Illegal mobile phone use by motorists is endemic. However, rather than throw up his hands, Londoner Mike van Erp invested in a camera to record and report dangerous drivers.
The metropolitan police has prosecuted over 20,000 motorists since it started accepting video evidence via an online portal. Mike, better known as @cyclingmikey, can take credit for over 800 of them.
As you might expect, Mike’s efforts to tackle road danger earn him a torrent of online criticism. For example, he’s routinely accused of breaking privacy and data collection laws.
Just as well that Twitter’s very own ‘blackbelt barrister’ @dshensmith stepped up to present the facts. His video is well worth a watch. In a nutshell, there’s nothing illegal about recording and reporting lawbreaking motorists.
Cycling Mikey: “bad driving is largely tolerated by society”
In an interview an the Guardian, Mike van Erp explains: “I just like to think that with the power of one I’m trying to change a little bit of road safety. Most people who cycle realise that bad driving is largely tolerated by society. It’s not considered a really serious thing. Yet it’s claiming 1,800 lives a year in the UK alone, and 27,000 are seriously injured. That’s a quite serious toll, isn’t it?”
Cycle cameras – a necessary evil for today’s roads?
Cycle cams make you feel less helpless on hostile roads. In the event of a road traffic incident, video footage goes a long way towards guaranteeing legal redress – a cycle insurance of sorts.
We are one of the only countries in Europe to eschew presumed liability – a common sense law that makes motorists accountable for injuries caused to pedestrians and cyclists. As a result, court cases rest on one person’s word against another. Unless there’s video evidence for the court to consider.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance (covers cargo bikes), breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.
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