Guy Ritchie banned for texting at the wheel

[Cyclewala]

CyclingMikey, or BentMikey as he was known due to riding a recumbent, was a regular poster on the other forum a few years ago.

He started off making videos to highlight poor cycling. So, his videos were aimed at educating cyclists to ride better i.e. avoid the gutter , taking the lane etc.

He then moved to pointing out inconsiderate driving and phone use, before moving into the realms of traffic police. Some of his videos, whilst well intentioned, appear quite hostile and do nothing to nurture a positive motorist-cyclist relationship.

[Cyril Haearn]

How might a positive cyclist - motorist relationship be nurtured?

[reohn2]

FWIW one can't help but wonder if the lady protester outside the sex shop would've been keennon protesting outside a gun shop

By pure chance, the local gun shop is across the road and no, she didn't protest outside that.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5395711 ... 2?hl=en-GB

Point proven

[reohn2]

I can't read the article due to pop-ups/ad-blocker etc.
From what I gather Mr Ritchie was stationary when the alleged offence took place?
So if I pull over,into a layby for instance,to answer a call or text and do so with the engine running it is an offence?Or if I'm stuck in traffic but stationary it's an offence?Ridiculous.
I can drive along at 70mph and answer a call or text using hands free/siri/cortana etc or I can reach over an change a CD or radio station but I can't text when stationary?
As if that's not daft enough we have some nut-job riding around trying to catch people doing it!?

We have some stupid laws but this one takes first prize.

It's a whole area of law which needs cleaning up, I think, including sentencing guidelines

If you've ever been rear ended by a texting driver in a traffic jam you'll apreciate the difference

PS,His front bumper/panel was trashed,my towbar wasn't

[reohn2]

CyclingMikey, or BentMikey as he was known due to riding a recumbent, was a regular poster on the other forum a few years ago.

He started off making videos to highlight poor cycling. So, his videos were aimed at educating cyclists to ride better i.e. avoid the gutter , taking the lane etc.

He then moved to pointing out inconsiderate driving and phone use, before moving into the realms of traffic police. Some of his videos, whilst well intentioned, appear quite hostile and do nothing to nurture a positive motorist-cyclist relationship.

According to some drivers,by simply being on the road,I do nothing to nurture positive motorist-cyclist relationship
The problem IMO is that the motor car because it's become the main means of transport for the vast majority by UK roadusers everything else must make way for it.
This is otherwise known as the very large tail wagging a smaller dog!
Look on any pro motorist forum and see the complaints by some of horses,tractors,cyclists,in fact anything slower than a car being 'in the way',you'd think it was them who were pedalling the damned thing!

[Pete Owens]

And vigilante is the wrong word. All he is doing is reporting a crime he has witnessed to the proper authorities - like all good citizens are supposed to do.

A vigilante is one who bypasses the authorities and takes the law into their own hands and administers their own punishments.

[Grandad]

My speculation: he is angry, active, motivated, has a lot of success, changing emotions and feelings

Yes, he may not be angry all the time, but I think that is unlikely given the high volume of incidents he reports. It sounds like it occupies a good chunk of his waking day, and he must be either super-human or very stressed with so much confrontation.

Could this be the answer?

Explaining what motivates him, he told MailOnline: 'My dad was killed by a drink-driver when I was 19, I still remember him, so I feel very strongly about road safety.

[pwa]

And vigilante is the wrong word. All he is doing is reporting a crime he has witnessed to the proper authorities - like all good citizens are supposed to do.

A vigilante is one who bypasses the authorities and takes the law into their own hands and administers their own punishments.

Vigilante is the wrong word, but he is something more than a mere bystander reporting something he happens to see. He is actually patrolling. I can't think of a word that covers that. It is a bit like Neighbourhood Watch, but aimed at texting drivers rather than burglars.

[Slasher]

And vigilante is the wrong word. All he is doing is reporting a crime he has witnessed to the proper authorities - like all good citizens are supposed to do.

A vigilante is one who bypasses the authorities and takes the law into their own hands and administers their own punishments.

I agree with that. I'm sure that if any road user had to seriously consider, before doing something reckless or dangerous, that their actions might be recorded, they might think twice about it. If he's having success in terms of dangerous drivers being punished for driving offences because of his camera recordings, then good on him.

However, I think he may be going a bit far by standing in the road, thus forcing a car to stop; as happened on the two clips I watched. Would there be any circumstance where he might find the excuse given by an apparently desperate driver reasonable? Why not just ensure that the car registration is in the clip along with the alleged misdemeanor, and then send the clip to the police? It seems to me that it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt as a result of his confrontational style. Having said that, I thought the cool and calm manner he displayed on the clips I watched was pretty impressive!

[irc]

But we don't know if he's permanently angry or if he has a strong motivation from past experience for reporting errant motorists.

I think the article gives us a clue.

Explaining what motivates him, he told MailOnline: 'My dad was killed by a drink-driver when I was 19, I still remember him, so I feel very strongly about road safety.

[Grandad]

At least 2 of us have read the Mailonline

[Cyril Haearn]

Some of us can not or will not read it

I think Mikey should be put in charge of traffic law enforcement in the metropolis. Perhaps the thread title could be changed, I have almost forgotten the fairly famous person who was caught

[Bonefishblues]

But we don't know if he's permanently angry or if he has a strong motivation from past experience for reporting errant motorists.

I think the article gives us a clue.

Explaining what motivates him, he told MailOnline: 'My dad was killed by a drink-driver when I was 19, I still remember him, so I feel very strongly about road safety.

To my knowledge he's not posted a video intercepting drivers coming out of drinking establishments and attempting to drive, which might seem the most relevant piece of enforcement he could do, given his explanation of his motives. Conversely, whilst Mr Ritchie was clearly breaking the law, it's arguable that he didn't actually present a danger in terms of road safety at that point in time.

...and yes, there's an element of devil's advocacy there, but it's an interesting discussion.

[Cyril Haearn]

He could see people leaving pubs, but could not prove they were drunk

Using his camera he can record and prove many other crimes

Parliament made the laws, no need for us to worry about or interpret them or argue that they might be unnecessary. Banning using the phone when the motor is running makes sense
If the criminal was not driving or planning to drive he should have switched the motor off, simples

[reohn2]

But we don't know if he's permanently angry or if he has a strong motivation from past experience for reporting errant motorists.

I think the article gives us a clue.

Explaining what motivates him, he told MailOnline: 'My dad was killed by a drink-driver when I was 19, I still remember him, so I feel very strongly about road safety.

Apologies I didn't get that far into the article,I'm afraid I tend to squirm more a little when asked to read the DM and seldom get past the first paragraph.
That's probably my failing,or perhaps my saviour