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As far as I'm aware, there's no need to exchange details. I think the offence is failing to stop. I've certainly had low speed shunts on 2 or 3 occasions where we've both got out, checked everything is OK and then carried on with our day.
Personally, I think you should report it to the police. Regardless of fault, it isn't OK to go crazy at someone for a minor incident. Even if you don't have the registration, a description of the car if you have it would be something.
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Thank you so much for the encouraging replies! Hard to describe, I have Streetmap pictures but can't add them on this site, however I seem to have got the idea across. I have reported to police this morning, I called 101 for advice and the lady said exactly the same as you, given me an incident ref for the assault, and recommended I report separately as a traffic incident, which I have done. I would have thought before that 'assault' was a bit prima donna, but she took it seriously. I wouldn't have mentioned it other than to explain why I did a runner! 71 years old, female, 5ft 2", light weight and alone apart from a dalmatian which licks people to death... doesn't take much to put the fear of God in you. Very good suggestion about CCTV, when the police get back to me I'll ask them. Thank you.
Edited by Mary Middleton on 14/11/2022 at 12:14
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This man has clearly assaulted you Mary and needs at least a talking to from the police, trust he never bruised your arms? If he has please tell the police.
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This man has clearly assaulted you Mary and needs at least a talking to from the police, trust he never bruised your arms? If he has please tell the police.
Thank you for your concern, no, he didn't hurt me, it was more like wanting to keep me standing in front of him while he delivered the riot act, then when I wouldn't agree with him was when he started shouting about damaging my car
I posted this morning because I didn't know what my legal responsibilities were, even though there was no damage either side, I was very shaken by his aggression
I was taught (many years ago) not to overtake on the near side except in emergency, but that was so long ago I thought perhaps things had changed
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My inclination is to sleep on it for a day or two, as both 'injured' parties verbally accepted that no damage had been caused. You could claim mild assault - verbal and physical - but I can't see the police being interested in doing anything about what amounts to an outdoor domestic. It's just part of present-day driving, sadly.
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Me again, lovely people, following on from my post yesterday. I did report to the police and they have come back this morning asking for images. Anyone who had the stamina to read my first post knows I don't have any. So I have sent them this, if the link works:
www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.6267988,-0.7513841,3a,75...2
My car was in the position of the blue one, the other car was where the black one is on the left.
I was coming from 6 o'clock and exiting at 3 o'clock, which I was taught is a right-lane maneouvre, changing lanes to leave the roundabout
As you can see if the link works, there's a very short distance to change lanes with 3 lanes of traffic at 9 o'clock all in a rush to enter, so I stick to the outside and go on to the right lane of the dual carriageway exit
Then there's a pedestrian crossing only 12m from the exit, measured by the white zig zags, people often wait on the central reservation so I don't change lane or pick up speed (max 30 anyway) until I've passed the crossing
Am I doing wrong? Obviously I never want this to happen again and if people are going to whizz up my inside then should I wait longer to move left? I understood I should travel in the left lane of a 2-lane DC if there's no traffic there and not hog the outside lane, so I guess my question is, should I use the left lane at the roundabout and risk being broadsided by a quick-off-the-mark 9 o'clocker who thinks I'm turning left at 9 o'clock?
Or should I rumble up the outside lane of the DC at 30 enraging the speeding drivers following until I feel safe to move left? In which case they will undertake me anyway ...
This is a famous local speed spot and yesterday I picked up a recent news story about a resident pleading for the speed camera to be put back 'to stop outrageous drivers using it like Santa Pod raceway ...'
Advice welcome please, while I am happy no damage was done it has hit my confidence badly
Edited by Xileno on 15/11/2022 at 09:38
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I've merged the threads so it's all in one.
Mod
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Oh, thanks. I can see in my last post I screwed up and should have said 'entered at 6 o'clock, not 12 o'clock'. I plead senility.
Now edited to say 6 o'clock. Mod
Edited by Xileno on 15/11/2022 at 09:39
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The road markings show that you can use either lane to get to the 3 o'clock position. However, good practice would be to merge into the inside lane as you approach the 9 o'clock position to indicate to drivers like the balloon who nudged you what your intentions are.
However, although he was wrong to attempt to move past you in the inside lane, the onus was on you to check your surroundings carefully before moving over to the left hand lane.
Having said that, I do not agree with what Andrew T says above. You were threatened and assaulted by a bully and a thug, and this behaviour is not acceptable. This is definitely NOT part of every day driving and it is insulting to call it "an outdoor domestic".
Such a shame that the photo of his number plate didn't come out. In addition to any CCTV, I wonder if any passing cars or buses caught the incident on dashcam? Might be worth an appeal on sensible social media like the Nextdoor site.
I hope you recover well from what must have been a very upsetting incident.
Edited by 72 dudes on 15/11/2022 at 13:35
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Thank you 72 dudes, and I agree with everything you say. I hadn't left the outside lane of the dual carriageway, it takes a couple of seconds to pass the crossing so I would blind-spot check before moving over, but I acknowledge I may have drifted too close to the left edge of the lane in anticipation. Been doing this route without incident for 30 years so perhaps too much experience leading to anticipation and complacency. I will get a dashcam as that would have shown my position definitively. I will research local media sites for dashcam users, thank you for that idea.
My car does have lane departure warning but I understand it doesn't work if the indicator is on, which it was.
Merging left as you recommend is the ideal practice but can be difficult, as you say, both approach lanes are marked for the 3 o'clock exit and the left lane can be solid with traffic for way back round the preceding roundabouts at busy times, the distances are so short and nobody will give an inch to let anyone change lane comfortably. I am not confident about cutting in.
Waiting now to see if the police think I need a rap on the knuckles, would be my first conviction in 54 years. However I don't need that to know I need to be more careful, thank you for your advice and your good wishes, only my confidence hurt!
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I do not agree with what Andrew T says above. You were threatened and assaulted by a bully and a thug, and this behaviour is not acceptable. This is definitely NOT part of every day driving and it is insulting to call it "an outdoor domestic".
Sorry, I don't see that as insulting, and it wasn't meant to be. I was suggesting that the police might receive two accounts of an incident without other witnesses, and would have to make a judgment on that basis. In many circs they prefer not to do that, so the damaged party makes little progress.
Perhaps this case may be different - but I'm not holding my breath.
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The thing is, Andrew T, there is no damaged party! No damage to either car, agreed by both drivers. No damage to any property, no injury except temporary shock. As such, my understanding is that the incident did not require reporting to police.
However, I also understood that contact info should be exchanged, and the other party refused. I found that in those circumstances, leaving the scene without exchanging contact info, the incident should be reported within 24 hours and did so next morning on advice from the police 101 non-emergency call centre.
I mentioned the other driver's conduct only to explain why I left the scene without exchanging contact info and the police call handler jumped in right away with the assault label, and created an incident record herself, not at my request.
I reported the incident only to protect myself against being charged with failing to report, if the other driver does indeed report it, as he has (I believe) my car reg and I do not have his being a blithering i**** who photographs the road surface with shaking hands when in shock.
I do hope you're right and the police are not interested, no losses to be claimed either side and while I was shocked, I have learned a valuable lesson from discussion here about complacent driving and the need to pay more attention to the insanity of other drivers. Just need to regain my confidence.
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You won't be getting any rap on the knuckles or similar; you haven't down anything wrong. Potentially, yes, your positioning could have been better and you have been more aware of your surroundings but, fundamentally, the person attempting to overtake has the responsibility of avoiding the other car. Nobody drives perfectly and nobody can see everything.
This guy was angry because he did something stupid, nearly got badly caught out and was embarrassed. People are often angriest when they're feeling guilty.
There is nothing else to it, it was an everyday incident with no harm and no damage. Even if there was harm and damage, there is no excuse for intimidating and grabbing people. I once got hit by a guy on roundabout. He was in the left lane turning right and I was in the right lane going straight on. We both stopped, nobody was harmed, but there was some significant damage, so we swapped details and our insurance companies dealt with it. It was absolutely his fault, he tried to make out it was mine and I told him I wasnt interested that conversation. There was no screaming involved.
The point is, nobody here is suggesting that your report it to the police by way of a confession; it's because you have been abused and arguably assaulted by a stranger over a trivial matter. The ruminating and loss of confidence you are experiencing is (probably mild) trauma from this incident.
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I’m sure you’re right Adampr, a question of perspective. My generation was brought up with massive respect for the police, and I’ve never been in any sort of trouble with them.
Perhaps also you aren’t aware of the buzz some men get from confronting lone women; I am reminded that last year I had something similar when a young boy rode his bike (in a no-cycling area) into my dog. The boy himself was super apologetic and well mannered, but an unconnected man told me my dog should be on a lead and told me several times to eff-off when I said there was no requirement for a lead. Then when he saw another man with a dog off-lead approaching, he turned tail and walked away. Didn’t have the guts to speak to a man the way he spoke to me.
I live alone and this forum has given me the chance to talk it over, calm down and feel better. Thank you all.
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I do hope you're right and the police are not interested, no losses to be claimed either side and while I was shocked, I have learned a valuable lesson from discussion here about complacent driving and the need to pay more attention to the insanity of other drivers. Just need to regain my confidence.
You behaved responsibly, Mary M, and I'm not quibbling with you. The 'lesson' I would offer is that having both stopped and agreed that there has been no damage, that should have been end of story. There isn't any real gain in involving police at that point.
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I do hope you're right and the police are not interested, no losses to be claimed either side and while I was shocked, I have learned a valuable lesson from discussion here about complacent driving and the need to pay more attention to the insanity of other drivers. Just need to regain my confidence.
You behaved responsibly, Mary M, and I'm not quibbling with you. The 'lesson' I would offer is that having both stopped and agreed that there has been no damage, that should have been end of story. There isn't any real gain in involving police at that point.
If the police speak to the other driver it may make them think about how to respond to a similar situation in the future, otherwise they just get away with acting terribly and will do it again.
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"If the police speak to the other driver it may make them think about how to respond to a similar situation in the future, otherwise they just get away with acting terribly and will do it again."
Very true - it did occur to me while he had hold of my arms next to a busy road that one good push and I'd go under a bus ... which is why I scarpered sharpish!
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I reported a driving incident to the police many years ago and they took it seriously. I eventually received a letter saying that no further action would be taken but just the thought of a marked police car outside the other party's house and the ear bending from the wife were enough for me to be satisfied
I am older and wiser now so hopefully can avoid these things! Let's hope that the other driver learns from this!
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No quibble intended or taken, Andrew-T! however, this is what the Thames Valley Police website says: If you were involved in an incident as a driver or rider you must report the incident yourself to police as soon as possible and, in any case, within 24 hours of the incident. No one else can do this for you.
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No quibble intended or taken, Andrew-T! however, this is what the Thames Valley Police website says: If you were involved in an incident as a driver or rider you must report the incident yourself to police as soon as possible and, in any case, within 24 hours of the incident. No one else can do this for you.
I suppose I am saying that your 'incident' wasn't worth reporting, unless it became one of potential assault - which I am suggesting it should not have reached. If all incidents, however trivial, were reported the police would deal with an even smaller proportion than they do.
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"I suppose I am saying that your 'incident' wasn't worth reporting "
oh dear, I never meant this to become a discussion of semantics, however we are looking at 2 separate reports here, 2 separate case references
Report 1 is the 'assault' incident, which was raised by the police call handler on her own initiative, outside my control, and I have never even seen it
Report 2 is the traffic incident, raised by me on advice from the call handler, and in line with the unequivocal statement on the TVP website. I don't make the rules for TVP and I could be in trouble if I don't follow them
now perhaps TVP should edit their website to say 'you must report the incident unless it isn't worth reporting'? in which case, who makes the judgement call on what is or isn't worth reporting? I can see the solicitors having a field day with that one!
and BTW I do have legal expenses insurance included in my motor policy, should I need it for the traffic incident, so by reporting it I have made sure the solicitors don't have to get me off a 'failing to report' or 'leaving the scene without exchanging details' charge
I just do the best I can
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