Road Rage and Portable Video
When I was a kid, my dad and I were walking around at an event in Tulsa, when we struck up a conversation with a TV news crew. They had to carry so much stuff—a mega-heavy camera, the batteries (which were worn on a belt by the photo-journalist), and the machine containing the video tape, which was, in itself, pretty bulky.
My dad told me that they were developing technology that would make the camera, battery, and video tape self-contained. He said it would revolutionize our lives, because video would be so accessible and easy.
That was the 1970s.
We had no idea how right, and wrong, he was. Because now, there is no video tape. There is no massive cameras or batteries to haul around. And video is so prevalent, even the most frightening events are everywhere, to be seen by anyone with an internet connection. The tsunami in Japan. Your kid's ballet recital. You name it, and you can probably find a video of it somewhere.
Enter the GoPro phenomenon. A fully functional, HD capable video camera that can be mounted almost anywhere. Shock proof. Water proof. Idiot proof. GoPro is spending millions of dollars on promotion. They are popping up everywhere, from your local time trial race, to MTV, to the Biggest Loser. At $299, they are pretty affordable (as video cameras go), so just about everyone can have one. Or two.
I got mine as a birthday gift last year, and have used it quite a bit. One of the first things I captured on video was a driver running a stop sign right in front of me. Putting that video on Youtube highlighted the dangers that cyclists face from inattentive drivers.
Last Saturday, I was riding to work, and had two incidents. One was a couple of kids in a pickup truck who came onto the shoulder and buzzed me. The other was of a driver who ignored my turn signal, and passed me on the left as I was making a left-hand turn. Both encounters were caught on video. Both could lead to issuing citations against the drivers if I chose to pursue it. It makes me want to run the camera every time I am on the bike, just in case.
A friend sent me a link to a video by a cyclist who was the victim of road rage. He was running cameras pointing forward and backward, when he encountered an angry driver. This happened to be in the state of Colorado, which requires cars to have license plates in the front, not just the rear, like Oklahoma does. He was able to capture a still photo of the license plate number, which he turned into police, who are prosecuting the driver and passenger of the offending car. You can view the video for yourself by clicking here.
When I posted photos of my incident on Facebook, several people re-posted them. The potential is for thousands of people to view these photos, and there is at least some chance that someone will know who this driver is.
One person made the following comment in response to these photos: "helmet cams are gonna change a lot of things."
Yes they are. And I can't wait.
My dad told me that they were developing technology that would make the camera, battery, and video tape self-contained. He said it would revolutionize our lives, because video would be so accessible and easy.
That was the 1970s.
We had no idea how right, and wrong, he was. Because now, there is no video tape. There is no massive cameras or batteries to haul around. And video is so prevalent, even the most frightening events are everywhere, to be seen by anyone with an internet connection. The tsunami in Japan. Your kid's ballet recital. You name it, and you can probably find a video of it somewhere.
Enter the GoPro phenomenon. A fully functional, HD capable video camera that can be mounted almost anywhere. Shock proof. Water proof. Idiot proof. GoPro is spending millions of dollars on promotion. They are popping up everywhere, from your local time trial race, to MTV, to the Biggest Loser. At $299, they are pretty affordable (as video cameras go), so just about everyone can have one. Or two.
I got mine as a birthday gift last year, and have used it quite a bit. One of the first things I captured on video was a driver running a stop sign right in front of me. Putting that video on Youtube highlighted the dangers that cyclists face from inattentive drivers.
Last Saturday, I was riding to work, and had two incidents. One was a couple of kids in a pickup truck who came onto the shoulder and buzzed me. The other was of a driver who ignored my turn signal, and passed me on the left as I was making a left-hand turn. Both encounters were caught on video. Both could lead to issuing citations against the drivers if I chose to pursue it. It makes me want to run the camera every time I am on the bike, just in case.
A friend sent me a link to a video by a cyclist who was the victim of road rage. He was running cameras pointing forward and backward, when he encountered an angry driver. This happened to be in the state of Colorado, which requires cars to have license plates in the front, not just the rear, like Oklahoma does. He was able to capture a still photo of the license plate number, which he turned into police, who are prosecuting the driver and passenger of the offending car. You can view the video for yourself by clicking here.
When I posted photos of my incident on Facebook, several people re-posted them. The potential is for thousands of people to view these photos, and there is at least some chance that someone will know who this driver is.
One person made the following comment in response to these photos: "helmet cams are gonna change a lot of things."
Yes they are. And I can't wait.
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