Road rage motorist assaults cyclist and steals his camera after accusing him of ‘not riding in the bike lane’

People are the same everywhere. Same causes, same effects.

Calc wrote:

Reading road.cc each day reminds me that the stereotype that British people are polite and considerate is not founded in reality.  The truth is, they're a bunch of J. Clarksons.

I'd politely disagree: obviously on here we read about the bad incidents and, as with any media, it tends to give an impression that things are maybe worse than they are (not a criticism, just the way things are). The majority of people I encounter, on the roads and elsewhere, are extremely polite and considerate, it's just that the 10% of rude boors tend to stick in the mind. On our central London commute we probably pass or are passed by 500+ drivers every trip and usually fewer than five will behave in a selfish or dangerous manner, but of course that 1% have the ability to leave one feeling wound up and stressed for hours; one doesn't tend to remember, or even notice, the ones who gave plenty of space, didn't try to overtake etc.

In terms of soshall meedya, the worrying element is how many people are prepared to express opinions that behaviour such as above is likely to have been deserved simply because the man happened to be passing by on a bicycle - I think that is the most worrying phenomena of the current age. We know that many don't really believe what they say, but they do influence others both to believe that expressing such oipinions is socially acceptable and then there are others who will take the support for their attitudes to the next level. 

It's part of what I am starting to see as the losing battle of being reasonable. On any Internet discussion, every word will be dissected and taken in its own right, so any responder feels at liberty to take the one element that they believe contradicts, undermines or generally rubbishes a reasoned argument and use it to dismiss the whole.

I do dispair that the world's ability to think in reasoned fashion has been undermined by bad actors and manipulators who well understand that if you can plant an idea early, you then have captured a mind which finds it difficult to then reassess its first assumptions - but it is not all about manipulation, many people just don't really think.

I think it's a mix.  In the UK there are some who just want to kick you or I in the genitals.  But they'd probably form a queue.

Actually begs the question on what the other motorist was doing whilst watching the first one assault someone and rob them of their camera?

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Actually begs the question on what the other motorist was doing whilst watching the first one assault someone and rob them of their camera?

Stupid comment of the day award. All you know is that there were 2 motorists. If the assaulter is a 6'5" man built like a prop forward and the second motorist is a 5'1" slight woman in her 70s, what exactly would you expect them to do?

Well I was thinking more calling the police, shouting for help, calling the ambulance, etc. Nothing mentioned at all.