Cycling Camera... and a ****

[nomm]

I can see a few threads about cameras but this is mainly a rant...

Today cycling along my usual commute home, a narrow road with cars parked either side and, as usual, I don't want to be hit by a door or let anyone attempt to over take so I am roughly in the middle to the left of the lane. This is a quiet road most of the time and 90% of the time drivers a long it are slow and easy going.... except today

The driver in question, who I can hear and see ahead (likely doing more than 20 mph, my opinion 40+) drives directly at me. On his way to a potential collision are several gaps on his side of the road for HIM (nearly always a man) to pull into, but no, his choice is to drive directly towards me. At around 30-50m ahead of me, he seemingly accelerates and starts pressing his horn. I did not have many places to go at this point and after cramming myself into a gap he gave me barely a metre, on his horn still and preceded to accelerate, pass me at speed and drive away from me.

Now... this usually is something to get angry about and let go, as unfortunately the world has some ****s, but as my son of less than 2 years old was on the back of the bike in his seat, I am still literally angry with rage. I have been hit from behind before, but this really shook me and my crying highly distressed child up something proper. I had to walk home with my son, who refused to get back onto the bike.

In my moment of terror for my life and mainly my child's, I didn't get the plate details... so not much to do except an online form for a near miss. I love riding in all forms, especially with my son, as does he, and until now have been lucky it seems. This **** almost killed me and my child and if I had had a camera, might now be in the position to do something about it.

I'm not made of money, but would like something to mount on the helmet (which I will also start wearing) - advice anyone?

[Pebble]

police are a bit hit and miss with camers, I have ad a camera for a few years now (mounted on handlebars) and have reoprted a few, occasionally the police have been really interested speaking to drivers and on one occasion handing out 3 points. But mostly they appear less than interested. Some forces now allow you to upload the video to their website, but you must agree to appear in court etc. It would have to be really serious like being knocked off to bother with the possibility of enduring a court case.

[Pebble]

.

[roubaixtuesday]

I can see a few threads about cameras but this is mainly a rant...

Today cycling along my usual commute home, a narrow road with cars parked either side and, as usual, I don't want to be hit by a door or let anyone attempt to over take so I am roughly in the middle to the left of the lane. This is a quiet road most of the time and 90% of the time drivers a long it are slow and easy going.... except today

The driver in question, who I can hear and see ahead (likely doing more than 20 mph, my opinion 40+) drives directly at me. On his way to a potential collision are several gaps on his side of the road for HIM (nearly always a man) to pull into, but no, his choice is to drive directly towards me. At around 30-50m ahead of me, he seemingly accelerates and starts pressing his horn. I did not have many places to go at this point and after cramming myself into a gap he gave me barely a metre, on his horn still and preceded to accelerate, pass me at speed and drive away from me.

Now... this usually is something to get angry about and let go, as unfortunately the world has some ****s, but as my son of less than 2 years old was on the back of the bike in his seat, I am still literally angry with rage. I have been hit from behind before, but this really shook me and my crying highly distressed child up something proper. I had to walk home with my son, who refused to get back onto the bike.

In my moment of terror for my life and mainly my child's, I didn't get the plate details... so not much to do except an online form for a near miss. I love riding in all forms, especially with my son, as does he, and until now have been lucky it seems. This **** almost killed me and my child and if I had had a camera, might now be in the position to do something about it.

I'm not made of money, but would like something to mount on the helmet (which I will also start wearing) - advice anyone?

So sorry to read this.

I've no knowledge about cameras, but wanted to offer you solidarity, as there's bugger all else I can do.

Don't let the [rude word removed] grind you down!

[tim-b]

Hi
PM sent
I've felt your pain!
Regards
tim-b

[thirdcrank]

At the moment you are understandably stressed which may not be the best time to make informed decisions about buying equipment.

Think carefully about your priorities eg mounted on your bike or head; duration of recording (battery life); and quality of recording. The last one is important if you want to record reg plates which is a minimum for reports to police. Different riders have different attitudes eg if you did report something, how would you feel about attending court to give evidence? For some that's a stressor in itself. Some cameramen seem to edge towards obsession. I'd recommend thinking of a camera as corroborating your own evidence - it helps replace other witnesses.

[fivebikes]

Sorry to hear about that incident. Glad you are both physically unharmed. The amount of bad driving I see out on my walks and rides seems to be worse than ever! At that point in time, when many are becoming more aware of alternatives to the car, the abundance of inexpensive, high powered cars driven by those with a shaky moral compass seems crazy.
Have you looked at the GoPro range, maybe not the latest because of cost but earlier versions. The Hero Session is a neat little cube shaped thing, it has no screen but this is not an issue when worn on a helmet or bar mounted.

Only second hand or old stock but will run for about an hour. Should be under £100.
There are probably similar alternatives!
Good luck!

[gaz]

If the budget for a camera might be stretching things there's always the "beware of the camera" sign instead: https://passpixi.com/

No connection to the company, no knowledge of the effectiveness of the product beyond the manufacturer's own anecdotes.

[Audax67]

IME the details of you and your bike are only visible to other cyclists. A feral motorist will see only a bloody cyclist and react according to his prejudices.

You can get GoPro knock-offs for 30 or 40-odd quid. They usually come with enough extra plastic bits to build an Airbus, and one of them will be a helmet fitting. If you don't like the neck-strain (I don't) there are usually bar mounts included and you can get chest-mount harnesses. Can't remember if mine came with the kit, it's a bit old now. If you use a bar mount the image quality might suffer from the vibration - body mounts are more stable.

Main thing to do is to set the camera on a 5-minute recording loop (or however long it will do), start it before riding and stop it recording after an incident. You can start it again before you set off and it should record another loop.

Good luck!

[Stradageek]

I can see a few threads about cameras but this is mainly a rant...

Today cycling along my usual commute home, a narrow road with cars parked either side and, as usual, I don't want to be hit by a door or let anyone attempt to over take so I am roughly in the middle to the left of the lane. This is a quiet road most of the time and 90% of the time drivers a long it are slow and easy going.... except today

The driver in question, who I can hear and see ahead (likely doing more than 20 mph, my opinion 40+) drives directly at me. On his way to a potential collision are several gaps on his side of the road for HIM (nearly always a man) to pull into, but no, his choice is to drive directly towards me. At around 30-50m ahead of me, he seemingly accelerates and starts pressing his horn. I did not have many places to go at this point and after cramming myself into a gap he gave me barely a metre, on his horn still and preceded to accelerate, pass me at speed and drive away from me.

Now... this usually is something to get angry about and let go, as unfortunately the world has some ****s, but as my son of less than 2 years old was on the back of the bike in his seat, I am still literally angry with rage. I have been hit from behind before, but this really shook me and my crying highly distressed child up something proper. I had to walk home with my son, who refused to get back onto the bike.

In my moment of terror for my life and mainly my child's, I didn't get the plate details... so not much to do except an online form for a near miss. I love riding in all forms, especially with my son, as does he, and until now have been lucky it seems. This **** almost killed me and my child and if I had had a camera, might now be in the position to do something about it.

I'm not made of money, but would like something to mount on the helmet (which I will also start wearing) - advice anyone?

+1 for sympathy, I'd have done exactly what you did under the circumstances.

On my own however.... I have encountered the very same situation and usually take the initiative by wobbling wildly and looking as if I'm so scared that I'm about to crash into the oncoming car. So far this has almost always worked, possibly aided by me being a recumbent rider (thus many drivers assume I'm disabled). It runs the risk that one day I'll meet a true psychopath, so I make sure I have an exit strategy (grass verse, gap between cars etc.) available.

As you have said, such events are fortunately rare. I am reminded of Josie Dew's ending to "The wind in my wheels" where after surviving a kidnap and attempted rape (in Romania I think) she thought of abandoning her ride but decided that she wouldn't let anything stop her doing what she really loved i.e. cycling. Much as her attempted rapist turned out to be a man with significant mental health issues, I can't imagine that your aggressive driver has many friends

[markjohnobrien]

I can see a few threads about cameras but this is mainly a rant...

Today cycling along my usual commute home, a narrow road with cars parked either side and, as usual, I don't want to be hit by a door or let anyone attempt to over take so I am roughly in the middle to the left of the lane. This is a quiet road most of the time and 90% of the time drivers a long it are slow and easy going.... except today

The driver in question, who I can hear and see ahead (likely doing more than 20 mph, my opinion 40+) drives directly at me. On his way to a potential collision are several gaps on his side of the road for HIM (nearly always a man) to pull into, but no, his choice is to drive directly towards me. At around 30-50m ahead of me, he seemingly accelerates and starts pressing his horn. I did not have many places to go at this point and after cramming myself into a gap he gave me barely a metre, on his horn still and preceded to accelerate, pass me at speed and drive away from me.

Now... this usually is something to get angry about and let go, as unfortunately the world has some ****s, but as my son of less than 2 years old was on the back of the bike in his seat, I am still literally angry with rage. I have been hit from behind before, but this really shook me and my crying highly distressed child up something proper. I had to walk home with my son, who refused to get back onto the bike.

In my moment of terror for my life and mainly my child's, I didn't get the plate details... so not much to do except an online form for a near miss. I love riding in all forms, especially with my son, as does he, and until now have been lucky it seems. This **** almost killed me and my child and if I had had a camera, might now be in the position to do something about it.

I'm not made of money, but would like something to mount on the helmet (which I will also start wearing) - advice anyone?

You say you are not made of money (neither am I) but what price your life and that of your son? While I cannot give specific model advice, it’s worth spending as much as you can to keep you both safe with the caveat that it’s worth reading up on your local Police force’s policy on video evidence - they can be wildly different.

[thirdcrank]

You may find it useful to study the recordings of different setups before buying. As I've already said, recording quality ie definition is paramount if you want detail like reg plates but things like the field of view vary with the lens type on even the poshest cameras. Anything is good enough to record things like direction of travel and manoeuvres - who did what - but wide-angle lenses, which are common to capture the widest field of view inevitably distort distances in the same way as a convex mirror - eg car door mirror.

That means that something close enough to feel threatening may appear to be miles away. Then, the apparently bigger distances involved can make the camera appear to have been travelling faster than was the case. A camera with GPS recording speed can help with that and in a serious case a forensic examination could analyse speed and distance, but first impressions are difficult to dislodge.

[simonineaston]

The amount of bad driving I see out on my walks and rides seems to be worse than ever!

Of course it is - the number of new car drivers is rising inexorably, Covid or no Covid, increasing the number of cars trying to fit into a fairly finite road estate. Anyone who expects levels of skill and consideration to gently potter uphill meanwhile is set to be disappointed. Until somebody comes up with an alternative to cars as personal transport, the situation for cyclists will continue to deteriorate, as cycists remain low in the pecking order, due I suspect to the small contribution that the cycle industry makes to the country's economy, relative to the collossal multi-billion contrib. of the motor-transport industry. Or to put it another way, we don't count and no-one cares!

[atlas_shrugged]

Complete sympathies with the OP. I also have had this done to me - even by the polizi!

As cyclists we just need to learn that we are the lowest of the low. It is likely that the polizi will be completely useless and in Cambs/Herts/Beds they are on record as having a policy of not looking at camera footage provided by the public.

As a father you are the best protector your child has. Maybe for your own peace of mind cycle on traffic free routes. I don't have a solution for you until every BMW, mercedes, range rover, audi, and chelsea tractor etc has a 15 mph speed limiter fitted.

[markjohnobrien]

Complete sympathies with the OP. I also have had this done to me - even by the polizi!

As cyclists we just need to learn that we are the lowest of the low. It is likely that the polizi will be completely useless and in Cambs/Herts/Beds they are on record as having a policy of not looking at camera footage provided by the public.

As a father you are the best protector your child has. Maybe for your own peace of mind cycle on traffic free routes. I don't have a solution for you until every BMW, mercedes, range rover, audi, and chelsea tractor etc has a 15 mph speed limiter fitted.

Interested as to your use of the German term “polizi” - we don’t live in a Communist tyranny such as East Germany.

Agree that many police forces are useless in dealing with close passes and/or accepting video evidence.