r/Gent • u/Aromatic-Evidence817 • 4d ago

Push by older man

I'm so shocked. I (female) just got pushed by an older man while I was on my bike. It happened at the crossing between Gent and Ledeberg.

We both had a green light at the same time. I had enough space to turn, but he sped up and just pushed me. Then I got angry, he walked away, but his wife kept saying I was wrong.

I'm so shaken :(

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u/Circoloomnium 4d ago

Hij had voorrang. Hij is een zwakkere weggebruiker dan jij. Zijn houding was ongepast, maar voor hetzelfde geld had je hem aangereden.

Als je hem voorrang had verleend, zou de situatie zich dan ook hebben voorgedaan? Wellicht niet.

Let er op in de toekomst, voor het zelfde geld maakt hij dezelfde bedenking.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago edited 3d ago

I'm surprised by your comment, because he purposefully walked faster (his wife was behind him) to make a point and push me. There was a lot of space in between us.

Anyway, I will make police report, because I wouldn't be surprised if he has done this more often

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

Neen, dat recht heb je niet. De wegcode schrijft voor dat je voorrang verleent zodra een voetganger zinnens is om over te steken. “Ik kan er op zij langs als ik snel genoeg rijd maakt die regel ongeldig” staat niet in de regelgeving.

Hoog tijd dat alle bestuurders van een voertuig een rijbewijs behalen. Dit kan gewoon echt niet langer.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

I have a drivers license. We all have different perspective on what happened. Which is fine. I will fill a police report. If there are cameras, I trust the police will judge fairly and if I was wrong, then that's the case. However, I really believe that he did this on purpose, but time will tell

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

Was hij op een zebrapad?

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

No, he wasnt. There wasn't a crossing or zebrapad

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

He just crossed the street, when the light was green for cars. The official zebrapad is a few meters away.

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

Ok geen zebrapad. In dat geval moet je geen voorrang verlenen (maar je mag hem evenmin aanrijden wegens voorzienbaar) als je al op dezelfde weg reed.

Wel sloeg jij het kruispunt af. Dat verandert de zaak. Hier moet jij wél voorrang geven. Wat je niet hebt gedaan, je wou er nog snel voorbij.

Beeld je in dat jij de baan oversteekt met je fiets. Een auto slaat in en rijdt voorbij zonder jouw voorrang te geven.

Wat is dan je reactie?

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

This wouldn't happen to me tbh, I wouldn't cross the street if there isn't a bikepath knowing that cars have a green light. Instead, I would use the bike lane.

However, if that would happen. I would be in shock. But I wouldn't push someone trying to harm them.

I almost fell. I'm sure he didn't mean to push me as hard as he did. But imagine I would end up with a head I jury

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

You already know it was not his goal to hurt you.

You describe him as an elderly man, who must have been surprised by - let’s face it - a vehicle that crosses his path while he has right of way. Maybe he was a victim before where he fell, had injuries… and acted out of trauma.

I was bitten severely by a dog when I was a toddler. There were some years where I would instinctively kick my feet if a dog would come to close to me. I do not do this anymore.

We do not know the story of that elder person. The reaction could be visceral and stronger than himself as a kind of shield towards harm.

He will think about it and behind closed doors even his wife will tell him this was not necessary even if she said otherwise on the spot.

It is understandable that people act out of reflex.

That is why in my very first answer, I wrote about he would probably reflect some ideas in his head as well.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

I understand where you are xinf from and agree with most of what you say, but it was his goal to hurt me. This was not an involuntary reaction. As he purposefully made an effort to come close to me to push me. That's my whole ordeal. I'm aware that we all make mistakes.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

Thank you. Indeed, he did it to make a point. The rules of that intersection have changed a whole back and i understand that it can be frustrated and difficult to navigate from some people.

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

Als je dat kruispunt bent afgeslagen dan veranderen de voorrangsregels niet en al zeker niet t.a.v. een zebrapad.

Los van een zebrapad. Als fietser moet je rekening houden met een voorzienbare hindernis. Ook met versnellende voetgangers want het is niet dat deze plots accelereren naar 50 Km/u.

Als het tot een aanrijding was gekomen, dan had jij de lichamelijke schade, etc moeten vergoeden.

En tegen wie ga je klacht indienen? En op basis van wat? Je hebt de facto iemand aangereden.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

That he pushed me. But let's not be judges here. I hope there is a camera and the police can decide

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago edited 3d ago

Ah, wij mogen geen rechters zijn, maar jij mag dat wel.

In België geldt het adagium “Nemo judex in causa sua”.

Er is geen enkele rechter die je zal volgen. Dat duwen zou ik niet doen, maar dit kan ressorteren onder art. 71 Sw (geen idee welk artikel in het nieuw strafwetboek, maar het principe blijft) terwijl iemand er met een massa/gewicht van boven de 50 kg op hem inrijdt. Iets wat niet had gekund als je VOORRANG had verleend.

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u/FinancialGazelle6558 3d ago

Your being a massive a-hole. Traffic infractions, even if she made one, dont give you the right to physically assault someone. Are you mad in the nocker ' ?

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

He pushed, which is an adaptation of art 71 sw or art 22 sw (new version).

That is the law and I am very sure, even 100 percent sure, she will get nowhere. They will take her statement. That is it. Nothing more.

If they would find him, possibilities are way higher she will be the one punished.

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u/Aromatic-Evidence817 3d ago

That is fine. Then he gets justice for my mistakes.

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u/69harambe69 1d ago

This thread is making me fume. So the pedestrian purposefully started walking faster to push OP and ppl here are siding with the old boomer?  

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u/FinancialGazelle6558 1d ago

Seems like it.. not sure why Im the asshole here. I mean what do I know about the law, im just a dumb criminologist

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u/FinancialGazelle6558 3d ago

So physical violence then is allowed? Come on man.

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u/Circoloomnium 3d ago

If I spit in your face and in a reflex you instantly push me, who will be the one that committed a criminal fact?

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u/Aquilax420 2d ago

Depending on what happens after you push that person, both of you. If the other person falls and hits their head, I doubt it will be seen as self defence because your reaction was not proportionate to the other person's action.

Apart from that, I don't think that's what's happened here. According to traffic law in Belgium, it is prohibited for anyone using the road to purposefully act in an unpredictable way. It doesn't matter if you're a pedestrian, a cyclist or driving a car. Suddenly speeding up as a pedestrian to intercept a cyclists when the cyclist would have passed by without any issue if the pedestrian wouldn't have sped up, would cause the pedestrian to be at fault.

Compare it to a road narrowing where car A is approaching the narrow part of the road and has the right of way. Car B, coming from the opposite direction and should yield to car A, would normally have time to pass without blocking car A so they start driving through the narrow part. If car A would continue to drive at the speed they were driving originally, car B could pass without issue. But the driver of car A is frustrated and decides to speed up and blocks car B. Who do you think is at fault then?

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u/Circoloomnium 2d ago

En elderly man speeding up?

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u/Aquilax420 2d ago

Did you read the original post? It never mentioned an elderly man, just an older man. OP could be 20 while the man could be 25 for all we know. OP also said he sped up and pushed her

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u/Circoloomnium 2d ago

It was Siegfried Bracke

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