Nuxx:Ce3414c2-18c5-4181-99e0-60bf7701a0b8@u9g2000prd.googlegroups.com

Path: num2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!num1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!number.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!postnews.google.com!u9g2000prd.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Message-ID:  From: Nuxx Bar  Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling Subject: Re: Reporting near miss to police - any point? Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:41:40 -0700 (PDT) References:    Lines: 80 Organization: http://groups.google.com NNTP-Posting-Host: 81.156.150.242 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: posting.google.com 1244900501 31212 127.0.0.1 (13 Jun 2009 13:41:41 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:41:41 +0000 (UTC) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: u9g2000prd.googlegroups.com; posting-host=81.156.150.242; posting-account=7_6kYAkAAABD6HrjM0VxehwvZOKMxm4g User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.9.0.10) Gecko/2009042316 Firefox/3.0.10 (.NET CLR 3.5.30729),gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe) Bytes: 5111 Xref: perfectly-safe.chapmancentral.co.uk uk.rec.cycling:709564

On Jun 13, 1:58=A0pm, spindrift  wrote: > On 13 June, 12:49, David  wrote: > > > > > Frank Jones  writes: > > > So, some t*sser tries to force me off the road on my commute home thi= s > > > evening (him in a car, me on a bike, in case that's not obvious). > > > There are no witnesses and thankfully no damage done but I do have hi= s > > > registration. =A0Is there any point in me reporting this to the polic= e? > > > Or more specifically, can I realistically expect them to take any > > > action? =A0I'd rather not invest the time and effort if it is going t= o > > > be futile. > > > > Thanks. > > > Yes, you should report it, if you think it was deliberate, or even if > > you think the driving was accidental but very bad. Depending on the > > circumstances, deliberate behaviour can amount to an assault (which > > can occur without injuries), but there are other offences such as > > careless or inconsiderate driving. You may have to give a > > statement. The police should then visit the driver and speak to him > > about it. > > > They have a range of actions they can take, including prosecution: > > just because it is his word against yours doesn't mean action can't or > > won't be taken, although the CPS may well take that view. A lot > > depends on the perceived credibility of the statement and the witness, > > because if it does go to court, that's how the case will be > > decided. There is no point taking a case to court that has no > > realistic chance of success, and it is harder to prove intent than to > > prove careless driving. > > > But even if they decide to take no formal action, then the culprit > > will still have been visited by the police, the incident will be on > > record, and it should at least dent any perception in his mind that > > such behaviour is without consequence, which may help to prevent > > future occurrences. > > > If you find the police are initially reluctant to take this seriously, > > ask to speak to a sergeant or inspector and politely explain what > > happened emphasising the deliberate nature[1] of the bad driving. I wou= ld > > expect any police officer to deal with such incidents seriously, but > > sometimes there are mistakes... it's the job of the supervisors to > > rectify mistakes if they can. > > > Hope this helps > > > David > > > [1] Obviously, you shouldn't exaggerate what happened either - the poli= ce > > can and do prosecute for wasting police time. > > Previous reports of bad driving can have a bearing on the sentence if > subsequent similar behaviour results in a RTA. I've had more success > reporting drivers to employers than the cops though, a sign in Leyton > police station said @We won't accept reports of bad driving without a > witness'.

Frivolous reports of "bad driving" should be logged against the reporter's name, so that poisonous car-hating fruitcakes like you do not have your reports taken seriously (and are preferably charged with wasting police time as well).

Do you realise how stretched the police are? How DARE you waste public resources by repeatedly telling them lies just so that you can further your twisted, vicious, lunatic campaign against certain forms of transport? Then there's the fact that every time you log a false or exaggerated report, it makes it less likely that those with genuine grievances will be believed. So once again, as with your support of speed cameras (which you know kill road users), you are actually making things *worse* for cyclists with your car-hating rubbish.

That is why anyone who's a real cyclist should hate you with a passion.