Reporting this driver? Road safe or police?

[aspiringcyclist]

So I finally got some video editing software that allows me to use some of the video footage. I think this driver deserves reporting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dPNd99 ... e=youtu.be (excuse the swearing and rant, I was in a bad mood at the time)

but I'm not sure how to go about it as I've never done it before. Is it worth using Roadsafe London or should I just go straight to the police?

Also, should I report the driver to the employer ( 'Dansk', by the looks of it)?

[gaz]

I don't think it's a Dansk van anymore, there's a sign on the driver's door but I can't read it clearly (.......removals.com). (Edit - PM sent.)

Unsure what to advise but I'd agree it's a shocking piece of driving.

[Malaconotus]

You should make clear it's the 2nd incident. i watched the first few seconds and thought, 'we all make mistakes'. But I think the overtake of the cyclist is bad enough to report to the police. If that isn't careless driving I don't know what is.

[Elizabethsdad]

Looked to me like one of the tail lights wasn't working properly either.

[bogmyrtle]

I don't understand why you were prepared to go up the inside when it was clear from the angle of the van that it was heading towards that side of the road. I agree the overtake of the other cyclist was ill judged.

[Paulatic]

Are you sure the van wasn't clear of the cyclist ahead? When the camera shows distance there appears to be a gap.
Don't think I'd bother reporting anything as the first incident with yourself was due to your decision.

[Postboxer]

I'd report it, looking at the video, they are clearly alongside the other cyclist when they start moving across, I assume the cyclist brakes, they pull right in to the gutter too and are barely moving when you go past them.

[aspiringcyclist]

Just to be clear I wouldn't report the interaction with me. Nothing there to report. I was just annoyed that he was in the right hand lane, then he changed to the left hand lane and stopped. It was petty.

I did think that perhaps the driver was in front of the cyclist, but you can see the cyclist's shadow next to the van, indicating the cyclist was being squeezed. I spoke to the cyclist later and he said that the driver did do just so.

[Valbrona]

As regards the issue of poor driving, I think the way you dealt with this matter was spot-on. The driver seemed careless and failed to show much in the way of awareness of or consideration for vulnerable road users, ie. cyclists, but I think your 'telling off' was the right level of response. So, on the driving issue alone, I would not bother reporting to anyone.

However, I think there was more to this than just the issue of poor driving. I didn't see a number plate displayed at the rear, and you could probably guess that this vehicle was perhaps defective in a number of ways. Added to that, the driver might have been uninsured or might even easily be someone who has never passed a driving test. Added to that, the driver might also be an illegal. Depending on the Police workload, these are things that the Met Police might want to hear about in addition to the issue of careless driving.

[fluffybunnyuk]

reporting it is one thing...the police actually acting on it another...

[gaz]

... I didn't see a number plate displayed at the rear, ...

There appears to be a number plate, top right of the rear of the van. The OP appears to recite it to record the details via his microphone. Neither the video nor the audio quality is clear enough for me to decipher.

[aspiringcyclist]

I'm pretty sure the license number is EJ54 BSV, judging from a slowed down clip and what I read out. You can check if this is correct with the DVLA but you need the make of the vehicle.

[pwa]

DVLA won't give out that info.

[661-Pete]

I think there's nothing much in the video to get excited about. I'm not clear about the incident at 0:15, it looks very much like the OP is trying to filter up the left side of a lorry which is clearly manoeuvring to the left. Wrong wrong wrong!! So: is the close pass of another cyclist, at 0:45, actually a close pass - and is it conceivably a 'punishment pass'? is the lorry driver possibly under the impression that it's the same cyclist? And surely the other cyclist was far too close to the kerb - virtually in the gutter. Not wrong in itself, but my experience (and that of many others) is that this invites this sort of behaviour. Besides, the closeness of the pass is hard to judge: so many videocams foreshorten the image somewhat.

I'd say, too many doubts and uncertainties, I'd let this one pass. There's been a thread about the huge amount of hostility over-eager camera-users bring down upon themselves. Unless you're absolutely sure of your case - like the experienced Glasgow cyclist who was so nearly taken out by a lorry on a roundabout some years ago (and even he lost the case) - don't be too eager to report!

[aspiringcyclist]

Maybe I wasn't clear but this is what I was referring to:

https://www.gov.uk/get-vehicle-information-from-dvla

Guessing that it was a Mercedes, it looks like it is the correct license number.