So just thinking, dash cams are becoming common place and there are plenty of righteous motoplebs and cycleplebs with their helmet cameras shaming people on YouTube. Police and Bailiffs are sporting them as a necessity because they are always being filmed. How long before this is adopted by pedestrians and parents start giving them to their children? It’s all getting a bit 1984. I think people will start wearing them not because they want to but out of self preservation because everyone else will have one.
I thought about this yesterday because some pleb on an FJR1300 rode at me (and a group of pedestrians) horn blaring and revving his engine after performing an illegal right turn into a pedestrian right of way. We even had a green man on the traffic lights which I gestured to him to observe. After seeing that he scurried off between a gap in the pedestrians. So say if he took me out and rode off, if it’s all on tape (memory card) then case closed. Otherwise there is all the ambiguity, was I crossing on a green man? Did he do an illegal right turn? etc etc. Just a thought.
As per the 2 videos I put up here, the one where the car pulled out. Had I hit her it would have been my word against hers as no witnesses close enough! I see it as essential for me… but I’m not the kinda guy who will start a pootube channel to shame them all (pointless I think)…
I’m going to buy one (motorbike, not body…) - but def no youtube channel for me… not a motopleb (i hope…) I guess its a bit 1984 - excepts not a centralised government doing all the spying…
I bought one as I had a “lady” pull out and do a U-turn in-front of me without looking. Due to parked traffic I had nowhere to go and so slammed into her.
She apologized, “her fault” blah blah blah … until we got to insurance companies talking. Then it was ALL my fault, as she looked, indicated, and made her maneuver in plenty of time, slowly of course … then along came this mad motorcyclist who tried to overtake her … and failed. A year and a half on and its still winding its way up the Court steps …
Had I had a camera at the time however … I’m sure we’d have settled, she would have raised her hand and I’d be £1112 better off after repairs.
Camera now on helmet but luckily never needed its proof since …
I bought one as I had a "lady" pull out and do a U-turn in-front of me without looking. Due to parked traffic I had nowhere to go and so slammed into her.
She apologized, “her fault” blah blah blah … until we got to insurance companies talking. Then it was ALL my fault, as she looked, indicated, and made her maneuver in plenty of time, slowly of course … then along came this mad motorcyclist who tried to overtake her … and failed. A year and a half on and its still winding its way up the Court steps …
Had I had a camera at the time however … I’m sure we’d have settled, she would have raised her hand and I’d be £1112 better off after repairs.
Camera now on helmet but luckily never needed its proof since …
IanWilliamson
funny enough it was exactly that happening to me 4 times in 2 days which finally made me do it (obviously didn’t hit anyone but 3 of the 4 were pretty close, 4th I saw the wheels turning so knew she was about to go)
I’m similar to you Ian. Got taken out on A13 back in Sept 2013 by an idiot lane twitching whilst I was filtering between gridlocked traffic. He’s being an arse and his latest story is he was stationary, never moved, and I was weaving in and out of traffic, just lost control of the bike slid down the side of his car and then acted all aggressive and violent to him… Got a court date for March coming. Even then, I still wouldn’t be surprised if it just goes 50:50, so both our premiums are screwed to bank roll all the solicitors, the barrister, the engineers report, the locus report, the private medical assessment, all the claim management parasites and of course a nice wad of profit for the underwriters. I don’t doubt things would have been a lot easier, less stressful and resolved much sooner if I had had some video evidence of what actually happened.
I’ve ridden with a camera ever since. It’s daft now though, you start to feel vulnerable if you go out without one…
I agree, it’s not a particularly great culture, but you can’t beat it, so you may as well embrace it and ideally use it to your advantage.
That film SilverR6 linked to above, Freeze Frame is on YouTube. It’s pretty dark but the sentiment is “off camera is off guard.” Seems to be the way things are going.
