Manchester road rage victim's one man 'respect' campaign

If I were that cyclist, I wouldn't have agreed to have my photo taken, and published by the Manchester Evening News. Inevitably, as proved yet again by the comments posted on that web site, a great many people will side with their fellow driver, despite irrefutable video evidence that he is a maniac. They'd rather do that than entertain for one second that a member of that other tribe, the cyclists, could have been wronged by one of their own. And if they see this cyclist, with his camera on his helmet, they could take revenge. After all, he banged on the poor motorist's car, and what could be more insulting than having a lowly cyclist touching the shiny car you work so hard to buy, feed and care for?

Still, I cannot fault the cyclist for trying to make a stand. He (Neil Chatterjee) is quoted in the article as saying "As far as I'm concerned there are good road users and bad road users." Noble sentiments but, sadly, while logically you'd think filming bad driving would help break down the barriers, by allowing motorists see things through our eyes for a change, I think on balance it is having the opposite effect. It is seen as another in a series of "attacks" on motorists which, along with fuel price rises and speed cameras, are part of the "War on the Motorist" we keep hearing about. Of course, none of these things are half as bad as the stuff cyclists have to put up with on a daily basis (I'd list them, but I don't have time, and many of them are things it would be best not to tell motorists about, because some of them would start doing them on purpose.) But it is a well known sociological phenomenon that when a group believes itself to be under assault, or surveillance, from outside forces, it brings that group together. It helps form groups that didn't exist before. It's probably why many of us cyclists visit sites like this, to read and comment on the latest transgression against members of our group.

The same thing has happened throughout history, from Neanderthals versus "modern" humans, to most recently the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qaeda only murdered as many people as are killed on US roads by cars every couple of months. But in that context road deaths are internal, merely one of the costs of doing business, while terrorism is external. So it forever created the grouping in people's minds of "us", the western countries, against "them", the Islamist extremists (or for some people the whole of the Islamic world.) Another way to look at it would be "us", the ordinary people of the entire world, against "them", anyone who wants to tell other people what to do or think, which includes both terrorists and our own politicians - the global equivalent of "good road users" versus the "bad road users", if you will.

But each individual deciding for him or herself which politicians are ego-maniacs, which terrorists are freedom-fighters, and which road users are bad and which are good, is too much work for most people. Far easier to go along with what your leaders (currently David Cameron in the case of the UK, Jeremy Clarkson in the case of the petrol headed motorists) tell you to think (even if they change their minds as the West has with Gaddafi.) In other words, my tribe good, your tribe bad.

Good thing too as the roads are cluttered by insecure and aggressive t**ts, a disproportionately large number of whom seem to favour BMW cars.

It is rather surprising, seeing how many people viewed the camera footage, that the man in the car hasn't yet been identified by police.

Perhaps he should have tugged at his forelock and apologised for being in the poor driver's way???

Quote:

I was able to bang on the side of his car and shout ‘oi’ at him.

Maybe not the best way to handle things?