Most of us as cyclists have had run ins with drivers. There might be some shouting, some histrionics, a close pass here or there, the kind of thing that's so common that we discount it often. A few of us might even have had the misfortune to be hit by a vehicle.
However, what the majority of us have thankfully not experienced is assault, as happened to one rider last month while out on a regular Sunday ride. One minute Charlie Moloney was enjoying a regular route in the sun, the next he found himself in the bushes at the side of the road.
"It was a day when I knew I could get a 90-minute cycle in, come back, and then jump in the car," Moloney explained. "I decided to go up Box Hill [in Surrey, UK] and then do a loop around and come back through Ranmore.
"I was aware this car was coming close behind us, and so I slowed down because I knew they weren’t going to give me much space," he continued. "Next thing I knew, there was an arm out of the window, I’m in the air, and then in the hedges. It all happened so quickly. I jumped up and tried to commit the licence plate to memory. Then the next car stopped, some cyclists from the other side of the road stopped and came to help.
Cyclists are vulnerable on the roads, but, it's important to remember that cycling is a relatively safe activity. On average, 23 cyclists are killed on the roads for every billion miles traveled, with 4,000 injured.
It is still better for you to cycle than to drive, both from a personal and public health perspective. Compared to commuting by car, cycling is associated with a lower chance of dying from cardiovascular disease - a quarter less - and cancer, according to Cycling UK, while the life years gained by cycling outweighed life years lost by 20:1, according to a study from the 1990s, although that is likely to have risen since then, the charity says. The benefits of cycling are so great, that it’s been prescribed as a legitimate ‘medication’ by GPs working for the UK’s National Health Service.
"I just felt a bit bumped and bruised, and my chain had come off but there were no obvious bad things. That was probably just the adrenaline rushing through me, and if I came off like that again, I probably wouldn’t get back on."
Incidents involving cars cause an overwhelming majority of cycling casualties on British roads, making up 77% of the overall number, but it is harder to discern how many assaults on cyclists happen, rather than through careless or dangerous driving. This road safety week, we're highlighting some specific cases.
"When I got home, I realised I was quite sore," the 42-year-old teacher added. "I rang the police, then my vision went blurry, and I developed a headache, and cut my elbow a bit. I had quite a bad concussion, didn’t have any energy and couldn’t do anything. It wasn’t a great half term."
It's a cyclist's worst nightmare, to be assault or knocked off your bike for no reason at all, however the misery was compounded when Surrey Police told Moloney that they could not investigate further.
"I was shocked. I couldn’t believe someone would do that," he said. "Someone had shouted out their window at me 10 or 15 minutes before, but it’s not like I had had an altercation or anything. Not that it would have justified it, but something would have been the reason. I hadn’t done anything. I was going quite fast, even if I had slowed a bit because the van was so close, and then it was just shock and bafflement.
"I was thinking the whole next week, 'What’s to stop them going back and doing it to someone else?' so I made a complaint to the IOPC (The Independent Office for Police Conduct). My shock and bafflement turned into frustration that there were no consequences, and that it could happen to someone else."
Moloney has no fears about returning to the road when fit, but it has left the south Londoner wondering about road safety, something that is sadly at the front of our minds all too often.
"I need a new helmet," he said. "I’m going to find a white one, just to make myself more visible, and I want to get a camera on the bike. I might be nervous on the road, but I don’t think I will be.
"I don’t think it puts people off, but it sticks. [The story] went around everyone at my school who cycles. It’s scary for people, because there was no reason. What if I had hit a tree or a wall, or what if the next person hits something? I was quite fortunate that it was autumn, and there was mud to fall into. It makes me worried for other people.
"My intention is to write to my MP, and try and raise awareness of this."
Surrey Police and the IOPC were contacted in relation to this story.
