Angry cyclist steals driver’s keys and cycles off – police appeal for witnesses

Chaps - this looks like a zombie thread to me.  Any idea what has resurrected it?

what a twonk.

hmm everyone... 

I think we need to recognise the often heated situations that lead to happenings like this, as such use of the term reasonable is quite often unhelpful.

Hitting is unreasonable, except when someone has just tried to hit your daughter for example. Context is critical, there are occasions when violence even at an extreme level is very regretfully quite appropriate, the scenario of the police sniper having authorisation and opportunity to kill a hostage taker in a classroom is extreme but current.

Looking at this we have a vulnerable road user alongside a well recognised killing machine, we dont know the facts but history well documents motorists hurting and killing cyclists so perhaps this is yet another episode of smidsy with the cyclist simply fed up with having his life threatened.

Perhaps the bigger question is why someone taking keys constitutes assault whilst taking life constitutes an accident?

Christchurch high street is too narrow for modern cars flowing both ways it needs to be pedestrianised or made one way or implement a congestion charge like Durham, at the very least it should be a 20 zone with average speed cameras.

That cyclist is a massive fucking tool.

Would love to meet him and hear his explanation.

As other posters have suggested, there looks to be a lot more behind this story that has been reported in the press.  For a start, the narrow traffic-light controlled bridge leading from Bridge Street into Castle Street and the town centre, where I've witnessed car drivers trying to overtake:

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14110842.Plan_to_make_Christchurch...

Unless there was a personal vendetta, what happened to upset the cyclist so much? You also have to bear in mind the (poor) standard of driving and attitudes towards cyclists in the area.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14157589.UPDATE__Cyclist_seriously...

As other posters have suggested, there looks to be alot more behind this story that has been reported in the press.  For a start,  the narrow traffic-light controlled bridge leading from Bridge Street into the town centre, where I've witnessed car drivers trying to overtake

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14110842.Plan_to_make_Christchurch...

 Unless there was a personal vendetta, what happened to upset the cyclist so much? You also have to bear in mind the poor standard of driving in the area and attitudes towards cyclists.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/14157589.UPDATE__Cyclist_seriously...

PS I am not condoning this individual's action.

Love it

I think that the problem here is that too many people (on two wheels as well as on four) don't notice when they've done something stupid and/or dangerous. I don't believe that the motorist did *nothing*, and I do believe that the cyclists actions were probably an overreaction, BUT I also believe that it's likely that the motorist genuinely didn't realise that they'd done anything and therefore genuinely think that they're the aggrieved party here.

There's got to be far more to this than simply "cyclist rides up to innocent law-abiding motorist and steals keys".

They must have had some sort of previous encounter further back along the road to rile the rider up like that. Two wrongs don't make a right obviously but there has to be more than the original news report is making out.

And anyone commenting with the "giving cyclists a bad name" rubbish... Please stop with collective responsibility bollocks. Thanks.

Sounds like road rage by both parties and the driver came off worse hence the need for the media report, vice versa and nowt would have been done or said.

I've heard of guys doing this before, usually to disarm an irrational, psychotic driver from mowing them down further up the road.

There seems to be a fair old chunk of this story missing. Why would you pick a fight with someone armed to the teeth with a speeding one ton weapon?

The person abovwho suggests that its not a good diea to make unsubstantiated assumptions is dreaming.

On this website. Sorry but you are dreaming . Haven't you realised that its the home  of the most vindicive bunch I have met for a long time?

The same bunch who know Froome is doping because they know better and can read peoples minds

Taking keys is OK - hitting the driver is not.

I'm guessing that all the police need to do is check Strava...

I absolutely agree as above and I find it incredulous that people are actually condoning this assault and are trying to rationalise this idiots behaviour. He clearly has anger management issues and I'm sure if  It was one of your relatives he assaulted you might have a different view. 

Probably better not to make half arsed speculation about an incident that presumably no-one posting so far witnessed or was involved in. Maybe the cyclist just prevented a major terrorist car bombing, maybe he's a really unpleasant psychopath, maybe it's a bit of fuss about nothing more than a bruised ego. Point is we don't know and some of these postings are worthy of the Daily Mail comments, just switch the cyclist and driver roles. 

However I would admit to once hiding someone's keys so they couldn't drive drunk and that incident could well have ended up in fisticuffs.

One of my biggest regrets is NOT doing this when I'd just witnessed a motorcyclist knocked off and seriously injured at a junction.  The car driver and passenger swapped seats then drove off.  I got their reg number but it turned out the car was stolen.   As far as I know they were never caught.

Yes, I've done that twice--disarming a person of a dangerous weapon I call it. I leave the keys in the local police station. Coppers do nothing about it.