The presenter of BBC’s Crimewatch was perhaps not the best person to launch at while he was cycling. But is Jeremy Vine completely blameless in all of this?
A woman who objected to the way a cyclist was riding his bike and got out of her car to angrily remonstrate with him has been blasted all over the internet after the cyclist turned out to be a BBC star presenter.
Jeremy Vine (51) hosts his own news and interview show on BBC Radio 2 and is also well known for hosting a series of TV shows including Crimewatch, Points of View, quiz show Eggheads and Panorama.
He was also a celebrity contestant on Strictly Come Dance and has almost 600,000 social media followers.
Vine was riding his bike last Friday in Kensington, London, when front and rear facing cameras he was wearing recorded the incident in the clip below, which he has edited and posted online.
The driver of a Vauxhall car behind him appears to become impatient at being unable to pass on a street narrowed by rows of cars parked on both sides.
Vine said he became concerned at the driver’s behaviour and so he stopped cycling, bringing the car to a halt behind him.
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The woman initially gestures from behind the wheel before getting out and confronting him.
Vine says in the subtitles on the footage that the woman kicked out at him and she can be heard shouting expletives and threats.
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The woman eventually gets back into her car but a little further up the street when she believes Vine is taking photos of her vehicle the confrontation starts again.
Thanks for interview requests about this video. But I think it's better to leave @metpoliceuk to take this over. https://t.co/1e7ckHDH3o
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) August 30, 2016
Eventually the motorist drives off, with Vine claiming she made the sign of a gun with her fingers and mock fired at him.
The clip has been viewed more than 400,000 times and most media outlets in the UK have carried it after Vine shared it 44,000 Facebook followers and 568,000 Twitter followers.
However, he has declined interviews saying the matter is best tackled by the police now.
There’s absolutely no doubt the driver acted, at the very least, in an inconsiderate manner and that she verbally abused him – though the charge of physical assault is not clear from the footage
However, did he inflame the situation by stopping in the middle of the road?
Is it ever a good idea to do that or are you putting yourself and other road users – even the obnoxious ones – at risk?
Let us know what you think.
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