Road Rage? (1 Viewer)

WSandME

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I'm currently at the Le Portel aire, reviewing the dashcam video captured today on our journey from Laon.

In the video, you can see us travelling along a road which becomes two lanes wide in our direction, at which point an open top car (which has been behind me for some time, unable to overtake due to traffic and lane restrictions) finally overtakes. As he gets past us he throws a handful of rocks? marbles? in the air in our direction, which hit my screen and bonnet. He's then off at speed.

As it turns out, I can't yet see any damage, but... I have the dreaded Hymer headlights which could cost nearly £2000 to fix and a tiny crack from this incident could be disastrous.

This behaviour is unacceptable. I have not yet seen the video in large screen format (need my home computer for that) but I'm sure that I can identify the make, model (possibly year) and registration number. As it's an open top, I'm fairly sure we get a good look at the bald driver too.

Questions:

Anyone here have any knowledge of how to proceed with a complaint?

Anyone here have any knowledge as to whether any such complaint will be taken seriously?

As there's no evident damage, is the best I could hope for that the gendarmes "have a word in his shell-like"?

What would you do?
 

DuxDeluxe

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Can't see the video.......

....but without real damage and an independent witness, I would guess that not much can be done
 

Riverbankannie

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What a horrible thing to go through, you must be shaken. It is unlikely that he had some rocks or marbles handy in the car so something to hand like sweets ? I had a squirrel drop a beech nut shell (empty) on the top of my car the other day while I was waiting at a red light. It too sounded as if someone had chucked a stone at me and I got out to inspect for damage but then found the shells.
I think in your case I would report as you have the video evidence. If you later find any damage, then you will have the police number for your insurance.
 

Anthea M

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Unbelievable behaviour by an adult , could have caused untold damage and injury .
Not sure how it would go down at the local gendarme perhaps Frankie @yodeli could advise.
Glad you are okay we were thinking about a dash cam and will definitely look into it.
 
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YouTube and a commentary in French frome @yodeli .
Throwing anything frome a moving vehicle is a offence in France just the same as hear in the uk .
Litter laws are very strict in France
Bill

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WSandME

WSandME

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Wildbill: What an example of lateral thinking!
I'll add littering to the "offence" list.
Many years ago, we were travelling in France fir the first time in winter, and saw many hunting in the fields. We were really shocked when there was a big bang on the car - we thought we'd been shot! It was just a conker falling from a great height!

To allay any worries, though, the episode I recorded hasn't caused me any fear, just dismay that there are people who can behave that way and think (probably rightly) that they are immune. They need to be shown the error of their ways!
 

Techno

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I rode a cycle time trial in North Yorkshire and a pair of tw@ts were throwing handfulls of copper coins while driving head on at competitors

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@WSandME

Right , you're going to describe precisely what happened (in English of course) on an e-mail you'll send me ( fran.paule@aol.com ) with the link to your video (unless you can send it to me may be via Dopbox? (to be discussed in private messaging here or on e-mail). I will then translate it and take it to my local gendarmerie which is round the corner.
I will let you know if there's a way to do something. But I'm pretty sure you can access a "complain against X" . Not sure they will really do something, they are just too few at the moment (terrorism, Calais, strikers and sometimes me and my gypsies LOL!)...etc...they've got big days!

Don't forget to leave full details about you name address registration and Moho registration etc....Don't worry I won't come to England to rob you.... got no time for that!!:sneaky:

Amicalement

Frankie:)

PS: Putting it on youtube and with the help of funsters get it on Facebook French and English could help as well to find the "putain de connard" ... sorry I don't know better name for that!
 
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Feb 16, 2013
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What a TW4T!

I'd love to catch some of these cowardly 4rseholes.

Hope there is no damage to the MH.

Get it on youtube.


I can't see what this one is getting at just looks like someone who isn't sure what lane he should be in , must admit I get there a lot.
 
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WSandME

WSandME

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Frankie, thanks so much for your offer!
I haven't posted to Youtube yet as I don't have the facilities. As you may have seen in another thread, each evening after travelling, I copy the dashcam microSD to a NAS box. However, this involves taking the microSD from the dashcam, putting it in an SD converter, putting the SD into the NAS bix and pressing the "copy" button.
I can sort-of review the videos using the dashcam's own tiny screen, but I'll have to wait 'til we get home in mid Sep to process the videos.
Besides that, I have limited internet connectivity: a Three 12GB SIM shared twixt the wife and me - and it's going down fast

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@WSandME Well, at least send me the whole story, I can still pay a visit to the gendarmes and ask what they think/can advise.
Then once you're back home, if the gendames said they need the video; then you can sort the video problem out.
It's not fair to see that some nasty people can get away with such a behavior. It would have driven me mad I must say!
 

laird of Dunstan

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I had a reaction from another driver at the weekend ,I was at a roundabout and taking the second exit ,two cars undertook me and a third in an open top Mercedes tried to do the same despite my indicating in plenty of time ,a few hundred meters later he overtook with plenty of hand gestures .
 

DBK

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Should I be the first one to say if a vehicle has been stuck behind me for some time I pull over and let it pass? No better not, perhaps there wasn't anywhere on this occasion to pull over. That must have been it. :)

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laneside

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Should I be the first one to say if a vehicle has been stuck behind me for some time I pull over and let it pass? No better not, perhaps there wasn't anywhere on this occasion to pull over. That must have been it. :)

I did share those thoughts but does not excuse the guy for throwing things
 

scotjimland

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Should I be the first one to say if a vehicle has been stuck behind me for some time I pull over and let it pass? No better not, perhaps there wasn't anywhere on this occasion to pull over. That must have been it. :)

yes.. if I see a convoy behind,. I always try to... but there are many roads where suitable places are few and far between.. and by the time you see a place you are past it or it's too dangerous to just 'pull in'

however.. .. if I'm doing the legal limit I see no reason to
 
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It was bad behaviour certainly, but rocks? there was no damage it could have been a handful of peanuts and I think it highly unlikely that an older person, (Bald head) would be carrying rocks or anything else for the specific purpose of throwing them at other motorists. He was probably frustrated at not being able to pass you and you are rightly annoyed at his behaviour. However, no damage dome so why continue to let this idiots anger spoil the enjoyment of your motorhome. You won't get any joy from the police, even if you did, do you want to spend time making a witness statement and possibly being required to attend Court at later date as a complainant/witness should the driver deny any offence or claim it was just gravel being thrown up as he accelerated, no of of course you don't.

You are making too much of it. Put it behind you, move on and continue enjoy your travels.

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WSandME

WSandME

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I always take any opportunity to let a queue behind me pass. On this occcasion, as the video will attest, there was a constant stream of traffic in both directions, and I was not at the head of a queue, rather I was in the midst of it.

As it happens, today, leaving Boulogne on the A16 to Calais, I was overtaken on the entry roundabout by a young guy in a Diesel golf, "rolling coal" as he screamed up the outside. Perhaps my positioning was not perfect, but I was hoping to maintain momentum rather than hold everyone up as I entered the roundabout. In my book, you don't overtake on a roundabout. Lucky I keep a watch: defensive driving.
 

Techno

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I had a reaction from another driver at the weekend ,I was at a roundabout and taking the second exit ,two cars undertook me and a third in an open top Mercedes tried to do the same despite my indicating in plenty of time ,a few hundred meters later he overtook with plenty of hand gestures .
Maybe he couldn't see that your seatbelt was on?
 

Poohbear

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I had a reaction from another driver at the weekend ,I was at a roundabout and taking the second exit ,two cars undertook me and a third in an open top Mercedes tried to do the same despite my indicating in plenty of time ,a few hundred meters later he overtook with plenty of hand gestures .

I'm sure there is more to this than meets the eye but if you were taking the second exit you should have been in the inside lane and stayed in it on the roundabout, and therefore it would have been impossible to undertake you?

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Poohbear

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however.. .. if I'm doing the legal limit I see no reason to

That kind of attitude causes accidents. If someone wants to drive like a lunatic then let them past. At least they are going to be a long way from you when they crash.
 

badgerskins

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I'm sure most have covered your incident, however the little bit in your post relating to the cost of Hymer headlights caught my attention as I recently had both of mine replaced at a very reasonable price of a couple of hundred pounds, so I was surprised by the £2000 you talked about! My Hymer is 1991
 

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