Nob on a bike

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I repeatedly drive a similar route for work/school run. There are two inevitable tailbacks (at least 10 minutes in each, every time, mostly stationary). One at a set of traffic lights, one before a very slow junction. A man on a bike clearly does the same route as I do. Every day, he rides up the side of each traffic jam, looking through all the drivers' windows... and when he sees someone on their phone, he'll bang on their window and gesticulate in a really sneery, condescending way. He wears a suit and just looks like he thinks he's the dog's bollocks. I don't use my phone in the queues, but tbh I wouldn't really judge someone for carefully glancing at theirs whilst in such a massive tailback.

I think this man is a nob and hypocrite (why aren't HIS eyes on the road, rather than looking through all the car windows?). DH says he's reasonable, and doing a public service. AIBU?

Is it Jeremy Vine? Sounds like the nobby kind of thing he would do!

He sounds like a plank and I expect he’ll get punched one day when he picks the wrong person, but he is right - shouldn’t be looking at phone even in standing traffic.

People should be called out for using their phone whilst driving, even if stationary in traffic. I wouldn't have a problem with his behaviour.

He should get a life.

I'd daydream of baiting him to your window then spraying some highly-scented deodrant in his face (not my fault I just happened to be freshening up when he peered in), but the mechanics are probably too complicated to actually do it.

Far too many people have gotten into the habit of picking up their phone the second their car is stationary.

It is not acceptable and is illegal and also leads to more dangerous habits of using the phone whilst actually driving.

The people using their phones are knobs, not the guy on the bike.

It’s illegal and it’s still responsible for a significant number of road accidents each year. A small child was seriously injured in our area earlier this year when a driver distracted by their phone moved off without looking and hit them. You’d shame or report somebody swigging from a bottle of wine whilst their car was stationery at the lights, I hope, so why not people using their phones?

He is being unreasonable to bang on windows. What he should actually do is film people using their phones, make sure he gets their registration numbers and then report it to the police. If he gets the same people often enough its an easy win for the police and one less nobber using his phone while driving.

If you are driving a car - even if stuck in traffic- looking at your phone is illegal and dangerous. If you’re driving a car you should be paying 100% attention. What if one of those people rolled forward and squashed a child?

I applaud the man on the bike.

And I agree with @CitrineRaindropPhoenix

He shouldn't be banging on other people's property. If he genuinely worried about this type of behaviour, he would take their number plate, film them on their phone and report it online. Guess that would take more time than trying to intimidate someone though.

I think this is my problem with it. It feels like he's intimidating and bullying people (often women on the school run). His demeanor is horrible.

It's called self preservation.

While he may be a nob, these are the people who will one day potentially kill him through their entitlement

Don't believe for one minute that stationery phone glances never do the same when moving

Could those women on the school run not use their phones whilst driving? Or even better, don't drive

Drive less
Look at phone less

It's not my window he would be banging on so I don't have a problem with it. I'm sick of dickheads missing the lights or holding everyone up because they are texting at the lights. Good on him.

Don't worry too much on the actions of others, focus on what you are doing.
If he wants to do whatever he is doing then good for him.
Drivers on the phone, eating, doing drugs behind the wheel (inset whatever illegal activity of choice) is putting ALL road users (including yourself, your kids and him) at risk.

You can usually tel, when someone is on their phone, because they weave back and forth across the carriageway.

I don’t think banging on car windows is a good plan. He may come across someone who becomes aggressive too, but it’s correct that no one should have a phone in their hand whilst in charge of a car, stationary or not.

Look up Cycling Mikey on Youtube. He doesn't bang on peoples windows, but he does tell them to get off the phone and that he is reporting them.
He then sends the video to the police and often attends the court hearing too.
It's not something I would spend my time doing, but he's not the one in the wrong here.

Is it actually intimidating? Or do you perceive it as intimidating because you don’t think people playing on their phones whilst driving is a big deal? If he was knocking on the windows of cars where parents were smoking with their newborn baby, or adults leaning from the front thumping the screaming child in the back, would you still perceive it as intimidating, or would you think “good on him for being brave enough to challenge those people” because you think those crimes are different?

Years ago I was watching one of those programmes where they follow the police around.

Anyway, the Police were called to a road traffic death on the motorway. They come to find a huge articulated lorry has driven over a small mini, crushing and killing the 20 year old driver.

What had happened was there was huge tailbacks on the motorway and all the vehicles were stationary.
The lorry driver decided this was a brilliant time to start messing around with his new phone.

As the traffic inched forward, he started driving, still distracted by his phone and ended up driving right over the mini in front of him, crushing it.

This made such an impression on me.
A 20 year old glwoman life was gone, because of a mobile phone.

Even using your phone, while you are stationary, can cause accidents and even deaths.

If you can explain why people using the phone whilst driving moving or not is acceptable you might have a case

let’s hope he passes it in to the police and they go and do the same

Also you don't know his story. There could be an incident in his past which makes him want to do his bit too keep our roads safer. YABU imo.

My best mate was killed, aged 33, by someone using their phone while driving. So yes, he might be a bit if a knob, but he is right, and you don't know what he has experienced or who he has lost, that might motivate his actions. No one needs access to their phone while they are driving

I cant believe the amount of people defending the drivers using their phones.

There is no "carefully checking their phone" while driving.

I bet you would all change your tunes if you kids had been run over by someone using a phone