![Video: [Updated] Police appeal for attacked rider to come forward after London confrontation turns violent](/sites/all/themes/roadcc/roadcc.svg)
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![Video: [Updated] Police appeal for attacked rider to come forward after London confrontation turns violent](https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/images/News/Farringdon%20altercation%201.jpg "Farringdon altercation 1")
Farringdon altercation 1Video: [Updated] Police appeal for attacked rider to come forward after London confrontation turns violent
We’ve all been tempted to give an earful to a driver who does something stupid, but as this helmet cam video shows, drivers who don’t care about the road rules sometimes carry passengers who have short tempers and poor impulse control.
[Update January 27] Police have appealed for the rider involved to come forward so that they can investigate the incident in which the rider remonstrates with a driver and is subsequently punched and knocked to the ground. According to the Evening Standard, a police spokesman said they were keen to speak to the cycle rage victim should he want to report the incident which happened at around 9.15am on Thursday in Farringdon Road, London.
In the comments on the video, the helmet cam rider George 'Jude' Hill says: “I have reported this to the police, I am trying to find the cyclist as I tried to tell him I had it on video, but he looked pretty dazed. Need him to report the incident in order to get prosecutions. Could you all share this as widely as possible to try and find him?”
In the video you see a white Audi stopped just outside the advanced stop box of a junction in Farringdon. George stops just behind the box, next to the car, and two other cyclists ride past him into the box.
The driver of the Audi then drives into the box. A rider in a black beanie pulls back from the stop line and shouts at the driver that this is a cycle area. When the lights change, the driver accelerates quickly away.
The rider in the beanie comes past George Hill and follows the white Audi. He is seen shouting at the driver at the next lights, calling him a “F*cking prick” and saying something that sounds like: “You ran over my f*cking foot mate.” (It's unclear from the video whether that is what happened.)
Hill rides past the altercation and by the time he turns round a man in a white shirt is standing next to the car, in front of the angry cyclist. You see him apparently attempt to punch the rider and then shove him, pushing him off his bike.
There’s more angry shouting as the rider picks himself up and gets back on his bike. The man in the white shirt then gets into the back of the Audi.
George attempts to get the rider’s attention but he rides away, back in the direction he’d come from.
As George implies, without a complaint from the rider who was hit the police are very unlikely to take action, despite the video.
In May last year the Mayor of London's cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan pledged to start enforcing advanced stop lines, using CCTV cameras to catch infringers. He reiterated the point in August and during last year's Operation Safeway road safety crackdown, over 1,000 fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers for contravening traffic signals.
But we’ll leave the last word to YouTube commenter Jon: “Be safe out there, cyclists! Remember that you're dealing with angry idiots in 2 ton metal death machines.”
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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98 comments
And you don't think if he'd been that stupid to put his bike on the ground the driver wouldn't have simply ridden over part or all of it...
Common sense. Telling the car driver that he was in the box would never result in the car backing up... it would only ever end in tears. That's the reality.
Audi drivers... The shiny chrome gear sticks make them behave as they do. Brrrrrmmm! Brummmmmm!
Before the Audi drivers start.. I would have to say that over 50% of dangerous motorists I've encountered over the past 8 years have been driving Audi's. It's all to do with the interior styling. Psychologically all models are very boy/girl racer. And some Audi drivers are prats of course. Some drivers of other makes of cars are also prats. Audi's to seem to pop up pretty frequently though. Interesting.
'Taking a 53T to the head or face a couple of times is going to make most people have a rethink.'
Oh dear.
Depends which bike, to be honest. Whichever one I'm on, I'm unlikely to try to deliberately maim someone though.
Interesting analogy with the pub, what do you reckon the Audi drivers chances of getting away without getting a severe shoeing if he'd decided to drive his car into a pub for the sole reason of saving a few seconds on his journey?
"Rather than stick up for cyclists rights,"
Why was he attacked then?
Victim blaming.
London's a great place to cycle, I have more trouble as a cyclist in the rural climes of Hertfordshire or Essex than I ever have in London. One video isn't representative of the reality, is it. As for the "rich, selfless" driver, you can probably assume that an Audi A5 Sportback, in no cost colour option Arctic White, driven during rush hour in the capital by a guy in a shirt and trousers all but equals Company Car.
Wait, what?!
ASLs are there to let you get away from the lights safely in front of motor traffic.
Putting yourself in the gutter just means Mr Audi is going to be alongside you while you are getting up to speed and dancing over potholes or clipping in.
The ASL is there PRECISELY to put cyclists ahead of motor traffic for the very reason on getting away from the lights first - whether or not you are going straight or turning off.
Scenario: No ASL at a junction. Red light. Do you go in the gutter, or do you take a primary position in the traffic queue? You take the primary position. What is so galling about doing it in the legally protected (!?) zone in front of traffic?
Jumped-up, impatient, frustrated drivers need to learn to share the road. Particularly in urban areas where it is just a race to the next red light anyway.
Also, if your divided ASL is full, cyclists end up.... in the filter lane on the inside. Quite possibly on the inside of vehicles turning left. D'oh.
I think there is something to this, 'the skinny dude in lycra' looks like an easy target if you're running a bit hot on the testosterone. Someone got out of the car to have a go at me until I picked up the bike by the stem and he was suddenly confronted with my front wheel.
I've made a driver back out of a asl once, told him they were in it and what they were going to do about it? and he backed out of it, took a lot of staring / mexican stand off too.
I wouldn't go around making a habit of it but it can be done if you want too "make a stand".
Sorry, do you ride with a 51T or something?
Why do you feel you have to defend the cyclist?
He was attacked by a idiot who didn't appreciate his idiot mate being given verbal abuse by a idiot cyclist. It's not victim blaming when they are all at fault. The driver is an arse with a car, the cyclist an arse on a bike, the passenger an aggressive arse, they all did things wrong which inflamed the situation further. Why does anybody feel they have to stick up for any parties. The same as why do some cyclists feel they can teach and lecture complete fuk tards in vehicles the rules of the road we all know they don't care so why try? you are more likely to get punched/ pushed/ run over by the big ass metal box they hide in, we then act surprised when this happens. What do people think is going to be the likely outcome?
Balls to that, get it up by the headtube and seat post and swing the bike crankwards at them. Taking a 53T to the head or face a couple of times is going to make most people have a rethink.
[quote=caaad10}
The cyclist was actively aggressive, the car occupant passively aggressive. Either way, if the cyclist hadn't been so vocal none of this would have happened. Make your own mind up......[/quote]
Sorry i have to take exception to this - getting ou of the car and punching someone is never going to be 'passively aggressive'. That is just not passive in any way shape or form. He actively got out of the car, he actively went up to the cyclist and actively punched him in the head. Regardless of the behaviour that lead to it, it is not passively aggressive. To counter your argument, the cyclist (claims*) foot was run over, i'd be pretty vocal to a drive in that instance. Probably have more sense than to chase them up the road and scream at them from 2 inches away, but i'd still be livid.
*his opening shout is along the lines of 'you f'ing prick you ran over my foot'
To my certain knowledge, there are at least 3 ex SAS guys commuting on bikes in London currently. It is to be hoped that next time your man decided to attack a cyclist, he draws one of those short straws.
Charge the driver with infringing the ASL.
The cyclist with behaviour liable to cause a breach of the peace.
Then the passenger with assault and send them all on anger management courses.
I think this would be the fairest result all around.
I reckon a bit of maths would prove the Audi driver was speeding as well.
it is an assault but the assailant is going to argue self defense. "Here we are driving along the road, minding our own business and this nutter comes chasing after us on a bike and bangs on the car. I get out to investigate, he shouts in my face and makes an aggressive move towards me and I defend myself that is all". I would be very surprised if the CPS take the case I'm afraid to say, as the assailant will probably buy in some heavy duty barrister and get off, even if the CPS take it to court.
It's an assault. The cyclist could've been more measured in his words but that doesn't take away from the fact that he was the victim here. When a car driver behaves like an arse, it's easy to get annoyed and easy as well to be vocal about that. I hope the police do take action as the passenger in the car deserves a charge of common assault.
Not sure it is all victim blaming as believe it or not I have been in that same position several times. His reaction is not unnatural but did it end well for him ? I don't think so. Even if the oik is successfully prosecuted (improbable I'm afraid) is that a good outcome ? Maybe but our cyclist in this incident could easily have been seriously injured or even stabbed by aoom of the loons out there. Not good
Not sure it is all victim blaming as believe it or not I have been in that same position several times. His reaction is not unnatural but did it end well for him ? I don't think so. Even if the oik is successfully prosecuted (improbable I'm afraid) is that a good outcome ? Maybe but our cyclist in this incident could easily have been seriously injured or even stabbed by some of the loons out there. Not good
Some "epic" victim blaming going on here, i'd LOVE to see how some of you would you react in the EXACT same situation, lot of armchair critics talking rubbish here...
It's not about blame, it's about whether you want to end up at home or lying in the road. Personally I'll always choose the former.
Yes it is about blame, neither do i, now answer this question, what would you have done if your foot was run over?
If I could cycle like a bat out of hell like that bloke with a crushed foot, I would give Sir David Brailsford a call and ask if there are any jobs going.
Seriously, what we have here is knob-end aggressively confronts knob-ends and gets twatted for it.
That's life. If you are the type to dish it out, don't complain when it is your turn to take it.
Well if his foot was run over (hard to tell) but let's assume it was, the adrenaline from riding was probably masking the real pain - happened to me walking and it wasn't so bad (bmw 5 series driver) no bruises developed, nothing.
His positioning in the "asl" was a bit much but perfectly legal (clearly a fast rider!)
Same thing I always do when I get cut-up / beeped / shouted / swerved at. A smile coupled with a cheery wave. If you're going to scream obscenities at a stranger in absolutely any situation, be prepared for it to get physical. There are a lot of idiots out there. You can't fight fuckwittery with fuckwittery.
If you go looking for trouble in London, you will find it in spades.
I have made the same mistake as the cyclist and you have to as yourself, what are you seeking to achieve ? You will never get the "sorry mate, my mistake" which is arguably your best outcome and thereafter the outlook steadily declines. Best advice I can give is get off your bike and count to ten. Then think about how you want to respond as there is far, far too much adrenaline pumping in the heat of the moment.
Car - shouldn't have gone in the ASL
Cyclist - Over reacted, shouldn't have shouted so aggressively
Passenger - Inexplicable violence
This is pure & simply just escalation of a minor issue because it's London in rush hour. If my foot was ran over by an Audi I don't think I'd have been that fast on my bike straight afterwards...
The only thing you can take away from this is to just take a breath after some bad driving or a near miss, and let it slide - because it just isn't worth getting yourself into a red mist. Better for your blood pressure and potentially stops you from getting in this kind of situation.
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