A novel approach to commuting

[400bhp]

I find it distubing that I feel the need to ride with cameras recording but I've had enough close calls that I feel I want an impartial document of anything that does happen. The material shot has proved useful but is used very sparingly; out of the 700 odd hours of video I've recorded on my bikes the police have been given 1h 45m ish of material (2 incidents; a short section of where my bike was run over & an entire commute to show exactly what did, or in that case didn't, happen on my commute from work after an interesting incident). The video is evidence or at least information from which further investigation can be pursued where I've felt an incident has needed to be reported to the police. Besides that I have another 15 hours or so of material which I keep for my personal reference & reflection such as Alpine descents, a couple of beautiful fenland mornings etc. They are the video equivalent of holiday snaps. None of the video taken has been posted on youtube & out of 6 people I know of only one who publishes video publicly.

If I was to video my cycling I would take this approach. I certainly wouldn't be Youtubing it, apart from perhaps following a conviction after a motoring offence (hopefully would never happen).

 

[gaz]

The other observation I'd make is I've noticed cam users who persue the offending driver and then challenge his/her actions.

You say persuing but I have only seen a couple who actually do this, the rest of the time the cyclist just catches up because the vehicle driver is stuck in a queue of traffic.

 

[gaz]

Gaz, Gaz, Gaz, you are a great disappointment to me - I was expecting a better comeback than that!

A comeback? You didn't insult me, or similar, in the first place. I was just making fun of your own statement and mentality, just like I could do with your signature.

 

[benb]

PaulSB - there are some cam users like that, but they are a tiny minority, and usually get called out by other cyclists when they act like that. Taypet, that guy who screams abuse at other cyclists for having their lights too bright, and that other guy who's name I forgot who screams at everyone. Basically, 3.

What was the problem you found with London cyclists specifically?

Magnatom?

 

[Jezston]

Magnatom?

Poor Magnatom

It was TesterAnimal I just remembered. Seems to have chilled out a bit of late having just looked at his more recent vids.

 

[400bhp]

Poor Magnatom

It was TesterAnimal I just remembered. Seems to have chilled out a bit of late having just looked at his more recent vids.

Aww man, he is a legend. Please post a ink to one of his infamous vids so that those who haven't see him get to experience it.

 

[Jezston]

Aww man, he is a legend. Please post a ink to one of his infamous vids so that those who haven't see him get to experience it.

Ahh, I think that would be unfair as his posts seem to be a LOT different now. If someone's that keen they can find it easily enough.

 

[akb]

+1

Your name sums this thread up nicely!

 

[gaz]

Aww man, he is a legend. Please post a ink to one of his infamous vids so that those who haven't see him get to experience it.

 

[PaulSB]

It's good to read it is a small minority because personally I don't think it helpful to the majority of us.

In London I saw several things which I thought very wrong. RLJing at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, twice we had to stop quickly to avoid being hit when 3-4 riders came through when we had a green light. One guy was riding at high speed, I mean really impressive, up The Mall towards us. The traffic was very quiet on a Saturday mid-morning. I turned to watch him go by as he looked very good, only to see him dive left inside a car, brake and then take the same car on the outside before turning right. I couldn't have handled the manoeuvre and I'm not sure how he stayed on.

Saw a lot of pavement riding and weaving in traffic. Having said all this I saw large numbers of cyclists riding correctly. Problem is the ones I recall, and will be seen in a poor light by drivers, are those riding badly.

I don't want to appear holier than though and this nothing other than my personal observations on visiting the capital from relatively quiet Lancashire. I'm sure cycling in London brings challenges I'm quite unaware of.

BTW I was very impressed with many aspects of the city. I was raised in Surrey and often visited London as a child. This was my first "touristy" visit in 40 years and my expectations were more than exceeded.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Shall we have a bit of fun and make them wear helmets as well?

Given how many car drivers die of head injuries why not?

 

[GrasB]

Given how many car drivers die of head injuries why not?

I've been pulled over when I wearing a open-faced helmet in competition prepped cars with 'cages.

 

[gaz]

It's good to read it is a small minority because personally I don't think it helpful to the majority of us.

In London I saw several things which I thought very wrong. RLJing at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, twice we had to stop quickly to avoid being hit when 3-4 riders came through when we had a green light. One guy was riding at high speed, I mean really impressive, up The Mall towards us. The traffic was very quiet on a Saturday mid-morning. I turned to watch him go by as he looked very good, only to see him dive left inside a car, brake and then take the same car on the outside before turning right. I couldn't have handled the manoeuvre and I'm not sure how he stayed on.

Saw a lot of pavement riding and weaving in traffic. Having said all this I saw large numbers of cyclists riding correctly. Problem is the ones I recall, and will be seen in a poor light by drivers, are those riding badly.

I don't want to appear holier than though and this nothing other than my personal observations on visiting the capital from relatively quiet Lancashire. I'm sure cycling in London brings challenges I'm quite unaware of.

BTW I was very impressed with many aspects of the city. I was raised in Surrey and often visited London as a child. This was my first "touristy" visit in 40 years and my expectations were more than exceeded.

 

[PaulSB]

Ok, car drivers RLJ. I knew, as I suspect most do, this is a common occurrence.

I see in the comments section three cyclists remarked he/she was surprised by the amount of cycle RLJing in London / big cities . I haven't actually criticised an individual but did observe very poor cycle behaviour. Generally I don't see this elsewhere. I visited London for a fun weekend, I think you can appreciate it would be the last thing on my mind, therefore that I noticed backs up the high incidence of poor riding.

I live in Lancashire, club ride here, Yorkshire, Cumbria and commute in Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The most common observations of poor cycling are lack of adequate lighting, dark clothing and pavement riding because of the previous two. These are things I notice occasionally whereas in London in broad daylight I was seeing plenty of poor cycle craft.

I thought it was an interesting observation and explained for me why many London cycle commuters complain about drivers. The admitted 16% of bad cyclists are very visible and tar us all with the same brush.

You mention you report the drivers involved. Which raises several questions:

You report some drivers. On what do you base your selection?

In what way are you qualified to make judgement on a driver's behaviour?

Do you speak to RLJing cyclists if you happen to catch up with them at a suitable point?

Do you report RLJing cyclists if the opportunity allows? I realise this is difficult.

Pedestrians? How do you deal with them?

Surely there should be equality in your approach to all road users? It is after all what cyclists want.

Do you not feel there is a slight element of the "vigilante" here? ( not quite the word but all I can think of right now). That isn't meant to be a criticism of you but a general remark on the culture.

I don't understand this cam-culture. Another poster said it helped improve his riding. He is the only person I've seen comment on this aspect, which seems an excellent use to me. I have far better uses for my time than poring over video images to report bad drivers. Seems a very strange pre-occupation to me. Sorry but that's how I view it.

Could I just add a final observation. I truely am not trying to have a pop at you but do find your approach inconsistent I had a wander through your website for 20 minutes while eating breakfast. I couldn't help but notice you have 36 episodes of Silly Cyclists - perhaps more aptly named "Cyclists behaving badly?" clearly illustrating poor riding plus a blog comment 99% of drivers create no problems for you! Yourself you find time, while in control of a bike, presumably at commuter time to conduct a survey of ASL infringement.

I don't get it.

 

[gaz]

Ok, car drivers RLJ. I knew, as I suspect most do, this is a common occurrence.

I see in the comments section three cyclists remarked he/she was surprised by the amount of cycle RLJing in London / big cities . I haven't actually criticised an individual but did observe very poor cycle behaviour. Generally I don't see this elsewhere. I visited London for a fun weekend, I think you can appreciate it would be the last thing on my mind, therefore that I noticed backs up the high incidence of poor riding.

I live in Lancashire, club ride here, Yorkshire, Cumbria and commute in Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The most common observations of poor cycling are lack of adequate lighting, dark clothing and pavement riding because of the previous two. These are things I notice occasionally whereas in London in broad daylight I was seeing plenty of poor cycle craft.

I thought it was an interesting observation and explained for me why many London cycle commuters complain about drivers. The admitted 16% of bad cyclists are very visible and tar us all with the same brush.

You mention you report the drivers involved. Which raises several questions:

You report some drivers. On what do you base your selection?
Ones which I think are careless or dangerous.

In what way are you qualified to make judgement on a driver's behaviour?
I'm not qualified in any way, hence why I report them to the police.

Do you speak to RLJing cyclists if you happen to catch up with them at a suitable point?
Occasionally but you soon learn that speaking to any road user about their behaviour is pretty pointless.

Do you report RLJing cyclists if the opportunity allows? I realise this is difficult.
I report all the RLJing cyclists.

Pedestrians? How do you deal with them?
Pedestrians are pretty predictable, so I just slow down, let them go and be on my way.

Surely there should be equality in your approach to all road users? It is after all what cyclists want.
There is, I equally target careless and dangerous road users.

Do you not feel there is a slight element of the "vigilante" here? ( not quite the word but all I can think of right now). That isn't meant to be a criticism of you but a general remark on the culture.
Not really, i'm not taking things in to my own hands, just using video as evidence of what happened. Otherwise it is there word against mine and nothing gets done.

I don't understand this cam-culture. Another poster said it helped improve his riding. He is the only person I've seen comment on this aspect, which seems an excellent use to me. I have far better uses for my time than poring over video images to report bad drivers. Seems a very strange pre-occupation to me. Sorry but that's how I view it.
It's helped improve my riding, I can look back and see how I can do things differently and I can get feedback from other road users. You presume that it is a lengthy process, I spend maximum of 30mins a day looking, editing, and uploading footage, most days I spend 5 mins just deleting and recharging the batteries, those are my favourite days.

Could I just add a final observation. I truely am not trying to have a pop at you but do find your approach inconsistent I had a wander through your website for 20 minutes while eating breakfast. I couldn't help but notice you have 36 episodes of Silly Cyclists - perhaps more aptly named "Cyclists behaving badly?" clearly illustrating poor riding plus a blog comment 99% of drivers create no problems for you! Yourself you find time, while in control of a bike, presumably at commuter time to conduct a survey of ASL infringement.
If the whole thing is on video, then I just have to look back at the footage and make a note, not that hard really.

I don't get it.