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news
Christchurch road rage suspect.jpgAngry cyclist steals driver’s keys and cycles off – police appeal for witnesses
Police are appealing for witnesses after a cyclist abused a driver, reached into his car and stole his keys. The apparent road rage incident took place at around midday on Sunday December 13 in Christchurch in Dorset.
The Western Daily Press reports that a man in his sixties was driving a green Fiat Punto along Bridge Street toward the town centre and had stopped in traffic when he was approached by the cyclist.
The cyclist was said to have been shouting and behaving aggressively toward the driver. He then leant through the car window and took the keys from the ignition before cycling off. The driver also sustained a minor injury to his face, including a small cut under his eye, where the cyclist reportedly hit him.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 30s and of slim build, wearing black fitted cycling gear with a wide blue horizontal band across his lower back and cycling glasses.
He was cycling alongside another male cyclist who was wearing black cycling gear with yellow markings on it who was not involved in the incident.
Police Constable Peter Simpson, of East Dorset police, said:
“I am able to release a photo of the suspect and ask anyone who recognises him from his clothing or bike to contact me.
“I am also keen to speak with the man cycling alongside him as his information may help us with our enquiries.
“I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident, or who saw the cyclists in the area, to please call me. All calls will be treated in strict confidence.”
Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police on 101 quoting incident number 13:179. Alternatively, you can speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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55 comments
Chaps - this looks like a zombie thread to me. Any idea what has resurrected it?
You can't resurrect Zombies, that's the thing about them....
Well as a commited environmentalist, I applaud this example of recycling!
I do wonder whatever happened with this matter though, given it was well over 18 months ago.
what a twonk.
hmm everyone...
judgemenatl.jpg
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.
Why? You've already passed your judgement.
Because the article describes an assault, and presumably a theft. He has no right in law to confiscate the drivers keys nor to injure them in the process. The fact that plod are investigating indicates that his actions were excessive.
Don't fucking argue the point for this bullshit behaviour, in the same way that a driver of any vehicle cannot take the law into their own hands, we as cyclists are subject to the same laws.
I will make an assumption; I'll assume the guy was the type of chest beating self righteous arsehole that I often see in certain parts of London.
That doesn't answer my question, it just passes more judgement. You wrote you wanted to hear his explanation. If you have already formed an opinion, as your comments indicate you have, why do you want you hear his explanation?
Colour me curious: What part/s of London would that be then?
Mainly in the Centre, around East London, SW and SE London and West and North/NW/NE London. Also, the Home Counties, the South East, East Anglia, the West Midlands, East Midlands, the South West, Wales, Yorkshire, The North West and North East.
I've never been to Scotland.
Let me understand this correctly.
Some cyclists get outraged because their safety is put at risk, and you're outraged at them for that?
So, extracting 'rage' from your sentence. Is rage a recommened emotion for road-users?
Please quote where I said I was 'outraged'. I absolutely understand a riders anger when their safety is put at risk but I certainly do not condone as you put it vigilantism nor theft or assault.
Do you?
Is that what we want? And where do we draw the vigilante line? If it's OK to act like this then maybe we can just nudge the line a little to the left, so that bloke we all know who doesn't declare all his earnings in his Self Assessment tax return, shall we go round to his house later and brand 'Tax Cheat' across his forehead with a red hot poker?
Because if we do, then the next time any of us makes an error in judgement we can expect to see the soft glow of the poker hoving into view.
Let's not justify criminal behaviour by masking it as self-defence whatever the reasoning.
You'll find your answer one post before your first post.
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 know there have been a lot of generalizations already, but I would assume that any lycra bound hero would have the intellegence not to hit save.
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.
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