BBC presenter berates London cabbie after posting footage of alleged near miss with wayward cyclist
BBC presenter and well known cycling advocate Jeremy Vine has caused a bit of a storm on social media after uploading head-cam footage of a cyclist involved in a near miss with a London taxi.
The video clearly shows, via Mr Vine's head-cam, a cyclist coming toward Mr Vine, both are in a cycle-lane.
The oncoming cyclist then attempts to cut across a pedestrian crossing with the lights against them as an oncoming taxi approaches.
Fortunately the taxi driver manages to avoid colliding with the cyclist. However, Mr Vine is clearly heard on dashcam sating "no, no, no" before proceeding to perform the same manoeuvre, with the traffic lights also against him as well, forcing a taxi coming in the opposite direction to also take action by coming to a halt on a Green light.
After uploading the video Mr Vine said on Twitter: "Hey Mr Taxi Driver, you saw her coming a mile out. Bet you wouldn't behave like this if she was your daughter."
However, Mr Vine didn't quite receive the response he may have been hoping for as he was roundly condemned for his initial tweet, with @alsky1 tweeting: "Dear Jeremy, the cyclist saw the taxi and the green light (for the traffic not the crossing) a mile away and yet she chose to cycle straight out into the road ignoring the law and putting her safety into the hands of the taxi driver and you still somehow blame the driver."
Mr Vine then followed up his initial tweet by saying: "The cyclist is CLEARLY at fault. However the driver had the option of stopping. He is two tons of metal, she is a young woman on a bicycle. He chose to plough through. That's all."
The presenter was then ridiculed for his follow-up, with @ScotsIrishCelt responding by saying: "And then you go and cause the exact same situation for the taxi driver coming in the other direction. 2 cyclists CLEARLY at fault."
Whilst @KennyBaker1948 said: "if she was my daughter and I had witnessed this I would have given her the most severe telling off in front of the cab. He couldn't know that, as she approached the crossing, she was actually going to just pull out across it against the lights. You're blinded by your own hate."
Mr Vine did garner some support on social media with @becky1405 tweeting: "Nail on the head here. Regardless of fault by the cyclist the taxi driver is in control of heavy machinery and aggressive driving like that will cause an injury. If this was a pedestrian chancing it everyone would be raising eyebrows at the taxi drivers behaviour."
The Highway Code states the following rules for cyclists when crossing the road:
Do not ride across equestrian crossings, as they are for horse riders only. Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.
Toucan crossings. These are light-controlled crossings which allow cyclists and pedestrians to share crossing space and cross at the same time. They are push-button operated. Pedestrians and cyclists will see the green signal together. Cyclists are permitted to ride across.
Cycle-only crossings. Cycle tracks on opposite sides of the road may be linked by signalled crossings. You may ride across but you MUST NOT cross until the green cycle symbol is showing.
Level crossings/Tramways. Take extra care when crossing the tracks. You should dismount at level crossings where a ‘cyclist dismount’ sign is displayed.
