Close pass, abusive & threatening - Y712 GPU
Channel: hushlegs
Date: 18/10/2016

I was cycling centrally through the pinch points, which is necessary to discourage overtakes where there isn't room to do so safely. This is quite normal and uncontroversial cycling practice.

This driver decided they didn't like my road positioning, so deliberately overtook too closely. They then shouted some nonsense along the lines of "How much room do you need?" out of the window.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to keep my temper, having just been endangered by his driving, so I called him a dickhead and gave him the coffee beans. That was a mistake, as we shall see.

We exchanged further words, and I was trying to explain why I was central in the lane through the pinchpoints, but he wasn't interested in any actual reasons.

He pulled over ahead, accosted me at the lights and was extremely verbally and physically abusive and threatening. By this point I had calmed down and didn't respond in kind. Again I tried to explain my road positioning to him.

I made a formal complaint to Surrey Police on 2 counts: the dangerous overtake and the abusive threatening behaviour.

They declined to take either further. The former because it didn't pass the "evidential test". That is, in the view of the investigating officer the CPS would not proceed with a prosecution as the evidence of careless driving was not sufficient. My estimate at the time that the vehicle was no more than 30-50cm away from me, and the stills of the pass corroborate that. If this does not pass the "evidential test" I don't really know what would.

They also declined to progress the abusive and threatening behaviour, as I called him a dickhead first, and therefore antagonised him. As if an alarmed response due to having your life endangered is equivalent to his behaviour.

So there you have it. Thanks guys.