The 'Sherlock Holmes' director has been fined and banned from driving for half a year after he was caught on camera texting while sitting behind the wheel.
- Jul 24, 2020
AceShowbiz - Filmmaker Guy Ritchie has been banned from driving for six months.
The director, 51, was spotted typing a message on his iPhone as he drove his Range Rover through London's Hyde Park in November last year (19), with cyclist Mike van Erp filming him and handing over the evidence to authorities.
In the video, the "Sherlock Holmes" director is seen waiting in traffic backed-up through the park when the cyclist pulls up beside him. "Hello my friend," he says when he realises he is being watched.
The cyclist replies, "I don't think you should be using your text messages while you are driving. I saw you doing it back there as well."
The file sent to authorities was titled "Man typing on his mobile phone whilst behind the wheel of his car" and van Erp has insisted he did not know the identity of the driver. He started filming and reporting drivers on a GoPro helmet camera after his father was killed in a road crash while riding a motorcycle.
Ritchie admitted to being the driver in the video and has been given six points on his licence, taking the total to 15, and has also been ordered to pay a $845 (£666) fine, as well as $210 (£166) in prosecution costs and court fees.
He already had nine points on his driving licence from three previous speeding offences in March 2017, and February and December last year, reported London's Evening Standard newspaper.
