So in the last couple of weeks a video emerged of Michael Van Erp, commonly known as 'CyclingMikey', a notorious cycling vigilante, throwing his bike at a car.
Actually, that's a cynical misrepresentation by the right-wing media of what happened. He did not intentionally push his expensive (legal EAPC) bike into the car. He was trying to get himself and his bike into the middle of the lane quickly to block the car from continuing to drive the wrong way up the lane. He believed that the car would then stop and have to reverse back to the queue. Cars are supposed to give way to pedestrians. If you watch the videos of similar incidents on his
YouTube channel you will see he regularly uses this strategy.
He just underestimated the recklessness of the motorist and then could not stop his heavy bike without getting hit himself. In fact, he narrowly missed being hit himself. After that the driver should have stopped, but he just drove off. Why would he deliberately push his expensive EAPC, loaded with his possessions, in front of a car when he knew it could not stop? The motorist drove at him deliberately (on the wrong side of the road past several "No Entry" signs) and actually accelerated as it approached him.
South African accent gay guy I assume?
You assume wrong. He was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Zimbabwe. He has two sons, so not sure why you think he is gay?
How he’s not dead is remarkable. Highly unlikeable person with a terrible approach to his cause.
He's come close:
In September 2021, while at "Gandalf Corner", Van Erp ended up on the bonnet of celebrity talent agent Paul Lyon-Maris's Range Rover while trying to stop him from making an illegal right turn. Since Lyon-Maris continued to drive with Van Erp on the bonnet, he was charged with assault and dangerous driving, besides the lesser charge of contravening a keep-left sign.
Source
Like almost everything on the internet these days, just assume it’s staged for content purposes.
No, it's real. He passes on the
video evidence he collects to the Police and there have been thousands of convictions based upon it.
Does he have some mental health issues?
When he was 19-years-old his father was killed by a drunk driver. At school he witnessed a friend being knocked down by a taxi driving the wrong way round a traffic island. His friend survived, but was badly injured. Hence his disdain for motorists who deliberately flout the rules.
Exactly, there are plenty of videos where he ignores anything illegal committed on two wheels, including his own actions that often flout the law. He’s as bad as those he reports. All for clicks, nothing about the greater good.
So cyclists have never caused death or injuries on the roads? Hmm ok then.
He once cycled through a red light and gave the video of himself doing it to the Police knowing full well they might fine him for it. Given that cyclists cause less than 1% of the pedestrian deaths that motorists do it should be obvious why he concentrates on motorists. Being hit by a car is at least 20 times worse than being hit by a cyclist. A >1.5 ton car carries a lot more momentum!
Besides, how are you supposed to report a reckless cyclist (who has no number plate) to the Police? You would have to arrest them, which you cannot do as a citizen, unless they have just committed an indictable offence. Arguing with them would be pointless and in some cases possibly dangerous.
Except it would likely be far more effective a deterrent to quietly report these people to the police with his video evidence - so they end up with points & a fine (e.g. something which actually affects them) - rather than shouting at them and shoving a camera in their face where the most they probably take away from the encounter is "WTF was wrong with that nutcase?" rather than realising their own actions were to blame.
That's exactly what he does. There are thousands of successful prosecutions of motorists thanks to his video evidence. Maybe he became frustrated with watching people committing motoring offences with impunity and putting the lives of others at risk?
