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Bromley Common overtake video still (CyclingMikey on YouTube)Video: Motorist speaks of "upset" after helmet camera footage of bad driving posted to YouTube
A driver in South London has spoken of the “upset” he felt after footage of him exchanging words with a cyclist after trying to pass him at a pinch point on the road was posted to YouTube. The driver seemed to have interpreted a signal from to hold back from the rider, who also told road.cc why he takes helmet camera footage and uploads it to the video-sharing site.
Robert Lewis, aged 56, was seeking to overtake a recumbent bike ridden by YouTube user CyclingMikey as the pair headed along Bromley Common on Thursday 20 March.
As the video shows, with a pedestrian island ahead on the road creating a pinch point, the cyclist gestured to the motorist to hold back until it was safe to overtake.
But the motorist seems to have misinterpreted it as a signal to overtake, and afterwards there was an exchange in which he told CyclingMikey that he should be on the cycle path on the adjacent footway.
The driver, 56-year-old Robert Lewis, told This Is Local London: "I didn't sleep very well over the weekend because it really upset me.
"I didn't sleep very well over the weekend because it really upset me.
"I don't really get into confrontations with people on the road. I don't speed, I've never had a parking fine since I started driving in 1975.
"I'm annoyed he's put this thing about me on YouTube.”
Referring to the incident, Mr Lewis said: "He's given me this hand signal and I am thinking he's wanting me to pass.
"He says 'stay away from me' and he says he's going to put the video on YouTube which I think is an infringement of my privacy.
"I think he does normal cyclists a disservice by not using the cycle lanes for safety reasons, but happily using them if traffic impedes his progress," he added.
That final point perhaps reinforces a misconception held by many motorists who believe that cyclists are obliged to use on-road cycle lanes or shared use paths on the footway.
In fact there is no legal requirement to do so, and due to the presence of pedestrians on the footway plus the presence of driveways and side road junctions, it is safer for faster moving cyclists to be on the main carriageway.
CyclingMikey, who in the description to the video points out that besides being a cyclist, he's also an experiencd driver, told road.cc: “I feel bad that he's upset about this incident, but then how does a little embarrassment compare with the fear and danger he caused me?
“It's very dangerous to cyclists for a driver to attempt to overtake at a pinch point, and I have been knocked off by a driver doing something very similar in the past,” as shown in this video.
Since posting that footage in October 2011, he’s since been overtaken by the same taxi on at least two occasions – six months later in April 2012, and again in January 2013 – and was given much more space each time.
Regarding Thursday’s incident, he said: “This section of road is a difficult one for cyclists as most of us are simply travelling too fast for the pavement cycle path, and the lane itself is narrow and has the pedestrian islands.
“I first became aware of the driver whilst watching traffic coming up for an overtake in my mirrors, and I judged that he would attempt to overtake me through the upcoming pedestrian refuge.
“I signalled right, and let there be no mistake, this is a very obvious right signal, not a waving through. I like to think I make super obvious signals, and I find it hard to believe that anyone could mistake a right arm out as waving them through. This was enough to get him to brake and back off.
“I then made a look signal and pointed to the traffic island as we went through it, and then after the traffic island waved him through, essentially doing his overtake planning for him.
“This is when he chose to come alongside and too close to me and offer advice about riding in the cycle lane. Had he instead chosen to overtake as all the other cars did, I doubt I'd have bothered to upload the video.
“I didn't report him to Roadsafe as this is fairly minor, but had I done so I'm reasonably sure they would have written him an educational letter.”
We asked CyclingMikey why he uses cameras to record footage of examples of bad driving – and, it should be said, cycling – he said: “I'm one of thousands of cyclists who use cameras to educate and improve driver and cyclist behaviour.
“As more and more drivers realise that so many of us are filming, they begin to take more care around cyclists generally. It's no different to all the Russian drivers using dashcams, a natural reaction to bad driving and bad justice.
“I have a playlist of repeat ‘customers’ who generally considerably improve their behaviour on the second encounter,” as happened with those taxi videos linked above.
He added: “I can't imagine ever needing to or wanting to use a camera in the Netherlands.”
Last week, we reported how helmet camera footage from cyclist Dave Brennan had led to a Glasgow driver pleading guilty to four charges including dangerous driving.
In its article, This Is Local London has asked motorists who have had what it describes as an “altercation” with CyclingMikey to get in touch with it.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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75 comments
Cycling Mikey also known as "Bent Mikey" has form for being all over the forums self promoting - trying to sell him self as an expert. I am not sure if he ever managed to get picked up as a paid consultant by a local council, government body or whatever cycling charity but he keeps on trying. It makes a change that he isn't recycling (yet again) the footage of the cyclist he saw get killed. It was incidental that he witnessed that, it doesn't make him the Frank Lloyd wright of the cycling world. I would just ignore him. He also does rollerblading lessons if you are interested.
That''s harsh. I can't comment on his private motives for doing what he does (if he indeed has any that are private)...can't read anyone's mind, but I have no reason to believe he is motivated by anything other than a wish to capture dangerous or careless driving on camera as evidence in case it is ever needed for legal reasons, and a hope that by publicising such behaviour, drivers will begin to realise how what they do on the road can impact so powerfully on the safety and experience of more vulnerable road users. I can't see the harm in that at all, really.
There's some quality journalism there. This morning that had about a thousand views which is apparently a YouTube hit.
The paper doesn't seem to have bothered asking London's well known and easily contactable recumbent rider for a response. But they are inviting anyone who has had an "altercation" with him to give their news desk a call.
For some reason, they don't seem to be interested in anyone who has had an altercation with the driver.
What privacy? He's on a public road. There is no expectation of privacy whilst out in a public space (unless you are a celebrity or otherwise very wealthy, which becomes a whole different ball game...).
Anyway, it's not like someone put up posters of him on his road - seriously, what are the chances of someone he knows or ever comes into contact with, finding a random youtube clip of him driving like an a**e?
And, if he was so concerned about his privacy he wouldn't have gone and talked to his local newspaper to complain about it - all that has achieved, I would imagine, is to increase the number of hits on said youtube clip.
A couple of things:
"...he's going to put the video on YouTube which I think is an infringement of my privacy..."
The road is a public space and so there is no privacy issue at all.
"...I think he does normal cyclists a disservice by not using the cycle lanes for safety reasons..."
Most of the reasons for not using shared cycle lanes is for safety reasons, pedestirans, street furniture, lack of right or way, etc....
But even if you did think that he was signaling for you to overtake, it was at a pinch point, when I am driving my car if a cyclist signals for me to overtake it is up to me as the driver to decide whether or not I will. Afterall, a cyclist doesn't know how quickly I will pass or how risk adverse I am and therefore how much time/space I require to pass.
I'm playing devil's advocate here and therefore I'm sure I'm going to get some abuse, but here goes.
Love the quote above, I would imagine that cycle lanes are much safer than a road, I know there has been some horrible accidents on cycle lanes but a vast majority of accidents happen on a road.
You are quite right that most of the collisions (not accident there is always someone to blame
) do occur on road. This is even the case where there are pedestrian vs motorist collisions.
It is known that junctions are the highest location for accidents, and frequently the pavement cycle routes do not have priority, instead the minor road making a junction does so this gives the cyclist a vast number of extra junctions and exposing yourself to extra risk. As an aside this lack of ability to maintain my momentum is irksome. Then there is the risk of "straying" pedestrian, this observationally biased phenomenon where if a pedestrian has a choice between walking on the pedestrian side or the cycle side they always* pick the cycle side. (*not always). Then there are the issues with the road surface and huge number of street furniture to dodge around, including the bus stop with gangs of people in the cycle lane.
It all comes down to how you best judge the risk which is a decision that everyone needs to make for themselves.
I would love for a shared cycle lane to be the best option, but frequently they are ill conceived and poorly executed.
So many road users don't understand that a cycle lane is an OPTION and not compulsory. There are so many around Manchester that are full of crud, potholes and glass that render them pointless, and those that run alongside roads on the pavement just take you into signposts, lamp posts, pedestrians and on topsy-turvy tangents, making the road a much quicker and safer option.
Very much the same in Middlesbrough so many junctions, pedestrians, lamp posts and other objects that using the road is a far better option, most of the time you are moving faster than the traffic anyway.
“I then made a look signal and pointed to the traffic island as we went through it, and then after the traffic island waved him through, essentially doing his overtake planning for him."
CyclingMikey ought to be aware that, although he is completely correct with regard to the cycle paths and the misconceptions held by motorists, using non standard signals is never a good idea as they lack the clarity which he usually ensures and that waving a driver through is never a good idea.
Use road positioning and signals to alert drivers to what you are doing but the choice to overtake or make other manoeuvres should be left to the motorist.
Whether driving or cycling we should neither make signals to tell others that they can proceed with a manoeuvre nor act on such signals without having checked and decided for ourselves that the move is appropriate.
The voice of sense, well said. Cyclingmikey has far too many videos on his youtube channel, it's almost like he wants the confrontation (I ride in London daily and don't have half as many confrontations as him). Keep yourself to yourself, signal what you're doing and get on with it. Why did he not just move out slightly if he didn't want the guy overtaking - by pointing, the driver has to spot the gesture, understand the gesture, identify what he's pointing at, understand why he's pointing at it and then take action, hardly an easy process at speed and easily misinterpreted.
If he wears a headcam all the time, then maybe its not that he has any more confrontations but that he publishes every little confrontation, the ones we all just shake our heads, swear a little, and carry on with our journeys.
Impressed that the driver is so keen to safeguard his privacy that he allowed his full name, age and the road he lives on to be published in the local rag.
"My driving is so poor, that I thought it'd be best to contact the local paper and get it published as I wasnt sleeping from the stress"
"My driving is so poor, that I thought it'd be best to contact the local paper and get it published as I wasnt sleeping from the stress"
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