Never let your guard down

[GearNut]

Shadow vision. I use that technique too. It has paid off more than once for me.
Also at night you can sometimes see the side wash from the headlights of the vehicle in front of the vision blocking vehicle, such as around a curve in the road.

 

[2door]

And then occasionally there is some justice in the world.
Last week a guy pulled out of a parking lot right in front of me, I was in my pickup, I hit the brakes, the horn and he responded with an arm out his window and the finger. He was looking back at me, ran a red light and 'T' boned another car at the intersection.
I so wanted to stop and wait for the cops to tell them what really happened but decided to stay out of it. He got his. Just too bad an innocent driver was involved.

Tom

 

[GearNut]

All these examples are exactly why I am looking into purchasing a dash cam.
There are too many idiot drivers out there and recently they seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate.
My problem is the better dash cams are in the $300.00 range. The cheap ones have terrible night time recording quality. I want the better quality to provide myself with the best self protecting evidence.
I am even contemplating using it on my motorized bicycle.
There is this little gem too, if it ever comes onto the market that is.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rideye/rideye-the-black-box-camera-for-your-bike
But yet I still have the budget issue...

 

[MotorBicycleRacing]

Hey GearNut
A neighbor has a very inexpensive cam in his truck that records in a loop but saves any incidents. $40?
Seems to work great but all I have is the box with no name brand and an instruction booklet written in microscopic bad Engrish.

 

[happycheapskate]

When I was in truck driver training (18 wheelers), my driving trainer told me "All other drivers are your enemies." I didn't know how serious he was then. But it's true! 4 wheeler drivers (and sometimes 2 wheelers!) will deliberately do the most insane things, like speeding to pass an 18 wheeler, and slamming the brakes HARD. Then they will try to attack physically or try to get the driver fired. I remembered his "enemy" comment when two men in a pickup truck tried to block my truck, with doors open, sitting on the center stripe, looking menacing (after a near wreck they almost caused, they had dirtied their truck careening into the grassy ditch). I couldn't back up, so I drove past them in the ditch. Do what you have to do!

Glad you didn't get hit.. close calls like that are never fun.

When I take Harley out for a driving lesson in the car, I remind her that all other drivers are to be considered evil and out to get you. Oh, and that pedestrians are idiots with no sense of self-preservation.

 

[happycheapskate]

Can you get more? Where did it come from? I'm interested in helmet cameras, too, but beware that some people get very offended if they think they are recorded (especially police in some places! I have a digital helmet light that works as a driving light or "safety flasher". I use it if I think I will get caught after dark, or want the flashing unit. Some people have asked "Is that a camera?" and one man on a street corner threatened me. Crazy world! )

Have any of you tried the Go-Pro cameras? They make good videos for showing off vehicles or doing sports, but I don't know how they do as a "dash cam". There are many videos on Youtube of wild driving in Russia filmed with dash cams people buy for insurance reasons, but I haven't been able to find out what model/price/where to buy in USA.

Hey GearNut
A neighbor has a very inexpensive cam in his truck that records in a loop but saves any incidents. $40?
Seems to work great but all I have is the box with no name brand and an instruction booklet written in microscopic bad Engrish.

 

[happycheapskate]

I started a thread specifically for bike cameras. Thanks for the idea.

http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?p=518433#post518433

 

[GearNut]

Hey GearNut
A neighbor has a very inexpensive cam in his truck that records in a loop but saves any incidents. $40?
Seems to work great but all I have is the box with no name brand and an instruction booklet written in microscopic bad Engrish.

I found one with excellent day and night capabilities for $100, but is seems to be very heat sensitive. I don't know how well it would work in the 100* + temps we get around here. Maby create a little duct from the A/C vent on my dash up to it? Too much hassle really...
http://www.foxoffer.com/shadow-gt680w-full-hd-1080p-car-dash-camcorder-p-592.html#.Uj4aaobs_l8

If you could get more info from your neighbor on his camera, it would be greatly appreciated!
I have been checking this site out too:
dashcamtalk dot com

 

[CTripps]

I have a windshield holder for my Galaxy S2.. I often slap it on there and start the video recording mode when we go driving, just in case. There are a high percentage of drivers here where I am that come from other countries, and quite often they still drive like they are 'at home', despite the local laws and customs. (And if there is an incident, you'd be surprised how quickly they 'forget' how to speak English).

I have a handlebar holder for the phone as well, but setting it up to provide a useful camera angle is trickier.

 

[CARider]

BE CAREFUL-
I just made it to Mesa AZ Friday night, and I was out riding on the streets today, just like the ones in the video, and a tundra pickup with a huge trailer cuts me off and turns sharp into a gas station. My brakes at the time were not good, and I missed hitting the trailer by about a foot. If I hit it I might not be home right now to tell this story.
Never let your guard down.

 

[biknut]

BE CAREFUL-
I just made it to Mesa AZ Friday night, and I was out riding on the streets today, just like the ones in the video, and a tundra pickup with a huge trailer cuts me off and turns sharp into a gas station. My brakes at the time were not good, and I missed hitting the trailer by about a foot. If I hit it I might not be home right now to tell this story.
Never let your guard down.

When you ride a bike that's just SOP.

 

[vinnie]

Hey CT,

Do you mean you had the sharp end of the screw out towards the car? Or do you mean have the plus or minus head sticking out of the bottle cap? Thanks

 

[CTripps]

Hey CT,

Do you mean you had the sharp end of the screw out towards the car? Or do you mean have the plus or minus head sticking out of the bottle cap? Thanks

Plus or minus...? ah, gotcha, Phillips or slot... neither, I'm Canadian, I used a ■ headed screw (Robertson) .
The inside of the cap faced out (the top/logo side was pressed against the end of the handlebar) with a screw through the middle into the end of the handle bar (screw head facing traffic).

 

[freebill]

air horns let the nuts and non caring road hogs know that you are there, mine will scare the heck out of a texer,lol

 

[bluegoatwoods]

I'd a still kicked some butt!!!

I ain't scared of no crying girl!

OR HER MAMA!

This wasn't good for even one "LOL" or ?


Toughest audience I've ever played.......

 

[GearNut]

air horns let the nuts and non caring road hogs know that you are there, mine will scare the heck out of a texer,lol

This is the best one I have found yet.
http://www.deltacycle.com/airzound-horn

You can get them at most good LBS's or amazon, e bay, ect.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

My very first motorcycle was a Honda stepthru which I fitted with an old 6volt car horn. It worked out really well because when I hit the horn in traffic when somebody was about to cut me off they thought they were about to collide with a car and would take avoiding action. If I'd stayed with the original squeaky motorcycle horn I more than likely would have got pasted.

 

[CTripps]

The AirZound horns are excellent. 110 db carries well. When I hit mine, even the drivers of the big trucks (and locomotives) can hear it. The only problem I've ever had with it was due to a pedal-powered rider with big fancy earphones on, weaving from side to side on the path. I came up behind him and hit the horn. No response, so I hit it again for longer. Still no response.. Third try and I'm almost on top of him. Still didn't notice. When I gently tapped his rear sidewall with my front sidewall, he almost jumped out of his skin. When I told him I'd hit the horn three times (and hit it so he knew what he'd missed) he just blinked at me. I told him if I'd been a big truck, he'd be roadkill due to those headphones, and left him to think about it.

 

[2door]

Is anyone impressed with some of the new technology they're putting in cars today?
Collision avoidance radar? Automatic parallel parking? Give me a break? I remember when people were taught to DRIVE their cars, not rely on some overpriced, unreliable bits of microchip technology to do it for them.

I can't wait for the first court case where these devices come to the focus of the law.

"Judge, it wasn't my fault. The computer didn't put my brakes on in time and my car hit his. Sue the factory, not me."

Tom

 

[CTripps]

Tom: I shudder every time I hear of another new thing to "aid/assist" drivers being put into cars. I think more focus should be on driver training, myself, rather than making it easier and easier for the people who shouldn't drive to do so. I agree with my old instructors etc these days... driving is a privilege, not a right.

On a related note, I am hoping and praying for the day that passenger vehicles come with limiters built in like many commercial trucks and rigs do. Besides keeping people from flying down the highway at 1.5x to 2x the speed limit, imagine knowing that no matter what your kid did, the car couldn't exceed the city speed limit my more than 10 kph (6 mph) without having the code to unlock it to allow 'highway speed'. (And yeah, I know that idea is probably going to annoy some folks no end).

 

[2door]

On that subject I saw a prototype of a system that would read bar codes painted on highways. It wasn't intended to control the car's speed but it would register/record whenever the vehicle exceeded the posted speed limit. The concept was that a law enforcement person could access the car's computer and write speeding tickets based on any violations recorded. Now that is scary and rates just above traffic cameras that take photos of intersections and issue tickets for stop sign violations. I'm all for enforcing traffic laws but allowing technology to do it is just downright George Orwell stuff. Hire more cops and leave the robots to space exploration.

Tom