Cameras... A partial convert

[Iain M Norman]

I've never used a camera, but simply human nature makes us desire to be listened to and paid attention to. Youtube does a great job of satisfying this desire. I'd not be surprised if there's sometimes a subconscious effect at work at times.

I know that even without a camera I've made small unthinking changes to my riding when in a bad mood to give me a reason to be angry at someone else on the road. I bet I'm not the only one either if we were to be honest with ourselves.

 

[glenn forger]

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available

View: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b18_1374717335


Car driver side swipes a cyclist, is politely reminded that the cyclist is there and it would be awfully nice if the car wasn't driven into them, driver retorts "Remember, you can only die once". Charming.

 

[SW19cam]

Does anyone else find that their biggest confrontations happen when they are not using their camera? When I'm using my camera I think I'm more likely to mutter under my breath my displeasure and then review later and report (Roadsafe, company etc) if there was a substantial issue caused by the other party.

On the other hand if I'm not using my camera it very much depends on my mood at the time. Sometimes I think it's right to let your displeasure known....

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I've never used a camera, but simply human nature makes us desire to be listened to and paid attention to. Youtube does a great job of satisfying this desire. I'd not be surprised if there's sometimes a subconscious effect at work at times.

I know that even without a camera I've made small unthinking changes to my riding when in a bad mood to give me a reason to be angry at someone else on the road. I bet I'm not the only one either if we were to be honest with ourselves.

I bet youre not the only one too.

But I'd also bet you are in minority. If I get on a bike in a bad mood I consciously self-regulate knowing the vulnerability of my position. More often
I find myself riding along perfectly happily and then a split second later I'm in a bad mood because some knobjockey in a motor vehicle can't drive appropriately around a cyclist and has put my health, life and wellbeing in danger. Like yesterday.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

A camera films not only th ecars actions but the cyclists as well, so its just a fair way of evidencing what happened in any incident. The driver has as much right and opportunity to use a camera as well if they wish, in fact I wish they would.

 

[BSRU]

A camera films not only th ecars actions but the cyclists as well, so its just a fair way of evidencing what happened in any incident. The driver has as much right and opportunity to use a camera as well if they wish, in fact I wish they would.

More car drivers are fitting cameras because loosing theirno claims costs alot more than a camera, especially as it seems many insurance companies are a little too keen to go the 50:50 route to speed up a claim.

 

[campbellab]

More car drivers are fitting cameras because loosing theirno claims costs alot more than a camera, especially as it seems many insurance companies are a little too keen to go the 50:50 route to speed up a claim.

I think my one was about £50 off of ebay and whatever it is for a 32gb sd card plugged into the car charger so don't have to faff around with batteries etc.

I wouldn't be worried about increased insurance premiums but I would rage if someone lied about an accident.

 

[srw]

Am I alone in finding this both disturbing and worrying?

I don't let it bother me, but I think you're right.

I ride many of the same roads as the headcam brigade. They seem to find reasons to moan about driver and cyclist behaviour. I don't. If something annoys me, it's gone 5 minutes later.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I don't let it bother me, but I think you're right.

I ride many of the same roads as the headcam brigade. They seem to find reasons to moan about driver and cyclist behaviour. I don't. If something annoys me, it's gone 5 minutes later.

The get a thicker skin argument? You can do better than that.

Because you and I are immunised to the behaviour of other road users we tend to overlook the possibility that it is that behaviour which is putting thousands of other folk off.

 

[campbellab]

Its easy to drop and forget most stupid and ignorant vehicles unless:

a) You actually think you're going to get hurt and your pulse goes through the roof
b) They are deliberately aggressive towards you, honking horns/cutting up etc.

 

[Cyclopathic]

I joined CC thinking the headcam brigade were self-congratulatory experts in the art of auto-erotic amusement. Over time I softened and then changed my view about many but not all.

My (teen +) children ride a lot and I've used some of the better channels on YouTube to demonstrate some potential hazards or squishy moments.

As a volta face goes, that is a big one. Very big, but also justified. There are some sensible people out there making good, helpful stuff.

Nonetheless, I am starting to see more clips which look like people actually looking for footage, looking for confrontation or worse. And occasionally getting it, which is regrettable.

Recently we've had a thread where a chap punched a van and said it had hit him. This ended in an assault.

Then the other day we had a young chap swerving out in front of a van 'to avoid horses' and then shouting at the driver and giving him a kerbside grilling further down the road.

Both clips were posted to show what lawless buffoons the motorists were. Both also ended up demonstrating quite what some cammers will do (will create) to stir up a confrontation. Both appear to show scenes quite unlike that described by the OP.

Am I alone in finding this both disturbing and worrying?

I applaud the serious (and there are quite a few here) but some of the clips appearing hereabouts are shocking for all the wrong reasons. Do cameras, in the hands of some individuals, present more negative than positive outcomes?

If so, do we say "Aah, bless! I'm sure he means well."?

There is definitely an element of self ritious indignation involved in some cammers footage which does nobody any good and is as you say shocking for the wrong reasons. However, I think that on balance the cammers do much more good than harm. I have no proof of this it's just the impression I get. On the whole I am prepared to tolerate the few who are or seem to be on a mission to show how awful people are to them in exchange for those who use their footage responsibly and act to show up driving (and cycling) errors that would otherwise be completely invisible.
They have opened up peoples driving habits to analysis and brought the conversation more into the mainstream. Even the bad ones as cringeworthy as they might be at least raise questions about their own behaviour which then get discussed and can act as a cautionary tale to us all not to act like self ritious, entitled tw@ts.
I agree that some are hard to watch and impossible to sympathise with but I think we are gaining more than we are loosing by having them. Which is fortunate really because we have got them and the point is to an extent moot.

 

[Cycling Dan]

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available

View: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b18_1374717335


Car driver side swipes a cyclist, is politely reminded that the cyclist is there and it would be awfully nice if the car wasn't driven into them, driver retorts "Remember, you can only die once". Charming.

I thought It was you only live once. hmmm, maybe hes a pessimist

 

[srw]

The get a thicker skin argument? You can do better than that.

Because you and I are immunised to the behaviour of other road users we tend to overlook the possibility that it is that behaviour which is putting thousands of other folk off.

True. On the other hand, I think the habit of posting headcam footage to the internet and then encouraging self-righteous arguments about whose standard of behaviour was worse does more than encouraging the adoption of a laissez-faire attitude. And yes, I take the point about not all headcammers being self-righteous narcissists.

As it happens, I think we're both worrying about not a lot. As you know, cyclists have won in London by sheer force of numbers, and a combination of the Wiggins effect and the Osborne effect are beginning to penetrate much of the rest of the country.

The Osborne effect? I'm seeing more and more people who are clearly riding because it's a cheaper way of being mobile than driving. Halfords and Raleigh are booming, and their patrons ride in jeans with nothing on their head other than hair. That's in both Buckinghamshire and Surrey - neither exactly hotspots of poverty.

Of course the fact that men of a certain age with responsible jobs also ride for fun and because it's normal doesn't hurt.

 

[BentMikey]

A camera films not only th ecars actions but the cyclists as well, so its just a fair way of evidencing what happened in any incident. The driver has as much right and opportunity to use a camera as well if they wish, in fact I wish they would.

Plus the fact of 93% of driver/cyclist collisions not being the fault of the cyclist (per DfT), means that the driver's camera is most likely to be convicting the driver.