Aggressive car drivers assault a cyclist in Bratislava
Different from the Netherlands, the police classify such incidents as a misdemeanour unless a serious injury occurs.
Cyril Šťastný, an avid Bratislava cyclist, was riding a bike when two drivers, in two separate incidents, reportedly assaulted him several weeks ago.
In the first case, a cab driver allegedly ran into him after he knocked on the boot of his car to tell him that he was blocking the bike lane on Špitálska Street in Bratislava’s Old Town. The police are investigating the case as a misdemeanour, not a crime, writes the Sme daily.
The second incident reportedly involved a courier who decided to pull out a knife and use it against the cyclist who, again, alerted this driver that he was blocking the bike lane, this time near a shopping mall. At first, the driver began to yell at him. The cyclist banged on the boot of the car in response. Then, the driver followed Šťastný until he stopped. The driver got off his car, pulled out the knife and attempted to slash his tires, according to the cyclist. As Šťastný tried to stop the driver, he got cut by the knife. A few minutes on, he lost his balance and fell next to the car.
“My leg was under the car wheel, and when he drove off, he ran over it,” Šťastný told Sme.
Some police officers do not take cyclists seriously
Initially, he wanted to file a criminal complaint against the courier. The police, for whom Šťastný had to wait for about an hour, told him that the courier had not committed any crime since Šťastný was not seriously injured during the clash. Moreover, the police officer who wrote the accident report initially left out important facts, such as the bike lane being the scene, which the police officer included in the report solely upon Šťastný’s request.
The Bratislava cyclist thinks that the police responsible for ensuring the safety of cyclists “take this job lightly”.
Dutch approach
The Office of the Cycling Coordinator has said that they are communicating with the police and lobbying for the police to acknowledge that pedestrians, scooter riders, as well as cyclists, are among the most vulnerable traffic participants.
“In the Netherlands, the laws are set up in such a way that regardless of what happens to a cyclist on the road, the driver bears primary responsibility, as they are in the position of the stronger party and face the least danger,” National Cycling Coordinator Peter Klučka told Sme, adding that the Dutch police would automatically treat Šťastný’s accident as a criminal offence.
He also called on cyclists to report any incidents with vehicles to help improve the situation of cyclists in cities. Meanwhile, Šťastný is still shocked by how the police handle cases similar to his.
“I'm shocked that when someone deliberately crashes into you with a nearly two-tonne car right on the bike lane, the law merely deems it as if two cars had collided - this cannot be the final result of how such situations are addressed.”
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