Talk to me about bike cameras

[ianrauk]

I admire CyclingMikey for his shear bravado, and ignoring the various - "I'll kill you if that happens to me" nonsense from Facebook tough guys.

Mikey is tough as old boots, he can handle himself if needed or is warranted.

He was also a member of this forum back in the early days.

Over the many years i've been cycling, I've only ever been followed once by a driver whom I gave the finger to for poor passing. Except when he got out of his car, he found I wasn't to be easily intimadated or bullied so skulked back into his car.

A moton following a woman on a bike to remonstrate is absolutely beyond the pale and cowardly behavior.

 

[Drago]

Ive never suffered undue aggression from car drivers. Even in the cut and thrust of Larndon theyre reasonably respectful onnthe road around me.

Can't think why.

 

[Binky]

I have mixed feelings about CyclingMikey. I always give him a "like" on his FB posts, just to counter the notion that everybody hates him. But his awareness raising might be negated by his enraging propensities. Somehow I get FB posts from somebody in Dorset who does a similar thing. Don't know why, I'm a long way from Dorset.

His original intentions of filming drivers etc was understandable, think he lost his father to a drunk driver or something?

However, now he's just a content creator of the worst kind. He goes out of his way to film and confront anyone he thinks is in the wrong and hurls abuse at them verbally and in the comments on his videos.
By all means film your rides and if you get a close pass or see someone on their phone driving then report it.
But he then goes up to the vehicle and peers into side window(slightly creepily at times esp if a woman driver) then finger wags and berates them. This no doubt to trigger the reaction he's looking for for his YouTube channel.

He's now a hated figure among a lot of road users, both motorists and cyclists as he gives those of us who film rides a bad name.

 

[Drago]

And then he has the cheek to complain when he ends up going for a ride on a bonnet.

Film quietly, grass them up by all means, but why go looking for an argument with someone armed with an effective kinetic weapon? At best it achieves nothing, at worst it could end very tragically.

 

[scotsbikester]

His original intentions of filming drivers etc was understandable, think he lost his father to a drunk driver or something?

However, now he's just a content creator of the worst kind. He goes out of his way to film and confront anyone he thinks is in the wrong and hurls abuse at them verbally and in the comments on his videos.
By all means film your rides and if you get a close pass or see someone on their phone driving then report it.
But he then goes up to the vehicle and peers into side window(slightly creepily at times esp if a woman driver) then finger wags and berates them. This no doubt to trigger the reaction he's looking for for his YouTube channel.

He's now a hated figure among a lot of road users, both motorists and cyclists as he gives those of us who film rides a bad name.

You might be right, on the finger-wagging and confrontation thing. But to be honest, considering the amount of V signs and similar that many drivers use when somebody has done something "terrible" (like delaying their progress for a few seconds), I don't think what Mikey does is very high on the abuse scale. And many drivers do a lot worse than wagging fingers. Cutting in too close to "teach you a lesson", driving way too close behind, to bully you out of the way, and similar. There's nothing dangerous about wagging a finger, whereas drivers often do very dangerous things with 2 tons of metal, in order to communicate their displeasure.

The police take action on his videos. Quite a lot, it seems. So that's good. And so doing might encourage other cyclists to report
similar things, but without the confrontation or sticking it on FB etc.

Personally, I don't publicise my activities like that, at all.

I do like the one at Gandalf Corner where somebody drives into his bike (very slowly). When the police arrive it's a very definite - "you, back there".

I'm not going to condemn Mikey. I'm both a cyclist and a motorist, and I certainly don't hate him.

 

[Binky]

I'm not going to condemn Mikey. I'm both a cyclist and a motorist, and I certainly don't hate him.

I'm both a cyclist and a motorist and I also film my rides and send in reports of dangerous driving etc.
However, I do condemn him as I think he's an idiot whose actions only wind up others about cyclists.
As for the police taking action, it seems last couple of years he's had a lot of NFAs to videos he's sent in. I get impression the police are getting as fed up with him as others are. Mikey often has a statement at end of his videos saying something along the lines of "haven't heard anything so I assume action was taken...". No, if action taken you'll be informed of it.

There's several videos he's posted of cyclists overtaking him in what he sees as too close/unsafe/whatever and he's shouted "peanut" at them. One day he'll get a shoeing.

Like I said before, good intentions but done in a counter productive way. See Jeremy Vine for similar.

Edit: it seems nanny been over and changed orginal word to "peanut". I can assure viewers that isn't the word he yells.

 

[Drago]

I'm both a cyclist and a motorist and I also film my rides and send in reports of dangerous driving etc.
However, I do condemn him as I think he's an idiot whose actions only wind up others about cyclists.
As for the police taking action, it seems last couple of years he's had a lot of NFAs to videos he's sent in. I get impression the police are getting as fed up with him as others are. Mikey often has a statement at end of his videos saying something along the lines of "haven't heard anything so I assume action was taken...". No, if action taken you'll be informed of it.

There's several videos he's posted of cyclists overtaking him in what he sees as too close/unsafe/whatever and he's shouted "peanut" at them. One day he'll get a shoeing.

Like I said before, good intentions but done in a counter productive way. See Jeremy Vine for similar.

The other problem is that his behaviour is undermining his own credibility as a witness.

In an ideal world the video evidence should speak for itself, but it doesn't work like that.

 

[scotsbikester]

I'm both a cyclist and a motorist and I also film my rides and send in reports of dangerous driving etc.
However, I do condemn him as I think he's an idiot whose actions only wind up others about cyclists.
As for the police taking action, it seems last couple of years he's had a lot of NFAs to videos he's sent in. I get impression the police are getting as fed up with him as others are. Mikey often has a statement at end of his videos saying something along the lines of "haven't heard anything so I assume action was taken...". No, if action taken you'll be informed of it.

There's several videos he's posted of cyclists overtaking him in what he sees as too close/unsafe/whatever and he's shouted "peanut" at them. One day he'll get a shoeing.

Like I said before, good intentions but done in a counter productive way. See Jeremy Vine for similar.

Edit: it seems nanny been over and changed orginal word to "peanut". I can assure viewers that isn't the word he yells.

Pluralistic ignorance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralistic_ignorance

Just because lots of people comment aggressively on Mikey's YouTube videos doesn't mean they are anything like the majority. Seems to me there are some drivers who get "wound up", as you put it, about absolutely anything which they think restricts their "right" to drive however they like. Too fast, while drunk, not paying attention, too tired, on the pavement, in the cycle lane, behind a learner, etc. etc.

And given the number of times those comments include things like "why don't you say anything about cyclists going through red lights" etc. etc., Mikey including video of him doing exactly that is quite reasonable. Some cyclists are idiots, it's fine if Mikey calls them out too.

 

[PaulSB]

The reason I ride with a camera is I got fed up with so many close passes. I record rides and send any close/dangerous passes etc in to Operation Snap.
My reasoning is if enough cyclists do this then maybe eventually motorists will get the message that endangering vunerable road users has consequences. Plus I have to say getting a bit of justice for having my life endangered feels good!

Regarding a driver finding where you live, use the privacy settings on Strava to hide start/end of rides although I suppose they could eventually work it out.
Also if you end up having to go to court as a prosecution witness then during the hearing the defendant is told your name.
If the police just issue warning letter, points, fine etc then the motorists isn't told who reported the incident.

On this point my wife is concerned that an irate driver could call around the house. I think this unlikely but you never know.

Yes, I've had this enabled for years for bike security not personal safety. I'm not particularly worried about my own safety but do feel Strava in particular is a source of information that could be very useful to a criminal.

It would be very simple to follow a rider home. A simple scan through a rider's activities will reveal the rider's behaviour pattern and when the property might well be empty for 5 - 6 hours. Bingo!

 

[HLaB]

I have mixed feelings about CyclingMikey. I always give him a "like" on his FB posts, just to counter the notion that everybody hates him. But his awareness raising might be negated by his enraging propensities. Somehow I get FB posts from somebody in Dorset who does a similar thing. Don't know why, I'm a long way from Dorset.

I get tons from Dorset Road Safe (or whatever the councillor is called) too for some reason!

 

[scotsbikester]

I get tons from Dorset Road Safe (or whatever the councillor is called) too for some reason!

Yes, I think it's the Facebook algorithm. I must have once paused for a nanosecond over a Dorset Road Safe post, and I'm now forever doomed.

 

[katiewlx]

I've not be using cameras for as long as you, so I will acknowledge your personal experience.

But I have to ask, the "close encounters" that you have, is that because you have reacted in some way? Shouted, told them you're going to report them, that sort of thing? I've done that in the past, but now avoid it. So all they will get is a a letter from the police. Sure, I have to say I will attend court if required, but that's it. So unless the driver can remember when they close passed a cyclist, what that cyclist looked like, and then attempt to track me down, I don't feel there's anything to worry about.

no, the drivers who have come after me like that, not really sure how to word that better tbh, obviously I wasnt far from home when it happened, but I did nothing other than just ride in prime on the road, didnt react or shout or swear or do anything when they close passed me, and they took enough objection to some part of that, that yes they would then cancel wherever they were driving, just to follow me to my front gate and then we'd have a fruitless 5min debate about it.

I have absolutely challenged drivers very strongly sometimes on the road for their behaviour towards me, I refuse to be bullied or kowtowed by them, but Im not really worried about them so much, as most of them are looking for that reaction/argument in the first place I think.

but I dont know how drivers react to a NIP to a close pass. most drivers dont seem to believe theyve done anything wrong anyway even when I challenge them, and I find it hard to believe theyd just accept points or the cost of a driving course without question, without pushing back in someway. and so yeah it crosses my mind do I want to open myself up to that potential pushback by reporting them

id say 90% of my close passes happen on my commute, so its something Im regularly doing in the same place at the same time, frequently, and there aren many cyclists around, so it does mean I feel more vulnerable than kind of just random road interactions with hundreds of cyclists around, even though most of the traffic I encounter seems to be entirely different each time from my perspective

it is just a factor I think about and weighs more sometimes than it shoud

 

[katiewlx]

Yes, I've had this enabled for years for bike security not personal safety. I'm not particularly worried about my own safety but do feel Strava in particular is a source of information that could be very useful to a criminal.

It would be very simple to follow a rider home. A simple scan through a rider's activities will reveal the rider's behaviour pattern and when the property might well be empty for 5 - 6 hours. Bingo!

Ive always been of the opinion criminals who were that interested would simply open their eyes, not bother with an app like Strava. simply because of the number of conversations over the years Ive had with neighbours/near neighbours in my road, who dont use Strava at all, but whose first question if we stop to chat is always about me cycling somewhere.