Gopro experiment on bicycle

I recently purchased a Gopro camera and mounted it on a pole (facing rearward) to my rack as an experiment to determine how motorists would react/behave knowing that they were being recorded. My what a surprise (or not)!

When they figured that I had a camera on my bike they followed the rules of the road like in the book(Rules of the Road). They did not pull to close to me when we were stopped for a red light, they passed at the proper distance (3 ft), even the motorists in the left lane (on multi lane streets) behaved in a civilized manner. For the motorists who were acting a little funky, I purposely reached back to click (or not) the button, and then they changed their aggressive  driving behavior!

I suppose this proves that when people think that the are being recorded they become 'polite'.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Hoel on August 21, 2015 at 1:04am

Joe,

My personal opinion is that the law is convenient but confusing.  It is convenient for a cyclist to not to have to stop at stop sign but confusing to both cyclists and vehicular drivers.  It also raises the level of risk that cyclists expose themselves to.  I don't see this defusing the tension between cyclists and motorists over cyclists not stopping for stop signs.  If anything, I see it creating more problems as motorists rationalize rolling stops for cars.  So, personally, I am opposed to it.

Permalink Reply by Matt Talbert on August 21, 2015 at 4:47am

I'm with Steve here. There was a much less confrontational way to say everything you said, Vandarken. It's certainly possible that cyclists have cameras just to play "gotcha." Do we have evidence that is the case? Instead, we should have a civil discussion about why we have cameras on our bikes. There may certainly be cyclists who want to play "gotcha" and have the next viral youtube video. I personally have my camera as a deterrent. One of my many examples happened recently, where a car started tailgating and honking me, despite being off to the side leaving space. The driver seemed aggressive upon passing. All I had to do was point to my camera and say "you are being recorded" and he immediately left me alone. I trashed the footage since nothing harmful occurred, but it's obvious my camera prevented it. If that is why I need to protect myself from bodily harm, so be it. I do have to admit however, I did put a run-in with some bike lane parkers on youtube to shame them, as you may find in a previous post. Full disclosure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF2zttKZGoA. Again, it all goes back to deterrence. Maybe if someone sees they'll end up on youtube for being uncivil, then perhaps that person will show some self-restraint. If you want to have a civil discussion on the implications of that, I would be more than happy to. However, let us not assume without discussion and evidence what the main reason is that cyclists are wearing cameras.

Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on August 22, 2015 at 4:50pm

The day isn't far off when we will have cameras on all our public streets. Soon thereafter, calling 911 will activate the cameras in the general vicinity. The incident you recorded will be another opportunity for the city to improve it's revenue while making our streets safer. 

Permalink Reply by Christopher Williams on August 23, 2015 at 8:59am

I can only speak for myself, but I view my camera as my most critical piece of safety equipment.  I would welcome cameras on every vehicle, and I would behave no differently.  For me, the GoPro I wear is a huge deterrent to motorist aggression.  I notice the change in "body language" when I swivel my head and point it at someone behind me.  I point it at every car when I hit a red light and nobody ever gets aggressive when it turns green.  I feel so much safer knowing that the motorists around me have more at stake than just having to pick my hair and blood out of their bumper - there is an objective witness to their violence and they could lose their license or go to jail.  Hopefully, the camera being present and visible will prevent me ever even needing to pull the video.

Permalink Reply by Nancy L. Fagin on August 20, 2015 at 6:24am

As an experiment, what if everyone did a mock up of a camera on their bikes - a small black cardboard box with something subsituting for a lens and a red blink light?  Sort of like car security systems that are just actually blink red or blue pen-lights.  

Communication is an important element in addition to basic hand signals.  If a huge waste hauler is behind me, it's a lot safer to pull to the side, and wave him ahead.  He's happy, I'm happy.  Then there's the Chip-and-Dale skit, you go first, I insist.  Also, I pen and notepad, if easily retrievable are important deterents.  Even if you just scribble, a record of someone's license plate can put fear in the heart of the worse driver.

Permalink Reply by daWillinChi on August 21, 2015 at 2:07am

I've done this with my phone - pretend I'm taking a video of the situation.

Also, I pen and notepad, if easily retrievable are important deterents.  Even if you just scribble, a record of someone's license plate can put fear in the heart of the worse driver.

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