Originally Posted by
bluejack
Worst thing: I've been told that if the cyclist tries to use this video in court he will be thrown in jail for recording the police without telling them. Can that possibly be true?
During the Spanish Inquisition, sure; I'd hope not any longer.
Attorney: "Your honor, seeing as how the court is faced with the difficult task of reaching a decision in this case, may it please the court, I would like to present new information to help you reach an informed conclusion."
Judge: "No! Knowledge is evil! Break this man on the rack! Or just send his client to jail."
Originally Posted by
Kerlenbach
It is rare that you will win a citation because someone else (here, the driver that passed you unsafely) broke the law.
I wonder just how rare it really is. The whole point of self defense is that something that would otherwise be illegal is permissible in one particular situation, because somebody else broke the law. If I see somebody drowning in the lake I live on, it's perfectly legal for me to steal a boat to rescue the person; I would have to return it, obviously, but I can't take it in the first place except in this type of circumstance. It's a crime for a construction worker on a high rise to drop a hammer to see what will happen if it hits somebody, another crime to drop the same hammer hoping to hit somebody, and not a crime at all to drop that hammer accidentally having lost balance. What I'm saying is that in theory at least, the law is
supposed to consider the circumstances, to distinguish between a guilty act and a guilty mind, etc. For a cyclist to cross the center line momentarily, while avoiding potential death from being hit by a car, is entirely different from doing it for fun, and the court
should recognize that. Whether it will is another question.
Caveat: I didn't watch the video.