I was enjoying my commute home tonight when it was all spoilt. A group of about 6 kids about 15 years old lobbed a 4 foot length of wood at me. I was lucky that it bounced of my rear wheel and didn't cause any damage. It all happened at the junction beside Slateford station in Edinburgh in rush hour traffic.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it? -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
I was enjoying my commute home tonight when it was all spoilt. A group of about 6 kids about 15 years old lobbed a 4 foot length of wood at me. I was lucky that it bounced of my rear wheel and didn't cause any damage. It all happened at the junction beside Slateford station in Edinburgh in rush hour traffic.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it?
No, providing you fussed a little and they logged it correctly .. If enough people complain about the same thing then something might get done.
As a single incident though, there are better things for the police to worry about I reckon.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it?
No you were not wrong to report it. However, under the new method used to generate crime statistics the police are obliged to log this as a crime if you report it but with little chance of solving it thus making their arrest and clear up rate look bad.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it? -- Mark
perhaps you should have dialled 999 at the time and said "Help!! I'm being assaulted, right now - send help, please... quick... help me!!!"
Originally posted by Mark I was enjoying my commute home tonight when it was all spoilt. A group of about 6 kids about 15 years old lobbed a 4 foot length of wood at me. I was lucky that it bounced of my rear wheel and didn't cause any damage. It all happened at the junction beside Slateford station in Edinburgh in rush hour traffic.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it? -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
next time this happens. get off your bike and batter them with the piece of wood.
The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it?
Hell no, it's exactly that type of behaviour which is what I hate most. It would be nice to give the little wossnames a clip round the ear but I suppose I'd get arrested for it. Wonder what would happen if you threw the wood back? Certainly reasonable force - they did it to you first!
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it? -- Mark
perhaps you should have dialled 999 at the time and said "Help!! I'm being assaulted, right now - send help, please... quick... help me!!!"
bet you would have got a response then...
I thought about that but I didn't want to interfere with more urgent calls.
On the plus side the adrenaline was pumping and I was half way up the Lanark road hill heading to Juniper Green when I noticed I was still in the big ring. -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
On the plus side the adrenaline was pumping and I was half way up the Lanark road hill heading to Juniper Green when I noticed I was still in the big ring.
I've noted that. At the beginning of my next race I'll get someone to lob a piece of 4 x 2 at me!
-- Mark (MSA) This post is packaged by intellectual weight, not volume. Some settling of contents may have occurred during transmission
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
On the plus side the adrenaline was pumping and I was half way up the Lanark road hill heading to Juniper Green when I noticed I was still in the big ring.
I've noted that. At the beginning of my next race I'll get someone to lob a piece of 4 x 2 at me!
But they have to do it when you're not expecting it. -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
On the plus side the adrenaline was pumping and I was half way up the Lanark road hill heading to Juniper Green when I noticed I was still in the big ring.
Kudos for doing that, I live in Balerno and a few times I have looked at that hill and decided not to cycle it, the few times I was cycling down near Inglis green I cycled back along the "water of Leith walkway". Yes it is all uphill but MUCH more gradual than powering up the Lanark road. Mind you the bit from Gillespie crossroads/Juniper green through Currie and along to Balerno is a blast.
-- Yours S. addy not usable (not that you would try it) ( ) Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant! / \ www.killies.co.uk/forums/index.php
On the plus side the adrenaline was pumping and I was half way up the Lanark road hill heading to Juniper Green when I noticed I was still in the big ring.
Kudos for doing that, I live in Balerno and a few times I have looked at that hill and decided not to cycle it, the few times I was cycling down near Inglis green I cycled back along the "water of Leith walkway". Yes it is all uphill but MUCH more gradual than powering up the Lanark road. Mind you the bit from Gillespie crossroads/Juniper green through Currie and along to Balerno is a blast.
Last time I went up beside the water of Leith it was just a bit muddy but when it's dry it's a good route. -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it?
You were perfectly correct to report it.
However if that was the attitude from the police you should -
Ask for the persons name and number
Ask to be tansferred to a senior officer
Ask for you complaint to be logged
Take the matter up with your local Councillor
Take etc - MSP
Take etc - MP
I doubt that you will have to go that far - I have been in some of the jobs.
"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I was enjoying my commute home tonight when it was all spoilt. A group of about 6 kids about 15 years old lobbed a 4 foot length of wood at me. I was lucky that it bounced of my rear wheel and didn't cause any damage. It all happened at the junction beside Slateford station in Edinburgh in rush hour traffic.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it?
Not at all - glad to hear you're not eating through a tube.
However, this is the joy of reduced taxes &c. through various governments. As much as a policeman might like you help you out, when they're run along the same lines as a company, you really can't hope for much.
When I got home I thought it would be a good idea to let the police know so I phoned the local station to report the incident. The response from the police was a bit of a "why are you bothering us with that" type of attitude. Was I wrong to report it? -- Mark
perhaps you should have dialled 999 at the time and said "Help!! I'm being assaulted, right now - send help, please... quick... help me!!!"
bet you would have got a response then...
and got a bolloking for wasting police time with a false repotr of a crime
However, this is the joy of reduced taxes &c. through various governments. As much as a policeman might like you help you out, when they're run along the same lines as a company, you really can't hope for much.
If they were run along the lines of a company they should be able to do a lot more. Most police time is wasted filling in forms and reports for incidents rather than out doing useful things. A company would have long ago invested in IT systems and support staff to make these processes more efficient. Unfortunately the annual budgetting cycle of government bodies makes it virtually impossible to make investments that have paybacks longer than the year in which they were incurred so the Police continue to sit and fill in forms. Having to fill in even more forms for an event that they have no time to go and investigate because they are too busy filling in forms is not their favourite activity.
I've noted that. At the beginning of my next race I'll get someone to lob a piece of 4 x 2 at me!
I noticed the same effect having been shouted at by a motorist for daring to cycle down the A61 Harrogate to Leeds. She felt that major roads were not the place for cycles, and that it was in my interest that I was told so lest I got killed on it one day. I climbed Eccup road much quicker, and in higher gear, than normal.
What the lady doesn't realise, is that being straight and wide and generally slow in rush hour, that A61 stretch is probably the safest part of the journey, as opposed to Eccup Road, which is narrow, windy, has high hedges and speeding rat-runners on it.
- Richard
-- _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ Richard dot Corfield at ntlworld dot com _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ _/ Time is a one way street, _/ _/ _/_/ _/_/_/ Except in the Twilight Zone.
As a single incident though, there are better things for the police to worry about I reckon.
If the branch had gone through the spokes of the front wheel it would not have been a minor incident.
It was a length of wood, not a branch, and it didn't go through the spokes ... it was minor ...
There was potential for it not being minor. If the wood had hit me on the head I could have easily been knocked down.
I think that incidents like that should be reported even though there may not be any thing that can be done. It would give a better picture to government of what the real world is like. I would have thought that the police would like a better view of where crime takes place and the more that is reported the more it looks like they are undermanned and in need of more funding. But maybe I'm just naive. -- Mark
After thinking long about a signature I've decided not to bother.
