Bradford police bike team using helmet cams to catch bad drivers

Quote:

Vigilantes is the wrong word to use as that would mean that they are dishing out justice as well

But they believe they are dishing out justice simply by publishing the videos, highlighting a grammatical error or simply mocking and ultimately bringing it to the attention of the authorities. How many comments sections are filled with shock at the lack of justice handed out? Even in these pages we see the disgusted comments about how lightly people get off.

So yes, vigilante is acceptable in this context   in so much as The Guardian Angels are vigilantes, ok?

EDIT: People seem rather more het up about the use of the word vigilante, but not over the issue rasied of civilians being able to police the streets themselves as the self righteous do. Lol.
 

When I talk about vigilantes, I'm talking about the self rightous pricks who are happy to use the internet to highlight the (perceived) errors of others and generally throw around their (own accredited) superiority with snide comments. We've all seen them on Youtube.

I'm puzzled as to how this counts as a cycling story unless the main focus of the article is about the use of 'action' cameras to prosecute.

Even then it does not set a precedent with regard to the admissability of video evidence; there is a huge difference between how evidence is weighted by the courts with regard to who is submitting the evidence. Don't forget that your video has to run the gauntlet of overworked officers who are not sympathetic to your cause. They will reject your video for any number of reasons

• Not of high enough quality.
• Your actions prior to the incident even if they are not relevant.
• Unable to establish the driver's identity beyond all doubt.
• Too much time has elapsed (Normally delays caused by the Police).
• etc...

I know you all read Beyond the kerb, but if you don't here are the links. This is a classic example.

https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/guest-post-nipping-it-in-...

https://beyondthekerb.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/catapulting-boulders/

We all know that a dangerous pass when viewed through a wide-angled lens looks quite innocuous to the untrained eye, and that is when we are giving it our full attention. Now view it when you are trying to sift through the mountain of paperwork on your desk at the same time. How easy is it to say "Well, it's not as though he was killed is it!" Human nature is human nature.

We have a Police Force that due to Government targets is reactive rather than proactive. The number of specialised traffic officers has fallen to unacceptably low levels. Your chances of getting caught for a driving offence are laughably small.

great to see video equipment being used by the Police

would have really liked to have seen this yesterday. 

riding through Great Tower Street in Central London, long queue (20+) of HGV (mainly tippers) and taxis coming into the red light with the junction for Lower Thames Street (by Tower of London).

Shocked but not surprised to see well over 1/2 of these drivers busy tapping away on smartphones or with hand held cell phone held to ears making calls. 

As I reached the red light after careful filtering, there is a cop on a motorbike at the junction. 

I asked, "Buddy, you've got a road full of HGV drivers using hand held phones, can you do something before someone is killed?"

"I've been watching, and will setup further down the road".

Guess if he had been issued a helmet camera he could prosecute the entire lot, rather than whichever dozy driver is still using his hand held device as the cop physically witnessess the activity.

This blase attitude towards hand held use by all drivers, especially HGV operators, really needs to stop right now. Whatever tools the Police can be given is only a good thing. 

IF there is a mechanism where I can admit video evidence to the Police, and they will act on it, I'd be happy to spend £100 on a helmet camera and start providing footage of the blatant law breaking I see every day during my 200km of weekly commutes through London. 

I have selfish reasons for doing this, I actually want these drivers off the roads, the thought of my wife encountering one of these distracted HGV operators whilst she's riding her bike, fills me with dread. 

Generally I think this is a good thing. However the following quote from the linked article sounds worrying:

"Also, police had to dish out some advice to two young girls who were spotted riding a horse on roads and pavements in Holme Wood, Bradford, causing a problem for vehicles and pedestrians. The pair were told to climb down and walk the horse back to a secure location."

Now horses on the pavement, I get, but on the road, "causing problems" for vehicles? What's that about? They have a legal right to ride a horse on the road!?

Okay then, so the police can happily use helmet cam footage to make prosecutions, but if a non-police films bad behaviour or even a crime then it's not good enough. Hmm. #doublestandards

Congrats to Bradford officers, thats the long and short of it. As to it being a drop in the ocean thats a different matter. 

Problem now will be defence teams claiming their poor motoring client has been unfairly caught by unmarked officers and the majority of courts lapping it up and issuing £10 fines.

The judiciary as we are painfully aware are a 'ucking disgrace when it comes to road safety and Id welcome the chance to discuss this with any if them given the chance.

Im surprised thay caught anyone red-handed by going around in full hi-viz police-branded kit.  Do it in plain clothes and watch the git count go up 100 fold.

The Mail will create a stream purely for dash camera footage of cyclists running red/no lights/riding on footpath/riding on road.

Who would have thought that they'd catch a load of mobile phone using drivers. Not happy about the penalty for that guy overtaking the queue of traffic. Though possibly very limited sentences available for this. 1 month ban may be a better tool to make these people think, with a linked longer ban if repeated within a year of reinstatement of licence.

Quote:

Don't confuse people safely going about their business with Vigilantes.

The two aren't even remotely the same...

No te entiendo, tio.

I never mentioned people safely going about their business, I mentioned vigilantes. There is a breed of driver who seems quite content in telling others how to drive (you know the type, as cyclists we see them giving the punishment pass, or the ones who sweep into the inside lane as a demonstration to middle lane hoggers, etc), give these people the green light to film and they'll be frothing at the mouth. I bet the Daily Mail is all ready setting aside a new section for these prats to send in their observations of bad driving as some new form of ironic humour.

Parts of Bradford are pretty lawless with un insured drivers ranking one of the highest in the country for over a decade. It is good to see an attempt to bring up standards, but it's going to take a very long sustained effort to overcome the problems.

Shock horror, i through the police were telling us that video evidence was useless for dealing with dangerous drivers. 

This is great news - I hope this becomes popular. Everybody wins:

-Shitty motorists are taken off the roads
-More revenue for authorities
-Less traffic
-Safer roads for all

Can't work out if this is good or bad.

Good because the helmet cam can now be recognised as evidence and cyclists' footage cannot be dismissed any more.

Bad because there are already too many vigilantes on the road.