Jeremy Vine ‘stopping cycling videos' due to abuse he receives
For many cyclists, Jeremy Vine's commitment to filming drivers he regarded as endangering his fellow two-wheeled travellers made him a hero. It also made the presenter the target of some extraordinary online hate from those who accused him of persecuting motorists.
After years of documenting clashes and close shaves on the road, Vine has announced he is now ending his sharing of footage, saying the fallout they generated had become too hard to bear. 'I'm stopping my cycling videos,' he announced. 'The trolling just got too bad. They have had well over 100m views but in the end the anger they generate has genuinely upset me.'
He said a 'regular theme' had been an apparent desire by some online attackers to see him 'crushed under a truck', something he described as a 'very real danger' to commuting cyclists.
Vine accompanied his announcement with posts he had received from angry critics. One stated he was 'beyond hated' and asked him to upload another video 'if it's you getting run down and hospitalised'. Another said they hoped the next motorist he confronted 'kicks your traitor head in'. A third said: 'It may be terrible but I hope he falls under the wheels of five cars that reverse and make sure the job's done.'
The BBC Radio 2 and Channel 5 host said his aim had been to make drivers think about the dangers of trying to navigate a busy city on a bike. He admitted he could get a 'little cross when a driver has, say, pulled out without looking', but said he had only ever uploaded the videos to highlight the dangers involved.
Vine said his decision to stop the recordings followed the theft of his bike last week – an incident also captured on camera and posted online. 'Do I want to get a replacement and go back into the trolling-furnace? As I say, it just got too hot,' he said. 'A new cycle video would make my phone physically heat up in my pocket. There are at least two death threats against me currently being investigated by police.
'I enjoy debates but not abuse. It's strange that getting interested in road safety can actually endanger a person. I see other cyclists facing the same and wonder how they deal with it. So when I get my new bike I'll stay vigilant but won't share my adventures.'
Vine's latest and perhaps last video appears to show a taxi dropping off a passenger directly into a cycle lane – a move that prompted Vine to ring his bell in warning, only for the driver to honk his horn back at him. Some of his latest videos featured AI-generated imagery and songs, including one that riffed on a driver telling him he was 'drifting to the middle' of a lane.
Sign up to Headlines UK
Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning
after newsletter promotion
In 2017, a driver who beeped her horn and shouted abuse at Vine was convicted of threatening behaviour and a driving offence. The exchange was captured by Vine's cameras. He posted it to Facebook, where it was viewed more than 15m times.
'I never made a penny from my videos,' Vine said. 'They have gone completely crazy at times. They've started debates about whether, for example, you can undertake a vehicle turning left while you are in a cycle lane that is paint-only.
'In a lot of cases the answer is: yes, but don't do it if you want to stay alive.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Shocking moment jobless fare dodger hurls abuse at rail inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket
A rail passenger hurled shocking abuse at inspectors after refusing to buy a ticket, threatening to slash their throats and saying he hoped they died from cancer. The man was confronted by revenue protection officer Lauren on a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Weymouth after avoiding her colleague. He admitted he had no ticket because he had 'just lost my job' before warning Lauren not to 'start threatening me with legal action', adding: 'I don't care about police.' The passenger became further agitated as he shouted at the camera operator filming the ongoing incident for Channel 5 series 'Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law'. He said: 'Listen, get that camera out my face, bruv. I don't give a s***. Put it down before you get f***ing knocked down. You asking me for a ticket - I ain't got a ticket. The last guard, I put a blade to his throat because he was f***ing p***ing me off.' The section of the line between Bournemouth and Weymouth is known as a fare dodging hotspot because there are no ticket barriers at the intermediate stations. And Lauren encountered the same passenger again a week later at Weymouth on board a 6pm London-bound departure which was preparing to leave the station. He again began hurling abuse at her and colleagues, with security guards and British Transport Police officers called to assist staff in getting him off the train. The man is seen on CCTV on board the train at Weymouth hurling abuse at security guards Abusing a bearded security guard, the man shouted: 'Yeah, what are you gonna do, f*** off you f***ing plastic gangster. I'll grab that beard and rip it off your f***ing chin. 'Yeah call the old bill, I don't give a f***. You f***ing prick. F***ing don't look at me then, you f***ing prick. What are you going to do about it, you f***ing fat p****?' Lauren called her team manager then spoke to the guard to ensure the train did not depart while they waited for police to attend, as the man continued being abusive. The passenger shouted: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.' Security eventually succeed in getting him off the train, but he continued to shout at them as he walked out of the station, telling them: 'Don't put your f***ing hands on me.' He continued: 'F*** off, I hope you f***ing die of cancer. F*** off, n****-looking p****. Don't start a fight with me, stay where you f***ing are. I mean it, I'll smash your f***ing head in.' A passenger is spoken to by investigators at London Waterloo station after only buying a ticket from Vauxhall, as he is finally caught after evading nearly £20,000 in ticket costs Once the man was safely off the train, the revenue protection officers then checked with other passengers on board that they were all OK, before the train departed. Producers of the documentary, which next airs this Sunday at 9pm, said the man is now under police investigation, adding that SWR have had to close their case for unpaid fares because he provided false information. The production team also said the incident was a 'sobering reminder of how a routine fare check can spiral into a threatening confrontation', adding that tackling fare dodgers can be 'dangerous' for rail staff. Violent assaults on railway staff and police across the UK are said to be at a four-year high, with 600 incidents of assault reported on SWR alone last year. British Transport Police figures show there were 3,330 recorded assaults on rail staff across the UK as a whole last year, a rise of almost 25 per cent on the previous year. Other incidents in the latest episode include a 'gate block' turning ugly as a team of six revenue protection officers from SWR try to catch fare dodgers at the barrier. Two officers are also seen going undercover on a major sting operation at Byfleet and Haw in Surrey. MailOnline has already covered a series of incidents featured in the documentary, and it comes after Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging at Stratford. The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media last month in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at the station. Separately, a report released last Wednesday found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is next on Channel 5 this Sunday at 9pm
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment 'fare dodger' is warned he could be committing fraud after only paying for short part of his journey
This is the moment a train passenger was caught travelling on a discounted ticket without his money-saving railcard - before being reported for suspected fraud. The man was stopped by a revenue protection officer at the barriers at London Waterloo station after arriving on a South Western Railway (SWR) service. He had bought the ticket with a railcard discount but failed to present the card, meaning he faced a penalty fare of £100 plus the price of the full single fare. But the officer became suspicious when he found that the ticket from Vauxhall to Waterloo had been bought only 20 minutes earlier, and not scanned at Vauxhall. When the passenger provided his identity details and address, the officer noted that he lived in Sunbury-on-Thames, much further down the SWR line in Surrey. This meant the officer suspected that the man may have been attempting a 'short fare', which is where passengers only buy a ticket for part of your journey. Commuters on SWR often travel into London from much further afield but buy an e-ticket from a stop near Waterloo such as Vauxhall for a cheaper fare. This means they can try to go through the barriers at Waterloo and avoid paying for the full journey. The incident is the latest to feature in the popular Channel 5 programme Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law, which is airing on Monday nights at 9pm. It saw officer Jack challenge the passenger who arrived at Waterloo on a ticket from Vauxhall, telling him: 'We're checking for railcards'. The man tells Jack: 'Railcard? I don't have the railcard on me. Do I need to buy another ticket then? 'I know that if you go on the website, it can show you that you've got a railcard – does that make sense - because it's a physical one not a digital one.' But when Jack starts looking into the ticket more closely, he discovers it was bought about 20 minutes earlier and was not scanned at Vauxhall. The passenger says: 'I realised I was coming here because I was meeting my girlfriend or whatever. I live round Vauxhall.' Jack then asks the man for his details, which he provides, but his address is listed as Sunbury - not Vauxhall. Jack tells him: 'I'm going to be very blunt and very honest with you. Your address is in Sunbury, your ticket hasn't been scanned in at Vauxhall. When I report this about the railcard, they're going to investigate the ticket as part of that.' The passenger is then told that if it is found he travelled from elsewhere, he could be handed a more expensive penalty. He simply replies: 'Perfect, yeah, cheers.' And in a sign he has been through the process before, the man adds: 'They normally take quite long with this though, don't they? Takes a couple of weeks.' Asked by the officer again whether he travelled from Sunbury, the man says: 'No, no, I travelled from Vauxhall.' Jack then reports him to the fraud team, telling the programme: 'This person in particular hasn't scanned in his QR at Vauxhall. Bought it 20 minutes ago which indicates to me he may have travelled from further. 'So the railcard that he did put on the ticket, he wasn't carrying with him, so we've reported him under that fact, and then we're going to ask the fraud team to investigate the rest of it.' The case is then sent to SWR's fraud department for further investigation, with the man facing prosecution if he had not been truthful about where he travelled from. MailOnline has covered a series of incidents featured in the Channel 5 documentary, which comes as Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging another London station. The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media last Thursday in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford. He asked one person 'do you think it's alright not to pay' and challenged another to 'go back through the barrier and pay'. At the top of an escalator he said to one person 'do you want to go back and pay like everybody else'? Mr Jenrick later told the BBC that he wants authorities to 'step up' and 'reassert these basic rules', adding that he wants transport bodies to understand 'that these things are not small rule breaks', and said he was 'unapologetic' about sharing the clip. But the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association union said the video was 'not only inappropriate but also potentially dangerous for passengers, staff and the individual involved'. Further incidents featured in the Channel 5 show have included passengers trying to push through barriers to avoid having to touch in or out. Others resort to violence if they are caught, with shocking videos filmed at stations showing passengers attacking police officers or punching security guards. Some try doing 'doughnut tickets', which is where you buy a short ticket for the first part of the journey, to scan the QR code on your entry barrier; and then another short ticket for the last section, to scan out at your destination station. This can lead to a much cheaper fare because you do not pay for the lengthier middle section of the trip - meaning there is a hole in the journey, hence the 'doughnut'. Separately, a report released on Wednesday found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime ', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Staff enduring abusive behaviour when asking fare-dodgers to present their tickets are warning that evasion is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The report had been commissioned to look at concerns some passengers were being unfairly prosecuted by train operators over genuine mistakes when buying tickets. But it found fare evasion is a mounting problem now costing taxpayers £400million a year which is resulting in higher fares and less investment cash to improve services. Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. Young men are filming themselves laughing and joking with each other as they push through the wide-aisle gates in videos liked by hundreds of thousands of viewers. The gates, which were first installed in 2008 at a cost of £12million, are normally used by wheelchair users, older people, parents with children and travellers with luggage. But they are increasingly being used by fare dodgers who either push through the gap in the middle, or quickly follow someone in front of them who touches out. 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is on Channel 5 on Monday evenings at 9pm
Metro
03-06-2025
- Metro
Fare dodger barges his way through barriers - and straight into arms of police
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A fare dodger tried to make a run for it when he was confronted about his declined payment. Fare dodging continues to make headlines – and not only because of the bizarre vigilante stunt by the shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick trying to catch them himself. Cracking down on fare dodging is expensive for Transport for London, and it continues to flare up emotions as paying commuters shell out chunks of their income on travel. One suspected fare evader was caught in action at Kingston station, which is a hotspot for fare dodging. The man was snatched at the ticket barriers when he tried to use a card to tap out after he said his 'card doesn't work.' The standoff was captured on the upcoming episode of Channel 5 series 'Fare Dodgers: At War With the Law,' which airs on Monday. Jane, a South Western Railway revenue protection officer, beckons him to tap out after he said he had put money on the card. 'It doesn't work, that's what I'm trying to tell you,' he responds after claiming that 'the guy let me through at Clapham Junction.' Jane says that it is 'because it has been blocked by the issuer.' When he taps his card, it was declined. He then bursts through the barrier – but directly into the arms of police officers standing by the gates. Three officers have a tussle with him as he swings his arms, swears and spits, while Jane appears unfazed by his behaviour. The man eventually paid, and his case was closed. The police took no further action on the assault. The latest confrontation comes after a string of fare evaders have been caught on camera. One man claimed he had used a card his friend gave him after racking up £3,500 in unpaid fares. An investigation revealed the card had no money on it, but he was able to push the barriers open on his way to and from work. A brazen 'short farer' evaded paying £20,000 over three years before he was caught. The man avoided paying £35 for his commute from Surrey to London Waterloo by buying a ticket only from Vauxhall to Waterloo. He also had a 16-17 Saver Railcard, which gives a 50% discount on tickets, despite not being eligible for one. Jenrick, a minister under the previous Tory government, shared a video last week showing him running up to suspected fare dodgers at Stratford station in east London. More Trending In one clip, he walks a man to the enforcement staff, who then politely ask him to step aside so they can deal with it. One suspected fare evader tells him to 'f*** off,' while another allegedly told him he was carrying a knife. It later emerged that Jenrick may not have had permission from TfL to film on station property, according to LBC. The next episodes of Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law on Channel 5 air at 7pm on Wednesday, June 4, and at 9pm on Monday, June 2, on TV and on the streaming platform. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'Eurostar of Scotland' launches new London service spanning 353 miles and 11 stops MORE: First picture of 'loving' teenager who died after motorbike plunged into canal MORE: The drug behind double death in London that's '500 times more powerful than heroin'
