First crash, should I buy a helmet cam?

darrent71

Today I had my first crash after a driver deliberately slammed his brakes in front of me. Just before that he almost clipped me and then 100 yards up the road had to slow down so I pulled up beside him and give him my money's worth. He drove off and as I went in behind him he slammed the brakes forcing me to hit his rear and I broke his tail light. He got out of the car and told me that I brought that on myself as I cursed at him!
Anyway police and ambulance came, I was very lucky and only a few bruises. I was in shock and struggled to process it at the time, it was left with the police that I was to phone the guy to sort out insurance to pay for his light. Crazy now I'm able to recount it all.
I'm now thinking if I had a helmet camera that would've proved he was at fault and at the very least driving dangerously Should I invest in one and if so what would you recommend from Amazon around £100?

nibnob21

Sorry to hear that. I've been in similar situations (but without the actual collision) and it's not nice. I've learnt to remain calmer as a lot of the time mouthing off can escalate quickly and ultimately as the cyclist you're always going to end up worst off, and being in the right becomes irrelevant. It's hard though and when you feel like someone unnecessarily risks your safety it's pretty natural to lash out. No judgements there.

When I used to use a helmet cam, I found the mobius was good as it was small, cheap, good video quality and pretty hard wearing.

seanoconn

I cycle or drive in a way that if the car in front slams on their brakes I still have room to stop. Racing after a dangerous driver whether in a car or on a bike, isn’t ever going to lead to anything good. They’re are psychos out there who would kill you without much provocation just because you’re on a bike. Best to avoid aggression/conflict whenever possible 👍

pblakeney

Sadly, no matter how much of a nutter the driver is legally it is your fault for not leaving sufficient braking distance. Not what you want to hear but that's the truth with emotions removed. A camera would just have proved that.

ballysmate

pblakeney said:

Sadly, no matter how much of a nutter the driver is legally it is your fault for not leaving sufficient braking distance. Not what you want to hear but that's the truth with emotions removed. A camera would just have proved that.

There is a tendency to believe that a camera would absolve the owner of any blame for an accident.
Sometimes the opposite is true.
Listen to Zen Sean.

seanoconn

ballysmate said:

pblakeney said:

Sadly, no matter how much of a nutter the driver is legally it is your fault for not leaving sufficient braking distance. Not what you want to hear but that's the truth with emotions removed. A camera would just have proved that.

There is a tendency to believe that a camera would absolve the owner of any blame for an accident.
Sometimes the opposite is true.
Listen to Zen Sean.

Last time some idiot tried to kill me and we were squaring up exchanging insults, all I could think about was the hassle involved if I threw the first punch, police, possible criminal record, what had to lose etc, it just wasn’t worth it. Zen is the way to go.

The fact the guy looked a lot bigger out of his car had absolutely nothing to do with it.

MattFalle

Tbf, if you hadn't have gobbed off at him the accident wouldn't have happened.

Camera or no camera, if you aren't going to finish what you started then all you're doing us aggravating the situation - either you're a bit tasty and you can finish it off or you're not, and we think you may be latter.

Next time just ride away or its likely you'll get chinned as well as your bike getting run over.

Its all about Zen and karma, dude.

ballysmate

seanoconn said:

ballysmate said:

pblakeney said:

Sadly, no matter how much of a nutter the driver is legally it is your fault for not leaving sufficient braking distance. Not what you want to hear but that's the truth with emotions removed. A camera would just have proved that.

There is a tendency to believe that a camera would absolve the owner of any blame for an accident.
Sometimes the opposite is true.
Listen to Zen Sean.

Last time some idiot tried to kill me and we were squaring up exchanging insults, all I could think about was the hassle involved if I threw the first punch, police, possible criminal record, what had to lose etc, it just wasn’t worth it. Zen is the way to go.

The fact the guy looked a lot bigger out of his car had absolutely nothing to do with it.

First punch?
You are no longer one punch man? 😞

seanoconn

ballysmate said:

seanoconn said:

ballysmate said:

pblakeney said:

Sadly, no matter how much of a nutter the driver is legally it is your fault for not leaving sufficient braking distance. Not what you want to hear but that's the truth with emotions removed. A camera would just have proved that.

There is a tendency to believe that a camera would absolve the owner of any blame for an accident.
Sometimes the opposite is true.
Listen to Zen Sean.

Last time some idiot tried to kill me and we were squaring up exchanging insults, all I could think about was the hassle involved if I threw the first punch, police, possible criminal record, what had to lose etc, it just wasn’t worth it. Zen is the way to go.

The fact the guy looked a lot bigger out of his car had absolutely nothing to do with it.

First punch?
You are no longer one punch man? 😞

You’re aware of one punch man!? 😃

darrent71

Thanks for the honest feedback folks. What I have learned is no matter whether I think I'm right or not, certainly while a car is moving I won't ever challenge a driver again as I have seen how they use it as a weapon.
When I pulled up beside him we were both still moving so as he drove off the mistake I made was moving across the road behind him as when I shouted at him again he hit the brakes and I literally had no time at all to react. Being new to cycling that's a rookie mistake I've learned the hard way.
Question - I do have cycling insurance so firstly would it cover the replacement brake light cover he needs and secondly, if not and I refuse to pay what grounds does he have?

First.Aspect

What's your excess? Have you admitted liability? Did the driver admit to overtaking you just before? It might be worth your while to let insurance companies sort it out, depending on the answers to those questions. Particularly if it is a £500 LED cluster or something. That said, chances are anyone driving like a chav has an Astra or something, and it will be more like £100.

If it were me, unless there is a police report saying you are at fault, I'd do nothing and tell the driver to f-off if he contacts you. The law isn't so clear cut that it always absolves someone of unnecessarily slamming the brakes on and causing an accident, particularly if it is arguably part of an overtake, and I don't see that you are precluded from changing your account now that you aren't in shock.

Other than that - you got into some argy bargy with the driver of a ton and a half of metal.

Don't. Even if you are right, what's the best outcome for you? What's the worst?

The second you get the sense of any sort of escalation it is best to get elsewhere, it really is.

me-109

Was it Ronnie Pickering?