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This Morning helmet cam debateRise of cycle cams debated on This Morning
Earlier this week, ITV’s This Morning invited two guests on to debate the increasing popularity of helmet cams in a segment entitled ‘Shaming Britain’s drivers – cycling vigilante’. The portion of the show in question is currently available to watch via the ITV Player.
The segment opens with the footage of a woman caught eating a bowl of cereal while driving which was recently uploaded by cycle instructor, David Williams. Williams was subsequently the subject of a Daily Mail article by Michael Gove’s wife, Sarah Vine, which branded people who use helmet cameras the "Cycling Stasi." In the article, Vine described those who used helmet cams as "infuriatingly, throat-throttlingly, red-mist-inducingly smug."
The two people involved in the This Morning debate were Dave Sherry, a bus driver and cyclist who earlier this year claimed that his footage had resulted in around 50 convictions, and journalist Angela Epstein. A frequent guest on television debates, Epstein was also the ghost writer of The Art of the Loophole: Making the Law Work for You by celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman.
“First of all, I don’t like vigilantism,” she begins, before addressing Sherry directly.
“You say you keep your eyes on the road. I’m sure you try and do that. I don’t see how you can be a law-abiding cyclist and at the same time kind of try and police everybody else. This smacks of kangaroo justice.”
Epstein concedes that there are motorists who do ‘incredibly stupid things’ and points people towards a recent Daily Telegraph article of hers in which she argued that drivers should be obliged to switch off their phones altogether and that even hands-free phone use can be distracting.
However, while she at one point says that ‘not all’ cyclists are ‘horrendous’ on the roads, that sense of perspective seems lacking when she later describes how she had observed the cyclists on London’s roads in the taxi on the way to the studio. “They’re absolutely shocking. They just don’t care,” she says.
Epstein believes that, “one can cycle badly, cause an accident and more often than not it will be the driver that will be at the very least prosecuted.”
She also appears to believe that cyclists are somehow exempt from criminal charges whereas there is “a whole canon of driving law” and questions why there is no cyclists’ equivalent to a driving test.
“They’re not obliged to do the things that we have to do to ensure that we understand road safety. If you want to campaign for something – look at everybody who’s anywhere near the roads. Make there parity there because cyclists can be even worse than motorists.”
In response, Sherry – who drives professionally – repeats a point he has made earlier, that in a collision between a car and cyclist, the cyclist will always come off worse. It is unclear whether the implications of this message are fully understood by those around him.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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102 comments
I thought it was a citizen's duty to report law breaking. If I saw someone breaking into the Gove home I imagine Mrs. Gove would want me to call the cops, not ignore it for fear of being called a vigilante.
When you look at who she married, you'd have to question every aspect of her judgement, and sanity.
Perfect Daily Hate journalist then...
I thought vigilantes took the law into their own hands and broke the law they were proclaiming to uphold as a result.
But filming people breaking the law is actually 'collecting evidence', so who has a problem with that? Oh, yes, right-wing reactionaries….
I hate all things Gove - my wife (a teacher and a cyclist) more so!
Is the wife aware of this level of hate you have for her?
"If all my personalities get angry about it, that's several votes against those video-nasty b@stard cyclists for a start!"
Each to their own, but the day I start using bike/helmet cameras will be the day that I also wear one walking down the street or in the supermarket etc. I think as soon as you buy one you introduce a little bit more anger and obsessive behavior into your life.
The supermarket already has CCTV, so why bother?
But yes, its far more aggro than I'm prepared to go to (not to mention that good cameras seem to cost more than my bike, and then I'd be constantly worried about the camera getting broken)
But there's just something absurd about upper-class Spectator types outraged at anyone noticing their bad behaviour, even while they are precisely the type who aspire to live in gated communities with CCTV and would be the first to demand monitoring of the street if someone vandalised their car or behaved in an anti-social manner in their neighbourhood.
Surveillance is only for the plebs and the riff-raff, not for the likes of them.
Because the driving test has resulted in a high standard of law abiding driving. NOT!
#ClutchingAtStraws
after reading his twitter comments, i just had a quick look at keith peat's website -
what a douche!
This Morning - Paragon of cutting-edge debate and crucible of public opinion.....
And Sarah Vine is the wife of the new Tory Justice Minister, mmm, food for thought.
This morning I went to the local shop to buy some milk. I was aghast to see there was a camera set up! Bloody shopkeeper Stasi!
There were cameras on my Tube platform this morning too. #TubeStasi
And there's one in my office. #EmployerStasi
Etc.
Pfft! This morning I was in Jessops..... Oh hang on....!
I don't like them, I can see both sides of the argument though.
Please enlighten me, what's the argument against traffic cams?
She was on both sides of the argument. One moment she doesn't want him to film, then she wants him to report everyone.
Classic CCTV argument; no one wants to be filmed, but everyone want to see the CCTV when something happens.
Is he wearing hi vis in the TV studio??
I imagine he did this to take the p!ss.
TBH he should have been wearing a helmet and paying "roadtax" too
Strange that Vine went with:
"infuriatingly, throat-throttlingly, red-mist-inducingly smug"
which is exactly how I'd describe Gove!
I can understand the angst of the common motorist, soon they may have to abide by the laws of the road and not continually endanger the life of others.
As for the taxi drive to the studio, we just need to look at the stats; how many lorry drivers have killed or seriously injured cyclists this year compared to the number of cyclists killing lorry drivers?
Which confirms that Sarah Vine sees other people not as they are but as she is.
Regarding all the "vigilantism" nonsense, this little twitter exchange was quite satisfying.
Keith Peat was furious...
https://twitter.com/policechiefs/status/611876200538095620
This is truly brilliant!
I love how Keith Peat keeps changing between his many twitter account to continue the conversation.
Six days later, and he's STILL going on about it. He's also annoyed that some Police twitter accounts have started to block him.
The sad thing, most of his followers on twitter are actually cyclists. Better idea, follow his dog -> @KeithPeatsDog
He's a JollySelfRighteous chump. Keith Peat tries to give the illusion of consensus by using lots of aliases. In this case @driversunion and @eastmidsdrivers. I'm surprised @bogtrotter never joined in too.
Any know of other aliases out there?
These complaints seem to just highlight how many motorists have simply gotten used to being able to get away with things, so the likes of this "journalist" have developed an inflated sense of entitlement.
I see motorists dangerously breaking the law most days (just yesterday nearly got knocked down crossing the road as a pedestrian, by a driver who had decided to dodge a queue of traffic at the lights by jumping a red while driving on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of a pedestrian island).
Fortunately for them I'm too cheap and lazy to bother with a cycle or pedestrian cam.
Does she also moan about supermarkets having CCTV so she can't freely shoplift?
And knowing that you're more likely to see the abominable snowman than a traffic policeman doesn't help with that 'sense of entitlement' either.
Why oh fcuking why, do you only hear the word Vigilante when it involves video footage from a cyclist? You never ever hear it on any of the millions of other Pish Poor driving clips posted from vehicle cams, only ever cycle cams. Its just a lame ass defense mechanism due to being shown up to being a complete tit by someone who doesn't pay "roadtax"?
roadcc seem to be a bit late to this particular party.
But for those who missed the Twitter outrage over this, they should note that the bio for the harpy Epstein contains this gem
Angela is also a columnist for the Jewish Chronicle and last year was the ghost writer of The Art of the Loophole: Making the Law Work for You by celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman (published by Hodder & Stoughton) http://www.angelaepstein.co.uk/bio/
So complaining about people on bikes when you've earned money by helping to explain to motorists how to cheat justice is a tiny bit fucking rich & hypocritical
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