Nuxx:3gFhl.20267$875.12542@newsfe21.ams2

Path: number1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!npeer03.iad.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!cyclone03.ams2.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!npeersf02.ams.highwinds-media.com!newsfe21.ams2.POSTED!7564ea0f!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3gFhl.20267$875.12542@newsfe21.ams2> From: _  Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling Subject: Re: Dangerous driving complaint and response. Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:33:54 +0000 References: <3a30696f-4bca-46fb-87d4-a4c5dac7867a@q30g2000prq.googlegroups.com> 	<9a64b15d-ccf0-4507-b780-df7011e8561f@r29g2000vbp.googlegroups.com> 	<70c5e31e-616a-47f8-b327-804e2dd9504a@p36g2000prp.googlegroups.com> 	 	<9096e90b-cff5-4199-9378-5c9164176d5f@r24g2000vbp.googlegroups.com> 	  Lines: 137 User-Agent: Thunderbird 2.0.0.19 (Windows/20081209) MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To:  Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 82.21.204.127 X-Complaints-To: http://netreport.virginmedia.com X-Trace: newsfe21.ams2 1233592447 82.21.204.127 (Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:34:07 UTC) NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:34:07 UTC Organization: virginmedia.com Bytes: 8573 X-Original-Bytes: 8530 Xref: perfectly-safe.chapmancentral.co.uk uk.rec.cycling:684717

spindrift wrote: > On Feb 2, 11:16 am, spindrift  wrote: >> Oooh, interesting update: >> >> Response to the licencing authority: >> >> "Thank you for your letter Ref: xxx xxxx xxx and dated 29th January >> 2009. In this letter you describe the reactions of the taxi driver to >> my complaint, i.e. that he thinks that I swerved towards him, and that >> he felt that it was safe to pass at the time of the incident. However, >> what your letter does not include is any indication of your findings, >> i.e. did you feel that the driver was driving in a safe manner? Did >> the driver drive dangerously? You have also failed to include any >> information about any disciplinary procedures that you may have taken >> against the driver. >> >> As I supplied you with video evidence of the incident, I assume that >> you have reviewed the taxi drivers account of the incident with this >> in mind. >> >> I would be grateful of you could supply this information, as this will >> dictate my next course of action with regards to this complaint. I >> look forward to your reply within the next 14 days. " >> >> End quote. >> >> It seems that one of the junior licencing officers in Glasgow has been >> a naughty boy! >> >> "I refer to the letter sent to you and can advise you that the letter >> was >> sent on my behalf and in my absence as I was on annual leave last >> week. >> I can also advise you that the letter would not have been forwarded to >> you in its current state had I been in a position to review it prior >> to >> sending. >> >> As per standard procedure it is my intention to speak to the >> investigating officers in relation to their investigation so that an >> informed decision can be made on what, if any action is to be taken >> against the driver. >> >> In the meantime please disregard the recent correspondence from this >> office. " > > Magna's original letter: > > I am writing to you as I was unfortunately involved in a nasty > incident with one of your licensed drivers (Plate number 2266, > registration number SG54KRJ) on the 6^th January 2009 at approximately > 8:35am. > > I am a cycle commuter and cycle daily between xxxx and the xxxxx where > I work. I have been doing this now for 3 years and in that time have > learned a number of techniques for safe cycling. I also try my best to > remain within the rules of the road, i.e. I do not red light jump or > pavement cycle. In fact I now campaign for better cycling and better > driving on the roads. As part of my campaigning I video my commute > every day using a helmet camera and post videos of incidents > (including any mistakes I make) on the web. > > A video of the 6th of January incident can be found at > http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=notuuDg1-tQ > > On this occasion I was leaving the roundabout at Broomhill and heading > onto Dumbarton Road towards Whiteinch. At this point I take a > prominent road position called the Primary road position (defined in > Cyclecraft by John Franklyn). On this occasion I took the primary > position for a number of reasons. The temperature was –3C, therefore > outside the normal driving line there were patches of ice, so I wanted > to stay on road that would be less slippery. I also take this position > here due to the fast approaching pinch point produced by the > protruding pavement and parked cars. On this occasion there were also > cars on the opposite side of the road, so there was not enough space > for an overtake, and taking the primary position discourages overtakes > where it is unsafe to do so. > Despite the lack of space the driver of the private hire vehicle > decided to overtake anyway. During this manoeuvre he passed within > centimetres of my bike, frightening me considerably. As a result I > reacted by pushing my hand out. The whole of my palm managed to make > contact with the drivers window, (you can hear the point of contact), > which serves to demonstrate how close the car actually was. I estimate > that he was centimetres away from hitting my bike, and knocking me > off.At the same time you can also hear a car driver hit their horn on > the other side of the road as the private hire vehicle managed to pass > very close to the oncoming vehicle. All of this occurred when the > private hire vehicle had a passenger in the back. > The private hire vehicle stopped a short way along the road and I > stopped to ask why he had passed so close (I swore, but I was shaken > by the incident). His response was ‘ you were in the middle of the > road, you shouldn’t be in the middle of the road.’ So it would appear > that he justified threatening my life because he was annoyed with my > road position. > Due to the seriousness of this incident I am considering going to the > police as this could certainly be considered as dangerous driving. > However, I thought I would in the first instance contact you as his > licensing body. I do not necessarily want this driver to loose his > job, but he, at the very least needs seriously reprimanded and > possibly retrained. I would like to hear a justification from him for > his actions. > This is not the first time I have had close passes from private hire > driver as this second video demonstrates (http://uk.youtube.com/watch? > v=oJftDy8cQys). This happened some time ago and I don’t want to take > any action, however, it suggests that this type of attitude exists > within a proportion of taxi drivers. > I have previously been involved with a cycle safety campaign with > First Bus (http://tinyurl.com/ynut6u) and I am currently in > discussions with Arriva Buses to develop some driver training > material. Therefore, I wonder if you would be interested in helping > with some form of campaign aimed at taxi drivers and drivers of > private hire cars. I was thinking about a campaign along the following > lines (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.me...-bus-cycle.pdf) > obviously with the emphasis changed to taxi/cyclist interaction. I > think this type of campaign would be very beneficial to both groups > and could produce some good publicity for the licensing authority. I > have carbon copied this e-mail to the Evening Times as they have been > interested in my campaigning in the past and might be interested in > any publicity that results from this. > > Thank you for your help in this matter and I look forward to hearing > from you very shortly. > > End quote. > > He doesn't want anyone to get sacked, maybe the driver attends re- > training so he has a better understanding of driving safely? > > Looks like a juniour officer replied originally and now they've seen > magna's profile and previous press and thought "Oh-oh. This could > rebound on us" > > So long as the driver realises what he's done then it's a worthwhile, > positive result.

Would you like to decide whether you're posting as Magna or Spindrift? It gets confusing who to take the piss out of...