Back in January I reported the driver of a yellow Suburu car, L464XDG, for careless driving and threats directed at me when I was cycling through Hounslow. I now know the driver to have been one Levi Rayner. He evaded interview by the police for a long while but when finally caught up with he admitted the threats and was duly cautioned. He denied careless driving but last week when he got to court decided to plead guilty. I have just learnt he was fined £37, with a victim surcharge of £15 and prosecution costs of £85 with 3 penalty points on his licence.
I throughout maintained that he had been using his vehicle deliberately to seek to intimidate me as his subsequent conduct confirms. He thought I should be riding at the side of the road and felt justified in using his car to force me there.
I was not at Court - I was told he would be pleading not guilty - so am unable to comment upon the reasons why the sentence was just about as light as it could possibly be.
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well done for staying calm! Can you write to a court for the details of a decision?
ReplyDeleteReally shocked. The fact that you have to film your own journeys, take your own details and effectively pursue the case is astonishing, but that it would then boil down to a slap on the wrist and a couple of rounds of drinks when it got to court? MADNESS. Does this at least mean he has a criminal conviction?
ReplyDeleteGood for you for keeping your cool, though.
I don't cycle with a camera and have stopped reporting dangerous driving to the local police.
ReplyDeleteTheir response seemed to be a uniform "...and what would you like us to do about it?".
No points on the license? I'm faintly surprised and far from delighted that that's even a possibility for someone who's admitted without due care. What's the point of the points system if none are applied even after a guilty plea? (Leaving aside the astonishing number of people driving around on 12 or more points...)
ReplyDeleteSorry Steff, my mistake, he did get 3 points on his licence (the minimum number possible).
DeleteIt might not sound a lot, but hopefully it might make him think again next time. :/
ReplyDeleteCycling should not be as dangerous as it is. I have reported two 'buses to their operating firms one for cutting me up, the other swerving at me and in doing so violated a cycle lane both times I've got an industry standard response and told that they couldn't respond to any of my individual concerns because of reasons of confedentiality.
I think the time has come for me to fork out and by myself an helmet camera for my own protection.
That conversation shows the flaw that SMIDSY is the danger to cyclists. It's the drivers who see the bicycles, think they shouldn't be there, and try to get past then "teach the cyclist a lesson"
ReplyDeleteI've done the same thing a few times myself, fortunately for me not with the same outcome. Where I applaud your forthright approach to such things I feel sometimes thes a certain inevitability in the outcome.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I watch your videos & fear someone is going to go too far. I understand your frustration I really do, but whenever I do such things I spend the rest of the day considering what could've happened & promise myself to thing twice the next time.
Well done for at least getting a result.
ReplyDeleteVid is scary, after the "chat" at 1:30 confirmed the driver as a psycho I'd have got off the road and waited for him to drive off.
ReplyDeleteAt least it got to court and he got some points, but still very lenient for what seems an obvious intimidation with a dangerous weapon.
Discretion is usually the better part of valour in situations like this.
DeleteI am not sure I agree with that approach. Aggressive motorists expect cyclists to be docile. However too much (lives) is at stake and passive acceptance has never advanced the lot of the oppressed. If I see dangerous law breaking conduct I challenge it.
DeleteI tonne of car vs 100Kg of bicycle & rider not sure I care for those odds
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Playing devils advocate for a minute but it is very difficult to tell from the video exactly how close the driver of L464 XDG was when he passed you. Wide angle lenses can make objects appear closer or further away and the incident was over so quickly it was difficult to tell. Is careless driving the same as driving without due care and attention? If so a conviction for careless driving and three points on his license sounds about right to me.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly it is difficult to tell if Mr Rayner subsequently used his car as a weapon to threaten you with. He may have done, I wasn’t there, I am just saying it is not clear from the video. Certainly he stopped to remonstrate and his language was certainly abusive and threatening for which he received a police caution. Could the fact that you had “confronted” him first by “threatening” to report his driving have been used in defense had he been charged with a public order offense?
An £85 fine, 3 points on your license and a police caution may not sound much but 12 points and you loose you license, and a police caution effectively gives you a criminal record which could mean the end of any career in public service. Probably not a problem for Mr Rayner but an effective deterrent for the rest of us.
I am just relieved I do the majority of my cycling in Derbyshire where things are quieter although not as quiet as rural France where I was recently on a cycling holiday. I was constantly confused by drivers stopping to let me out of side turnings and onto roundabouts. Occasionally we would sit there looking at each other in confusion until the driver cautiously edged away with a smile and a gallic shrug. However I did have the Union flag tied prominently to my cycle rack.
Well done. There is now an 'angry' driver who may pause and think before frightening the next cyclist with a punishment pass.
ReplyDeleteIs this the "gentleman" in question?
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