Bicycle Network: Behaviour

The eye-witness that does not lie

4 February 2012. Helmet cams are proving invaluable in the battle for bike riders to assert their rights and win justice on Australia's roads.

For too long drivers have been able to dodge their responsibility for crashes with bikes because the bike rider lacked witnesses to the incident.

No longer. As this shocking helmet cam video by rider Scott Kerrison (travelling on Springvale Road in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley) clearly shows, there can be no argument about who is responsible for a crash when the camera is rolling along with the bike.

Helmet cams will end the blame game over bike-crashes involving motor vehicles.

Now the camera is the witness and drivers are having to face the consequences. Once word gets around that a proportion of bikes are fitted with cameras, drivers will suspect every bike has a camera, so they will take a lot more care on the road.

It is not just drivers that will have to obey the law: bike riders using the cameras are also recording their own on-road behaviour, so they won't have the option of misleading investigators should there be a crash.

It's only a matter of time before police fit these to their police bicycles and motor bikes. It's amazing how many people the camera can record who are illegally using phones in the car.

At Bicycle Network we have found these cameras also really valuable for research into road design and road user behaviour.

And riders have found them really useful in identifying and documenting hazards on their regular riding routes.

Documentation is important in the event of a crash. Check out our advice here.

Details of this incident were provided to The Age for a story and a video segment.