Man Cops $1,250 Fine After Driving On Bicycle Path To Yell At Cyclists

It seems like there is a small group of cyclists in Australia that give the broader cycling community a bad name.

Whether they ride three abreast, go through red lights or have zero care for pedestrians, it's easy to see why some Aussies absolutely hate people on two wheels.

But while most drivers will just shout inside their own car, there are a few who take matters in their own hands to make sure their voice is heard.

That's what Thomas Harris did when he saw two cyclists riding on a road, two abreast, despite there being a perfectly good cycle path right next to the bitumen.

So, instead of beeping his horn or riding right up close to the two blokes on bikes, he decided to drive on the cycle path to make a point.

As he passed the cyclists, he wound his window down and filmed himself yelling: "What's the point of us spending this money if you're not going to use it, you fucking dickhead."

One of the cyclists yells back: "Hey pull over so we can have a chat."

Thomas replies with: "Fuck off. Fucking idiot. Use the fucking bike track you dumb c**t."

He would have got away with it if only the two cyclists weren't off-duty police officers. Mr Harris was later arrested and charged with using his phone while driving, offensive language and driving on the cycle path.

To make matters worse, he did it on Australia Day, where double demerits were in full swing.

Mr Harris was fined $500 for each of the driving offences and $250 for the offensive language, taking the total to $1,250. Ouch.

According to the Illawarra Mercury, he initially tried to claim that his sister was the one holding the phone, but police were able to quickly dispel that.

"Upon being shown stills from the footage, the accused conceded that it was in fact himself holding the mobile phone," police said.

A GoFundMe was set up after Mr Harris was arrested and a whopping $4,000 was raised to help him with legal fees. The bloke's lawyer explained that he's donated that to Motor Neurone Disease research.

Magistrate Michael Stoddart told Harris in court this week: "This is just total stupidity ... given the facts before the court, there needs to be a conviction.

"In my view, to deal with the matter without conviction would be totally inappropriate, and that relates to all three matters."

Featured Image Credit: Thomas Harris

Topics: Viral, News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie