Hi again,
I think I've briefly mentioned this before here on Cycle Chat, but now that I've done a good few miles on the bike i can safely say, having a Go Pro or similar fitted to the rear of the bike really changes the attitude of motorists when passing by.
I've done around 2000 miles now over the last couple of months, and have been experimenting in using it in different positions on the bike. Fitted to the front is by far the best place to record nice action shots. If you're vain enough by the appearance of your bike, it also looks much neater mounted underneath on an out front Garmin mount.
My bug bear though is the regular close passes we often get, where drivers are either to impatient to wait for a safe place to pass or just lunatics. This really boils my "P" when it happens and find myself foaming at the mouth with temper when it happens.
However I've really noticed when placing the Go Pro on the seat rail mount pointing backwards, close passes become a rarity.. In fact i can't help but notice as to how drivers overreact in giving me a ridiculous amount of room. This also seems to be more apparent by drivers that have been held up for a few moments. I'm putting this down to them actually realising there being watched after seeing the camera. Obviously being stuck behind a cyclist gives a motorist more time to spot the camera.
Initially my intention for a camera was to record nice shots of the country side but i find it far more useful as a deterrent against close passes.
I think if the Go Pro was a bright colour instead of its dark grey colour, it would really catch the eyes of drivers even more so.
If money is tight in these uncertain times, even a fake camera or a cheap broken Go Pro would do the trick in making drivers pass safely.
Obviously not all motorists will notice but every little helps in our safety. Over the last couple of months I've had three close passes to which I've done something about. Each occasion the camera was fitted to the front and got a clear view of the vehicle. They were commercial vehicles and managed to call the company to complain about their bad driving..
I know this is just my own views and opinion, and that it may be just coincidental but from what I've seen over the many miles, it does seem to make a difference having the camera pointing backwards.