Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
CyclingMikey
Dutch YouTuber (born 1972) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Michael van Erp (born 1972), better known as CyclingMikey,[2] is a Dutch vigilante who films London drivers using their mobile phones, as well as committing other traffic offences, which he reports to the police and later uploads to YouTube.[3]
 |
Since 2019, he has caught and exposed several high-profile celebrities allegedly committing such offences, including Guy Ritchie, Chris Eubank, and Frank Lampard. His career was prompted by his father's death in a road traffic collision with a drunk driver.
Remove ads
Video content
Summarize
Perspective
In November 2019, Van Erp filmed Guy Ritchie using a mobile phone while driving. Ritchie was subsequently prosecuted and banned from driving for six months.[4][5][6] In 2021, he filmed Chris Eubank driving through a red light, an offence for which Eubank was subsequently prosecuted.[7][8] In April 2021, he filmed Frank Lampard using a mobile phone and holding a hot drink while driving,[9] but the prosecution was later dropped, due to insufficient evidence, after Lampard hired lawyer Nick Freeman to deal with the case.[10]
A regular location for Van Erp's videos and reports is a crossroads beside Regent's Park, which he dubbed "Gandalf Corner", where he waits and has stopped many drivers from driving on the wrong side of the road past a pedestrian crossing island to avoid queueing to turn right.[11][12]
Location of "Gandalf Corner" near Regent's Park
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. Lyon-Maris pleaded guilty to the lesser charge, but he pleaded not guilty to the two greater charges, alleging that Van Erp jumped onto the bonnet while Van Erp claimed Lyon-Maris drove into him and he fell onto the bonnet.[13] A jury cleared Lyon-Maris of both remaining charges.[14]
In November 2022, Van Erp appeared on the BBC television programme Panorama in an episode titled "Road Rage: Cars v Bikes".[15] In April 2024, Van Erp released a video of himself running a red light in Belgravia, London. He stated, "It's my mistake, I hold my hands up, I'm at fault there. ... I missed that the other two traffic lights were still red", and added, "If the police prosecute me, so what? I'll pay the fine, you're not going to see me complaining."[16]
Remove ads
Personal life
Van Erp was born in January 1972 in the Netherlands and grew up in Zimbabwe.[17][18] When he was 19, his father, while riding a motorbike, was killed by a drunk driver.[17] Van Erp moved to the UK in 1998 to pursue a career in IT. He is now a professional carer.[2] He has also worked as a roller skating instructor.[19] He has two sons,[20] and lives in west London.[21]
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads