Time for a HD Camera after traffic incident on my ST1300 me thinks.....

[Diesel]

Coming home from the Qld OzSTOC Xmas party on my 13 along the Gateway Arterial near Sandgate Road overpass....

Road works there brought the 100km/h speed limit back to 80 for many months now.

Bumper to bumper traffic moving at 80km/h (the speed limit).

The only gap to be seen anywhere was the 2 second one I ALWAYS leave in front of me!

This apparently upset the young bloke in the Commodore Ute behind me enough to sit 4ft off the back of my bike (quite literally).     

I put up with this for 800m then decided to look at him and gesture that he back of a few metres. You'd think I just killed his first-born!

With both hands now off the wheel he was flipping the bird at me and yelling (I could only imagine what) and motioning me to f*&^ off to the next lane (which was full of cars anyways).

The gap remained the same, but he was sooo infuriated (as was I). Remember I mentioned that there were cars everywhere (so I couldn't even changed lanes at that point), and that we were in actual fact doing the posted limit!

I found a spot 300m later where I changed lanes, and he flew by me, no doubt wishing that a truck would turn me into roadkill, and tore off to the horizon.

I motioned to him that his only lover was his right hand as he went by, but was glad to see the end of him. We can't afford to play snow ploughs out there on meagre motorcycles!

Another car passed me and the passenger were giving me the thumbs up in support.

The amateur psychologist in me would love to have interviewed him to find out exactly what the useless PR&%CK on the motorcycle did to upset him so much. And the amateur Golden Gloves 2009 in me would love to beat the crap out of him afterwards!     

If you all saw how compacted the cars were, you too wouldn't be able to believe this guy's actions. I kind of wished it went to court, and that there was footage of the incident.

Someone once said though.... "If you're laying dead on the road, doesn't matter if you're in the right or wrong!"  Fair call.

Stickerman showed me his great camera set-up at the party - read about it here http://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=2905.msg29544#msg29544  Thanks Tony!

Think it might be a good idea to invest. If I could have filmed the other driver's wreckless behaviour, could I have forwarded a copy to the police for any further action?

I can see why plenty of folks are mounting cameras to monitor others' road manners. Apparently some insurance co's offer a discount for traffic cams mounted in/on your vehicle.

Hmmmm.... We've all got stories like this - just have to suck it most of the time and be glad we have our health I guess.         

Vent over.

Cheers, Diesel

[Sicman]

Good idea Diesel - I am working on my setup now. I have a reservoir cover with dual ram balls in the post now so I can mount my camera there and plug it into the riser powerlet so I dont have to rely on batteries. I bought a drift X170 so I will update you when its altogether

 

[Whizz]

Tony, Just a thought but I would assume that the reservoir cover will move with the handlebars, so if, for instance you see something that you might run into and steer to avoid it, the camera view will move away from whatever it is pointed at, which could be just what you DON'T want to happen  ::)

[Sicman]

True Whizz, but the camera should be following the direction of travel of the bike me thinks and it should avoid the delay when cornering. I just think its unsafe to have it helmet mounted as I get to see what helmets, visors and associated fittings look like after coming to sudden stops   

 

[Brock]

I have mounted mine under the headlight (HD170) it doesnt miss much. Shooting through the windscreen introduces a lot of distortion and loos of detail, due to bugs and tinting.

[Sicman]

So you were the old bloke seen filming around the "loos" 

 

[Brock]

Oh very clever

[Brian]

My policy is to move over let them speed off to be someone elses problem......preferable someone in uniform with or without a camera......leaves me to enjoy my oblivion

[Sicman]

Brock do the bugs hitting the camera where you have it block the lens anyway? The big grasshoppers and Chrissy beetles make a bit of a mess pretty quickly out here

 

[Brock]

Dont get that many hitting it, but the road spray is a problem.

[Tackleberry]

If I could have filmed the other driver's wreckless behaviour, could I have forwarded a copy to the police for any further action?

Simple answer is YES.  They will ask you to provide a statement and whether you are willing to go to Court.  This is because we can't introduce your video, however we can use it to prove the offence. 

Basically you get into the witness box, say you were driving and you activated the camera and here it is.  If they have a Barrister/Solicitor they will try and discredit you, because that it what they steal money from people for, and then you go home. 

[Down Under]

Further to Tackleberry's advice: we've had a few traffic matters go before our local Court which have been successfully prosecuted where civilian video evidence has been introduced to prove an offence. 

In defended matters, if all the proofs exist and the Court finds you to be a credible witness, you have a pretty good chance of getting up.  The Court is usually sympathetic toward someone who has witnessed a serious traffic offence and is prepared to give up their own time to come along to Court and give evidence.

In fact, the existence of good video evidence can deter offenders/legal reps from challenging some matters in the first place so coming along to Court may not even be necessary in some cases.       

[tj189]

Brock do the bugs hitting the camera where you have it block the lens anyway? The big grasshoppers and Chrissy beetles make a bit of a mess pretty quickly out here
 

Tony, a couple of pictures where the bugs have hit

[Diesel]

Thanks for your comments guys.

I have one more question concerning the placement of such traffic cams in cars .... (may differ in each state)...

Are they ALLOWED to be mounted under the rear-view mirror? i.e. the centre of the windscreen?

I believe phone cradles and GPS' (at least in Qld) have to be mounted lower RHS, and NOTHING at all on dashboards in Vic.

Thanks again for your input.

Cheers, Diesel

[Brock]

No restriction that I know of in WA, except for not blocking the drivers forward vision.

[Marcus]

Oh jeez...I thought you had an accident...reading that subject line

[Diesel]

Oh jeez...I thought you had an accident...reading that subject line

Yeah mate - I think it could have led to exactly that if I'd pushed my luck!       

[Tackleberry]

I have one more question concerning the placement of such traffic cams in cars .... (may differ in each state)...

Are they ALLOWED to be mounted under the rear-view mirror? i.e. the centre of the windscreen?

I believe phone cradles and GPS' (at least in Qld) have to be mounted lower RHS, and NOTHING at all on dashboards in Vic.

 
In Queensland there is a law that no VDU display is to be seen by the  driver, excluding navigation devices, however we have to be able to prove that.  The following link is a good explanation of the laws as they apply to each State or Territory, not exhaustive, but not bad. 

http://www.blank-it.com/australian-distracted-driving-laws.aspx 

Sorry but Brock you may want to check the bottom of the page. 

[Brock]

There doesnt seem to be any restriction on the fitting of a Camera in any of those, as its not a TV or VDU. However, common sense would say to mount it in such a way as not to obscure drivers vision. Tucked up under the mirror in most cases would seem to be a good location, with power wiring secured out of the way.

[Down Under]

Thanks for your comments guys.

I have one more question concerning the placement of such traffic cams in cars .... (may differ in each state)...

Are they ALLOWED to be mounted under the rear-view mirror? i.e. the centre of the windscreen?

I believe phone cradles and GPS' (at least in Qld) have to be mounted lower RHS, and NOTHING at all on dashboards in Vic.

Thanks again for your input.

Cheers, Diesel

I couldn't see a problem with a small camera like a Go Pro or similar in NSW anyway.  It wouldn't fall within the definition of a VDU etc.  The main thing is to make sure that it doesn't obstruct the drivers view of the road ahead.   

[saaz]

There are crash cams being marketed that just keep taking footage, and overwrite footage as the memory fills up. Here are some, and some seem to have VDUs http://www.navig8r.com.au/products/crashcam

[Biggles]

Although there is a chance a camera will be destroyed in an accident that takes out the helmet, there would seem to be a very good reason to helmet-mount in that it records exactly what you are looking at, assuming you turn your head. 
I've also seen, like everyone, the dumb seconds of handlebars, boots and dirt, but apart from that, they seem to record what you wanted. 
I would also expect that even if the camera took a hit, the card would generally retain the record.

[atoyot]

I've been thinking about this for a while, and whilst a go-pro or similar would be useful, I'd rather something that acted like a video black-box. My requirements are to have 2 cameras, front and rear, always on and running both cams when bike is on, SD card, bike powered and mounted, records over the buffer ie SD card capacity. THe only thing I could find is this

http://www.4kam.com/bike_camera_motorcycle_cam_packages.htm

The "ARP Bike Camera Package Pro PIP (Multi camera)" is probably the pick, but at 400 pommy quid, it's pretty expensive. Interestingly, this kit allows up to 4 camera's, so with 1 front, 1 back, and 1 each side, the only angle you don't have covered is from above,

regards

[Brock]

the only angle you don't have covered is from above,

Handy for recording those falling cows or pianos..

[atoyot]

the only angle you don't have covered is from above,

Handy for recording those falling cows or pianos..

Just have to watch out for those :)