HelmetCam:1 Stupid Drivers: 0
On my way home from work on Friday last week I saw a car coming towards me along a road with a 20mph speed limit that to my eyes was doing closer to 40 than 20 so I gestured to them, politely to slow down. The car responded by deliberately, to my eyes, swerving towards me. I’ve had some debate with a couple of friends about wether what I did was provocation to the driver…frankly it doesn’t matter if it was, there was no call for that action as a response.
Luckily, actually deliberately to capture this kind of thing (although more often stupid and careless drivers and fellow cyclists than malicious ones), I have for the last couple of weeks been wearing a camera mounted on my cycle helmet. It’s a dinky little thing but it can capture full 1080p HD, slo-mo at 240 frames per second and can also live stream straight to Ustream 🙂
Anyhoo…before I go on take a look at the incident for yourself. http://youtu.be/SX6YFCGoN2I
After sending the youTube link to the Cambridge Police Twitter account I was asked to go to the Police station today to discuss the incident.
I took the full HD video with me on my iPad to show the officer who I had an appointment booked with. After viewing it a couple of times he asked if he could borrow my iPad to show a colleague because he wasn’t sure what the driver could be charged with!
Upon his return I was informed that unless they could prove who was driving they couldn’t press any charges at all but the car in question was owned by a Woman and he suspected from their age that the other driver named on the same insurance was her Son (I had told him it was a man driving). He told me he intended to speak to the registered owner of the vehicle and let them know what had happened, and if he was told that someone else was driving he’d speak to them as well. He also told me that the police would be informing the insurance company about the incident and would leave it to their discretion as to what happened next.
Overall, I think that’s a pretty fair result 😀
OW Ow ow…Legal advice wanted!
Brief background info: I have Arthritis, particularly affecting my right wrist at the moment (I can’t play golf or lift kettles without serious pain) and I cycle to and from Cambridge station 4 days a week (which also hurts until my painkillers have kicked in).
This morning about half a mile from home a white van started to slowly pull out from where it was parked. I was parked on the opposite side of the road from me but heading in my direction. I assumed, perhaps foolishly, that he was pulling out slowly to wait for me to pass…apparently not.
He continued to pull out whilst gradually speeding up and moving over to my side of the road to the extent that there was no room for me to pass between him and the parked cars on my side of the road. At this point I was forced to make an emergency stop (which hurt) and then in frustration and anger, and a hope to attract the drivers attention and alert him to what he’d done to hopefully make him more attentive in the future, punched the side of the van.
I am now in even more pain than normal and the van didn’t even stop. Aside from the punching I’d estimate that I have what I could describe as ‘near miss’ incidents at least twice a week.
Having seen several videos on youTube I’m left asking a legal question. If I buy one of the helmet, or handlebar, mounted ActionCams would I be able to submit videos of incidents like this mornings to the police and at least get these idiots fined?
Things that make you go Aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh!
I’m not talking about politics or religion here . . . I can brush those off because a) I don’t believe in either and b) they both work great for individuals but end up as infinitely corrupt for any sort of organisation . . . bah humbug!
No, what I’m talking about here is something that makes everyone’s blood boil . . . traffic.
Almost everyone that uses the public highways and byways is clearly an idiot! Read more
