Photo: Screenshot from Facebook
We've seen seen this so many times before: a driver doesn't check his mirror (because he's too busy speaking on the phone, apparently) and turns right (left, in this case, since it's London), forcing the cyclist either to do the same (even though he wanted to go forward) or crash into his car.
This bicycle rider chose the more sensible of the two and went left with the Volkswagen Golf V. But as he did so, he kicked the hatchback a few times in the process. Not the calmest reaction possible, but considering the kind of injuries the driver's negligence could have caused him, we'd say it's understandable. For the exposed cyclist, this was undoubtedly a terrifying moment, so the adrenaline was still pumping strong in his veins.
Being a cyclist myself, I know exactly what was going on through his head. He could have just let it go, or maybe shout something at the driver, but he felt it wouldn't have matched the gravity of his maneuver. The cyclist thought he needed to make sure the driver would never do that again, so he went a bit crazy and kicked his rear left door. Going vigilante isn't the best idea because it can easily turn you from victim into aggressor, but it's not something that can always be controlled.
The driver is obviously upset with him hitting his car, so he gets out. After a bit of awkward shuffling through his trunk, he produces a baseball bat that he clumsily tries to hide at first and thus defeating its purpose. From the first moment, it's absolutely clear he's not going to use it, so the man on the bicycle goes on the offense. "You kicked my car," the driver complains, seeing his intimidation techniques didn't work. "Well, you nearly f***ing killed me!" That's 1-0.
As the driver realizes he can't win this one, he gets back into the car ready to leave. That's when another cyclist jumps in, has a short chat with the victim and then goes over to the driver, informing him that this in an accident scene and he would be smart not to leave it. That's 2-0. The Golf driver denies there was an accident, but then he's told about the camera, and you can just sense the bitter taste of defeat in his eyes. That's 3-0.
He then says he would take full responsibility it there was any accident, and for the baseball bat as well. "I apology," he says, making it 4-0 for not knowing basic grammar. The second cyclist says something unintelligible, but you can clearly hear him laughing when he gets to the baseball bat part. 5-0 for laughing at the thug-wannabe.
The driver complains once again about the cyclist kicking his car (which we've already decided was not a nice thing), saying it is a brand new car (well, for him at least): "He was kicking my f***ing car, mate. He was ruining my car. This is a brand new car - I literally just bought this car!" 6-0 for not knowing what "literally" really means.
"Yeah, but this is a man's life," is the comeback from the second cyclist, taking the scores to 7-0. A white Mitsubishi Outlander pulls over and honks its horn, telling the rider that he can back his story if needed. They exchange phone numbers, and that's when the clip ends. The final score? We lost count, especially since we didn't even count the fact that the driver had to cancel his search for the baseball bat to go back and pull the handbrake, as the car began to roll. But the main thing is that the he has a big fat zero next to his name.
Being a cyclist myself, I know exactly what was going on through his head. He could have just let it go, or maybe shout something at the driver, but he felt it wouldn't have matched the gravity of his maneuver. The cyclist thought he needed to make sure the driver would never do that again, so he went a bit crazy and kicked his rear left door. Going vigilante isn't the best idea because it can easily turn you from victim into aggressor, but it's not something that can always be controlled.
The driver is obviously upset with him hitting his car, so he gets out. After a bit of awkward shuffling through his trunk, he produces a baseball bat that he clumsily tries to hide at first and thus defeating its purpose. From the first moment, it's absolutely clear he's not going to use it, so the man on the bicycle goes on the offense. "You kicked my car," the driver complains, seeing his intimidation techniques didn't work. "Well, you nearly f***ing killed me!" That's 1-0.
As the driver realizes he can't win this one, he gets back into the car ready to leave. That's when another cyclist jumps in, has a short chat with the victim and then goes over to the driver, informing him that this in an accident scene and he would be smart not to leave it. That's 2-0. The Golf driver denies there was an accident, but then he's told about the camera, and you can just sense the bitter taste of defeat in his eyes. That's 3-0.
He then says he would take full responsibility it there was any accident, and for the baseball bat as well. "I apology," he says, making it 4-0 for not knowing basic grammar. The second cyclist says something unintelligible, but you can clearly hear him laughing when he gets to the baseball bat part. 5-0 for laughing at the thug-wannabe.
The driver complains once again about the cyclist kicking his car (which we've already decided was not a nice thing), saying it is a brand new car (well, for him at least): "He was kicking my f***ing car, mate. He was ruining my car. This is a brand new car - I literally just bought this car!" 6-0 for not knowing what "literally" really means.
"Yeah, but this is a man's life," is the comeback from the second cyclist, taking the scores to 7-0. A white Mitsubishi Outlander pulls over and honks its horn, telling the rider that he can back his story if needed. They exchange phone numbers, and that's when the clip ends. The final score? We lost count, especially since we didn't even count the fact that the driver had to cancel his search for the baseball bat to go back and pull the handbrake, as the car began to roll. But the main thing is that the he has a big fat zero next to his name.
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