Modern Vespa

My last rant was about motorbikes (or indeed any bike) with a loud exhaust. It seemed to have a one to one correlation with crappy riding skills and no appreciation (or even acceptance) of others on the road. But I've just discovered something else ...

They all seem to have helmet cams! I had a whole string of loud sports bikes around me on the way home. They were all riding like idiots (I only sometimes ride like an idiot). Was there some global video competition for videoing yourself riding like a complete knob? They seemed to like to time their own overtakes so there's the most likelihood of dying. Then they'd rev a lot while pointing at their camera .. of course they might just be pointing at themselves and saying "I'm a complete knob aren't I?" but I doubt it.

One lad this evening nearly killed himself twice in about half a mile of road. It was like watching a training video of what not to do on a bike. Maybe he was actually making such a video with his helmet cam? He pulled in front of me at the lights (again) just after another car had turned right on him (it was actually in the middle of turning when he overtook it) and said "there's some f**king idiots on the road aren't there". I couldn't agree with him more.

PS This isn't to say that all riders wearing helmet cams are like this but if you have a loud exhaust, ride like an idiot, can't figure out why your rides are more "exciting" than others and wear a cam to record your near accidents then this post is for you

Their might be a contest. In some states a video can be used as evidence if you cause a accident whilst being a a'hole on the bike. Does that happen over there?

It has always been my belief that "action cams"are the main cause of fatalities in males between the ages of 18 and 25 years old... "Hey y'all, watch this!"

I have a helmet cam and it's proven invaluable.

So far it has successfully prosecuted 3 people.

- A man who caused my crash in 2015 (went to court and was charged with driving without due and attention).

- A kid who I witnessed drive into a women, I gave first aid and he thought I was police. He then says whilst my cam is rolling that he's not insured and that it's his girlfriends car, and asks if his girlfriend can claim she was driving. (He got charged with no insurance, fraud, theft and driving without due care and attention).

- A women who decided to get out of her car on a roundabout, walk over to me and assaulted me. (She got charged for common assault, using vehicle as a weapon and dangerous driving - 6 months suspended scentence, tag, community service and £100 fine)


The helmet camera can always be used against the rider. But if you're riding like a twat, you deserve it.

Youtube link?

It's not on youtube at the moment, but it's along with a whole bunch of footage that's ready to be stuck on there.

The "assault" isn't much, she tried to push me off and got hold of my hand and pulled my fingers back.

Here's a lovely screenshot of "her"

Hahaha With that set of chompers, she reminds me somewhat of a jackass chewing cockleburs!

That woman is under stress. Your just the dog she tried to kick.

Cheers.
Miguel

Wait, what? Mom, is that you?

Are you going to tell us why she so upset?

Out of curiosity - do the police ask for the whole footage or do they accept an edited clip and just accept that as the full story?

Yeah, she doesn't look like she's having a great day life

What helmet cam do you use?

I could see her in my mirrors overtaking everyone dangerously and speeding. When she got behind me she kept trying to overtake but couldn't because of islands, traffic lights etc - this then got her pissed off and i could see her in my mirrors giving me the gestures out of window. I ignored her and she eventually overtook (I never retaliated, because this usually makes the situation much worse).

Further down the road she stops at the roundabout, runs over calling me everything and tries to push me off etc....Then asks for a fight (yeah right).


Police were really good! An officer came to my house the next day, we both edited the footage (he didn't want much, just from when she overtook, stopped and assaulted, and after where she tried to run me off). We got a clear image of her and her reg, and left it at that.

As long as you're not a prat on video you'll be fine with handing over evidence. Whenever I've handed it in, they've never asked to see everything nor have they taken the camera off me. I'd always suggest you double check all footage before handing it over. And even if your speed may not be shown on camera, the (rough) speed can still be worked out by calculating how many white lines you pass per frame.

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