then already left the scene. Simple. Thats the starting point.

If he had of moved on when his issue moved on, no beep, no wave, no words. I hope this helps you

You could have not F'ing and blinding him and been a bit more civil about it

Joshua5

Weepsie wrote: »

Why not beep at the taxi by the way. Also obstructing you, and doing so before the bike?

Well the traffic was at a standstill because of traffic lights, anyone that knows the junction can relate.

Hence the reason the taxi was pulling out of the side street and turning in the opposite direction to me. The yellow box in fact is to stop cars getting in the way so people just like the taxi can actually turn.

The cyclist went out of his way to go to the taxi, banged his car multiple times. Traffic was moving then and the taxi man was trying to pull off while the nut job kept going.

When he finally did get a turn the cyclist stayed in the box ranting and raving. Then I beeped, I didn't see a reason he would still be blocking me.

amcalester

Joshua5 wrote: »

I guess I'm just curious, certainly not offended by it. I'm just curious about the logic... The guy had issues and I had somewhere I needed to be.

It's like saying if a car was parked in the yellow box blocking you would sit in silence, but replace that car with a raging cyclist (specific to this individual not cyclists in general) and I'm the cause for beeping. He was obstructing the road, he had his moment with the taxi man and it ended. Time to move on, beep beep, wave wave... Simple

A better analogy would be if 2 motorists had an altercation, or 1 motorist tried to initiate an altercation with another would yon beep and yell profanities at the instigator or would you just wait for it to dissipate.

Road rage doesn't just affect motorists.

How long was the cyclist really holding you up? Another 10 seconds and he probably would have realised he was being a tool and cycled on.

Harrybelafonte

Joshua5 wrote: »

I did beep, I did wave him on. He refused to move and took exception to the beep and wave. I then rolled down my window and had the words. Sure I could have just sat there but its a road. I wanted to be somewhere and he was in my way. A beep, a wave didn't do the trick so what do you expect. He started it obviously by blocking me and the other hundred cars in because of a temper tantrum with a taxi man who had then already left the scene. Simple. Thats the starting point.

If he had of moved on when his issue moved on, no beep, no wave, no words. I hope this helps you

Joshua5

amcalester wrote: »

A better analogy would be if 2 motorists had an altercation, or 1 motorist tried to initiate an altercation with another would yon beep and yell profanities at the instigator or would you just wait for it to dissipate.

Road rage doesn't just affect motorists.

How long was the cyclist really holding you up? Another 10 seconds and he probably would have realised he was being a tool and cycled on.

Probably but his mood shouldn't disrupt my day. He was wrong to block the road so he deserved the beep and wave

D0NNELLY

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

I was actually thinking of trump with the amount of lads on here that think beeping=dig in the jaw..

SteM

D0NNELLY wrote: »

I was slowing to a set of lights, with two cyclists to my left. All good. One of the cyclists pulled out a wee bit too make room for another cyclist, i beeped (literally a blip) to let her know how close i was to her. She looked and saw how close she was to me, gave me the thumbs up and a smile to say thanks.

Que white knight behind her kicking the side of my car. I roll down to ask what's that in aid of? He screams in shouting that i shouldn't be beeping at cyclists.. so out i get to see if any damage and he tries to scamper away. I managed to grab his bag and hold him till i was sure the door was OK.

His bravery disappeared nearly as far as his fellow peleton

Just put it down to some people are wierd. No amount of debating will help you understand them or their way of thinking.

Scumbag behaviour kicking your car.

He's kind of right though, you shouldn't just beep at a cyclist to tell them where you are. You should adjust your driving to make sure you don't hit them. If everyone that was close to me on my commute beeped at me to tell me how close they were in relation to me then I'd be deaf by the end of the week.

amcalester

Joshua5 wrote: »

Probably but his mood shouldn't disrupt my day. He was wrong to block the road so he deserved the beep and wave

He probably did deserve a beep but discretion is the better part of valour.

cython

Joshua5 wrote: »

When you are driving on a public road and someone impeded your journey you can beep and you can wave on. Driving is an activity requiring engagement with other road users, plain and simple. I waited long enough while he hit the taxi and held me up. I wasn't waiting any longer.

Eh, nope, not unless you can point out to me which of the below that qualifies as? To be clear, your getting frustrated does not qualify as "necessary on grounds of safety" unless you were otherwise going to run him over, in which case that's a whole other law!

86. (1) Subject to the following sub-articles of this article, the driver of every vehicle which is required by article 28 of these Regulations to be fitted with an audible warning device shall, whenever necessary in a public place, give audible and sufficient warning of the approach or position of the vehicle by sounding the device.

(2) A person shall not use, or permit to be used, any device provided on a vehicle for the purpose of giving audible warning except when such use is reasonably necessary on grounds of safety.

(3) (a) A person shall not, between the hours of 11.30 p.m. and 7 a.m., sound any audible warning device provided on a vehicle while the vehicle is on a road to which a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or 40 miles per hour under Section 45 or 46 of the Act applies:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a vehicle used for fire brigade, ambulance, or police purposes.

(b) Where a person is charged with a contravention of paragraph (a) of this sub-article, it shall be a good defence to the charge to show that the use of the audible warning device was necessary for the purpose of avoiding immediate danger.

(4) Nothing in this article shall prevent—

(a) the sounding of a device for the purposes of raising an alarm as to theft or attempted theft,

(b) the sounding of a device operated by radio to summon the driver of a vehicle used for public utility or emergency services.

Joshua5

D0NNELLY wrote: »

I was actually thinking of trump with the amount of lads on here that think beeping=dig in the jaw..

In fairness it was a pathetic dig in the jaw and an attempt of a sucker punch. As soon as I got out he was off cycling like a a world champion. If someone hits or attempts to hit you I think you should defend yourself.

D0NNELLY

SteM wrote: »

Scumbag behaviour kicking your car.

He's kind of right though, you shouldn't just beep at a cyclist to tell them where you are. You should adjust your driving to make sure you don't hit them. If everyone that was close to me on my commute beeped at me to tell me how close they were in relation to me then I'd be deaf by the end of the week.

Don't disagree with you. Just relaying it as it happened.

Caliden

SteM wrote: »

What's going to happen? The cyclist will deny it and that's the end of that. It's not like there's video evidence either way.

It's entered into Pulse and that may be the end of it but the cyclist doesn't sound like someone who has a firm grasp on reality so it may not be his first altercation.

Joshua5

cython wrote: »

Eh, nope, not unless you can point out to me which of the below that qualifies as? To be clear, your getting frustrated does not qualify as "necessary on grounds of safety" unless you were otherwise going to run him over, in which case that's a whole other law!

Blocking a road on a bicycle is a safety matter. Blocking a yellow box, specifically a yellow box that you where bashing up a car for blocking deserves a beep. You can't have a wobbler for a car doing it then proceed to do it yourself. There is no law against sounding the horn for an obstruction to a public road. Obstruction to a public road is a safety issue. He was obstructing the road.

SteM

Caliden wrote: »

It's entered into Pulse and that may be the end of it but the cyclist doesn't sound like someone who has a firm grasp on reality so it may not be his first altercation.

People are suggesting the OP goes back to try and see skanger on his commute the following day. It means nothing. All the cyclist has to do it deny they were involved in this incident and the gardai will drop it. What can the gardai do in this instance without any evidence? Even if it's not his first altercation if it's his word against the OPs without any proof then nothing can happen.

Joshua5

SteM wrote: »

People are suggesting the OP goes back to try and see skanger on his commute the following day. It means nothing. All the cyclist has to do it deny they were involved in this incident and the gardai will drop it. What can the gardai do in this instance without any evidence? Even if it's not his first altercation if it's his word against the OPs without any proof then nothing can happen.

The weird thing is he wasn't a skanger. he was middle aged business man having a meltdown. I'd imagine the punch is on cctv along with me running down the road after him for hitting me. Plus I've got my tooth to be cemented back in.

cython

Joshua5 wrote: »

Blocking a road on a bicycle is a safety matter. Blocking a yellow box, specifically a yellow box that you where bashing up a car for blocking deserves a beep. You can't have a wobbler for a car doing it then proceed to do it yourself. There is no law against sounding the horn for an obstruction to a public road. Obstruction to a public road is a safety issue. He was obstructing the road.

And I'm sure that was exactly what was going through your head when you beeped :rolleyes: Care to explain how beeping your horn was actually going to improve the safety of any of this though? In actual execution it seems to have vastly disimproved it for all concerned, so I'd be a little surprised if you can come with anything that's not exceedingly speculative.

Caliden

SteM wrote: »

People are suggesting the OP goes back to try and see skanger on his commute the following day. It means nothing. All the cyclist has to do it deny they were involved in this incident and the gardai will drop it. What can the gardai do in this instance without any evidence? Even if it's not his first altercation if it's his word against the OPs without any proof then nothing can happen.

I'm still failing to see why you're advising not to report it?

Assault is a crime last time I checked. Proving it is the Gardai's job, not the OP's

Fighting Tao

Joshua5 wrote: »

Blocking a road on a bicycle is a safety matter.

Only if you intend on driving through the bicycle. It's more of a hindrance that the road was temporarily blocked by a bicycle. If there had not been a person on the bicycle would you still have beeped?

SteM

Joshua5 wrote: »

The weird thing is he wasn't a skanger. he was middle aged business man having a meltdown. I'd imagine the punch is on cctv along with me running down the road after him for hitting me. Plus I've got my tooth to be cemented back in.

Well if you think there's CCTV footage then make it your business to go to the local station to report it, might teach this fella a lesson. Most half decent CCTV footage is recorded by businesses like shops, bookies etc but these rarely have a camera pointing at a road.

SteM

Caliden wrote: »

I'm still failing to see why you're advising not to report it?

Assault is a crime last time I checked. Proving it is the Gardai's job, not the OP's

Where did I advise not to report it?

Joshua5

cython wrote: »

And I'm sure that was exactly what was going through your head when you beeped :rolleyes: Care to explain how beeping your horn was actually going to improve the safety of any of this though? In actual execution it seems to have vastly disimproved it for all concerned, so I'd be a little surprised if you can come with anything that's not exceedingly speculative.

I was proceeding forward and I beeped to inform him of this so he would move.
You disagree with this approach? Are you suggesting we just leave people to infringe on our rights to go about our business because they are having an off day. He had no business taking exception with me, I was not part of his original beef. I wanted him to move, simple as.

Joshua5

Fighting Tao wrote: »

Only if you intend on driving through the bicycle. It's more of a hindrance that the road was temporarily blocked by a bicycle. If there had not been a person on the bicycle would you still have beeped?

Come on now. This is petty. The guy was blocking the road, the entire road. I was first in line and I might add I wasn't the only one beeping. The buses where beeping, cars you name it.

Should we all have waited for him to compose himself or for his medication to kick in? I started to move forward in my car and cars where even beeping me to progress. Of course I would beep and wave him on. Thats just stupid

RacoonQueen

OP, do you mean the taxi was trying to turn right from Prospect Road onto Whitworth Rd?

68 lost souls

Joshua5 wrote: »

I was proceeding forward and I beeped to inform him of this so he would move.
You disagree with this approach? Are you suggesting we just leave people to infringe on our rights to go about our business because they are having an off day. He had no business taking exception with me, I was not part of his original beef. I wanted him to move, simple as.

Yes but by sweating at him you involved yourself. Learn from it, report him and move on

Joshua5

RacoonQueen wrote: »

OP, do you mean the taxi was trying to turn right from Prospect Road onto Whitworth Rd?

No, I'm not sure the name of the road, but coming from the cemetery direction I went passed with Whitworth Rd onto the bridge. You know when you are in the right lane to filter in.

Straight after with Whitworth theres a pub and cross guns snooker hall. That road directly on the canal that leads to the main road has the yellow box.

The taxi was coming out of that road and turning right towards hearts corner. Does that make sense? As soon as he turned right the road in front was clear as it gets backlogged at the lights by the centre. That show long I was waiting for this chap to move on an he still didn't.

MeatTwoVeg

68 lost souls wrote:

Yes but by sweating at him you involved yourself. Learn from it, report him and move on

And buy a decent antiperspirant.

Zynks

Trekker09 wrote: »

It's an assault irregardless of him being a cyclist. I had a lad banging on my car window last week in Kilkenny as I honked him for having no lights or hi vis. It was dark and just wanted to let him know that I couldn't see him, especially with traffic coming towards me.

Strangers are never going to taking 'honking' as a friendly action. Why not try talking instead?

beauf

Joshua5 wrote: »

Blocking a road on a bicycle is a safety matter. Blocking a yellow box, specifically a yellow box that you where bashing up a car for blocking deserves a beep. You can't have a wobbler for a car doing it then proceed to do it yourself. There is no law against sounding the horn for an obstruction to a public road. Obstruction to a public road is a safety issue. He was obstructing the road.

I see this kinda stuff all the time. I've seen quite a few sucker punches though car windows. By all types of road users. You never know who you are going to meet on the road. They might have nothing to lose. The might be ill, or violent or both.

You asked for constructive feedback. Consider how you could avoid the same situation again. For me 5 mins delay is not enough to justify the risk of needing repairs to the car, myself or my passengers. its not a priority for me.

Dunno why you posted it in cycling. Its got nothing to do with cycling. Its just some nutter on the street.

beauf

Zynks wrote: »

Strangers are never going to taking 'honking' as a friendly action. Why not try talking instead?

Why not try patience and letting them wander off in their own time.

AnneFrank

Joshua5 wrote: »

The weird thing is he wasn't a skanger. he was middle aged business man having a meltdown. I'd imagine the punch is on cctv along with me running down the road after him for hitting me. Plus I've got my tooth to be cemented back in.

if someone is clearly riled you don't beep at him shaking your hand at him, especially when you have your wife and child in the car.
I'm not suprised he confronted you, the punch was cowardly admittedly, but i'd have told you to f off and mind your own business myself.
Take it on the chin and learn from it, going to the gardai is a waste of time they'd laugh at you