andyfraser
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol
I'll start by saying this isn't a particularly good example of how a camera should be used.
I wonder how many of these camera cyclists are getting annoyed and posting to YouTube due to a feeling of impotence?
I'm lucky because I commute on fairly quiet roads without too many junctions to negotiate. Everyday I see an example of bad driving and a lack of respect for other road users that could be considered careless or dangerous driving. Mostly I just shrug it off but very occasionally a driver does something that's genuinely dangerous and if things had gone slightly differently I could get hurt or killed through no fault of my own.
The problem is there's no recourse. Reporting to the police gets you nowhere. The driver probably doesn't think they've done anything wrong and it'll only affect them directly if they hurt someone or get a visit from the police.
I've thought about getting a camera, usually after something bad happens, but without anyone to send the footage to and with no guarantee that anything would be done anyway, even if it's just a letter from the police, I can see me resorting to posting the worst offenders to YouTube just so I feel like I'm doing something even if that something is misguided.
If there was a mechanism by which I could film any incidents, send them to the police, and know something will get done it would be easier to passively film these incidents without feeling the need to rant at motorists and post to YouTube. There's no mechanism by which we can help make the roads safer without having to die first.
NB I believe there's a scheme in London like the one I've described but I don't know about anything for the rest of the country.
I wonder how many of these camera cyclists are getting annoyed and posting to YouTube due to a feeling of impotence?
I'm lucky because I commute on fairly quiet roads without too many junctions to negotiate. Everyday I see an example of bad driving and a lack of respect for other road users that could be considered careless or dangerous driving. Mostly I just shrug it off but very occasionally a driver does something that's genuinely dangerous and if things had gone slightly differently I could get hurt or killed through no fault of my own.
The problem is there's no recourse. Reporting to the police gets you nowhere. The driver probably doesn't think they've done anything wrong and it'll only affect them directly if they hurt someone or get a visit from the police.
I've thought about getting a camera, usually after something bad happens, but without anyone to send the footage to and with no guarantee that anything would be done anyway, even if it's just a letter from the police, I can see me resorting to posting the worst offenders to YouTube just so I feel like I'm doing something even if that something is misguided.
If there was a mechanism by which I could film any incidents, send them to the police, and know something will get done it would be easier to passively film these incidents without feeling the need to rant at motorists and post to YouTube. There's no mechanism by which we can help make the roads safer without having to die first.
NB I believe there's a scheme in London like the one I've described but I don't know about anything for the rest of the country.