The Dashcam Thread

This lovely chap did this on the way to the meet today.

Gave me the finger too!
Why always me??

The guy(Alex) was very lucky and has recovered well and got back to riding.
Here is what happened in his own words if you are in any way interested,makes for a good read IMHO as an experienced biker of many years,


AlexRider6 months ago (edited)

Don't believe what the media are saying. My words are being twisted, making me sound like I'm blaming the whole situation on the driver of the car, which couldn't be any further from the truth. If you want your questions answered and my side of the story, continue reading.



I thought it would be a good idea to write a rather large comment here and address some of the feedback that I have already received. As you can tell, I have received a lot of mixed comments from multiple people, both negative and positive in context.



I never actually realised how bad this accident was until I reviewed the footage myself, at which point I broke down in hospital. It was definitely an experience I will never forget and I have learned many lessons from this crash.



I am extremely thankful and grateful to make it out of the accident in one piece and relatively okay. I would dread to think what the outcome would be if I had hit another motorcyclist. I am also extremely grateful for everybody that stopped and helped after the accident, I couldn’t have been surrounded by better people. Lastly, thanks to all of you who have posted supportive messages and understand why I’ve uploaded this video, I really appreciate it and I hope that other people can learn from my mistakes and adjust their driving/riding accordingly.



To answer some questions and statements - this is what was going through my mind at the time:



1. Why did you continue accelerating when you couldn’t see?

Honestly, there is no acceptable answer to this question. It was a silly thing to do and a mixture of a lapse in concentration and incorrect assumptions. The two cars in front of me accelerated fairly quickly up the dual carriage way, disappearing into the sunlight before overtaking the car that I hit. I made a wrong assumption that the road must have been clear based on the fact that they were travelling significantly faster than I was at the time and were in the same lane, not seeing that they had overtaken a slow moving car up ahead. Keeping a steady speed is one thing, but accelerating, even though it was gently, was blatantly stupid. I think it was a clear lapse in concentration whilst I was clearing the visor which lead to me making this silly mistake.



2. Why didn’t you slow down sooner?

Again, that is a mistake I made and the lesson learned is a costly one. Lack of concentration, badly made assumptions and decisions all played a part in the crash. I saw the two cars in front accelerate much faster than myself and assumed there was nothing up ahead, but I didn't see them overtake the slow moving car as they disappeared into the sun. Even so, I should have slowed down immediately.



3. Why didn't you stop/pull over?

I was planning on doing so but made that decision WAY too late. I didn't realise how close I was to the car in front at the time. The two cars that sped off and overtook the guy I hit distorted my perception and I believed that there was nothing up ahead due to what I was seeing. By the time I started slowing down it was way too late and it's no fault but my own.



4. You were going way too fast for conditions!

Correct. I’ve already explained why I think I accelerated, even though there is no excuse for that silly maneuver. I admit that I was going too fast for the conditions and had I been going slower; the accident may not have occurred. Additionally, I was being conscious that going too slow could have resulted in somebody going into the back of me considering that it is a 70MPH road.



5. You ride like an idiot! or You’re an accident waiting to happen! or You’re a horrible rider, go and take an advanced course or This video proves you are anything but a good rider or You should have your license revoked for life!

These are just a few of some of the negative comments that I’ve received. These comments are based on 1 or 2 videos out of my entire experience of riding. All of my videos combined probably cover around 50 miles of road, whereas I’ve ridden over 10,000 trouble-free miles on this bike in the last year; so that is just a tiny fraction of what you’ve seen. To make a judgement based on that fact alone is ridiculous, acting as if though you’ve never made a mistake on the road. I am only human and I have only been riding for 1 year, taking that into consideration I am obviously bound to make mistakes.



In comparison to a lot of riders out there, I’m actually a fairly sensible person and have mellowed out a lot. I try and do right by wearing suitable gear all the time, positioning myself correctly, learning different riding techniques and trying to be courteous to other riders/drivers as they are to me (for the most part). So no, I would have to disagree that I am a bad rider and would probably apply the term 'inexperienced', in combination with a lack of concentration in this case. But I fully accept liability for this accident and it was caused by some silly mistakes and bad judgement on my part. Definitely a learning curve for me and it has taught me to be more careful under direct sunlight. Having said that, this was a very dumb mistake that could have been avoided and it's a very valuable lesson that I have learned.



6. You deserved it, you were hauling ass up that road! or Stick to the speed limits, stop breaking the law!

57 mph was the absolute maximum speed I reached, 46mph was the impact speed. Not breaking the law, not hauling ass; riding too fast for conditions? Absolutely.

.

For everybody who rides a bike, you know that I'm not 'hauling ass' - I was very gently accelerating. And no, that's not another 'excuse' from me, I shouldn't have accelerated in the first place and that was a very dumb mistake on my part. But don't tarnish me with the same brush as riders who use the streets as their own race track; because that clearly isn't the case here.



7. How is the bike?

Not good – there is a long list of damaged parts; the most viable options are to turn it into a track bike, make it naked/ street fighter it, salvage it for parts or sell it as is. I will probably end up selling it for cheap as I don’t have the time, money or expertise to rebuild it.



8. How are you?

I got off remarkably well and I’m extremely grateful for that. I had bruising and a bit of a sore back, but it’s been a week and I’m almost fully recovered.



9. What will you do now?

Either fix my bike or buy another one. This accident is just a stepping stone and a lesson in my life. I will continue to better myself by riding and will be back on a bike as soon as I can. I will save this for the following video.



10. What is the purpose in this video?

I didn’t have to upload this video and subject myself to a lot of hate and criticism, but I did it to show what my mistakes were that day and the result of those mistakes. I am hoping that this video results in other riders and drivers to take more caution when driving under these conditions. If this video prevents an accident of similar nature from happening to somebody else; or makes people more cautious on the road under these conditions, then I will consider it a goal accomplished.



I'd also like to add, that I made a comment at first stating that I may not have been 100% at fault, which understandably obtained a lot of hate as I hadn’t finished my explanation. The car in the video is travelling extremely slow at the point of impact, and some people even believe that he was stopped (He may have been). There was no traffic in front of him which is quite baffling (confirmed by witnesses). The reason I made the comment that I did, was because he was quick to leave the scene of the accident and didn’t leave any contact details/insurance information (This was after I asked somebody to find my camera). Understandably, this made him look very suspicious to both myself and other witnesses. However, he has recently obtained my phone number and we have been in touch; the man I hit is a very laid back and cool guy; we’ve both agreed to settle the damage privately. Because of this, I have completely retracted my suspicions and accept 100% liability for this accident. Remember, everybody makes mistakes, I just happened to catch mine on camera



*UPDATE: Guy I hit wasn't insured, he was driving around on cloned plates and is still driving around on the same cloned plates. Police have refused to do anything about it because 'they have to catch him driving in the act' - despite the very large amount of evidence that I have collected.



2. I sold my bike, it was too much for the circumstances at the time. I will eventually make a video about it

3. However, I bought another SV650 so I will again, make another video to show you guys :-)



Thanks for all of the supportive comments, I read every single one of them and appreciate it greatly!*

Uploading a vid and need your ok to post really, shows your little wave lol.
Some of the great little roads, well one where the road a little uneven.
Got to love the warning sign about 3 mins and 34 secs into the vid, you can't see the look big yellow head spot in the road, but but you can see the car in front lowered feel it.
And us getting to the West Meon pub meet.


Just want to cover what I think about dashcams.
There a good side and there a bad side that I don't really see.
If it's your fault it's your fault, But I also think 95% of accidents are just accidents.
Saying it not your fault when it was just means your a C***.
Just think of whiplash claims out there, you bumper kiss another car.
There take your insurance company all the way.
Just think you sitting there waiting for the lights to go green and the car in front of you rolls 4 foot back into you.
Dash Cam proof it was not your fault, without it well there do you for it plus the whiplash.

Would I like to see car makers put them in cars as standard?
No there cost £300 to fix if not working.

As a biker without a bike now days I feel sorry for that biker above. bit lost on the part of he was trying to clean his visor.
Cleaning the visor would of only made things worse so I guess he meant he was trying to block the sun out.
I guess he just tried to keep with the flow of traffic and bang it stopped.
We all know how the Sun blinds you in a car, It's the same on a bike but there no Sun blind to pull down and hide behind.
It's there that's it you can't see Grrr slow down NEVER

The little Vid of the drive to West Meon meet

Lol, angry man with his shears walking away at 1:25

That was an awesome drive, and a good workout for my 5

Got another the other day.

Roundabouts apparently cannot be used correctly