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Trasteryesterday at 6:55 PM4 repliesview on HN

Since this site has a very international audience, it's quite important to make clear: there's not some road safety inspired reason for this. Mickey is an adrenaline junky who loves to start fights in public and he's found a way to do that in a mostly legal way. Sometimes, a little less legal, like when he lept onto the bonnet of a car in order to feign he'd been run over, or when he threw his bicycle into the path of an oncoming car endangering pretty much everyone in the situation (interestingly, a situation in which the author of this article seems to imply the car was to blame, not Mikey for deliberately throwing his bike into the path of the car, calculatingly not actually throwing himself into the path).

The guy has got sucked into a sort of spiral where he's going out to create these confrontations (partly to monetize on youtube), and he will, eventually cause some serious harm to himself or someone else. This article kind of misses that this isn't a story about road safety, it's more a story about how people can self-radicalise and how social media has created a profit incentive for them to do so.

It's difficult to watch a motorist threaten to take his own life if this guy reports him and then remember that actually, that's happening for ad revenue.


Replies

Freak_NLyesterday at 7:00 PM

So, don't fuck around with your phone while driving. Stick to the traffic rules. Avoiding him seems really, really easy.

Anyone who chooses to grab their phone while driving a car deserves all the negativity they get. Unlearn that habit. Seek help if you're addicted to that device. Or just take the Tube.

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maxwellgyesterday at 7:09 PM

Mikey might have a profit incentive at play, but let's be abundantly clear - the drivers he is catching are frequently flagrantly breaking the law and endangering both themselves and the people around them. I have a very hard time feeling sympathy for those who are unable or unwilling to operate a car safely on public roads.

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crtasmyesterday at 7:12 PM

Throwing a bike would be impressive, but he clearly didn't throw it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9q_q7cNWbE

The car was stationary until just before he stepped out and the driver already knew to expect that he would do so. It does seem that Mikey had time to avoid the crash though.

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petreyesterday at 7:27 PM

That's exactly what Mr. Loophole would say. Mickey risking his life for ad revenue. Sure. Mickey throwing his bike in front of a speeding vehicle, when he clearly dismounted before getting struck. Sorry mate, I live, drive and cycle in a country with the highest road fatalities in the EU. I think its unfair to take it out on Mickey.

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