London, England - He’s armed with a battery of seven digital cameras, constantly on the lookout for bad driving.
His radar-like eyes scan roads for cyclists in peril, and his highly sensitive hearing could probably detect an over-revving engine from 20 paces.
Is this the plot of an outlandish new superhero film? Well no, actually. This is Traffic Droid, a real 49-year-old bloke on a bike, who has set himself up as a volunteer cycle avenger.
Lewis Dediare, who by day works as a telecoms supervisor, has turned his London commute into a daily patrol of the roads.
Fail to stop at a zebra crossing? He will catch up with that ignorant motorcyclist and give them a red card. SMSing at the wheel? He will pull up alongside the offender and deliver a lecture about the dangers - after yelling: “Put that cellphone down!”
Even fellow cyclists are not spared.
Dediare never jumps red lights on his bike, and those who do risk his mighty wrath.
The self-appointed bicycle Robocop has been naming and shaming errant drivers for years since being knocked over in 2009 by a car that turned into his path without indicating.
Seven head and bike-mounted cameras record poor roadcraft and traffic offences, providing footage that he uploads daily to YouTube and Twitter. Sometimes he also gives footage to police, and his evidence has resulted in several prosecutions. Dediare, who was filmed for Channel 4 documentary The Complainers, describes his quest as a “war of attrition”, and brands drivers “idiots” if they get in his way. But he maintains he is a “social justice fighter”, adding: “I never let it get physical.”
Daily Mail