Almost got into a car accident...

enomosiki · Feb 20, 2013

I was taking the exit ramp through a parkway, until some clueless and impatient idiot in a white minivan decides to cut into it from the far left lane.

The road was slick from the drizzle, so I couldn't brake hard enough to come to a halt fast enough, so I ended up swerving dangerously close to the road fence to the right. If I did brake hard, I'd have lost control of my car and would definitely have hit the fence, the minivan or the SUV behind it. I nearly did lose control, but thankfully didn't.

Here's a video of it. (Warning: strong language, do not play past 0:23 if minors are present!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzDsdw7fEqc

Brooklynites can't drive worth a damn.

Unfortunately, I was involved in a couple of accidents in the past, neither of them my fault. But, still, it's crazy how some of these apes manage to pass the driving exam.

Anyone else want to share their stories?

jtr1962 · Feb 20, 2013

I'm glad you avoided a collision here. I just want to say it might have been prudent reducing your speed a bit before reaching the line of nearly stopped cars in the lane adjacent to the exit ramp. When cars are going that slow, it's possible one can suddenly veer into your path. OK, that doesn't excuse what the idiot in the white minivan was doing, but at least you wouldn't have nearly collided with them. BTW, I don't drive a car (don't even have a license), but I'm very familiar with the exact situation you were in as a cyclist. When I'm going faster than the line of cars to my left, I'll generally reduce my relative speed anywhere a car can potentially move into my path. This generally means at intersections. This practice has saved me from collisions numerous times. People in this city are among the worst drivers in the country. Anyone can do anything stupid at any time, so it's wise to allow an out for when that happens.

Yes, it's amazing the kinds of people we allow behind the wheel. Blame the mistaken idea that everyone with a pulse should be driving for that. If we really made the driver's test to weed out those who couldn't handle real-world driving conditions, I'd say about 75% of adults couldn't qualify for a driver's license.

No car accident stories for me obviously, at least not as a driver. I was in 3 accidents as a passenger, one where the driver of a van ran off a highway into a guardrail during a snowstorm. Came out of it with no injuries. Another time I was in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Precis which was rear-ended. That got me a few stitches on the back of my head. Also hit a pothole on my bike at 37 mph, but just ended up with bad road rash.

BTW, I highly recommend a videocam for anyone either driving or cycling in NYC. As this near incident shows, it may come in handy as far as proving who is at fault to the insurance company.

Steve K · Feb 20, 2013

hmmmm.... another reason to buy a GoPro..

My rules of thumb are:
1. don't trust anyone
2. expect people to do the dumbest things possible. You'll only be disappointed a few times.

I think I would have been slowing down along with everyone else, and maintaining a speed close to adjacent traffic. Granted, I've been driving for decades and have had a number of chances to develop my rules of thumb.

enomosiki · Feb 20, 2013

jtr1962 said:
I'm glad you avoided a collision here. I just want to say it might have been prudent reducing your speed a bit before reaching the line of nearly stopped cars in the lane adjacent to the exit ramp. When cars are going that slow, it's possible one can suddenly veer into your path. OK, that doesn't excuse what the idiot in the white minivan was doing, but at least you wouldn't have nearly collided with them. BTW, I don't drive a car (don't even have a license), but I'm very familiar with the exact situation you were in as a cyclist. When I'm going faster than the line of cars to my left, I'll generally reduce my relative speed anywhere a car can potentially move into my path. This generally means at intersections. This practice has saved me from collisions numerous times. People in this city are among the worst drivers in the country. Anyone can do anything stupid at any time, so it's wise to allow an out for when that happens.

Yes, it's amazing the kinds of people we allow behind the wheel. Blame the mistaken idea that everyone with a pulse should be driving for that. If we really made the driver's test to weed out those who couldn't handle real-world driving conditions, I'd say about 75% of adults couldn't qualify for a driver's license.

No car accident stories for me obviously, at least not as a driver. I was in 3 accidents as a passenger, one where the driver of a van ran off a highway into a guardrail during a snowstorm. Came out of it with no injuries. Another time I was in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Precis which was rear-ended. That got me a few stitches on the back of my head. Also hit a pothole on my bike at 37 mph, but just ended up with bad road rash.

BTW, I highly recommend a videocam for anyone either driving or cycling in NYC. As this near incident shows, it may come in handy as far as proving who is at fault to the insurance company.

Holy Crap, you live in Flushing?! I lived there up until a few months ago, and I thought people in Flushing area drove like maniacs.

Then I moved to Brooklyn, and was proven how wrong I was. People drive like apes over here. And it's not just the drivers; pedestrians here are crazy, as well. In Flushing, when people jaywalk, they at least have the common courtesy to start running or stay back when they see incoming traffic. In Brooklyn, people don't care if the light is red or if they are crossing a five-lane avenue--they take their sweet time as they cross, all the while staring at the drivers of the incoming vehicles.

Earlier today, there was a Haredi teenager that suddenly decided that it would be hilarious to jump in front of traffic, and five cars almost ended up hitting him, including mine. The little brat was weaving between cars with a smirk on his face.

Burgess · Feb 20, 2013

Very interesting thread here !

Really liked your video recording. Been thinking about this myself.

( a few questions, if i may . . . . )

Do you just have it Always mounted in your automobile, and always running ?

Does it just " Loop " record, until something "eventful" occurs ?

Plug into 12volt cigarette lighter ?

Would this be a task for a GoPro Hero device ?

Thank you for any comments and advice you folks can provide me.

lovecpf
_

enomosiki · Feb 20, 2013

Burgess said:
Very interesting thread here !

Really liked your video recording. Been thinking about this myself.

( a few questions, if i may . . . . )

Do you just have it Always mounted in your automobile, and always running ?

Does it just " Loop " record, until something "eventful" occurs ?

Plug into 12volt cigarette lighter ?

Would this be a task for a GoPro Hero device ?

Thank you for any comments and advice you folks can provide me.

lovecpf
_

Functionality differs depending on the model, but the most important thing is not to buy a counterfeit, or at least get a very good one.

The particular model that I use is a clone of a very good model, so it's not that bad. It actually does some things better than the original, believe it or not. Both the original and the clone are labeled Carcam K2000, and records in 480p or 760p. There are others that claim to record in 1080p and above, but those are upscaled and interpolated.

Yes, it plugs into the 12V cigarette lighter socket. In fact, most models do. Most of them come with built-in rechargeable battery, so that you can unplug them from the socket and they will still be able to function. Some models have automatic startup and shutdown that works fantastically with cars that cut power to the lighter socket. If you have a car that supplies the lighter socket with power only when it is running, you can have the camera plugged into the socket and it will automatically turn on and start recording when you start your car, and stop the recording and power off when you shut down your car. My Jeep has a constant-on lighter socket, so my camera is left recording 24/7.

Yes, most of them, if not all, do record in loop, in segments of 3, 5, 10 and 15 minutes. When the memory card becomes full, the unit will delete the oldest file to keep the recording going. The good models have overlapping recordings, so there is no interruption between the segments. There are some models out there that have crippling glitch where there is a gap of few seconds between the recordings, so you definitely want to avoid those.

The more fancy units come with sensors that detect sudden vibrations, so that they can tag the recorded video clip to prevent it from being deleted from the loop recording.
A few models even have built-in GPS locator that also record your position, as well as speed.

There are two models that I'd recommend; the original Carcam K2000 or the SmartCam HD. K2000 is an excellent basic unit that can take good quality videos, but are hard to find due to the fact that there are clones and counterfeits of it everywhere, the quality of them ranging from good to awful. SmartCam HD, on the other hand, are easier to find. The original SmartCam HD is just rebranded legitimate K2000 unit. The newer version, SmartCam HD 2, I have no idea about, although it seems to be of good quality.

Go get the SmartCam HD. It'll save you the headache that I went through for searching for legit K2000.

dudemar · Feb 21, 2013

jtr1962 said:
I'm glad you avoided a collision here. I just want to say it might have been prudent reducing your speed a bit before reaching the line of nearly stopped cars in the lane adjacent to the exit ramp. When cars are going that slow, it's possible one can suddenly veer into your path. OK, that doesn't excuse what the idiot in the white minivan was doing, but at least you wouldn't have nearly collided with them.

Exactly what he said. In that situation that's all you really can do. I understand your frustration because that kind of driving is a daily occurrence here in the S.F. Bay Area. As a former driving instructor I told my students the goal is to get home in one piece. A hundredth of a second can change your life forever, be it a bad decision on your part or someone else.

Samy · Feb 21, 2013

enomosiki said:
Functionality differs depending on the model, but the most important thing is not to buy a counterfeit, or at least get a very good one.

The particular model that I use is a clone of a very good model, so it's not that bad. It actually does some things better than the original, believe it or not. Both the original and the clone are labeled Carcam K2000, and records in 480p or 760p. There are others that claim to record in 1080p and above, but those are upscaled and interpolated.

Yes, it plugs into the 12V cigarette lighter socket. In fact, most models do. Most of them come with built-in rechargeable battery, so that you can unplug them from the socket and they will still be able to function. Some models have automatic startup and shutdown that works fantastically with cars that cut power to the lighter socket. If you have a car that supplies the lighter socket with power only when it is running, you can have the camera plugged into the socket and it will automatically turn on and start recording when you start your car, and stop the recording and power off when you shut down your car. My Jeep has a constant-on lighter socket, so my camera is left recording 24/7.

Yes, most of them, if not all, do record in loop, in segments of 3, 5, 10 and 15 minutes. When the memory card becomes full, the unit will delete the oldest file to keep the recording going. The good models have overlapping recordings, so there is no interruption between the segments. There are some models out there that have crippling glitch where there is a gap of few seconds between the recordings, so you definitely want to avoid those.

The more fancy units come with sensors that detect sudden vibrations, so that they can tag the recorded video clip to prevent it from being deleted from the loop recording.
A few models even have built-in GPS locator that also record your position, as well as speed.

There are two models that I'd recommend; the original Carcam K2000 or the SmartCam HD. K2000 is an excellent basic unit that can take good quality videos, but are hard to find due to the fact that there are clones and counterfeits of it everywhere, the quality of them ranging from good to awful. SmartCam HD, on the other hand, are easier to find. The original SmartCam HD is just rebranded legitimate K2000 unit. The newer version, SmartCam HD 2, I have no idea about, although it seems to be of good quality.

Go get the SmartCam HD. It'll save you the headache that I went through for searching for legit K2000.

How do you find the battery drain with the 24/7 recording in your jeep?

I have tried a few cheap $25-$50 chinese/ebay car cams and had very limited success. I have found a very good car cam made by Kaiser Baas. It's a trued 720p HD camera with all the goodies. I've been using them for about 7 months. I have one in my Jeep, my wife's car and i have 2 in my work car (1x forward facing and 1x rear facing). I also just bought one for my dad's car. I have found this model/brand to be really good for the price ($65 or so).

The best car cam out there appears to be the Blackvue DR400g which records in true 1080p, has a built in GPS to record a speed and time/date stamp, has all the vibration sensors etc. It's also very small. The catch is that it's about $300 or so but apparently quite worth it. I plan to get one when i can eventually afford it.

cheers

enomosiki · Feb 21, 2013

Samy said:
How do you find the battery drain with the 24/7 recording in your jeep?

I have tried a few cheap $25-$50 chinese/ebay car cams and had very limited success. I have found a very good car cam made by Kaiser Baas. It's a trued 720p HD camera with all the goodies. I've been using them for about 7 months. I have one in my Jeep, my wife's car and i have 2 in my work car (1x forward facing and 1x rear facing). I also just bought one for my dad's car. I have found this model/brand to be really good for the price ($65 or so).

The best car cam out there appears to be the Blackvue DR400g which records in true 1080p, has a built in GPS to record a speed and time/date stamp, has all the vibration sensors etc. It's also very small. The catch is that it's about $300 or so but apparently quite worth it. I plan to get one when i can eventually afford it.

cheers

Negligible. I got it towards the end of summer, and have left it continuously recording throughout fall and winter, and haven't had so much as a hiccup with the Jeep's battery.

I paid around $70 for mine, and it does everything that it needs to. One of the biggest reasons that I like it is that it has a really wide angle lens, at whopping 140 degrees.

That BlackVue sounds interesting. Low-profile, at the very least. It's a little expensive, but I'm going to look into one when I can afford it, which won't be any time soon since I'm trying to save up money for LX2 Ultra. It's too bad that it doesn't come with a built-in screen, though, because the ones with screen can be used to align the camera to the window, not to mention used as immediate visual/audio evidence in front of cops.

Chauncey Gardiner · Feb 21, 2013

Clueless and impatient said the kettle to the pot.

~ Chance

Almost got into a car accident...

enomosiki

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jtr1962

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Steve K

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enomosiki

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Burgess

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enomosiki

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dudemar

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Samy

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enomosiki

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Chauncey Gardiner

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