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news
Video: Driver calls 999 to report cyclist for not getting out of her way
A video of what a cyclist described as a “bizarre sequence events” including a driver calling 999 to complain that he hadn’t pulled over to let her past on a narrow rural road has gone viral on YouTube, racking up nearly 50,000 views on the video-sharing site.
The incident happened last month in northwest Kent. Stuart, who filmed the footage, told us: “I was cycling along Rye Lane between Otford and Dunton Green near Sevenoaks; it’s a very narrow winding road.
“I was aware of a car behind me for a couple of minutes, but there was nowhere to move over without stopping altogether, and a car can’t go much faster than a bike there anyway.
“Also, if I’d let it pass and another car had come the other way, they’d both have had to stop, and so would I. I knew the road was widening out shortly so I kept going.
“When the road widened the driver pulled alongside me and accused me of ‘ignorance’, apparently for not jumping into a hedge to let her pass immediately.”
It seemed to Stuart that the exchange had ended, with the motorist heading off up the road, but he said that “as I came round the next bend she had stopped her car (in the road, impeding traffic, ironically) and was filming me.
“An increasingly bizarre sequence of events included her calling 999 to complain that she thought I’d been a bit rude, and flagging down another driver to have a mutual rant about uppity cyclists, all while ignoring the distressed cries of her children.
“Eventually, when it became clear that the police didn’t fancy coming out to intervene on matters of courtesy, she went on her way.”
“This is all quite funny, but cyclists shouldn’t have to endure this sort of thing, and she also made some nasty insinuations about my having scared her children, or that the situation was that a man was threatening a woman (this the week after Sarah Everard’s tragic death),” he added.
“In fact she’d started all this, and I’d deliberately restrained my language and kept my distance to avoid distressing the kids. It’s all the more galling because there’s a main road going exactly the same way, which I avoid because of speeding drivers; now I’m being hassled on the alternative route too.”
One commenter to the YouTube video said, “The very worst part of all of this is that she will not ever realise she was wrong, and will rant to her friends about this ‘idiot rude cyclist’ who so upset her children with their actions - thereby entrenching more negative views of cyclists in general. Over something that was entirely her fault.”
Others suggested she should be reported for using her mobile phone while driving, while another said, “I pity her kids.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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94 comments
This is magic, and to be ranked alongside Cycling Mikey! Stuart was entirely right, although rather over-tolerant of this obvious nutter representative of the two Short Planks team. I would have stopped at 'Thank you moron. Cheerio' when she pulled up alongside, and just gone ahead when she stopped later, but that would have deprived many of this excellent entertainment. Surely she must, even if she doesn't have it now, at some stage have driven around with a dead giveaway sign of a thickhead: a 'baby/ child on board' sticker. People like this use their children as a weapon to intimidate the gullible (which Stuart clearly isn't).
This can't be compared to monkey Mikey.. this encounter was entirely the making off that profoundly silly woman, whereas 'Mikey' goes looking for trouble and views, to the point of hanging out at places as a pedestrian, not a cyclist, just so he can confront drivers committing minor infractions, as if he is in law enforcement.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/avyv84/go-pro-cyclists-need-to-calm-down...
Driving on the wrong side of the road at a junction where there have been numerous accidents is not minor.
Another of your fire and forget posts.
Disagree. Mikey is always totally clear that he is not law enforcement, but simply a witness. The authorities that use his evidence clearly don't see these infractions as minor - in fact from what I have seen individual officers are on good terms with him
As for looking for trouble, anyone with a bike and a camera can be, and frequently is, accused of that
'Mikey' goes looking for trouble
I must ride to defend Mikey! He goes out of his way not to be bullied by drivers- most cyclists wouldn't bother. It's rather embarrassing that we have to recruit a South African to do this for us- I have just re-watched one of his stand-offs with a driver crossing to the wrong side of a Keep Left sign, and he forced the b****r back. At least he won a joke driving course for the offender, as long as the police weren't lying about that as the now dismissed traffic PC in Gloucestershire did (it was only 'words of advice', which means agreeing with the offender that he will do for the cyclist properly next time).
Da da dada-derrr derr, Da da dada-derrrr......
Da da dada-derrr derr, Da da dada-derrrr......
Pretty good written representation of the music, but I wear lycra shorts and my chest isn't as impressive. Chafing must be terrible, if the horses aren't full-sus
Is that one of the definitely not sexist at all works by the Meister Boris Vallejo? His income must have tailed off after Athena went bust...
Pass, just a Google image search, althoughi must confess you sound very knowledgeable!😉😆
Geez,Athena! I remember that, there was a branch in The Elmsleigh centre in Staines opposite M&S. that's a blast from the past..
Misspent youth in the 1980s, I'm afraid...
Could be, though Julie Bell has a very similar style.
He is Dutch.
He is Dutch
Are you sure? I've just watched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObxjKC3tJeM again and he sounds SA to me.
There was one of his videos in which he receives abuse on his accent, and the police offered to press charges which he declined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjUBx3aL6v4&t=13s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjUBx3aL6v4&t=13s
Well, that seems definitive. He should know if he's SA or not! You listen and learn.
Nope, pretty sure he is dutch but then as it was White Dutch and Belgium who "liberated" most of South Africa it is no surprise that it can sound similar.
Hmm so she thinks the cyclist is doing something illegal for blocking her from driving quickly...
Therefore presumably she agrees her driving was illegal for blocking the van that went past at 1:19 (who I suspect had to wait for her to finish arguing with the cyclist despite that being a section that is wide enough to overtake safely)....
Not illegal, but it is against the Highway Code. You should let someone who wants to pass, pass, and you should pull over if you're holding up a queue (no definition of what a queue is, but there were two vehicles behind him). Edit, yes I know there's a "when safe to do so" clause, but there aren't many roads where there's no safe passing point for two minutes (even if you have to stop).
Except that in the video, and the write up above, the rider points out that there is nowhere wide enough on that particular stretch for him to safely pull over, no laybys or passing places, so he maintained progress until the road widened to a place where she could pass... So your safe to do so edit seems to apply in this case if we take that at face value.
I guess the logical extension to the "let people pass" argument also applies to other vehicles, which is excellent news. From this point on, everytime I get stuck in my car behind a driver not progressing at a speed which meets my approval I will flash and gesticulate wildly, generally get all Mad Max on them, and then explain this guidance to them and point out why they were in the wrong.
Having looked up the road on google maps, the journey planner thinks it is as quick to cycle from the end to beyond where she initially passed (easy to figure out given the motorway underpass) as drive, which will be based on mobile phone tracking for driving and a slow fixed pace for cycling... Something to do with being singletrack with lots of blind bends where one should be using the horn and going at walking pace to avoid head ons...
The van passes on the second interaction between the woman and rider after she has blocked it for a prolonged period. (Van at 1:19, start of interactions at 18 seconds, so reasonable to assume it caught up while she was blocking rather than following given levels of traffic.
Also the oncoming car that stopped at the underpass, presumably not wanting to be driven into by a driver too busy ranting at a cyclist for existing.
How does that work when I am doing 31 in a 30?
Do I have to pull over to let speeding drivers pass?
Does it make a difference if I am going to work ?
It only applies to vehicles going much slower than the speed limit, with roads that don't allow easy overtaking, thus causing a traffic build-up behind the slow vehicle; eg, a slow vehicle should pull over every few miles if such build up occurs.
What amuses me, is that these drivers that complain of being held up for a minute or so before being able to overtake, seem to have the time to stop for several minutes in order to confront the cyclist.
Sorry didn't realise we are playing non sequiter.
Rule 169 is what you're after: "Do not hold up a long queue of traffic, especially if you are driving a large or slow-moving vehicle."
Even two vehicles cannot be counted as a "long queue".
Plus the key word here is 'driving' so the clause does not fully apply, legally you have no duty to pull aside and let motor vehicles pass. Morally should a queue have built up when safe and proper it is better to do let that traffic pass.
It's kind of a moot point as it's not fun cycling with a queue (well more than two, I'd say) of vehicles behind you, so most people would let them overtake at a safe point.
its no fun even with a single vehicle if they are doing that thing where they drive virtually on your back wheel, because you know if you slip/make a mistake they wont react in enough time.
the worse ones are the ones who just squeeze past you regardless
I do find it fun trying to explain to a driver that to pull over I have to slow down, which I am not going to do if they are 6" off my rear wheel, therefore tailgating guarantees I won't pull over...
its the kind of thing I normally think about 10mins later after theyve barged me out of their way would have been a great thing to do instead, but the way the roads have felt the last few weeks, I actually think if I tried that theyd just drive over me to get where they want to be, the urge for them to pass you is that great it seems at the moment that some of them do seem to be willing to cause injury to you, which is scary.
twice within the last month now Ive had vehicles overtake me on those kinds of roads, by driving onto the verge/bank beside me just to get by a few seconds quicker, or Ive met them coming the other way and they dont slow down or deviate their line, and all you can do is try to stop in time and lean into a hedge to avoid being hit.
Ive met them coming the other way and they dont slow down or deviate
That's it! They lean back and make that conscious pose with both arms out straight, but slow down? Never! B******s!
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