“In four years Mike van Erp has filmed 1,400 drivers using their phones, leading to 1,800 penalty points, £110,000 of fines — and him being assaulted by disgruntled motorists. Is he a road safety hero or just a darned nuisance? Nick Rufford joins him on patrol”
I’ve watched a few of his videos. I should be surprised that he catches so many drivers in their phones, but in and around London? Not surprised at all.
Need more drivers to actually get their comeuppance for their shitty driving, no excuses for the way some drive.
I don’t understand why someone who likes to pick out people driving with their phone, fails to wear s helmet give that he has a high probability of being run over by the same people he is pissing off. Odd!
There are situations where it turns out to have been detrimental to have been wearing a seatbelt in a car too. Doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea in general.
A helmet might not help much if he goes under the wheels of anything that can be measured in tonnes, but it’ll help if he gets nudged (or slips) and tries an unexpected game of tarmac headbutt.
Yes; circumstances matter. The Highway Code gets around all of this by stating (note it’s a should not a must):
“You should wear a cycle helmet that conforms to current regulations, is the correct size and securely fastened. Evidence suggests that a correctly fitted helmet will reduce your risk of sustaining a head injury in certain circumstances.”
That’s from Rule 59; link here
Agreed. My wife came off her bike while we were riding together and if she hadn’t been wearing a helmet I don’t even want to think about the outcome. As it was she was knocked out cold, and lost her memory for several hours. There was a huge dent in her cycle helmet that would have been in her head instead if she hadn’t been wearing it. Will always wear a helmet when cycling.
Ooh, this is a classic internet flame war, I haven’t seen this one in awhile. I’m basically obligated by internet history to ask you for proof that it improves your odds of surviving, but instead I’m going to ask you how much RAM Emacs uses on your machine. That should help resolve this argument!
Wearing a helmet might also might make some drivers drive closer to you and with less care. So it might help make some accidents less severe, but it also might make the chance of a serious accident more likely. It’s not as straightforward as many seem to think.
The folks being caught on their phones only have themselves to blame; the law is clear.
As for the prospect of taking revenge on the cyclist, the very thought is heinous - and helmet or not the liability for any injury would rest wholly with the driver.
Cycling Mikey is a legend.
Is he a road safety hero or just a darned nuisance?
It’s a funny old world where someone reporting people for committing crimes is a “nuisance”. I presume it’s because it’s the sacred art of driving, rather than littering or not picking up dog poo.
Honestly, someone who did the same for littering would probably get a similar reaction. To a lot of people this is turning a minor infraction into a bigger deal.
Think of those nosy neighbors that watch out the window and call the cops on any minor violation. Yeah its illegal but some people take reporting to an obnoxious level.
