Bikepacker67

But what about 8X10 glossies with a paragraph on the back, and what if the bench is "Group W"? </Alice's Restaurant>

galen_52657

OK...what kind of camera is it? Do you have a link to the manufacturer's web site?

Also, IMHO, the cops just giving this jerk-off a warning is not gonna register with him. From the photos, it look like he has a passing zone for cryin out loud! And still he buzzed you...

Take him to the mat!

Bikepacker67

Ohh that ain't the half of it... I WISH I had footage of what was going on behind me while he was raging on me.

Bikepacker67

Oregon Scientific

ItsJustMe

Yeah, but he could be losing a TON of resolution that way. That cam can do either 320x240 or 640x480. VideoCD is only 320x240, and it's lossy to boot.

If it were a piece of video I wanted to keep, I'd convert it to a high bit rate DVD-MPEG and author it to a DVD. I'd also keep the original, since if you needed it for actual evidence, you'll want the original, AND an individual frame of that is going to be clearer than anything made from it, since all normal video codecs are lossy.

It's certainly worth making a DVD from this. The discs are only 30 cents, and the burners are only $40.

RacerX

what a cool system you have there! That is a very cool use of technology, maybe your rear camera can go under the seat or something?

That is a Chrysler minivan and not a SUV though it doesn't matter. I think you should press charges so it goes on his record.
Next time he will probably hit to kill a cyclist instead of leaving a potential living witness. You never know with rage-junkies.

Besides, having solid evidence like that is so rare that you simply must do it for all the cyclists that were in the same spot or worse and didnt walk away or barely did.

ItsJustMe

Not necessarily. AVI is only a wrapper. Inside you can use any of hundreds of different audio and video encodings. Even if you use a codec that's popular now, that's no guarantee you'll be able to play it in 10 years. I have video clips from 10 years ago that I wouldn't be able to play except that I put copies of the codecs on the disc as well. And even at that, they're such old codecs that they won't run on Win2K, only on 9x (or 3.1)

Best bet is to keep the original, and make a DVD. You'll probably still be able to play DVDs for a long time.

ItsJustMe

Here's the thread about it, with lots of sample images and a few quick reviews:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...2&page=1&pp=25
I'm ordering mine this week.

spandexwarrior

I hate to advise you to spend more money, but get another ATC 1000 camera and mount that facing backwards. Or mount your current one to the SIDE of your helmet, so when you turn to look behind you, the camera has a better angle for rear footage. In one of the Lucas Brunelle videos I've seen he looks behind and gets a good shot, even thought the image as at an angle. His camera was mounted on the side of his helmet.

ajay677

Glad to see the cops took it seriously Bikepacker. Last week I had a guy buzz me close enough that I banged my arm on their car, trying to maintain my balance. Conditions where similar to yours; I was riding in the right hand wheel track. This a$$hat at first tried to flee, then stopped up the road to inspect his car. He then ran 100 feet up the street to try to grab me and knock me off my bike.

The police response: A lecture. "It's snowing out. Why are you riding a bike? You shouldn't be riding in the street. You could slip and fall under a car. Imagine how horrible the car driver would feel".

What a bunch of clowns!

budster

I'll provide an alternate, happier ending:

Ahhhhh. Much better, no?

Az B

I don't know why the police are so unresponsive at the non-emergency number. I called to report some idiot racing through our neighborhood streets in the pouring rain at about 70mph. I tried to get a license number but he didn't have one. He lived in the neighborhood as I saw him more than once and he turned into a dead end street not far down the road.

When I called to report him I was told that a) They couldn't do anything.

My response? "What about taking a look for a car with no plates. That's illegal right?"

b) "I'm sure he just bought the car and hasn't gotten a plate yet."

"Yes, because we can assume he's a law abiding citizen by the careful way he drives."

After insisting they send an officer over so I could make a report, no cop ever showed up.



Az

fordfasterr

call the emergency number.

operator: is this an emergency ?

you: yes.

operator: what is the nature of the emergency?

you: some lunatic is racing up and down the street, there are kids out here playing and he almost hit one of them !

operator: we are sending a patrol unit there immediately.

you: thanks !

af895

How To Call The Police

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Does someone live in your shed?" and he said no. Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

"Hello I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now, cause I've just shot them all." Then he hung up.

Within five minutes three police cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed. One of the Policemen said to George, "I thought you said that you'd shot them?" George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available?"

::ba dum boom ching::

San Rensho 

I would screw him to the wall. Most people like this are complete cowards, they will back down if you use force (the cops) against him. Otherwise, just like a schoolyard bully, if he gets away with it, he will just mess with you more, and the next time, possibly seriously.

fordfasterr

good one !!!!!!! haha

ItsJustMe

??? What state is this? In MI you need to go to the DMV and get a temp plate before you take a car onto the road, and before that you need to have current insurance coverage.

CB HI

This has been my experience as well.

Please press charges and show up to every one of his court dates. The first tactic his attorney will use is to get repeated continuances until you do not show up (no witness, no prosecution case).

spunkyruss

Pressing charges is up to you, but I would suggest that you make something happen to the guy after he views your video and walks out of the police station.

You seem reluctant to make bad things happen for this guy, but maybe you could use this incident as leverage to make the guy do something good for cyclists. Ask the police offcers about having the guy talk to the local drivers' education class (or whatever else you can come up with). It is not unusual for officers to allow some sort of agreement like this, with the understanding that he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent if he fails to hold up his end of the bargain.

That's just my two cents. This is really up to you.

dan828

Well, in California you just wait for the DMV to send you your regular plate in the mail. You can drive around with out a plate until then. A new car with just the little cardboard dealer advertisement in the plate holder doesn't get a second glance. The dealer won't let you leave the lot without insurance of some sort though.

genec

Well the reality is there is a paper tag that goes into the window and acts like a license plate until the real one arrives. But not that anyone can or would ever see the numbers on that paper to cite them as a "license plate."

EricDJ

You are my hero. Its great that technology is getting so small now, that it benefits so many people now. So can this camera accom a 1 gig card? If so Maybe i'll look into getting one, this way I can save the risk of damaging my dv camera.

Bikepacker67

Yup, that's what I'm using, a 1GB SD card.
It will give you about 1 hour of vid at the highest resolution. (640X480)

khuon

Check out the Archos AV500 series of personal/portable DVRs. 100GB HD, size of an iPod, 15 hrs battery, acts as USB host (can accept USB accessories) as well as USB device (connects up like an external HD to your computer). They can be fitted with an optional minicam with inline remote control and mic.

ItsJustMe

Yowza. Nice, I'm sure, but at over $600 for the unit, plus probably over $100 if it's a nice bullet cam, probably more than most people are ready to spend. It'd be interesting to see if it could record video at the same time it was playing MP3s though.

The nice thing about the unit used here is that it's $80 (plus another $50 for the 1GB card if you don't already have one). At that price a lot of people could be running around with cameras; that could really make a "critical mass" - if it became generally known that a significant percentage of cyclists wore cameras a lot of the time, people might think twice about acting up. At $700, very few people are going to pony up.