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news
Video: White van man puts helmet cam cyclist Dave Sherry in a headlock and allegedly threatens him with a torch
A road rage incident involving a white van man and Dave Sherry culminated in the well-known helmet cam cyclist being put in a headlock before allegedly being threatened with a torch.
The East London and West Essex Guardian reports that Sherry was cycling home from work on Leyton High Road on June 29 when he spotted the van driver talking on his phone.
Sherry – who has previously been described in the media as both a 'cycling vigilante' and 'Britain's most hated cyclist' – tells the driver he will be reported.
The man isn’t inclined to speak about using his phone at the wheel. He instead gestures up the road and tells Sherry to ‘hurry up’.
Sherry declines, saying: “No, I don’t want to go near you because you’re going to kill somebody on that phone.”
He adds: “14 days, you’re going to get a nice notice of intended prosecution, yeah?”
At this point the driver gets out of the van.
"Why are you threatening me?" he asks.
“I’m telling you,” replies Sherry.
The man appears to either reach for the camera or push Sherry. “That’s assault,” says the cyclist.
After a scuffle, the van driver appears to be restraining Sherry in some sort of headlock, after which the man briefly gets back in his van.
It’s not entirely clear what happens after this, but shortly afterwards the driver is asking for his keys back, while Sherry is asking for his camera.
The camera-keys standoff persists for quite some time and eventually the police arrive.
At one point Sherry tells a police officer that he was threatened with a torch that was in the driver’s side door.
Speaking about the incident, Sherry said: "I am used to dealing with these kinds of situations, but this is the first time someone has got hands on with me like that.
"On this occasion, he wanted to take things into his own hands, I had just finished work and I was thinking: ‘I really don’t need this at the minute’.
"There is just no need for it whatsoever., I said in the video that he was going to end up killing someone using that phone while driving.
"The problem is some people just cannot hear the truth I am the kind of person who will tell them it to their face. We all need to be accountable, but there are too many people who are willing to break the law on the road."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said both men had been spoken to. "Officers were called to Leyton High Road on Thursday, June 29 at 12.09pm to a dispute over a set of car keys. Both parties were spoken to and it was determined no offences had been committed."
Sherry has since posted a tweet implying that the vehicle was uninsured.
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.
Latest Comments
- Rendel Harris 46 min 27 sec ago
I think you need to apply the adjective to both nouns, so the commentator is not referring to all boomers but only "NIMBY boomers".
- Rendel Harris 35 min 14 sec ago
What's a "legitimate cyclist" please? Someone who doesn't conform to your arbitrary norms? At the age of 56 I admit to that you have 13 years more...
- mattw 14 hours 35 min ago
This risks turning me into a hanger and flogger....
- wtjs 18 hours 41 min ago
Well, you know the BMW drivers' saying: knock that house (hospital, social housing, care home, hospital...) down, could save 30 seconds on the trip!
- Spangly Shiny 20 hours 16 min ago
I had the pleasure of owning two of the featured builders here, in my history. When I joined the Army in 1971, I took with me my curly Hetchins:...
- Username 21 hours 21 min ago
Could Siobhán paint it red and noone would notice it?
- Spangly Shiny 1 day 12 hours ago
To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
- Rendel Harris 1 day 14 hours ago
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
- Rendel Harris 1 day 15 hours ago
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
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35 comments
They both deserve locking up.
The vigilante might consider learning some self-defence. If he learnt Karate he might be prosecuted so Aiko might be better.
He is definately looking for trouble (I am guessing he has suffered some sort of relationship trauma) but I don't see why it should only be the police that discourage people from dangerous acts such as driving while using ones phone, especially in an unisured vehicle.
one day, Mr cycling viglante will do that to someone who won't care about the camera, the rules, the law, and Mr vigilante will get a hiding.
if i knew him, i would tell him to put the camera away, he's way too confrontational, and it dont matter who is right or wrong when you're getting thumped
Cheaper than a trip to the hospital, a week off work or a lifetime on a benefit not able to work. It's not the victims of crime's job to allocate police resources effectively, it's the govts job.
Both people involved are asses. I think the cop's inactivity is sensible. Perhaps now the guy will now take appropriate action: Take the video, and send it in. He has no authority to actually stop the guy doing what he's doing. He certainly doesn't have any authority to do it in the live traffic stream. The police, by not prosecuting, are hopefully discouraging camera man's over zealous attempts at enforcement of the law. He might have a lot more sympathy and action from the police if he'd invited the gentleman to join him on the pavement (as any sensible cop has to) and then explained to him the errors of his ways. Camera man broke more laws than the asshole in the van.
I haven't watched the video. I'm presuming the alleged torch is a big heavy maglite or something, and not a stick with fire on the end (which is how I first read it, and which would be way more interesting (too many Hammer films in my misspent youth)).
Lesson Number 1: Do NOT start a fight that you cannot end.
Once you have decided to start a fight, do not stop until the other person is either dead, or has shown complete submission.
Have you been watching Fight Club again...?
It's not a crime to be a dickhead which the cyclist may or may not be. It is a crime to go driving round while on your phone and assaulting people.
Ah now you see that's were you are wrong.
Having being threatened with a public order offence because I called the dickhead driving the 10tonne bus who almost wiped me out (who apparently didn't see me at all) a prick and banged on the side of the bus, this is way, way worse than being physically threatened to be put in hospital and the aformentioned assault using a dangerous weapon.
the police are cunts.
It is inappropriate to call the police cunts as cunts have a purpose...
The cyclist allegedly stole the vehicle keys. That in my eyes is more than just being a dickhead.
As for confrontation, just rmemeber that the next driver you shout out may be another Kenneth Noye.
Only to stop the prick from driving off with his camera.
Who gives a shit. He should have chucked them in a field like the story a few months back. The cops should do one for dangerous driving and one for "stealing keys" then instead of saying "you're both as bad as each other" and pissing off.
.... and that would be such a constructive use of taxpayers money and limited resources. Remember it next time cops can't get to a violent domestic, or see to your burglary due to being too busy on other stuff.
The cops, the van driver, the cyclist; everyone is a wanker in this story.
I stopped using cameras a while ago - in part because you live through whatever happened again - mostly the thing that happened - close pass or whatever is not captured by the camera well or at all and in this case the police could give a toss if no one is injured or dead - one said that too me once that you need to be in hospital or dead before they would sharpen their pencils and even then its unlikely anything will happen - I now try to let it all pass me by realising shouting at close passing drivers is a waste of time and emotional energy - its risky out there - people are selfish - we are too - but its still so much nicer on our bikes and that is a gift.
Much as drivers on phones irk me too, if you go around deliberately winding people up then sooner or later you're going to end up in a headlock. I don't condone violence but I must admit that I laughed when the bloke just sighed, got out and grabbed him. It's inappropriate I know, and there should be an assault charge against the driver.
The cyclist however hasn't made anything better or safer for anyone - not the van driver whom he approaches on the wrong side causing a distraction to the driver and those around him far more serious than the phone usage, nor for the entire street in the aftermath as he's disrupting the flow of traffic and causing an obstruction, and not for attitudes to cyclists in general.
How do you know?
What alternative behaviour *would* make things better?
Personally, I condone 'cyclists' being major pains in the arse. I wouldn't *really* condone someone making a living via being a YouTube WUM, or chinning the van driver, or sticking a u-lock through his window, but overall, the cumulative effect? Yeah, I'm all for it, so I suppose I'm at least partly condoning those individual actions.
'We' are an outgroup anyway: might as well create some shit for what it's worth.
You've got to learn when to do one sometimes. Last year I shouted at female phone user and some steroid thug appeared out of nowhere telling me 'you don't talk to a fucking lady like that, you twat' (or something similar, he wasn't an eloquent chap) so I took off as my chances were nil unless we climbed a 20% hill before fighting.
Ok so the driver was obviously in the wrong why not just send the video on to the Police? Why the confrontation? He just appears he's looking for a confrontation.
Assume anyone in a car who has or is doing something dangerous is probably on the nutter end of the scale. Safer just to make sure you have good evidence and then report it. Police won't do anything anyway but after a while they will have so many reports and video evidence of the same nutters we can hope that it will be hard to ignore (unless of course they just delete all the reports...which they probably do).
Video dude using phone.
Send video to police.
Do not confront strange dudes in the street as you never what sort of nutter dudes are out there.
From what the Video dude said, he was concerned that that van driver was going to kill someone due to looking down at his lap while driving in the middle of the road.
Personally I'm glad that he confronted him.
Next time with mace maybe, while repeating the apparently magical incantation to inure oneself against prosecution for assault and battery: "why you threatening me? why you threatening me?"
Stuff like this is why I vote Tory: the chance they'll bring back hanging is too good to resist.
Agree
Unless you are Steven Seagal you can have very easily your ass kicked, slow down traffic and break other laws during such confrontations. Especially when your target is a professional during work hours...
Getting your ass kicked and slowing down traffic are now against the law?
White van men are now professionals?
I think getting your ass kicked as Steven Seagal might be against the law. Or nature.
Action = Reaction. If you have a camera and you are that way inclined report it to the police or publish it on the internet (again if you are that way inclined) , alerting the party in question that you are about to do it, is a waste of time and can result in a headlock.
What does he expect the guy in the car to do. Ask for forgiveness expect an apology and I will not
do it again? It is not going to happen.
At the worst the ah on the phone will now just see every person on a bike as a potential enemy .
Afraid a lot of those camera wielding people on bikes are on a mission and are hoping to get a reaction, to publish it on you tube and get attention.
The 'cycling vigilante' comes across as an arse once the video gets going. He should have gone into the cycle box ahead himself instead of telling the van driver to move on, whilst sitting on the outside of a vehicle facing oncoming traffic. He'd made his point wouldn't let it drop and then causes traffic chaos for loads of people. Twat.
yep, could’ve just sent the video to plod but no, he caused it all. Twat.
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