A video showing a car passenger pushing a man from his bike has attracted hundreds of thousands of views on Facebook – but the social network has declined to remove it, saying it doesn’t breach its community guidelines.
Shot from the inside of a car, it shows the passenger leaning out of the window and giving the rider – who appears to be wearing a Royal Mail high-visibility jacket – from his bike as the vehicle overtakes him.
The cyclist lands on a grass verge, to the evident glee of the car’s occupants.
The video, which you can watch below, has also been viewed more than 250,000 times via a Facebook page called Young Rich Britain, where the vast majority of people commenting on it condemned the actions of the people in the car.
What is thought to be the original video – uploaded on Saturday, and also with around a quarter of a million views – was shared to the Stop Killing Cyclists group on Facebook, with user Tony Sanders urging people to report the video to the social network using its ‘I don’t like this’ facility.
However, he subsequently received a message from Facebook saying the video hadn’t been removed as it didn’t breach community guidelines, causing him to comment, “Facebook are seemingly happy that this wasn't a violent attack.”
We have asked Royal Mail whether they are aware of one of their employees being assaulted in such a manner.
It is believed that the Metropolitan Police have been notified of the incident, with the presumed original poster giving the location on Facebook as London, but the force was unable to confirm that it had been reported to them.
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58 comments
That is the inside of Peugeot 406 Estate
This is the profile pic from facebook of J ODonnels cousin (I believe). Is this the interior of a 406 estate? The window shapes seem to match but interior seat options vary. He has the same eyebrows and similar hair as the car driver as seen in the rear view mirror of the assault video and so MAY be the driver - but ofcourse may not be either.
Danny Barrett
https://www.facebook.com/danny.barrett.948?fref=tl_fr_box&pnref=lhc.friends
10338737_811950565546314_247144840517175654_n Danny Barrett.jpg
This car looks from 1995 to 2004 hatchback. I've tried to look through most manufacturers but was not able to find same ventilation grills as in the video At first glance it looked like ford mondeo or focus, maybe rover... from googling the most accurate image was from nissan. Sadly I'm out of ideas how to find the car.
Well you must be a complete bike head 'cause you're rubbish at identifying cars. It's a Vauxhall Astra, would have thought about 2010 onwards.
I like to think if this ever happened to me, I'd catch the scumbag and throw him under the wheels of the car.
Report the original John O'Donnell link to RoadSafe London! Enough reports and they'll surely have to look at it.
The RoadSafe London form is here:
https://secure.met.police.uk/roadsafelondon/
You should have enough information to fill most fields in.
I hope he's not driving, he looks about 13 years old.
Interesting the video tells us it was posted by a "young rich Britton" I think we should have a competition to rename them "juvenile retarded Britton" is my vote. Who can better that?
Mugs
original post: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1602226240063787
video of the car?: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1544964075790004
fortunate that he had a soft landing onto grass.
Some commenters seem to think they have identified the car involved (from the original poster's Facebook page).
If so, two things:
1. Does the interior of the car as seen in the video match the make and model of car?
2. Can someone make a permanent copy of the post revealing his car with number plate.
I reported it too. If enough of us report it the fuckwit might get his comeuppance.
If you are on Facebook, you can report it. Eventually even Facebook will recognize that this shouldn't be there.
Forget facetw@t. Their happy to have videos of people being beheaded, there not going to be interested in this.
I much prefer a good old fashioned internet lynching
https://www.facebook.com/johnathon.odonnell.9?fref=photo
Unfortunately he looks to young to have a job to get him sacked from
I assume that they can, if necessary trace the video back to the original uploader and then pursue an inquiry for attempted murder?
For crying out loud, it's not attempted murder. That would require intent to kill, and I very much doubt that was the case. It's probably not even GBH, but I'm not about to trawl the legislation to check. It could be assault with battery, or reckless endangerment, or something like that. Calling it attempted murder is hyperbole.
Perhaps legally it's not attempted murder, but morally it surely is - you push someone off a bike, with no concern at all for where they land - that's a bloody good attempt at killing them.#
But no, legally no doubt it's just a minor prank, whereas taking a sledge to the scumbag's care would be something important, and worth prosecuting. Ah well, with any luck next time he tries it he'll misjudge things, and smash his head into a lamppost.
It's really not. It's a bloody good attempt at pushing them off their bike, indeed in this case it was a successful attempt. But I very much doubt anyone is attempting to kill anyone. It's stupid and irresponsible, but just because the consequences could just about conceivably include death doesn't mean that that is the intention.
Well, yeah, if you sledgehammer a car then you're clearly intending to cause damage to someone else's property, so you'd have only yourself to blame when you were charged with an offence. Are you intending to completely obliterate the car to the point of it being non-functional? Probably not, unless you're really trying, so you'd still be subject to a lesser degree of criminal damage charge than if you, I don't know, blew the car to pieces. Much like these youths would be subject to a lesser charge than if they'd pushed the cyclist into oncoming traffic or down an embankment or whatever.
So pushing someone off a bike, with no concern at all for what happens to them, isn't attempted murder in the eyes of the law? No doubt you're right, but just how stupid and immoral does that make the law?
Don't think video should be on line anywhere think this is dangerous to publicise
Young moronic Britain
I have also reported it on Facebook. But like Kwi has said they probably wIll do Sod all...
Those comments on the facebook link are scary - they all think its funny.
umm, why are we horrified that the video is on facebook, when it is now also on road.cc?
Original upload possibly here.
https://www.facebook.com/johnathon.odonnell.9
I have reported it, but knowing FB nothing will happen as it's not a breast feeding mother.
Surley the idiot in the car is breaking the law and should be arrested put before the court? As for face book I don't use it but if I did I would be contacting them via my account to state my horror at it staying on the site. this has the potential to become a bit of a summer craze by thick people and it could happen to any of us with possible fatal consequences
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