A prominent road safety campaigner who reports motorists to police has filmed himself pushing his bicycle directly into a moving Fiat 500 during a confrontation over alleged traffic violations in west London.
Michael van Erp, 53, known online as “Cycling Mikey”, was attempting to prevent the black vehicle from travelling through a section of roadworks on Peddenswick Road in Hammersmith marked with “no entry” signs when the incident occurred on Monday.
Footage posted by van Erp shows him positioning his bicycle, laden with a backpack and other belongings, to block the car’s path before deliberately pushing it into the vehicle as it accelerated past, causing his basket to smash and possessions to scatter across the road.
Controversial Tactics Captured on Camera
The clip, shared across YouTube, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), shows van Erp monitoring drivers to ensure they adhered to two “no entry” signs positioned on the opposite side of the road during roadworks.
When the Fiat 500 initially attempted to pass through the restricted zone, van Erp moved his bicycle forward to block its path. However, rather than stopping, the driver accelerated towards him, prompting the cyclist to push his bike directly into the moving vehicle.
The impact sent van Erp’s belongings sprawling across the tarmac, forcing him to collect his scattered possessions from the road. When another motorist attempted to follow the Fiat through the restricted area, van Erp shouted: “No f— off go back, what the f— do you think you’re doing? Go back.”
The Metropolitan Police and van Erp have been approached for comment regarding the incident.
High-Profile Road Safety Campaigner
Van Erp has become one of Britain’s most recognisable cycling activists, amassing nearly 120,000 YouTube subscribers through videos documenting traffic violations. Since 2019, he has reported 2,280 drivers to police, resulting in 2,649 penalty points, £165,700 in fines and 35 driving disqualifications.
His motivation stems from personal tragedy. Born in the Netherlands in 1972 and raised in Zimbabwe, van Erp’s father was killed by a drunk driver when he was 19. He moved to the UK in 1998 for an IT career but now works as a professional carer whilst pursuing his road safety campaign.
“I just like to think that with the power of one I’m trying to change a little bit of road safety,” van Erp told The Guardian. “Most people who cycle realise that bad driving is largely tolerated by society. It’s not considered a really serious thing. Yet it’s claiming 1,800 people’s lives a year in the UK alone.”
Celebrity Catches and Controversial Methods
Van Erp has gained notoriety for catching high-profile figures breaking traffic laws. In November 2019, he filmed director Guy Ritchie using a mobile phone whilst driving, leading to a six-month driving ban. He also captured former boxer Chris Eubank driving through a red light in 2021.
His regular patrol spot is a crossroads beside Regent’s Park, which he dubbed “Gandalf Corner”, where he prevents drivers from illegally skirting traffic by driving on the wrong side of a pedestrian island.
In September 2021, van Erp ended up on the bonnet of celebrity talent agent Paul Lyon-Maris’s Range Rover whilst trying to stop an illegal turn. Lyon-Maris was charged with assault and dangerous driving but later cleared by a jury.
Facing Abuse and Death Threats
The campaigner’s activities have made him a lightning rod for criticism and abuse. Van Erp describes himself as “like Marmite” – loved by some, hated by others, with the latter group tending to be “younger males with driving licences.”
“There’s some really, really grim stuff. Endless abuse,” he told Cycling Weekly, confirming he receives death threats and personal attacks. His approach to handling abuse is simple: “mute and block.”
In one bizarre Twitter poll shared by broadcaster Jeremy Vine, van Erp was voted worse than Hitler as “the worst person in history” – a result van Erp interpreted as showing “how afraid drivers are of being caught by a camera cyclist.”
Own Rule-Breaking Admission
Despite his vigilance towards others, van Erp faced criticism in April 2024 when he posted footage showing himself running a red light in Belgravia, central London.
“It’s my mistake, I hold my hands up, I’m at fault there,” he admitted. “I missed that the other two traffic lights were still red. If the police prosecute me, so what? I’ll pay the fine, you’re not going to see me complaining.”
Friend of Jeremy Vine
Van Erp is friends with TV presenter Jeremy Vine, who used to post similar footage before stopping in April 2025 due to severe online abuse. Vine revealed he faced “at least two death threats” being investigated by police and said the trolling had “genuinely upset” him.
“They have had well over 100 million views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me,” Vine stated, explaining why he stopped sharing cycling videos despite their road safety message.
Divisive Figure in Road Safety Debate
Critics have labelled van Erp a “vigilante” and “sneak”, with former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson calling him “the most dreadful man in Britain today” in a 2024 column. Clarkson argued that whilst van Erp might be technically correct, he violated an unwritten code against “shopping” others.
Van Erp rejects the vigilante label, insisting: “I’m capturing the evidence, and then I’m letting the police and justice system deal with it.” He maintains he reports cyclists who break laws too, though admits the numbers are disproportionate: “Last year I think I caught 358 drivers and two cyclists.”
The Hammersmith incident represents an escalation in van Erp’s confrontational approach, with his decision to physically push his bicycle into a moving vehicle raising questions about the boundaries of citizen enforcement and road safety activism.
As debates continue over cycling infrastructure and road sharing in British cities, figures like van Erp remain divisive – seen by supporters as necessary guardians of road safety and by critics as self-appointed traffic wardens overstepping reasonable bounds.
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