Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Woman threw water at me

396 replies

ijustheartdietcoke · 04/03/2017 21:45

I was cycling and came to some trafficlights. A woman was looking at her phone so I banged on her window and shouted get off your phone. She tried to throw water at me and drove off, would police be interested?

OP posts:
Crumbs1 · 05/03/2017 22:40

So can I shout abuse at the cyclists who race through our village, shouting loudly on Sunday mornings at 7am? Can I bang on their bikes when villagers have to jump onto verge to avoid them? Can I honk my horn in irritation after I've followed 30 of them slowly for four miles with no sign of them moving over? Can I reprimand them for wearing headphones and being oblivious to any other road users?
Cyclists are so unpopular through our group of villages - we are their leisure pursuit but they care not a fig about the people that live here.

r0tringLover · 06/03/2017 00:14

So can I shout abuse at the cyclists who race through our village, shouting loudly on Sunday mornings at 7am?

No, but shouting at them to keep it down would be fair, if not pleasingly ironic.

Can I bang on their bikes when villagers have to jump onto verge to avoid them?

Yep

Can I honk my horn in irritation after I've followed 30 of them slowly for four miles with no sign of them moving over?

The would be illegal but the fact you think other road users should get out of your way shows how important you think you are and says all about your attitude to others that is needed to know. The honking would endanger them and perhaps you.

SparklyUnicornPoo · 06/03/2017 03:36

Crumbs Yes you can do all of those. Extra abuse for the idiots speeding on pavements please and don't forget the ones zipping down footpaths that have signs saying no cycling.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 07:30

What a surprise to see where this thread has ended up.

CountClueless · 06/03/2017 12:51

Not really. Cyclist tries to claim the moral high ground, gets reminded about how dangerous and clueless some cyclists are.
Good place for it to end up.

No matter who you are or what you see, don't bang on peoples windows adn shout at them. It's a dick move and you could get arrested for road rage.

hackmum · 06/03/2017 13:09

postmalone: "That said it's pretty astonishing to see so many posters who clearly think the law doesn't apply to them or that checking your phone when stationary is ok"

Agreed. The sense of entitlement amongst drivers is extraordinary. I am a driver, and I'm not a cyclist, but it should be obvious to anyone with an ounce of sense that cars are far more dangerous than bikes. And using a mobile phone while driving is particularly dangerous, regardless of whether you're using it while stationary. That's why the penalties for mobile phone use are now so stiff. If you can't see that, then you probably shouldn't be driving.

EchoesofEmpires · 06/03/2017 13:41

My only dog in this fight is that the OP is not a traffic cop and her civic duty stops at reporting the driving offense not trying to enforce the law. Get the license # and report for your own safety if nothing else. Going around banging on people's cars is likely to aggravate the situation and you could end up with a fist rather than a splash of water in the face if you piss the wrong person off. Same with those who deliberately obstruct speeders and tailgaters instead of letting them pass, let them pass and get the number and report, it's not your job to police the roads.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 13:50

What moral high ground Count? They had a go at one driver who was doing something illegal. What relevance is there to what other cyclists do?

You see this attitude all the time, and it is dangerous. I was driving a while ago through some roadworks with narrow lanes and there were some signs saying not to overtake cyclists. But the two cars in front of me couldn't be patient for the 20 seconds it would take and tried to overtake, nearly going straight into a car coming the other way. I posted this on a local facebook group, asking people to just watch out, and straight away there was someone saying, "But cyclists are dangerous too". As if that excuses someone driving dangerously around them.

lljkk · 06/03/2017 13:54

After being overtaken too closely, DH has been known to chase the driver down (on his bike), knock on their window & politely ask them to overtake more carefully in future.

Most motorists are polite about it.. also very impressed that he can chase them down.

CountClueless · 06/03/2017 13:57

And what relevance is other peoples driving re cyclists got to do with this scenario? Nothing.

OP was in the wrong.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 14:04

Eh? You're the one who seemed to think it was relevant that other cyclists were dangerous.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 14:06

And I was talking about the attitude, being expressed right on this thread, that other cyclists actions are somehow pertinent.

CountClueless · 06/03/2017 14:13

And I was talking about the attitude, being expressed right here on this thread, that other drivers actions are somehow pertinent. As well as the attitude that cyclists are morally superior to car drivers. You can't have it both ways, either its about only the people in the scenario or it isn't.

MuseumOfCurry · 06/03/2017 14:15

After being overtaken too closely, DH has been known to chase the driver down (on his bike), knock on their window & politely ask them to overtake more carefully in future.
Love this. I had a cyclist do this many years ago when I was first driving in london and it was humbling, gracious, instructive....and completely changed the way I drive.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 14:42

What are you on about Count? I'm not talking about other drivers, I'm talking about the attitude towards cyclists. That it is all too common that anything a cyclist says will be dismissed with a "But, cyclists are dangerous too". As we can see here. My example wasn't about drivers, it's about this excuse culture which has come to this thread.

And who said cyclists are morally superior?

MadMags · 06/03/2017 15:13

And who said cyclists are morally superior?

Cyclists, usually. Grin

Toocleverformyowngood · 06/03/2017 15:22

Op, take it from someone who has a short fuse, DO NOT BANG ON ANYONES CAR WINDOWS.....you are very very lucky she only sprayed water. What if she got out & punched you, would a broken nose really be worth it??

Honestly, I'm brash & pretty bloody confrontational, I however wouldn't bang on anyone's windows, given how I know how I'd react to the same thing & it wouldn't be water!

Toocleverformyowngood · 06/03/2017 15:25

Not really fussed if this offends however, I cannot stand cyclists!

Personally, the majority of them are jumped up w'nkers who think they own the roads.

The AMOUNT of cyclists who've illegally UNDERTOOK me, makes my blood boil!

Don't get me started on people who cycle side by side!!!!! Angry

RB68 · 06/03/2017 15:33

side by side is in fact perfectly legal

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 15:42

As is undertaking, if it's filtering through stationary or slow moving traffic. But hey, I'm probably being morally superior.

whatsthecomingoverthehill · 06/03/2017 15:44

And why do so many people think touching someone's car warrants physical abuse?

2014newme · 06/03/2017 15:45

No they won't be interested in trying to track Her down, your word against hers etc

PickledCauliflower · 06/03/2017 15:53

I don't think touching someone's car is physical abuse. I really wouldn't bank on someone's window and yell at them - it's very confrontational.
I have seen too many road rage incidents, one in particular was very distressing too witness. I had to give evidence in court (along with other passengers on the bus I was on, as our vehicle was alongside their vehicles, we saw everything).

This does not mean that I thing it's ok to use mobile phones whilst driving. I would take their reg and report it - I would not put myself at risk by starting a heated confrontation.

PickledCauliflower · 06/03/2017 15:54

Warrants physical abuse that should say!

PickledCauliflower · 06/03/2017 15:55

Bang not bank!
Sorry no reading glasses on 🤓