At the end of the day, its up to whoever is commuting how the want to approach it. You might live in a nice area that you feel you do not need to have a cam. But for some who live in dangerous areas, it is another tool in the tool box.

Let me give you two examples. On a small MUP that we have in Camden (which by the way is one of the most smallest and dangerous towns on the east coast) they have been debating putting up camaras because of violance and ****. Few years ago, there were a lot of rapes in a small period of time. They debated the cams and no go. Few months went past, and same thing. Same debate happened. This has gone one for a while now. What a waste of time and people got hurt because of the neglect of not putting up cams.

Another example; helmets. 7 months ago, a guy was intervied in the newspaper when they did a story about bike and motor bike saftey. Cool story but a guy said he never wears a helmet when cycling on the weekend with his daughters. He makes his daughters wear one but he does not. 2 months ago, he was hit and killed but a car that right hooked him. He was a single dad.

Are any of the tools we use 100% bullet proof? Nope. They are tools. TOOLS.

Key word being tools!

I've reported three motorists over a period of two years, if I did not have a video camera in use, two of the motorists would have gone unreported during that time frame, like the many others over the years when affordable, compact high resolution cameras were not available.

Sometimes the tools work against you. Even something that seems so obvious as wearing a helmet may be detrimental in a big picture view. See:

http://video.tedxcopenhagen.dk/video...ville-andersen

I have no issue with bike commuters using video cameras. However, it is not clear why you would single out bike riding for recording, when crossing the street is probably even more dangerous. It almost seems like you are looking for problems and thus increasing the chance of getting hit. Keep in mind that the camera will also record your behavior, and could just as easily show your negligence in the event of an accident.

Use your video camera to your heart's content, but don't let down your guard. Continue to rely on common sense and good judgment as your primary means of riding safely.

Not in my case, my experience has been positive, in that my commutes have become less frustrating with my increased riding knowledge and my greater ability to report troublesome motorists.

anecdotal

I agree 100% and the worst are guys like this


all i can think of when i see/hear this is small-dog-syndrome.

Ok, my comment was anecdotal, is any officially certified studies that can you can provide that refute that my "own" personal experience has not been positive?

no, i just consider your personal experience insignificant, as should you.

I would also consider the experience of any other individual insignificant as well.

I don't consider my personal experience insignificant. It may not be significant to anybody else in the world but it is to me.

that's ok, but you should be aware that it's statistically naïve

ok, i'm really out this time.

good luck OP

I had an accident, about 5 years ago, in which I went over the handlebars in the middle of an intersection - in retrospect, I should have called for an ambulance, but my first concern was what my wife would think.

The bike was not ridable, I was 10 miles from home, it was cold and raining, and I had several cuts and scrapes, and a couple of cracked ribs that hurt like hell. I called my wife to ask her to drive the car down and pick me up. I didn't want to alarm her, so in the calmest voice that I could muster, I said that I had a crash, and told her which street corner I was at. She replied that she would come and get me.

I must have sounded too calm, since she heard "I had a crash" as "I had a flat" and she thought that I was being a wimp not wanting to fix a flat in the rain, so she took her sweet time, and didn't come to pick me up until close to an hour later.

As to the original question - riding a bike is no more dangerous than driving, especially if you remain focused. Far more people die in this country from the effects of lack of exercise and overeating, so if your wife's concern is for your safety, thank her for her concern, and continue to ride - although you may want to express concern for her driving a car......

As for the selfish part, I am not sure who you are calling selfish, my wife or I, but in either case you are wrong. I want to ride and I understand her concerns and she has concerns about me riding and I appreciate that. The thread was started as a means of discussing how others have handled situations with their SO and an crash. I think we are bike riders get into the mindset that everyone knows what we know or think we know about commuting to work. The idea sounds inherently dangerous because it is out of the cultural norm and we look so vulnerable out on our bikes surrounded by all those heavy cars. Not everyone thinks or has the same beliefs as you.

I never claimed to be a sports team and I think the individual was using sports teams as an example of how to observe your actions and make yourself a better, in this case, rider.

eh...whatever. I wear a helmet because it makes me feel safer. The government butts into my business more often than not nowadays so if they pass a law that kids have to wear helmets, or adults for that matter I could care less at this point. If people don;t want to wear one because it makes them look goofy, silly, weird, odd, alien, or whatever other phrase one could put in there to why they aren't wearing one then whatever. I felt odd the first few days I put it on. Now I barely notice it.

The cam is a tool to me regardless how anyone else wants to look at it. It does not make me take extra risk knowing I have a "backup if I die". I still ride as defensively as I did without the cam. It just so happens that I got video of an accident I was involved in that is going to help me in the long run.

That guy is crazy and looking to make a scene. I have yet to make a scene with my camera running and I don't plan to. When I got hit I flew over the hood, landed, calmly stood up, walked over, grabbed the guys front license plate off the ground, walked in front of his car and picked up my bike, dragged it to a wall to lean it against and waved the driver over to park in the parking lot.

Just sayin'

Also you mention post-purchase rationalization. I did not buy the camera. My wife did for Christmas for our trip to Kauai back IN January. A few weeks after I bought the bike, in March I think, I thought to myself, "Hey, I should throw my GoPro on the helmet for fun." I also use the camera for when the kids are playing in the pool to capture moments I would never have seen, I have strapped an my youngest trail-a-bike to get a shot of her as I pull her around the beach path. I need no "post-purchase rationalization " for my camera. It just so happens I own a camera that is durable enough to take a "licking and keep on ticking", sorry Timex, that I can use to document my commutes.

Also regarding the 2000 mile MPU you were riding on that does not allow autos...does it allow other bikes, pedestrians, animals, tree branches, pot holes? Autos are not the only danger out there that can cause a wreck so before you try to tell me that I was watching my computer intently trying to grab mile 700 on my computer how about you monitor your own riding practices and not look around for things to take photos of and post them on the internet from a bike ride. If the 700th mile were so important why didn't I capture it after the wreck on my continued ride home? It just was not that important. It was more of an interesting coincidence than a factor in the wreck.

Thank you for announcing you were leaving. No I can expect not to get answers from the stuff I posted earlier in this post and some of the stuff I posted earlier about what your point was whether I had a family or not.

I thank you for your concern.

Thank you and bummer for your ordeal.

We have had several discussions since the accident. I did my best to relax her and tell her it is a freak accident and that I didn't stop her from driving when she got rear ended in our truck, she actually got a new car out of it. I told her accidents happen and I am just fine and no worse for wear. She seems alright now and I plan to continue riding on Monday, I wanted to give some time for any other possible bumps and bruises to show themselves before I headed back out anyway. I am sure the next few times I leave she will worry a bit more and I appreciate that.

To everyone else, I never intended this to be a debate on camera use while riding. I was merely trying to start a discussion on handling SO's and accidents. That is all. It would be just as easy to start a thread over in A&S to discuss the camera issue. I choose to wear one and that is how it is going to be. Like it or not. You may choose to do what you want with your riding. Just stay safe no matter what that is.

I have seen that a little bit ago. Nice video and food for thought. I read somewhere once something that was comparing the seat belts to safety. It was when the car companies were fighting not to have the law enacted. I think of it as in the same lines as that really. And to find out a few years later that the adds, articals and such were paid for by the car companies. Look how many lives seat belts save.

A good artical: http://www.bobwheeler.com/bicycle/Cy...g_helmets.html

Yes, tools are tools. Can use them or not.

and you offer proof of anything to the contrary?

I'm sorry. I owe the OP an apology. I was out of line and hope that everything works out for you.

I'm genuinely interested in what happens :D

I accept the apology and will keep everyone interested in how it all ends up.

Like many posts this one started to go on towards blaming someone for what happened, but got headed off in a way I have never seen. Thanks guys for resolving the issue and allowing us to generally stick to the OP.

On your first and follow up posts and questions - good to talk with the wife, regardless of her anticipated reaction. Honesty keeps things running smoothly. As far as getting insurance and other information I'd say yes in times when you could have some type of physical damage or their was damage to property. No offense to the nice old guy, but it's good to have so you don't have to worry about stuff that occasionally comes up later. Also, I have heard stories change quite often after a little time has passed (amazing how often).

Glad you are okay.

I luv you acid. Now lets shut up and get some german beer, spaetzle and lamb shanks!!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

For anyone interested...I hope to have a resolution in the next day or two. After I get the matter resolved with the insurance I will open the video to public and let you all see what happened and how. I will also answer any questions to the best of my abilities.

Ok, the insurance is going to settle with me. Once I get the check I'll post the video for all to see.

Will you share the check with us?

:) allowance time!

lol. Wanna share my scrapes too?

How to talk to the spouse
 

ckaspar; glad you are OK, and this is how I talk to my wife about it:

1) I'm not perfectly safe in a car/vanshare/whatever getting to work
2) I like to eat too much, so what's going to get me first, the motor vehicle collision, the heart attack, or the stroke?
3) I've taken Traffic Skills 101 (or Cycling Savvy, whichever you like) and have stacked the odds in my favor.

Glad to hear everything is working out and you were not severely injured.

All I can say is to take the opportunity to evaluate your route and your riding habits to see if there is anything to learn from the encounter. It sounds like you have done this.

yes!

How much is daddy giving me? :)

:lol:

OK. Issue is fully settled with the insurance company and I feel comfortable sharing the video of the incident now. I have reviewed it several times to see where I could have possibly done something different in the hopes of not putting myself in a similar situation. My hope is that anyone else who watches it will do the same. I do not intend this video posting to be used a condemnation of the driver's actions nor my own. Accidents happen.

Looks like you got his license plate! :thumb:

In all seriousness, I'm glad you're okay and I'll definitely be paying more attention when passing stopped cars from now on.