Guy Ritchie gets six-month drive ban after cyclist catches him texting

Another moron using his mobile in a car banned.
QUOTE:
The lycra-clad vigilante cyclist who shopped a stationary Guy Ritchie for using his phone is a road safety warrior who prides himself on having caught 358 drivers in a year and being responsible for 574 penalty points and £35,400 in fines.

Mike van Erp, 48, rides around London with a GoPro to catch drivers using their phones - often in traffic jams or by red lights - before confronting them on video and noting down their number plate and passing it on to the police.

Ritchie has become van Erp's highest profile target, and was today banned from driving for six months having been given six points on his licence for texting behind the wheel - taking his total to 15.

West Londoner van Erp filmed Ritchie texting at the wheel while stationary in Hyde Park and posts videos of all his triumphs on his 'CyclingMikey' YouTube channel under names like 'Give me the finger, get a Fixed Penalty Notice', 'A total scofflaw' and 'quite a satisfying piece of justice'.

Mr van Erp, a carer and full-time roller-skating instructor, has 22,400 subscribers and has described the ease with which he can land law-breaking drivers with a fine and possible disqualification.

He told MailOnline: 'I am empathetic to him [Richie] and other disqualified drivers. I have to look at myself to judge if I am doing the right thing.

'London is probably the camera cyclist capital of the world. Last year I think I caught 358 drivers and two cyclists, it only takes a few minutes to submit a video.

'You just fill out a form online and send it in. You do occasionally have to go to court, I have had to do it maybe five to ten times.'

In the past he has also complained about rules that ban rollerskating in some areas of London.
Mike van Erp, 48, caught Guy Richie using his phone while in stationary traffic in Hyde Park last year
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Mike van Erp, 48, caught Guy Richie using his phone while in stationary traffic in Hyde Park last year
The West Londoner is a serial 'camera cyclist' who shopped 358 drivers last year and has even had death threats over his filming. Pictured are photos he has posted on Instagram
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Mr van Erp in an Instagram photo
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The West Londoner is a serial 'camera cyclist' who shopped 358 drivers last year and has even had death threats over his filming. Pictured are photos he has posted on Instagram
Phones in cars: What is the law on mobile use?

The law states you can only use a hand-held device behind the wheel if the car is safely parked.

Crucially, this does not include if you are waiting at traffic lights or in a queue.

The only exception if for emergency calls when it is not safe to stop

Punishment is six penalty points and a £200 fine, or if a driver has passed less than two weeks earlier they can even lose their licence

' I definitely think what I am doing is keeping the roads safe. The points system is designed to get people to drive better. I have had quite a lot of anonymous death threats through what I do.

'But I am just one of many camera cyclists. I think there are thousands of them in London. Some of them are even more active than me.'

He has posted 10 videos this month alone, yet says only 1 in 5000 of his interactions make it to YouTube. On the day he caught Richie he filed complaints about three other drivers to the Met.

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. I first got my helmet camera in 2006 and realised its potential.'

The vigilante caught Guy Ritchie in Hyde Park when the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director, 51, was typing on his phone while stationary. He videoed Ritchie - who used to be married to Madonna - before alerting the police.

Bromley Magistrates Court banned Richie for six months on Tuesday after he admitted the offence, earning six points on his licence. It triggered a ban because it took him over 12, due to him already having nine from previous driving breaches.

Mr van Erp keeps a running tally of his successes on his CyclingMikey YouTube account, including the number of penalty points or amount in fines issued to each of his targets.

Six days ago, in a video entitled 'Nice tattoos, still reported', he approached a driver in a black van who was texting while sitting in traffic.

After standing next to his window with his camera for several second, Mr van Erp was spotted by the bemused-looking driver, who wound down his window. 'Having a good Whatsapp there mate?' he asked, to which the driver replied, 'Fine, yeah'.

'Sorry mate, you were doing it while you were driving,' Mr van Erp said, before taking reading the driver's numberplate in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The driver then called him a 'f****** b****** as he walked away.'

In January, the vigilante approached a white van driver who was watching Instagram videos on his phone at the traffic lights. 'Instagram videos behind the wheel, ha?' he asked, to which the driver replied, 'It's a red light'.

'That's a bit of an expensive mistake for you to make,' the YouTuber replied. 'See ya and keep a look out in your post.' The driver was later issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Mr van Erp's YouTube channel, which has attracted 11,438,443 views in total, alternates between videos of him catching drivers and more mundane footage of his travels around London, including feeding some swans in Hyde Park.

has hundreds of videos on his YouTube channel showing him catching drivers on their phones. Mr van Erp keeps a running tally of his successes on his CyclingMikey YouTube account, including the number of penalty points or amount in fines issued to each of his targets.
Mr van Erp, a carer and roller-skating instructor, has 22,400 subscribers and calls his exploits as 'sometimes scary, but almost always fun'


Pictured is one of the drivers he caught on his phone


Mr van Erp, a carer and roller-skating instructor, has 22,400 subscribers and calls his exploits as 'sometimes scary, but almost always fun'. Pictured are two more drivers he has caught on their phones
Mr van Erp encountered Richie in Hyde Park at around 1pm on November 3 last year. He is seen here in an Instagram photo.

Mr van Erp encountered Richie in Hyde Park at around 1pm on November 3 last year.

Footage showed him approaching the director in his black Range Rover and saying: 'Clear messages open here, oh dear.'

Ritchie rolls down his window and says 'Hello my friend' to which Mr van Erp replies 'Shalom'.

He added: 'I don't think you should be doing your text messages while you are driving, I saw you doing it back there as well.'

The traffic starts moving so he moves out of the way, then goes to catch up Ritchie again, who has now wound up his window.

Mr van Erp then says 'I guess he doesn't want to talk any more' before the video ends.

Ritchie was stationary at the time in a traffic queue with Apple headphones in to make legal calls hands-free. He pleaded guilty in writing to the offence, and was banned from driving for six months by Bromley magistrates on Tuesday.
Complaint: Mr van Erp is a qualified roller-skating instructor. He posted this image showing 'skate boarding and rollerblading are prohibited' onto his Instagram page but added that it was 'still perfectly legal to skate on the road whilst exercising your right to pass and repass'

In a statement afterwards Mr van Erp said: 'I spotted this driver texting on his phone. I stopped and whilst waiting for traffic to clear could clearly see the driver typing on his phone. I then crossed to the driver's side where I saw his iPhone lit up with the classic blue and grey message bubbles of Apple iMessage, with text, and a message in process of being typed but not sent.'

The Evening Standard said the case was dealt with behind closed doors under the Single Justice Procedure, to avoid a full court hearing, with a court official and a magistrate assessing the papers.

Ritchie, who already had nine points on his licence said he would not be contesting a driving ban and offered no mitigation for the offence through a letter from his lawyer.

He pleaded guilty to using a handheld mobile phone/device while driving a motor vehicle on a road and was given six points and ordered to pay a £666 fine, as well as £166 in prosecution costs and court fees.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ing-wheel.html