Road rage nutter gets away with it......and worse.
Discussion
You may recall the story about where I popped over to the dentist in Plymouth one August morning.
Whether it was mistaken identity or just an aggro psychopath. I had a road rage attack where I was chased (James Bond style) through the Town centre, decided to take this lunatic following me to the local Police station and got caught in a massive traffic jam. This nutter got out of his taxi and having locked my doors, he proceeded to smash my window with either his fist or a tool.
It scared the shit out of me. But the redeeming feature was, about 20 seconds later, I pulled a Police van over and gave an account there, the whole scene was captured (this was verified at the station) later on cctv.
Well after a load of buggering about, I found out that this character has agreed to pay the "fixed penalty" for criminal damage. As this was an act of lunacy and my statement reflects this. Well the CCTV footage was inconclusive and this bloke must have been a mason to pull this one off, I thought to myself. So, I said to PC Plod, This isn't good enough, the window cost £110 to fix, the bloke is a
lunatic and all you are going to do is give him a fixed penalty??!?!?!?!?
"Well, Mr Dann, we suggest that you shut up and stop right here because the taxi driver alleges you spat in his face and that is a very serious offence indeed".
It turns out the taxi driver disputes my window being closed, says it was open and I spat at him in the face, so he "pulled" the open window until it broke. So, the Police have discounted the aggro/car chase which happened before and are promoting HIM as the victim.
"We suggest you leave it there as spitting in someones face is ABH and we would have to come and arrest you, bringing you in for questioning". So once again, a criminal sidesteps the law and could possibly turn the situation back on me (with the help of a few taxi driver witnesses!) and the implications could be large.
So, as my present has no criminal record, I would like to ensure my future is similar.
The words "Take the law into my own hands next time" spring to mind again and again.
Whether it was mistaken identity or just an aggro psychopath. I had a road rage attack where I was chased (James Bond style) through the Town centre, decided to take this lunatic following me to the local Police station and got caught in a massive traffic jam. This nutter got out of his taxi and having locked my doors, he proceeded to smash my window with either his fist or a tool.
It scared the shit out of me. But the redeeming feature was, about 20 seconds later, I pulled a Police van over and gave an account there, the whole scene was captured (this was verified at the station) later on cctv.
Well after a load of buggering about, I found out that this character has agreed to pay the "fixed penalty" for criminal damage. As this was an act of lunacy and my statement reflects this. Well the CCTV footage was inconclusive and this bloke must have been a mason to pull this one off, I thought to myself. So, I said to PC Plod, This isn't good enough, the window cost £110 to fix, the bloke is a
lunatic and all you are going to do is give him a fixed penalty??!?!?!?!? "Well, Mr Dann, we suggest that you shut up and stop right here because the taxi driver alleges you spat in his face and that is a very serious offence indeed".
It turns out the taxi driver disputes my window being closed, says it was open and I spat at him in the face, so he "pulled" the open window until it broke. So, the Police have discounted the aggro/car chase which happened before and are promoting HIM as the victim.
"We suggest you leave it there as spitting in someones face is ABH and we would have to come and arrest you, bringing you in for questioning". So once again, a criminal sidesteps the law and could possibly turn the situation back on me (with the help of a few taxi driver witnesses!) and the implications could be large.
So, as my present has no criminal record, I would like to ensure my future is similar.
The words "Take the law into my own hands next time" spring to mind again and again.
That's terrible, mate. I can't believe they're letting him get away with it. 
I was once punched in the chest and knocked to the ground by a lorry driver that had hit my car in full view of dozens of passing motorists. Not one person tried to help and the Police wouldn't press charges against him because he denied it and none of the witnesses wanted to get involved.
Makes you sick.
I was once punched in the chest and knocked to the ground by a lorry driver that had hit my car in full view of dozens of passing motorists. Not one person tried to help and the Police wouldn't press charges against him because he denied it and none of the witnesses wanted to get involved.
Makes you sick.
The golden rule is "Don't mess with a taxi-driver".
I really have lost faith in the Police. They are merely a pain in the arse when I am driving. The last time I needed them, some punks had let the handbrake off my car and it rolled down a hill into a lamp post. When I said to the policeman "Look, the hand brake is down" and the door has been forced he said "I don't want to know". I know I shouldn't generalise and tar people with the same brush but I am really disillusioned with justice in this country.
I'm not prepared to take this any further as *if* the taxi driver pulls the cat out of the bag, I will get a criminal record. I am not prpared to risk my clean slate for a lowlife scumbag and a van window.
>> Edited by love machine on Thursday 30th December 14:22
I really have lost faith in the Police. They are merely a pain in the arse when I am driving. The last time I needed them, some punks had let the handbrake off my car and it rolled down a hill into a lamp post. When I said to the policeman "Look, the hand brake is down" and the door has been forced he said "I don't want to know". I know I shouldn't generalise and tar people with the same brush but I am really disillusioned with justice in this country.
I'm not prepared to take this any further as *if* the taxi driver pulls the cat out of the bag, I will get a criminal record. I am not prpared to risk my clean slate for a lowlife scumbag and a van window.
>> Edited by love machine on Thursday 30th December 14:22
I think this must be a common defence statement. When I was hit with a bottle in a pub (see a post from a year and a half back) I lost the couple of minutes leading up to the assault (and no it wasn't because I was drunk) but remember everything from coming-to on the ground. But in court the defence for the bloke came out with the 'you spat at him and provoked him' line and I couldn't say anything as I couldn't recall--- as I had just mentioned to the court. Luckily for me there were plenty of witnesses who did see it all and could say that it was a totally unprovoked assault. He got a £150 fine and £350 in damages (which havent been paid off as yet) and I got scars on my face and a major problem with my own self confidence for a year... seems about right to me! 
There is no common sense mate, if I were you I would let it lie. If I had had the chance that's exactly what I would have done. Going through the court experience is one the scariest things I have done and just brought bad memories back again... totally not worth it!
>> Edited by ricardo g on Thursday 30th December 15:39
>> Edited by ricardo g on Thursday 30th December 16:34
There is no common sense mate, if I were you I would let it lie. If I had had the chance that's exactly what I would have done. Going through the court experience is one the scariest things I have done and just brought bad memories back again... totally not worth it!
>> Edited by ricardo g on Thursday 30th December 15:39
>> Edited by ricardo g on Thursday 30th December 16:34
shadowninja said:
So in order to pick on someone for a laugh I just have to claim they spat in my face? His word against mine...
What a crock of shite this country is.
Yup. Or find a really tiny piece of an ethnic background in your family history (ie your great great great grandfather was married to a chinese woman etc) and tell them that they made a racist comment
The first and only time I have been in court was when a lorry driver (11 tonne truck unladen) drove into the back of my Citroen BX (Good job too) and then drove off. When he came back he was in a different truck......hmmmmmmmm. The police arrested him. He was as big as a barn door and his lawyer was trying to assert some real peculiarities and use "Ally McBeal" style nonsense to put me off.
Unluckily for him, I had recently read a book "Straight and Crooked thinking" which was about how to argue properly, I destroyed him totally at his own game and there were chuckles from the public.
Unluckily for him, I had recently read a book "Straight and Crooked thinking" which was about how to argue properly, I destroyed him totally at his own game and there were chuckles from the public.
So if you were in your car, with the doors locked and the windw wound up, just how did you manage to spit in the taxi drivers face?
And why would you want to anyway?
Was he just a harmless passer by?
Retaliation is no excuse for pulling your apparently 'bendy' window until it broke in any case.
If you were buttoned up in your car, the threat to him was clearly over, and so he should have returned to his taxi and let the matter be dealt with by the Police.
Your being fobbed off. Take the matter further.
And why would you want to anyway?
Was he just a harmless passer by?
Retaliation is no excuse for pulling your apparently 'bendy' window until it broke in any case.
If you were buttoned up in your car, the threat to him was clearly over, and so he should have returned to his taxi and let the matter be dealt with by the Police.
Your being fobbed off. Take the matter further.
I have been on the blower to someone more important and basically was fed a load of factual legal stuff.
What can be proven, or held to be the truth.
If matey pulls some of his chums out of the woodwork, even though it would look dodgy in court, the legal people would buy it.
Let's face it, you are better off as a criminal in this country.
Next time I will just take out the middleman and use reasonable force, as the policewoman said was perfectly fine. I suppose a 4ft piece of scaffold bar would suffice against a chap with a hammer?
I'll just get on with my life and assume that the police force are no use at all. I only need them once every few years anyway. I think I can make do.
What can be proven, or held to be the truth.
If matey pulls some of his chums out of the woodwork, even though it would look dodgy in court, the legal people would buy it.
Let's face it, you are better off as a criminal in this country.
Next time I will just take out the middleman and use reasonable force, as the policewoman said was perfectly fine. I suppose a 4ft piece of scaffold bar would suffice against a chap with a hammer?
I'll just get on with my life and assume that the police force are no use at all. I only need them once every few years anyway. I think I can make do.
[quote=gh0st ]
Yup. Or find a really tiny piece of an ethnic background in your family history (ie your great great great grandfather was married to a chinese woman etc) and tell them that they made a racist comment[/quote]
Ah, of couse, the race card. Handy
how did you know my great, great, great grandfather was married to a chinese woman?
] shadowninja said:
So in order to pick on someone for a laugh I just have to claim they spat in my face? His word against mine...
What a crock of shite this country is.
Yup. Or find a really tiny piece of an ethnic background in your family history (ie your great great great grandfather was married to a chinese woman etc) and tell them that they made a racist comment
[/quote] Ah, of couse, the race card. Handy
how did you know my great, great, great grandfather was married to a chinese woman?
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