Cycling Mikey and third party reporting

[Alex321]

He's not a vigilante. A vigilante sets themselves up as policeman, judge and executioner. He's not punishing anybody, or attacking them. He just confronts bad drivers and stands his ground, in a remarkably calm if slightly passive-agressive way. The likes of the mercedes driver are self-entitled bullies, who think the law doesn't apply to them, who behave like they do because they think their behaviour won't be challenged. If he were in Germany, where people expect others to obey the law, his behaviour would be the norm. If it was a mugger he confronted, no-one would think he was a vigilante. Personally, I'd give him an OBE.

vigilante
noun [ C ]

UK

/ˌvɪdʒ.ɪˈlæn.ti/ US

/ˌvɪdʒ.əˈlæn.t̬i/

a person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime, or to catch and punish someone who has committed a crime

That completely describes what he is doing when he moves in front of somebody to block them from illegally going the wrong side of the traffic island. He is absolutely acting as a vigilante.

 

[the snail]

vigilante
noun [ C ]

UK

/ˌvɪdʒ.ɪˈlæn.ti/ US

/ˌvɪdʒ.əˈlæn.t̬i/

a person who tries in an unofficial way to prevent crime, or to catch and punish someone who has committed a crime

That completely describes what he is doing when he moves in front of somebody to block them from illegally going the wrong side of the traffic island. He is absolutely acting as a vigilante.

Well I don't have a problem with citizens trying to prevent crime, and he's acting perfectly reasonably and within the law. The mercedes driver is breaking the law and putting other road users in danger, challenging that behaviour is perfectly justified imo.

 

[fossyant]

That completely describes what he is doing when he moves in front of somebody to block them from illegally going the wrong side of the traffic island. He is absolutely acting as a vigilante.

I don't actually mind those ones - you can see how dangerous the drivers are at that junction. Thing is, there are that many loons who will just not admit they are wrong. The number he get that start a full on argument for many minutes, and block the road for others.

 

[mjr]

That perfectly describes 99.0% of cycling helmet camera wearers, unfortunately.

99% of those who seek publicity, maybe. There are a hell of a lot of people with those little rubber cube cameras, or non-helmet bike light cameras, who never get in arguments with those they report, never attract press attention like this and never publish their footage themselves.

With all the cameras sold by supermarkets now, there must be thousands if not millions of bike cameras in use now. No way 99% of them are speaking to bad drivers, else every town would see arguments every day.

All power to Mikey but big love to the quiet camera operators and reporters too.

 

[Alex321]

Well I don't have a problem with citizens trying to prevent crime, and he's acting perfectly reasonably and within the law. The mercedes driver is breaking the law and putting other road users in danger, challenging that behaviour is perfectly justified imo.

Actually, while the drivers are most certainly breaking the law, I'm not at all sure he is acting within it either.

He is deliberately causing an obstruction, regardless of whether it is legal for the vehicle he is standing in front of to go that way. And what about vehicles trying to legally turn into that road from the other direction - they are blocked as well for as long as he stands there.

Videoing them and reporting to the police is absolutely a very good thing for him to be doing. But taking enforcement into his own hands, I'm not at all sure about.

And it isn't just him "standing his ground" - he wouldn't be in that space at all unless trying to deliberately block them.

I don't actually mind those ones - you can see how dangerous the drivers are at that junction. Thing is, there are that many loons who will just not admit they are wrong. The number he get that start a full on argument for many minutes, and block the road for others.

I fully agree that those drivers are acting very dangerously, and should absolutely be reported for it. But the last thing you say above is important - if it weren't for his actions, they wouldn't be blocking the road for others.

 

[the snail]

He is deliberately causing an obstruction..

No, the mercedes driver is causing the obstruction. A friend of mine was prosecuted once in a similar situation - he was in a queue of traffic and pulled onto the rh lane to turn right. Another driver took exception and blocked his path. I think my friend ended up with points on his licence.

 

[Alex321]

No, the mercedes driver is causing the obstruction.

Those things are not mutually exclusive. There is no doubt whatsoever that if Mikey had not blocked the driver from continuing (it isn't all Mercedes drivers, so I don't know why you keep specifying that), there would have been no obstruction.

Mikey is deliberately blocking the road. That is causing an obstruction. The driver, by refusing to back up and join the correct queue of traffic is also causing an obstruction.

A friend of mine was prosecuted once in a similar situation - he was in a queue of traffic and pulled onto the rh lane to turn right. Another driver took exception and blocked his path. I think my friend ended up with points on his licence.

As he should. But that doesn't mean the other driver was acting legally.

And if the other driver was not acting legally, that doesn't necessarily mean he will be prosecuted - the police have discretion in who they give FP tickets to, and if it goes beyond FP, they have discretion in who they report to the CPS, and the CPS have discretion in who gets prosecuted.

 

[Arjimlad]

If I were emerging from that junction on my bike, looking to my right, I would be mighty glad of Mikey or anyone blocking the dangerous clot who has decided to break the law and speed around the wrong side of a keep left bollard into my path.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I look both ways when at junctions

 

[figbat]

If I were emerging from that junction on my bike, looking to my right, I would be mighty glad of Mikey or anyone blocking the dangerous clot who has decided to break the law and speed around the wrong side of a keep left bollard into my path.

Me too as a fail-safe, but my mantra when on the road is to check all possible angles of attack, not just the allowed ones. Just because someone shouldn’t do something, doesn’t mean they can’t. I will always, for example, check for vehicles emerging from a junction against a red light, or a No Entry sign, or whatever - at Gandalf Corner I would check both ways before emerging to clear the possibility of a someone flouting the ‘keep left’ sign.

 

[Arrowfoot]

We all seem to be glad that he is doing it and are thankful but it will be a different story if it was our son or daughter. We will seek help from a psychologist or a psychiatrist as we know there is an issue.

Civic mindedness can be a in many forms such as helping out in a shelter, retirement home, clearing litter in a park etc. But this is not it. We can help him by referring him to a health professional.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Me too as a fail-safe, but my mantra when on the road is to check all possible angles of attack, not just the allowed ones. Just because someone shouldn’t do something, doesn’t mean they can’t. I will always, for example, check for vehicles emerging from a junction against a red light, or a No Entry sign, or whatever - at Gandalf Corner I would check both ways before emerging to clear the possibility of a someone flouting the ‘keep left’ sign.

Exactly this. I'm also looking out for other more vulnerable road users, like pedestrians, who may be in my path as I emerge.

 

[T4tomo]

I look both ways when at junctions

Indeed, I pulled my daughter up on this very early on when teaching her to drive as I said she'd have failed for failing to look left when turning left at a T junction. she questioned it on the "I only need to check for traffic from the right" grounds. Ahha says wise dad, but what about over taking vehicles coming from that direction on your side, crossing pedestrians a mother duck and ducklings on a sit down protest....always good to look where you are going.

I pretty much agree with @Alex321 Mikeys heart & motivation is in the right place and I admire him for that, but the way he goes about it is a bit knobbish at times.

 

[mjr]

Indeed, I pulled my daughter up on this very early on when teaching her to drive as I said she'd have failed for failing to look left when turning left at a T junction. she questioned it on the "I only need to check for traffic from the right" grounds. Ahha says wise dad, but what about over taking vehicles coming from that direction on your side, crossing pedestrians a mother duck and ducklings on a sit down protest....always good to look where you are going.

A more likely legitimate reason (at least around here, on an arterial road out of the town with the fire stations, police station and hospital) for a vehicle ignoring a keep-left or no-entry is an emergency vehicle on a blue-light run.

I've seen a couple of ambulance-car collision aftermaths where it's looked like there was little the ambulance driver could have done to avoid it without plodding slowly in the queue of heavy traffic and it should have been fine if the car driver had looked as required before pulling out, or even listened for the siren.

 

[Arjimlad]

Me too as a fail-safe, but my mantra when on the road is to check all possible angles of attack, not just the allowed ones. Just because someone shouldn’t do something, doesn’t mean they can’t. I will always, for example, check for vehicles emerging from a junction against a red light, or a No Entry sign, or whatever - at Gandalf Corner I would check both ways before emerging to clear the possibility of a someone flouting the ‘keep left’ sign.

Yes, me too, but someone doing this poses a serious risk nevertheless, I would suggest. Worthy of re-education. Otherwise when will they stop/change? After or before serious injury?