Compulsory helmet cams?

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whitebait

Active Member
Location
Colliers Wood
Of course, what I fail to mention above is what happens if I review the footage and find myself to blame...

In that case I throw the camera in the Thames.
 
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BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Life's too short to spend 5 minutes a day doing a bit of camera sorting? I don't think so, it's my contribution to driver education in the hopes that one day it might save some other cyclist a crash.

I also don't think London is a hairy high risk place to cycle in, on the contrary, it's a brilliant place to ride in and I thoroughly love riding here. I'll bet your riding is probably very good, but I can't imagine there's anyone on here who can't further improve their riding ability.
 
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Tommi

Active Member
Location
London
I'm finding it totally bizarre that having vulnerable road users carry cameras is considered "a jolly good idea" and "good for safety" and such by so many. But seeing how the legal system is biased against and failing to protect the more vulnerable (legally equal perhaps, but in terms of physical injuries not by a long shot so defaulting to 'neither party is guilty' is very biased in practical terms) what can you do? I find a camera is like insurance I hope I never need, or the helmet I wear not for the imagined protection but to pre-emptively skip any victim blaming crap.
 
R

Red Light

Guest
BSRU said:
Your mindset, interesting how some people pretend they know what other people think, especially when they do not know them at all.

The only trepidation I have when I set off is if I have remembered to put everything in my panniers.
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Whoa there, step away from the high horse and go and read the first post in this thread. The mindset is set out there.
 
srw

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
BSRU said:
Without a camera how would I have caught the motorist very close behind me earlier today making the pistol symbol with his hand, to the amusement of him and his passenger.
I only thought it was a close pass, little did I realise how close and how funny the occupants of the car found it.
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You wouldn't have known about it. You wouldn't have spent half an hour prepping the tape for the internet. You wouldn't have been thinking about it ever since. You wouldn't be describing that as a "close pass" (it wasn't). And you wouldn't have me pointing all that out.

That's five wins for me without a camera.
 
B

Bicycle

Guest
I think BSRU's 'close pass' video is an elegant piece of work.

Purporting to be from the 'HelmeCam Good' camp, in truth it takes the Mickey out of helmetcammery by showing a nothing incident and pretending to make something of it.

Good spoof there, BSRU. I feel a bit of a cad for revealing your motives...

I now wish I had a pair of cameras to catch every small hatchback overtaking me while the driver played cowboys.
 
Rhythm Thief

Rhythm Thief

Legendary Member
Location
Ross on Wye
I don't want a head cam. Approximately the thick end of bugger all is all that ever happens on my commute, and I've got better things to do than film that. I have to say that a lot of the incidents I see trumpeted as terrible driving look exactly like stuff that used to happen pretty much every day when I was commuting around the West Midlands, and it never felt too bad to me. Certainly not bad enough to make me stop cycle commuting or want to make a big song and dance about it on YouTube.
 
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BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
Sometimes the camera shows you stuff you might not otherwise see. For example - this video. At the time I only remember seeing the water bottle held at the side window as though the passenger had been threatening to throw it. It's only when looking at the rear view footage that I saw what actually happened. Sure, it's only water, but I have a sense of humour failure over stuff being thrown at cyclists:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTftR1igu44
 
PpPete

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
whitebait said:
Nope, I just have to do the first two. The one I've got automatically overwrites the oldest files, so all I've got to do is plug a USB cable into it when I get home, (hardly a hassle) and then press one button on it when I leave the house and one when I arrive at my destination. Assuming I don't get knocked off my bike, that's it.

If I do get taken out, that's when I'll download the footage and use it to prove what happened. Could save me a lot of hassle and money one day, and costs me very little money and very little hassle in the meantime.
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What make / model of camera ?
I have to clear the card on mine after each ride and frankly after the novelty of the first few rides I now cba.
Also how long does it record, mine is only 30 minutes at a time.
 
BSRU

BSRU

A Human Being
Location
Swindon
srw said:
You wouldn't have known about it. You wouldn't have spent half an hour prepping the tape for the internet. You wouldn't have been thinking about it ever since. You wouldn't be describing that as a "close pass" (it wasn't). And you wouldn't have me pointing all that out.

That's five wins for me without a camera.
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Ignorance is bliss.

Whose been thinking about it ever since?

Obviously a large metal box less than a half a metre from my back wheel while travelling at 20mph is not close at all.:tongue:
 
John the Monkey

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Bicycle said:
I may be in the minorityin this, but I've bounced ofmany cars and will bounceoff many more.

It has always been so.
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What. The. F**k.

NO. Absolutely not.

I don't wear a headcam, but this is nonsense. It isn't acceptable for drivers to be indifferent around pedestrians, cyclists (and for that matter, each other, although they are at least protected to a greater degree). It's not acceptable for them to "punish" other road users according to their own, often incorrect recollection of traffic law.

If helmet camera evidence gets these Clarkson wannabes in hot water, I'm all for it. I'd rather like a future where local roads aren't a race track for the cretinous.
 
W

whitebait

Active Member
Location
Colliers Wood
PpPete said:
What make / model of camera ?
I have to clear the card on mine after each ride and frankly after the novelty of the first few rides I now cba.
Also how long does it record, mine is only 30 minutes at a time.
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Hey Pete,

I've got this one: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=110354

Now, I should add that I've only just got it, I have reviewed the video (just to make sure it's working and at the right angle, not to enrage myself at 'close' passes) and it seems fine.

It's easier to copy the files off the SD card by putting it in a card reader than straight off the camera, but if I'm only doing it once in a blue moon then that's fine as far as I'm concerned.

My 40 min commute uses up about 3.5Gb, it records in 5 minute chunks, so you end up with a bunch of separate videos.

I'll let you know if/when it stops working...
 
B

Bicycle

Guest
John the Monkey said:
What. The. F**k.

NO. Absolutely not.

I don't wear a headcam, but this is nonsense. It isn't acceptable for drivers to be indifferent around pedestrians, cyclists (and for that matter, each other, although they are at least protected to a greater degree). It's not acceptable for them to "punish" other road users according to their own, often incorrect recollection of traffic law.

If helmet camera evidence gets these Clarkson wannabes in hot water, I'm all for it. I'd rather like a future where local roads aren't a race track for the cretinous.
Click to expand...


I agree with you. I'm not sure how my point is nonsense. I have bounced off many cars and in all likelihood I will bounce off many more.

But you're right; It isn't OK for drivers to be indifferent. None of the drivers who've tipped me off have been Clarkson wannabes. One was a cabbie in an FX4 on Oxford Street.

Of the three serious times I've been bowled off a bicycle by a car , two of the drivers were successfully prosecuted and the third (with my agreement) was not. (Senior citizen, looked but didn't see me. Crash very painful, but she was very sweet and also very upset. All damage was paid for and months of stiff joints put down to experience).

I don't for a moment think it's OK for drivers to 'punish' pedestrians or cyclists and I'm not really sure how you infer that from what I wrote.

I do think a lot of posted helmetcammery is at best of questionable merit.

Some is very good; some is very funny. But it's not something I'd ever go for.

I like to ride my bicycle. Very good things happen when I ride it - and sometimes slightly bad things happen.

As far as I've been able to tell, that's sort of what life is about.

Clearly we agree that it's not OK for drivers to 'punish' other road users.

Something I wrote seemed to suggest to you that I think otherwise. I don't, so I'm sorry I inadvertantly misled you.

But I do think that some helmetcammery is self-aggrandising twoddle and will embarrass the poster in times to come.
 
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