The helmet camera debate

[magnatom]

Obviously I am a helmet camera user, and I try to encourage others to use helmet cameras. I personally think a lot of good can come from their use, and I think it already has. However, it is nice from time to time, to find out what others think, users and no users alike. So I thought, I would ask the question:

Are helmet cameras in utility cycling a good or a bad thing?

Discuss!


(makes a change from debating helmets and red light jumpers! )

 

[Tynan]

has to be yes I think as long as they're affordable and light and easy to use

I don't have one

 

[Jake]

Hi, well I’ve got one, had one for a little over a month now and it's pretty good. I think it does add another safety measure as other drives do notice it and hopefully act a bit better. It's an insurance measure in that if you do get squashed and the driver goes on his merry way, like what happened to me mate a few weeks ago by a black cap, (just a few grazes), then it can help with number plates etc. If your assaulted or witness a crime etc etc. I don't really see any negative to it. hmmmm, well, I guess some people may use it to instigate situations so they can capture on film.

I do stick the worst cases I come across on youtube, like yesterday mornings near miss with a BMW driver. I also like to post bad driving by cars and other cyclists ;o) Most of it is just a bit of fun.

The only problem with the camera is the extra weight if on your helmet, (no puns please), the sound quality being awful and the fact that if you want to bring the AVI file into FCP then you have to convert to DV stream first which takes times and increases the file to around 7gig, going on my 40min journey.

I do think it’s a good thing.

 

[4F]

I can see that that may have a use in case of an insurance claim but I feel that at a lot of the time users tend to be constantly on the look out to try and film bad driving rather than actually just getting out on their bike and enjoying themselves

I will not be purchasing one.

 

[Cab]

Handy as an instrument for evaluating whether your own cycling is appropriate. And even more handy as a tool for demonstrating that someone has broken the law, as I think my recent saga 'taxi driver and git' demonstrates.

But more than that, they're fun and quite harmless.

I find that sticking the camera somewhere very visible is great; motorists see it, they don't know what it is, and a far higher proportion give me road space. Simply put I have less bad incidents on the road when I'm wearing the camera, and that has to be a good thing!

 

[goo_mason]

I've worn mine for about two weeks in total even though I've had it since March. It was a faff to fit to my helmet, and even after ordering a new mount it was still no good, so in the end I bodged it on with rubber bands so that it pokes through the front vent from inside.

It's still a fiddle with getting the player in the rucksack and then closing it all up, and the cable gets in the way a bit. TBH, it's too much extra fiddling around for me to put up with for more than a few weeks at a time. I suspect that if I wore a jacket I'd be able to pop the Archos into a pocket and the whole thing would be less bother, but I rarely wear one as I sweat like a pig even in sub-zero temperatures !

As for their use, I think they're a great idea. That extra little bit of backup in the event of something untoward happening. I really don't think they cause people to concentrate more on filming incidents than enjoying their riding - even after a day I forgot that it was there (except when the cable was slapping against the side of my face).

 

[ChrisKH]

I purposefully put an ATC 2000 on my bars for the commute. I don't go looking for bad driving it just happens around me. It's just a form of insurance. I now just automatically switch it on and forget about it until I get to the end of my ride. So for me it's potentially useful. Fortunately I haven't had to rely on it in any way - it can't be easily seen by passing motorists so I don't think it has any deterrent value. I suspect it would have if it was on my helmet, but I find them too heavy to use. Hoping to upgrade to a lighter pen-like helmet camera and a digital VCR in my backpack in due course. Any recommendations?

 

[Cab]

Regarding helmet cam users looking for trouble... I'd say that almost the reverse is true, I see less trouble when I'm wearing it, its part of me looking to avoid trouble.

 

[BentMikey]

It's also very good from the point of view of encouraging you yourself to ride and behave better. Not only am I swearing much less, I'm also riding more sensibly too.

 

[4F]

Regarding helmet cam users looking for trouble... I'd say that almost the reverse is true, I see less trouble when I'm wearing it, its part of me looking to avoid trouble.

It's the oh look motorist on the phone, eating sandwiches whilst driving, wearing a loud shirt in a built up area, walking on the cracks of the pavement videos that really get my goat.

 

[magnatom]

It's the oh look motorist on the phone, eating sandwiches whilst driving, wearing a loud shirt in a built up area, walking on the cracks of the pavement videos that really get my goat.

Why? I don't understand that. I only tend to see and video these things when I am stopped. So I stop at the lights, sit up. look around and there you have it, a driver on their mobile phone. What is wrong with shaming these people? Remember you are 4 times more likely to be involved in an accident if you use a mobile phone, and your reaction times are equivalent to a drink drivers.

It is these drivers that really gets my goat!

 

[gavintc]

I have considered it, but most of my commute is rural roads and generally I do not get into too many occasions when I would want to record the evidence of an event. I thinnk as goo has stated the hassle factor puts me off - charging batteries, set up the record and then getting all the kit together and ready. Perhaps if the roads get more gladitorial, I will consider it - but not yet.

 

[4F]

Of course these idiots should not be doing it and are a menace but do you really think you are going to make the slightest bit of difference to them doing it again ? An instant 6 month ban would be they best way to get these idiots to stop doing this.

 

[magnatom]

Of course these idiots should not be doing it and are a menace but do you really think you are going to make the slightest bit of difference to them doing it again ? An instant 6 month ban would be they best way to get these idiots to stop doing this.

Yes I do. (I should point out that I would point out mobile users camera or no camera, so it is a bit of a separate issue).

There have been a number of occasions where I have pointed to users and pointed to the camera and they have sheepishly put down their phones. I think people know (in Glasgow at least) that there is a cyclist who will post their images on the web. For some folk it does work. Not for all of course.

By you haven't explained why it annoys you that I do this. Not wanting to argue, just curious.

 

[4F]

Motorists will continue to flout these laws until plod have the resources to regulate these laws more enforcefully and to be honest I very much doubt whether the motorists would think twice about answering the phone 5 mins after you have caught them on camera.

For me being on a bike is more about the freedom it gives and I for one would feel the enjoyment would go if I spent most of my time uploading images of constant wrongdoings.