Please report dangerous drivers to the police - Roadsafe. Report to plod, not just whinge here.

Here is my email to the PCO regarding yesterdays idiot cabbie

"Yesterday a white cab (GX05 ETR) was driving very aggressively behind myself and a friend who were cycling.

We were in primary position going along Fleet St from East to West.

My companion is a cycle instructor, so clearly has a very good idea of what is best and safest practice.

However the cab driver was unable to realise that it would not be safe for him to overtake and kept beeping and revving his engine.

When a safe space opened up we let the cab through.

He then proceeded to exact his revenge upon the next cyclist he saw.

He undertook a cyclist and by intimidating her with his vehicle started to force her out into the oncoming traffic.

Both myself and my companion were appalled at how close he came to killing her, it was deliberate wilful intimidation with a motor vehicle.

This was all happening as we approached a set of lights which had just turned red.

Clearly the taxi driver was experiencing massive rage as he looked up saw the red light and proceeded to drive straight through it as well.

We stopped and flagged the cyclist down, she was extremely shaken up. She had done nothing wrong except be on the road while this idiot was driving.

B was the person nearly killed by the taxi, S was the other witness.

You can contact them via the emails above."

The PCO will reply that you have to report this to the police. It's been covered many times before.

ha, will also be sending the same to roadsafe

ha, will also be sending the same to roadsafe

Talking of roadsafe - Ive been using my mini cam for the past few weeks (one has now failed as have the wall charging units) but for the first time I caught an incident.

Fortunately it didn't involve me but I was cycling behind a car that wwillfully jumped a red light. Unlike all the phone users I see on my journeys all of this was recorded (often don't catch the phones on cam as it doesn't have as wide a field of vision as I do). Would roadsafe be interested? Or do they focus on other stuff?

A few months back I had an accident (massive face plant) in front of a bus (no fault of the bus at all I might add) and the bus driver and passengers helped me loads, calling ambulance and police for me, anyway I tried to get hold of the footage of me landing on my face, I thought it would be possible to get it through the data protection act but the bus company said that due to regulations surrounding cctv I couldn't get the footage, just telling me my front wheel fell off and I went over the handlebars landing squarely on my face. I did do a little research and there was some things about how some cctv isn't covered by the data protection act but never really followed it up. This doesn't really answer your question but is my experience of trying to get cctv footage.

What the Bus company told you seems highly dubious: Unless you agree otherwise you have a right to a copy of any footage of you.

See, for example:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/cctv_code_of_practice_html/9_responsibilities.html

Individuals whose images are recorded have a right to view the images of themselves and, unless they agree otherwise, to be provided with a copy of the images. This must be provided within 40 calendar days of receiving a request. You may charge a fee of up to £10 (this is the current statutory maximum set by Parliament).

send it to roadsafe, i am not sure if they'd be interested

also report to the nearest police station

I just heard about London TravelWatch - if you're unhappy with the resonse from a bus company/licensed taxi firm you can report it to them and they may be able to appeal on your behalf.

Who else on youtube uploads their commute like that Gaz guy? I've been stuck in the flat the last 3 days with a fever (103 yesterday!) and am slowly starting to climb the walls.

And is it just me or has anyone else noticed that he does seem to look for trouble. By that I mean there are quite a few 'incidents' that ordinarily wouldn't be that big a deal. Almost as though having everything on film gives him the moral high-ground and he kind of likes it there.

+1 I was thinking that too. ^^^^

YouTube- RK05AZW - I'll race you to the bridge!

This one where he "races" a BMW is just a farce from start to finish. OK, the car pulls out on him a bit, but then almost immediately stops in the queue of traffic - THE SAME queue of traffic he was about to have to stop at anyway. So why was he racing up to stationary traffic at the massive hooning speed of a wild 22mph, if it was such a big fucking deal to stop!! No really, he actually did travel that amazingly fast!

Then he opens the conversation with "We go faster than you think, you know!" (yeah, like 22mph! Go you!) whilst the bloke is looking completely bemused. Rather than starting with something sensible like "Do you realise you just cut me up, or didn't you see me?"

He SO needed to tell the car driver how fast he can cycle, didn't he. And WTF was that punching the air all about when he beats the car stuck in traffic to the bridge? He's a legend in his own lunchtime. I lolzed.

Ardicus well done for following that nutter up. The community service order is probably the best part...

I'd love to know what service he had to do. Prays for sweeping cyclelanes.

That clip is ridiculous. That sort of (not particularly) near miss happens all the time why get wound up by it. If even something that minor winds you up how can you enjoy London cycling? He seems ridiculously antagnostic...

Have been experimenting with mounting the cameras for the past few days, seem to have the rear one sorted, mounted on the seat tube pointing out between the seat stays, I've had to wedge it a bit to compensate for the angle of the seat tube, but it gives a good view, its quite low down (and also shows that I need to change my rear tyre soon) .

On the front I'm still having some issues - rucksack doesn't work as it's juddery and doesnt have a good view. I'm finding that pictures are much clearer if the cams are mounted straight on the bike rather than on your person.

Also on setting the date, Hael's info was slightly inaccurate - the camera is very fussy so the syntax of the date file has to be right, it's taken me a few days to get it sorted.

[date]
2010/02/07
13:43:00

The date must be in year/day/month format and both the day and month have to be 2 digits long.

Will post some stills later, showing the fixing method.

I'd love to know what service he had to do. Prays for sweeping cyclelanes.
Ha! I didn't get told what he has to do, unfortunately. To be honest I think the punishment is a little harsh given the only real crime was damaging my glasses (he didn't hit me very hard). Not going to complain though.

It's a shame there isn't some sort of course that the court could order drivers to go on to educate them about cyclists and cycling best practices (like taking the lane) so they understand why the next person they see in the middle of the road is there. Something similar to those courses you can go on if you're caught speeding.
I think something similar might have been mentioned elsewhere, but I forget where.

Also on setting the date, Hael's info was slightly inaccurate - the camera is very fussy so the syntax of the date file has to be right, it's taken me a few days to get it sorted.

[date]
2010/02/07
13:43:00

The date must be in year/day/month format and both the day and month have to be 2 digits long.

Will post some stills later, showing the fixing method.

How are you getting on Clefty?
I'm going to fashion some bag accessories for this so I'll post some pics if they're any good.

With setting the date, where exactly do you put the file (not sure what the 'root file' is. Might be different on a mac? clueless about this sort of thing).
Also, do you have to write '[date]'?

Thanks a lot!

Do you think this warrants it's own thread? I'm sure there'll be video's to post at some point so might be best not to clog this one?

What the Bus company told you seems highly dubious: Unless you agree otherwise you have a right to a copy of any footage of you.

See, for example:

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/cctv_code_of_practice_html/9_responsibilities.html

fair enough, could prob of taken it further but at the time wasn't too fussed, it would just end up with me having a massive face plant and then throwing my bike across the road. Maybe it was too much hassle for them?

Clefty - interested to see how you've fixed the rear one. Am in the process of makign some waterproof casings for them (thanks to Spaghettihoops for the perspex!) in time for the autumn.

I've experimented with various front facing ones and find that attaching it to me rather than the bike produces a less wobbly picture as I tend to absorb much of the road vibration. I've attached mine to the helment so I can look at stuff, e.g. car drivers using a phone, more easily compared to orientating my entire body.

They are great though - for just £10 you get a brilliant picture.

So the external camera's on buses, I found myself pinned up against railings one night last week (and no I wasn't undertaking, just a little slow away from the lights) with 18 metres of bendy bus almost touching me as I clung on, quite literally for dear life, and my subsequent reaction wasn't exactly cool. Infact I'm quite embaressed by just how much I lost it when I subsequentlly caught up with him and was ignored. It involves trying to break windows, it involves blocking his way and most shamefully spitting on his windscreen... But I have a picture of him and his number. If I report him am I putting myself at risk of getting into trouble? Did I commit an offence - I think threatening behaviour and public ordeer are both possible? Would the provocation of just how near the near miss was get me off the hook?

I have complained twice to TFL and chose to emit certain details. If they ask then admit, apologise and say it's very out of character and can only be explained as a rash decision after being faced with a potentially life threatening situation.
You'll get a stock reply but they will do something about it so it's defo worth complaining.
It sounds pretty nasty so the driver needs to be taught how to deal with cyclists. Imagine if he did the same to a less capable cyclist, the outcome could have been a lot worse.
COMPLAIN!

Now, does anyone know how to change the date on these cams?

Right yesterday I witnessed a crash between two cars and that bloody camera had run out of battery. It would have been great footage though.

A driver squeezed his car on the superhighway to undertake the traffic on the normal lane (on Clapham Road, the bit that goes to Clapham North) but can't move because of the stationary traffic on his right, so about 6 of us are stuck behind him. He eventually manages to dislodge himself and proceeds at speed up the bus lane and BANG! crashes into a car that was coming slowly from the right handside. I think all the cyclists told him "it was your fault mate". I offered my services as a witness.

How are you getting on Clefty?
I'm going to fashion some bag accessories for this so I'll post some pics if they're any good.

With setting the date, where exactly do you put the file (not sure what the 'root file' is. Might be different on a mac? clueless about this sort of thing).
Also, do you have to write '[date]'?

Thanks a lot!

Do you think this warrants it's own thread? I'm sure there'll be video's to post at some point so might be best not to clog this one?

I've found that the ideal position is to mount it on my bag strap - but because of my wonky riding style (due to lack of flexibility in right foot) it's rather wobbly. Haven't found a great way to mount the front one yet. The rear one I originally rigged up with sparky tape across the rear seat stays, this was the perfect position, only problem is that you have to take the tape off each time, so havent found a quick release method yet.

On the date file, the 'root' of the camera, is the folder that you initially open when you mount it on the mac (so not the DCIM folder), and yes you do have write [date] - but the word not the actual date, if you see what I mean.

Clefty - interested to see how you've fixed the rear one. Am in the process of makign some waterproof casings for them (thanks to Spaghettihoops for the perspex!) in time for the autumn.

I've experimented with various front facing ones and find that attaching it to me rather than the bike produces a less wobbly picture as I tend to absorb much of the road vibration. I've attached mine to the helment so I can look at stuff, e.g. car drivers using a phone, more easily compared to orientating my entire body.

They are great though - for just £10 you get a brilliant picture.

I'll sort out a pic for you tonight, the placing is great - however the flexibility in being able to remove it easily is rubbish :-(
I have the opposite issue, pic is very wobbly on me - although this should be rectified in a month or so when I go to see the bike whisperer and get some cleat wedges sorted to even me out.
I'm far more keen to wear the cameras, rather than put them on the bike, so I can move them easily from bike to bike. I tried clipping it to the front of my belt the other day, which worked pretty well, apart from the fact that my waterproof kept obscuring the view! I'd like to find a head attachment (as I dont wear a lid) that doesn't make me look like a twat/borg

I've found that the ideal position is to mount it on my bag strap - but because of my wonky riding style (due to lack of flexibility in right foot) it's rather wobbly. Haven't found a great way to mount the front one yet. The rear one I originally rigged up with sparky tape across the rear seat stays, this was the perfect position, only problem is that you have to take the tape off each time, so havent found a quick release method yet.

On the date file, the 'root' of the camera, is the folder that you initially open when you mount it on the mac (so not the DCIM folder), and yes you do have write [date] - but the word not the actual date, if you see what I mean.

Cheers Clefty.
NOT the DCIM folder. Got it. but the date goes in the brackets then?

I'm fashioning something to go on my front bag strap from webbing, cordura and velcro. If you think something can be made to go on the seat stays, then let me know, we could put our heads together.

Still not working, I appear to be stupid.

I"ve saved a file called TAG.txt with
[2010/07/09]
15:15:00
in the root folder. Turned off and on and it hasn't changed.

Wicksie, the word date not the actual date! So
[ d a t e ] only without spaces... Square bracket, d for delta, a for alpha, t for tango and e for a good night then another square bracket.

By the way I don't really know, just what I gather from the above! Mine only arrived yesterday and I've not turned it on or anything... 11 days! I know it's come from hk... I'm starting to freak out that I'll be in a fatal or at least very bad accident with the camera that could record the whole thing being on the shelf by my bed :-/

oh and I think one of the first things I'll do is record the ride back from wests! Don't remember most of the journey!

I've also found that it works pretty well in low light conditions, rode home at dusk the other week and everythign was still pretty clear.

Wicksie..I'm saying nothing! ;-)