Mike van Erp, better known as CyclingMikey, (born 1972/73) is a Dutch

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

who films drivers in London using their mobile phones, as well as committing other

traffic offences A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

, footage of which he reports to the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

, and later uploads to his YouTube channel.

Video content

In November 2019, Van Erp filmed

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...

using a mobile phone while driving. Ritchie was subsequently prosecuted and banned from driving for six months. In 2021, he filmed

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the thir ...

driving through a red light, an offence Eubank was subsequently prosecuted for. In April 2021, he filmed

Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...

using a mobile phone and holding a hot drink while driving, but the prosecution was later dropped, due to insufficient evidence, after Lampard hired lawyer

Nick Freeman Nick Freeman (born 1956) is an English lawyer best known for specialising in the defence of traffic and speeding cases as well as road safety campaigning. He is the owner of Manchester-based legal practice Freeman & Co. Freeman has been nickn ...

to deal with the case. A regular location for Van Erp's videos and reports is a T junction beside

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, 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.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 whilst Van Erp claimed Lyon-Maris drove into him and he fell onto the bonnet. A jury cleared Lyon-Maris of both remaining charges. In November 2022, Van Erp appeared on the BBC television programme ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

'', in an episode titled "Road Rage: Cars v Bikes".

Personal life

Van Erp is a Dutch national but was born and grew up in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. When Van Erp was 19, his father, while riding a motorbike, was killed by a

drunk driver Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

. Van Erp moved to the UK in 1998 to pursue a career in IT. He is now a professional carer. He has also worked as a

roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

instructor.{{Cite news , last=Johnston , first=Neil , title=Cycling vigilante snatches Guy Ritchie on phone while in Range Rover , newspaper=

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, language=en , url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cycling-vigilante-snatches-guy-ritchie-on-phone-while-in-range-rover-wgmzrng75 , access-date=19 April 2022 , issn=0140-0460

References

Dutch YouTubers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Dutch emigrants to England