Wow!
Most valuable player!
2013-06-19 21:06:48
37
And another one
Buzzed by a Chevy pick up in Dormont on my way home. It was borderline, and I probably would not have pursued it. But there was a fire truck blocking traffic in Mt Lebanon, and he got stuck in the left lane. I passed him, and I guess he didn't like it. A short time later, he buzzed me again, but much closer. So I called 9-1-1, and had a very positive reaction from the same Mt Lebo officer who I was in court with a couple of weeks ago.
The driver has been cited, specifically for violating the four foot passing law (at my request) and the officer will let me know when the hearing is.
One asshat at a time, they're going down.
2013-06-19 20:58:08
If only city cops cared this much...
2013-06-19 21:25:19
boostuv wrote:If only city cops cared this much…Actually, they do. A city detective issued the first four foot passing law citation in Pittsburgh last week to my previous video star. The Zone 6 Commander, who is also the traffic Commander city-wide, took my video and gave it to a detective, who pursued it and wrote the ticket.
2013-06-19 21:30:00
ajbooth wrote:A city detective issued the first four foot passing law citation in Pittsburgh last week to my previous video star.I'm psyched to see results coming in from helmet cams. Thank you for following through and stay safe!
2013-06-19 22:59:19
@ajbooth, can you give your fellow camera wearers some tips on what direction you aim the camera, how it's mounted, & other related technical matters? You're getting results, and that's why I wear the thing, though I (thankfully) haven't had to yet. Thanks!
2013-06-20 04:58:09
StuInMcCandless wrote:@ajbooth, can you give your fellow camera wearers some tips on what direction you aim the camera, how it’s mounted, & other related technical matters? You’re getting results, and that’s why I wear the thing, though I (thankfully) haven’t had to yet. Thanks!Mine is actually mounted on my handlebars. I commute on a 29er, though, so the upright position helps. I found that I move my head too much to mount on my helmet. The downside is that you only get what happens in front of you, but that has been enough for me. I'll take a picture later and post it.
2013-06-20 06:24:57
Keep up the good fight! Maybe Mt.Lebo will make you an official deputy if you keep doing their leg work (pun intended).
Edit: You definitely need to add car stickers to your bike frame like the fighter pilots do when they shoot down an enemy plane.
2013-06-20 07:33:00
Marko82 wrote:Edit: You definitely need to add car stickers to your bike frame like the fighter pilots do when they shoot down an enemy plane.It's not cars that are the problem, it's assholes that sometimes operate them (not to be confused with most drivers who are not raging assholes). You should put asshole stickers on your bike frame.
2013-06-20 08:04:32
Andy, if you could provide a how-to guide on getting the police to enforce the law, I and I think a lot of other people would find that very helpful. You seem to have found the key to something very important and if you could document your approach to the police, the kind of evidence you provide, how close the driver has to be before you call the police, etc, that would be really useful. And congratulations on getting another one.
2013-06-20 08:06:43
Thank you for the tips. I'll have to see if my cam came with alternate mounts that would let me hook it to the handlebars. Mine is on the side of my helmet now, so the videos are all sideways in addition to all the head motion. It's no fun wearing it, either.
@pinky is another regular post here who has had positive results with video taken to the police.
2013-06-20 08:46:07
@benzo - good point, but they would look like those gunshot stickers, which are not very cool. Maybe use a car with a dollar sign over it?
Or
2013-06-20 08:53:28
jonawebb wrote:Andy, if you could provide a how-to guide on getting the police to enforce the law, I and I think a lot of other people would find that very helpful. You seem to have found the key to something very important and if you could document your approach to the police, the kind of evidence you provide, how close the driver has to be before you call the police, etc, that would be really useful. And congratulations on getting another one.I think there may be more to come on this topic. I reached out to Stephen Patchan yesterday, and he is in touch with the City Police. I also had an incident on the way in to work yesterday, but had a conference call that I needed to be here for, and did not have time for the 9-1-1 call, wait for an officer, etc. So I asked him for advice on how to handle, and he called me to talk about it. Maybe he'll have some suggestions or advice in this area, which I'm certain will be shared.
2013-06-20 09:14:32
Benzo wrote:It’s not cars that are the problem, it’s assholes that sometimes operate them (not to be confused with most drivers who are not raging assholes). You should put asshole stickers on your bike frame.Spot on, @Benzo. Easily 99% of the cars that pass me do so politely, with appropriate clearance. I think my commuting route (West Liberty Ave/Washington Road in the South Hills) increases the odds that the 1% will find me, simply by volume. The ones who come close do not do so inadvertantly--in both of the two recent videos that have resulted in citations, the buzz for which the driver was cited was one of two by the same driver on the same recording.
2013-06-20 09:18:10
asshole stickers... aka the current wal*mart logo, previously known as Kurt Vonnegut's a-hole.
2013-06-20 10:19:22
Sounds like the Mt Lebo police deserve props or maybe even appreciatory donuts for their handling of this.
Perhaps having a young mother pushing a stroller run over and killed by a stoned driver tends to re-focus priorities.
2013-06-20 10:34:37
edmonds59 wrote:Perhaps having a young mother pushing a stroller run over and killed by a stoned driver tends to re-focus priorities.I'm not sure that this is entirely fair or relevant. I know one of the officers who responded to that call, and the anger they feel about it is still real two years later. That was caused by one ultimately selfish asshole, and I'm not sure the police could have done anything to prevent that. In my interactions with them, the Mt Lebanon police have always been responsive, caring, and helpful, and I expect they will continue to be so.
2013-06-20 10:46:14
+1 drewbacca. I was thinking of the Vonnegut drawing too, and now I'll never look at the Walmart logo the same way again.
2013-06-20 11:09:27
I'll spring for a dozen donuts, or a pizza or ??? if someone will deliver it (by bike) to the Mt. Lebanon PD.
2013-06-20 11:12:05
Swalfoort wrote:I’ll spring for a dozen donuts, or a pizza or ??? if someone will deliver it (by bike) to the Mt. Lebanon PD.It could be a bikefest event...
2013-06-20 11:30:23
Or better yet, how about a ride in Mt Lebanon where we invite the Police Bike Officers to ride with us? There are several of them, and I suspect that has a lot to do with their attitude towards cyclists.
2013-06-20 11:42:05
ajbooth wrote:I know one of the officers who responded to that call, and the anger they feel about it is still real two years later.... Yes, that was my point.
2013-06-20 11:56:46
@edmonds59: My issue would be with the "re-focus their priorities" line. Maybe I'm sensitive to it because I know the officers, and I know the widower, but that event didn't really change their focus. They've always been pro-cyclist, and pro-pedestrian. I know other police departments in the area don't share those priorities, so I'm probably spoiled, but it shapes my point of view.
2013-06-20 12:20:00
I was monitoring a little bit HD camcoders versus helmet ones. I am thinking about normal caamcoder due to better lenses and possible optical zoom that allows to get car from a greater distance. And prices are very comparable.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+F90BN+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Black/7970058.p;jsessionid=87ED8EF01C6E78FD74C32A0F8328D709.bbolsp-app02-179?id=1218863185321&skuId=7970058#tab=specifications -- $149, 720p
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+W300+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Red/4877359.p;jsessionid=87ED8EF01C6E78FD74C32A0F8328D709.bbolsp-app02-179?id=1218572405022&skuId=4877359#tab=overview -- $99 1020 and no zoom, waterproof.
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-V100K-Intelligent-Camcorder-Black/dp/B0072B5E7Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_p_5 -- $160, Full 1920x1080p HD
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/JVC+-+Everio+GZE306BUS+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Black/7829196.p;jsessionid=87ED8EF01C6E78FD74C32A0F8328D709.bbolsp-app02-179?id=1218861010341&skuId=7829196 -- $199,
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/JVC+-+Everio+GZE306BUS+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+Black/7829196.p;jsessionid=87ED8EF01C6E78FD74C32A0F8328D709.bbolsp-app02-179?id=1218861010341&skuId=7829196#tab=specifications -- $199, 1080.
A some other cheap and cool stuff (I do not know how it works though):
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Cobra+-+Digital+Camcorder+-+Black/1306868714.p?id=mp1306868714&skuId=1306868714 -- $44
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Vivitar+-+Digital+Camcorder+-+1.8%22+-+HD+-+Blue/1304672924.p?id=mp1304672924&skuId=1304672924 -- $30.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Polaroid+-+XS7HD+HD+Flash+Memory+Camcorder+-+White/Orange/7218123.p?id=1218836612727&skuId=7218123 -- $60, 720.
2013-06-20 14:25:33
I own the Samsung W300. I'm not sure how I'd mount it to frame or helmet, but I have heard of mounting them on a chest bandolier of some sort.
2013-06-20 16:28:18
My camera is the Contour Plus GPS. I bought it at REI for $190, between clearance sale, REI Dividend, and coupon. You can get one without GPS for even less.
I like it, and would recommend it without hesitation. It's made for what I'm using it for, and mounts to helmet or handlebars easily. Good quality, easy to use.
@StuInMcCandless, what kind of camera do you have? I have some extra mounts for the Contour.
2013-06-20 16:57:59
Here are some mounts, say, if someone had something like a Nikon Coolpix AW100 that could shoot video. Standard tripod mount.
http://www.amazon.com/Drift-Helmet-Mount-HD170-Cameras/dp/B004QF1KG8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=158HZQ7K21JZ0&coliid=I22KKMY51EQEDP
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bike-Bicycle-Handlebar-Mount-Holder-Black-for-Nikon-S8000-AW100-L23-L24-ZVMT045-/380416030682
2013-06-20 18:30:28
epkiley wrote:I own the Samsung W300. I’m not sure how I’d mount it to frame or helmet, but I have heard of mounting them on a chest bandolier of some sort.One freebie possibility that's not as silly as it seems... a wire hanger attachment to your helmet: http://localhost/mb/topic/anyone-with-a-smartphone-and-wire-hanger-can-record-their-rides
2013-06-20 20:24:27
Oh, re-reading, you responded on the old thread. Well, if you change your mind. My mount is still working fine.
2013-06-20 20:26:20
Mine is a Swann Freestyle HD, essentially a GoPro look-alike. We had a thread on here a bit over a year ago discussing where Woot.com had a special sale, about $150 a copy. I'd been ready to pull the trigger on this for well over a year before that. The motivating factor then was verbal harassment rather than close vehicle passes, but same idea.
2013-06-20 20:56:20
I have the Monoprice action cam, and have been very impressed with it, and at $100 it was the best option I could find. Comes with a handlebar mount (there are other mounts available).
Does not have internal memory, so a micro SD is necessary (I had one already, but expect to pay < $20 for 32GB)
I would recommend.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=117&cp_id=11704&cs_id=1170401&p_id=10159&seq=1&format=2
2013-06-21 11:19:00
2013-06-21 11:56:29
Well, after a few weeks of running my camera, and being amazed that so few motorists were passing me illegally (I've been taking the lane, and limiting their opportunities), I finally got one -- very tight pass on Forbes between Braddock and Murray. Right on the edge of the bike lane. The problem was, the fucker was also speeding, and going so fast that I couldn't get a good image of his license plate.
So I'm switching my ContourROAM to 60fps and trying again. I was always able to get a good shot of license plates before in my tests, but I never had a guy speeding so much before.
2013-07-18 11:04:31
One thing I do when I see an aggressive driver is shout out the license plate. I never remember plates for more than two seconds, but my camera does when I call them out.
I've had hit or miss luck with the same camera catching plates.
2013-07-18 11:37:36
I carry a sharpie in my pocket to write license plates quickly on my arm if I need to.
2013-07-18 12:01:23
jonawebb wrote:going so fast that I couldn’t get a good image of his license plate.I've had a couple of those, and have been able to catch a plate by saving the movie in QuickTime Pro as a series of images. If you think that might help, send me a message and I can give you a folder to drop the video into, and I'll see if I can grab a plate number.
2013-07-18 12:04:48
I like @pinky's idea of yelling out the plate. I know that with my camera being inside a mount case, sound is very muted, but at that, my mouth is only six inches away, so if I yell it loudly enough, the sound will make it to the mike.
Also, I often pull over right away and send a tweet with the plate #.
2013-07-18 14:11:10