Victim of deliberate swerve towards my car in lane 3 on M1

[TVaRt]

Basically i have reported to the Police with dash cam footage of an idiot in a 4x4 undertaking and swerving into my car (front LH side) adn they have asked me to go in and make a statement. They do keep asking if i want to pursue the matter, i do feel they dont want to prosecute as its hassle, but the guy almost put me into the central reservation on the M1! I think they have said they will prosecute for driving without due care, to me it seems it should be dangerous driving? Has anyone else been through this type of event and what was the outcome, is it worth pursuing and getting the guy prosecuted? His argument will be that i pulled out into the outside lane to close to the front of his vehicle, there was plenty of space from what i saw, its was a very careful and slowly executed maneuver on camera, it also doesn't have any bearing on the actual impact, apart from the fact that he was pissed off!
thanks

[Centurion07]

"...is it worth pursuing and getting the guy prosecuted"?

Are you seriously asking whether or not it's worth trying to get some dhead that almost ran you into the central reservation into trouble for it?!

I would've been straight down the nearest police station the seconds after it happened demanding the death penalty for the prick!

[vsonix]

What's the point of reporting someone to the police, if you then can't be bothered taking any further action against someone who presumably could have killed you?
Worried they'll ask for all of the footage from the dashcam and will see you baiting the guy with brake checks for the previous ten minutes?

[TVaRt]

i think what angered him also was i did slow down as we were coming into the roadworks 50 zone, but i didnt just pull out and brake, in fact i dont think i actually braked, just lifted off the throttle.

I want to get the idiot done, its just a PITA with the insurance and report/court time etc.

vsonix said:

What's the point of reporting someone to the police, if you then can't be bothered taking any further action against someone who presumably could have killed you?
Worried they'll ask for all of the footage from the dashcam and will see you baiting the guy with brake checks for the previous ten minutes?

[SeeFive]

TVaRt said:

i think what angered him also was i did slow down as we were coming into the roadworks 50 zone, but i didnt just pull out and brake, in fact i dont think i actually braked, just lifted off the throttle.

I want to get the idiot done, its just a PITA with the insurance and report/court time etc.

vsonix said:

What's the point of reporting someone to the police, if you then can't be bothered taking any further action against someone who presumably could have killed you?
Worried they'll ask for all of the footage from the dashcam and will see you baiting the guy with brake checks for the previous ten minutes?

Devils advocate mode firmly on... I have not seen the footage.

From your description, is there the slightest possibility that it may have been better defensive driving to stay in your current lane and slow down rather than to change to a faster moving lane in front of an approaching car and slow down?

Whilst his reaction in the way you have described it was extremely poor, it could also be argued (dependent on actual, not the involved’s opinion of circumstances) that it was quite careless to pull out on a closing vehicle and slow down, rendering all your hassle in bringing prosecution to result in an additional DWDC on yourself when he describes the events,from his perspective.

I would suggest for sts and giggles that you post the footage on here and get some unbiased input into the potential causation of his anger. In your opinion you caused him no problem, but as we see on the main DCW thread, opinions are varied in terms of a safe lane change and of course what constitutes almost putting someone into the Armco by swerving at them.

Devils advocate mode off.

[lyonspride]

I don't even know why this is up for debate of course they'll prosecute......... Dangerous driving on dashcam, that's an easy driving without due care.

They don't normally prosecute for dangerous driving, because it's very hard to prove without police witness, cases often get thrown out of court and the punishment is near enough the same.


On a side note. this sounds very similar to an incident I was involved in, only in this case the other driver ended up flipping his van onto the central reservation and barrel rolling into an oncoming car. That driver is being prosecuted for DWDCA with my footage as evidence. I'll release the video once the legal stuff has all been dealt with, I haven't even tried to contact the other witnesses/victims because that could jeopardise the case.

Edited by lyonspride on Monday 5th November 15:41

[AndrewEH1]

SeeFive said:

Devils advocate mode firmly on... I have not seen the footage.

From your description, is there the slightest possibility that it may have been better defensive driving to stay in your current lane and slow down rather than to change to a faster moving lane in front of an approaching car and slow down?

Whilst his reaction in the way you have described it was extremely poor, it could also be argued (dependent on actual, not the involved’s opinion of circumstances) that it was quite careless to pull out on a closing vehicle and slow down, rendering all your hassle in bringing prosecution to result in an additional DWDC on yourself when he describes the events,from his perspective.

I would suggest for sts and giggles that you post the footage on here and get some unbiased input into the potential causation of his anger. In your opinion you caused him no problem, but as we see on the main DCW thread, opinions are varied in terms of a safe lane change and of course what constitutes almost putting someone into the Armco by swerving at them.

Devils advocate mode off.

If you are going to give the footage to the police DON'T put it online.

[Dan_1981]

So as I understand it... what happened was...

He was in the outside lane, you in the central.

You moved over infront of him, then lifted off.

He moved to the inside lane and then swerved back infront of you?

[WJNB]

I suspect the police are getting increasingly tired of the public playing at being policemen, turning up & local cop shops or moaning on-line about every petty infringement. Big Brother is here but in the ugly form of BIG Nosey Burks

[Smiljan]

TVaRt said:

Basically i have reported to the Police with dash cam footage of an idiot in a 4x4 undertaking and swerving into my car (front LH side) adn they have asked me to go in and make a statement. They do keep asking if i want to pursue the matter, i do feel they dont want to prosecute as its hassle, but the guy almost put me into the central reservation on the M1! I think they have said they will prosecute for driving without due care, to me it seems it should be dangerous driving? Has anyone else been through this type of event and what was the outcome, is it worth pursuing and getting the guy prosecuted? His argument will be that i pulled out into the outside lane to close to the front of his vehicle, there was plenty of space from what i saw, its was a very careful and slowly executed maneuver on camera, it also doesn't have any bearing on the actual impact, apart from the fact that he was pissed off!
thanks

After the impact did you both pull over and exchange details, I'm struggling to follow the reason for reporting to the Police.

Was there much damage from this impact? Insurance involved etc...

I'd suggest if someone is idiotic enough to swerve into and impact your car and the dashcam footage clearly shows this without and possibility of your own driving standards being brought to question that helping the Police secure a prosecution would be the right thing to do.

However.... if there is anything slightly suspect about your own driving be careful not to provide the rope that hangs you.

[Lemming Train]

So you pulled out into lane 3 in front of another vehicle that was tanking along and then decided to not actually bother making any progress but instead slowed down because of some roadworks in the distance, then instead of returning back to lane 2 you decided to stay in lane 3 dawdling along which allowed the vehicle you'd cut up to undertake you in the now empty lane 2 and give you a dose of your own medicine?

Is this about the sum of it?

I'd say you should accept it as your punishment for driving like a nob, forget about it and move on with your life ?

[CAPP0]

TVaRt said:

an idiot in a 4x4 undertaking and swerving into my car (front LH side)

So he collided with your car and failed to stop? Surely it's unquestionably a police matter then? You may need a police ref number for your insurance claim.

[LunarOne]

I will preface this by saying that when possible, I often do exceed the 70mph speed limit by some margin. 85-90mph would be a typical cruising speed when the road is not busy. Not exactly fast, but making progress. Nothing is more annoying than people who pull into lane three in front of me without using their mirrors, and typically without using their indicators. This has happened on more than one occasion where there was nothing in front of the vehicle in lane two to cause them to need to change lanes. And then they sit there in lane three, pootling along at a deliberately leisurely pace.

It's at times like this that I have done the dirty - I may once or twice have offered a quick demonstration of my high beam lighting. Sometimes the puller-outer will move back into lane two and give an apologetic wave as I blast past, or sometimes they haven't. In which case I've compounded a wrong with a wrong by moving into lane two myself and blasting past. I'm too ladylike to "manually communicate" but I've wanted to on a few occasions.

Sounds to me, OP, that you've pulled out in front of someone going considerably faster than you, and then not pulled back into lane to in a timely manner. They have attempted to go around you and then cut you up like you did to them. It sounds like they annoyed you as much as you annoyed them.

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling I'm not.

[SeeFive]

AndrewEH1 said:

If you are going to give the footage to the police DON'T put it online.

Genuine question. Why?

[Lemming Train]

LunarOne said:

I will preface this by saying that when possible, I often do exceed the 70mph speed limit by some margin. 85-90mph would be a typical cruising speed when the road is not busy. Not exactly fast, but making progress. Nothing is more annoying than people who pull into lane three in front of me without using their mirrors, and typically without using their indicators. This has happened on more than one occasion where there was nothing in front of the vehicle in lane two to cause them to need to change lanes. And then they sit there in lane three, pootling along at a deliberately leisurely pace.

It's at times like this that I have done the dirty - I may once or twice have offered a quick demonstration of my high beam lighting. Sometimes the puller-outer will move back into lane two and give an apologetic wave as I blast past, or sometimes they haven't. In which case I've compounded a wrong with a wrong by moving into lane two myself and blasting past. I'm too ladylike to "manually communicate" but I've wanted to on a few occasions.

Sounds to me, OP, that you've pulled out in front of someone going considerably faster than you, and then not pulled back into lane to in a timely manner. They have attempted to go around you and then cut you up like you did to them. It sounds like they annoyed you as much as you annoyed them.

I may be wrong, but I have a feeling I'm not.

This is my belief as well. People who make statements like "there was plenty of space from what i saw" are more often than not the ones who have a terrible judgement and perception of speed. Clearly lacking in observation skills as well because large areas of motorway roadworks have signs informing you of them miles in advance so as he had no intention of exceeding 50mph why did he choose to pull out into lane 3 just prior to entering them unless to deliberately act as some kind of unofficial Walt speed enforcer?

[Drumroll]

OP have to agree with several others why were you in the 3rd lane? If a car can undertake you and pull back in front of you it does beg the question why be there in the first place.

This sort of thing is why people get Miffed of with people using dash-cams because they often only show the picture the dash-cams user wants to show.

Hope when you send the video you include the minutes leading up to the incident. Not just when the car pulled in front of you.

[Smiljan]

TVaRt said:

Basically .... swerving into my car (front LH side) .... His argument will be that i pulled out into the outside lane to close to the front of his vehicle, there was plenty of space from what i saw, its was a very careful and slowly executed maneuver on camera, it also doesn't have any bearing on the actual impact, apart from the fact that he was pissed off!
thanks

It says he swerved into the front LH side of the OP's car and actually impacted. I'm still struggling with the whole Police angle and why they weren't called at the time - unless its a case of two idiots meeting on the same stretch of road.

Even so, surely with an impact there will be damage so a need to stop and exchange details.

Something smells a little fishy with this whole episode, either the OP has misled us with what happened or it's a case of handbags at dawn and there wasn't actually any contact. If it's the latter, forget the Police, count to ten and drive more sensibly in future.

[Sheepshanks]

TVaRt said:

Basically i have reported to the Police with dash cam footage of an idiot in a 4x4 undertaking and swerving into my car (front LH side) adn they have asked me to go in and make a statement. They do keep asking if i want to pursue the matter, i do feel they dont want to prosecute as its hassle, but the guy almost put me into the central reservation on the M1! I think they have said they will prosecute for driving without due care, to me it seems it should be dangerous driving? Has anyone else been through this type of event and what was the outcome, is it worth pursuing and getting the guy prosecuted? His argument will be that i pulled out into the outside lane to close to the front of his vehicle, there was plenty of space from what i saw, its was a very careful and slowly executed maneuver on camera, it also doesn't have any bearing on the actual impact, apart from the fact that he was pissed off!
thanks

Into your car, or towards it - did he actually hit your car?

[Lemming Train]

There wasn't any impact imo - he's just trying to sensationalise the tale to make it sound like some near death experience when the reality is that he cut up some bloke behind and said bloke gave him a taste of his own medicine by jerking the wheel towards him as he went past and now he wants him thrown in the slammer for it . That's it.

[Ed/L152]

WJNB said:

I suspect the police are getting increasingly tired of the public playing at being policemen, turning up & local cop shops or moaning on-line about every petty infringement. Big Brother is here but in the ugly form of BIG Nosey Burks

Possibly the opposite if there's good dashcam footage - it's a easy detection and prosecution, no need to even leave the desk.