10.9.07
Tailgating by and collision with N99 JHC

As I was riding up Downing Street towards St Andrews Street (at about
4pm today), I noticed this car was very close behind.

I stopped (fairly carefully so as to avoid a collision) and
remonstrated with the driver.  After we got going again the lights
ahead changed to red so I stopped again; once again the car was far
too close behind and had narrowly avoided hitting me.  I had a longer
conversation with the driver.

The driver insisted that he was far enough behind because "I didn't
hit you, did I".  After some argument the lights went green and we
were on our way again.  I stopped suddenly for a pedestrian who
stepped out just as I was passing the stop line (sadly out of the
field of view of the camera) and again in the video you can see that
the driver nearly hits me from behind.

After we entered St Andrews St I again observed the driver too close.
By this point he must have been doing it deliberately.  I thought a
semi-deliberate collision was quite likely, if I should need to slow
down or stop suddenly.  I decided I would rather have the now-probable
collision at a relatively low speed (under 10mph) and at a time of my
choosing, so I stopped again.  This time he struck my bike from
behind, as I had predicted.

(I could of course have slowed down and stopped more gradually, pulled
my bike onto the pavement, and let him past, but I was angry and I
felt that the risk to my safety from being bloody-minded was
acceptable.  He didn't seem like the kind of person who would actually
run right over me following a collision, for example.)

Being prepared for the crash, I wasn't injured.  My bike seems at
least not to have any serious damage although I haven't inspected it.
The bike computer has stopped working and the back wheel will need
inspecting (it already had a broken spoke).

The driver was ready to drive off but I insisted on exchanging
details.  He accused me of playing silly buggers for stopping and then
proceeded to pull onto the pavement to exchange details with me.
While I was writing down details a traffic warden came and started to
report him for parking on the pavement and yellow line, but he managed
to get away without a ticket because we'd just finished and he was
able to leave.

(The video clip stops where it does mainly because I turned it off and
then on again right after the collision because if the camera runs out
of battery in the middle of recording it can sometimes lose the
currently-being-recorded clip.  The 2nd half clip doesn't show
anything interesting and goes on for quite a while, so I'm not putting
it up.  At a couple of points in it you can see me and the traffic
warden and just in field the car parked on the pavement.  I'll keep
the raw video in case it comes in useful.)

Also, another curiosity in this clip: at about 3-5s in, look in the
rear video for the idiot on a bike riding on the wrong side of the
road.  He's just in the edge of the shadow, riding just to his left of
the white line for the bike lane.  I'd earlier tried to explain and
gesture to him where he should be but he'd ignored me.