At around 20:00 on the 2/1/2011 I was travelling along Oldham Road towards Manchester. A white Nissan Micra (Reg removed due to ongoing Police investigation), containing 4 men of Asian descent, pulled along side me where they began to verbally abuse me for no apparent reason. The driver of the car then attempted to force me off the road by cutting me up. The driver then overtook and pulled up at this set of lights where the 4 men, got out of the vehicle and attempted to push and kick me off my bike and into the path of an oncoming taxi.
Thankfully, due to the incredibly poor standard of driving seen on our roads, I had the necessary reflexes to avoid their attempts to assault me and continued along. The car caught up to me at around here:
Where the driver attempted again to run me off the road by pulling in front of me and braking hard. I managed to avoid this again and they drove off. At this point I only knew the first 5 digits of the registration number, so I decided to catch them up to make a note of the rest of the registration number. I caught up to the car here:
I managed to get the last part of the registration number when the occupants spouted more verbal abuse and then they pulled into the street above (Houldsworth Street).
Although I have very low hopes for any appropriate outcome, I have contacted the Police and I will continue to update the blog with my experiences at the hands of the GM Police. Obviously these scumbags need to be taken off the road for the safety of the general public, but I expect the actual outcome will be much more disappointing.
Scary stuff MrC, glad to hear you were ok though and they didn't succeed in their assault attempt. Scumbags indeed, really hope GMP won't let you down.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear no damage was done to you MrC, also well done to you for doing something about it. Stuff like this happens to cyclists all the time and I think the majority of us just try to forget about it but what we should do is report it every time.
ReplyDeleteHope you get some justice from it.
Blimey. Glad you're okay. I saw your tweet with the reg' number last night and wondered what had gone on.
ReplyDeleteDitto on hoping the Police do something about it - I wonder if any of those locations have CCTV?
Trying to kick you out in front on an oncoming taxi is not attempted assault. It’s attempted murder. Fantastic that you had the presence of mind to get the number plate and amazing that you chased and caught them to get the rest of the number. Not sure that I would have done that. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support everyone, I have an appointment with the Rozzers in the morning so we'll see how it goes.
ReplyDelete@JackPotJohnny,
I have let things like this slide in the past, but they have never been as serious as this one. I'll share my experiences with reporting this and hopefully it will be positive enough to inspire more people to report stuff. Alternatively it may end up just confirming what most already suspect about crimes committed against people who happen to be on bikes.
@ian,
The junction near the Sheridan Suite may have CCTV cameras nearby. The Winter Ales Festival is there in a few weeks too.
@calvers,
I really wanted that reg because I got the feeling that it really could have been anyone who they went after, a guy on a bike, a woman with a pram or an old chap walking his dog. It didn't seem right to let this one slide.
I've given a statement to the Police now. The Police handled it well, I had a better experience than Martin Porter did; I wasn't asked what type of clothing I was wearing for example. I expect that the fact that the chap who interviewed me used to cycle was a useful factor in helping him identify with me. It took an hour to give the statement and I was able to choose a time which was convenient for me. Overall the experience was better than I was expecting.
ReplyDeleteglad to hear the police are dealing with it ... I go up and down Oldham Road from the city centre most days, and live just opposite where you caught up with these guys .... if you fancy privately sharing what you know of the reg, I'll keep my eyes peeled. All the best.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best in your pursuit of these miscreants...and for a good 2011!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear of this attack. Well done for remaining upright, getting part of the VRN and reporting it. I will follow what happens with great interest. It really is time that mindless aggression towards vulnerable road users was stamped on hard by the authorities.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck.