In light of this thread, and something Bez said on there, makes me wonder if cameras on any bike I ride on the road shouldn’t actually be kitted out with cameras.

I was squeezed between a BT Openreach van and a parked car a few years ago because the driver was have a phone conversation. I reported this to BT, which the supervisor took very seriously, but his first question to me was ‘Do you have camera footage?’.

If I were seriously injured or killed on the road, and there was no footage of the accident, would things like my insurance be affected?

I would rather not add more technology to my bikes if I can help it! 🙁

Nope, but it will increase your chances of a conviction in case of really poor behaviour and in any insurance case.

FWIW I don’t bother and I’ve still been to court as a complainant twice in the past couple of years thanks to passers by giving me their details as witnesses.

Also it’s fundamentally not going to help if you’re in a crash. You’ll still get just as hurt/killed. The possibility of the driver being on camera might put them off being a tit though.

When I reported an incident to the police (my first report in 20 years of cycling) the first question was “do you have footage of the incident”. I didn’t but I have a Cycliq front and rear now. I recorded this nimrod seemingly not see me until the last moment then locking his front wheels. A brown shorts moment.

[video src="https://i.imgur.com/bWSBoYi.mp4" /]

I’m increasingly of that view. Haven’t done it yet, though did ask about it a few weeks back now…

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-cameras-front-and-rear-for-road-bikes

No

Personally I think not, of course that depends on your location and the prevailing standards of driving and attitudes, but no they are not a cycling necessity…

TBH I think people actually need to be clear on the actual reason for using a camera…

Are they meant to act as a deterrent by being visible “Back of you bastard!” type lumps on a cyclists heads, to improve the likelihood that blame is correctly apportioned following an RTC or to gather YouTube content for online-road warrior types and fuel the “War on Britain’s roads” mentality?

The idea of it being a deterrent seems to have gone out of peoples minds mostly, which maybe suggests camera users now set off on bike journeys expecting near misses and collisions, that’s quite worrying/sad and seems to fit the developing narrative we have in this country of cycling being a Dangerous pastime is sticking, which I don’t believe it actually is…

From the sounds of the other thread most camera gathered evidence isn’t acted on, which to my mind means mostly helmet cams on the road are used to fuel the froth on YouTube and social Meeja…

If you had camera footage OP that OpenReach bod would have been out of a job. They have a ban on phone use while driving even handsfree. I suspect that they will check the mobile (if work issued) and they’ll be on their way. I hope he/she enjoys working for Kelly.

I hope he/she enjoys working for Kelly.

Some fwit in a Kelly van pulled right across me last week to park by the comms cabinet on my side of the road. Had my daughter in the child seat.

No, not really something I’m considering, and 99% of my riding is on the road. In all my year’s of riding Police have only been needed for two incidents, and I’ve done some serious mileage. On the first occasion driver was prosecuted on witness evidence, and the somewhat apparent facts. The second time it was as things had become a bit of a public order thing between me and the driver were being knobs. I’m not convinced some rider’s believe they offer some sort of protection, and it does seem to bring out some rider’s inner bellend.

seems to fit the developing narrative we have in this country of cycling being a Dangerous pastime is sticking

Cycling along a wide cycle/pedestrian path this evening in the dark (lights on) I got told “slow down you f*****g a***hole”. Was doing 13mph, heartrate 103, about two metres away from the bloke. No one else around.

wide cycle/pedestrian path

ooh. Marine Terrace near Dreamland?

I used to live in Westbrook.

I think they should be compulsory for every car to have one and it should be a criminal offence to tamper/remove them. It would never happen but I think it would dramatically change the standard of driving/reduce road rage.

Hopefully if more people have them fitted, and more prosecutions are made as a result, then things may slowly change….

Eskay my fear is it wouldn’t. While one anecdote should not form the basis of policy or evidence…

I was dangerously overtaken in the car twice last week. Overtaker crossing solid white lines and well in excess of speed limit on both occasions.
Both filming themselves…

They were “good drivers” I expect so therefore they wouldn’t have a crash and the footage won’t ever be seen. This is a big bit of the problem imo.

Not got one yet, but having seen the limited amount of work done by police and courts after an rtc, I’d get one to cover the worst case scenario to make sure any driver couldn’t wriggle out of a conviction.

Eskay +1

No. I’m firmly against dash cams and the like. We are already the most-surveilled western society. Imagine if all the money poured into marketing cameras was spent on police instead. I would much much much rather see more trafpol and less cameras.
I was knocked off by a driver not looking last May; she has just been prosecuted in court for driving without due care and attention. On the strength of my statement and the police attending.

I was knocked off by a driver not looking last May; she has just been prosecuted in court for driving without due care and attention. On the strength of my statement and the police attending

are you sure her driving wasn’t actually (but not pursued) dangerous ?

Dash cams and the equivalent cycling ones would defo bring out my inner sanctimonious p***k, therefore I will not be getting either.

I would prefer if we didn’t have to go down the route of filming ourselves to prove a point. Seems so weird.

sirromj – Member

seems to fit the developing narrative we have in this country of cycling being a Dangerous pastime is sticking

Cycling along a wide cycle/pedestrian path this evening in the dark (lights on) I got told “slow down you f*****g a***hole”. Was doing 13mph, heartrate 103, about two metres away from the bloke. No one else around.

Unfortunately a lot of people are just dicks. Sometimes the only thing you can do about it is try and ignore them

JackHammer – Member

Dash cams and the equivalent cycling ones would defo bring out my inner sanctimonious p***k, therefore I will not be getting either.

Get it out of your system by logging onto here every day. Seems to work for most people. 😉

No, of course it’s not essential, but as a contributor to the aforementioned thread and someone who has been using a cam on my commute for over 10 years, I (of course) think they are a good idea.
I just feel more comfortable knowing I have footage on video of bad drivers for a few reasons – one is, of course, if there is a serious accident (scratch that), if some dangerous bastard knocks me off my bike, it’s good to know I’ll have something to back me up in any claim. But also, there’s the minor complaints again company vehicles (definitely the most common close-passers!); I just send a few screenshots to the company. Isn’t it better that these people are spoken to than not?
I used to put a fair few on Youtube – to me, I suppose it’s like a public shaming more than anything else. It helps me have a laugh about the incident (usually on here) rather than stewing on it, which I am the type to do. Better to have a laugh about a bit of bad driving than “I’ve got their reg!” and hunt them down!
Obviously there are the twonks who post up everything remotely bad, with them calling out the number plate, on their “channel”. But hey, maybe that makes them feel better about almost being killed or injured by a couple of ton of steel.
Anyway, most days, I’m pleased to say, the SD card gets cleared down and nothing has happened and that’s how I prefer it.

(I was deleting some old files off my pc the other day and saw a video of a massive bin lorry left hooking me – I’d copied it off the card and done nothing with it and yet it was probably one of the most dangerous things I’ve seen footage of!)