Seems a bit excessive to get a video camera mounted onto your scooter/bike…but in Taiwan it might be the smartest thing to do. In Canada I wouldn’t bother with it since when someone hits you and it’s there fault the first thing they usually say is “Sorry about that, totally my fault.” , but here in Taiwan it’s more likely to be “My light was still orange not red…you pay me…pay me now!”
I read about this accident on another forum. A woman riding a bike keeps her camera on most of the time…and just resets it when she gets home. Since every biker has an accident sooner or later…it’d be nice to have clear cut evidence of the other person’s fault when it does happen.
Plus if I had a camera on my bike…then everytime I saw a pig (police officer)…I could follow it for a few blocks and within a month or two I’d have hours of footage of pigs breaking the law.
Mordeth -
Watched the vid again a few times.
This is a really dangerous situation. The car is in the “Diamond Lane” which is the 2-passenger + pnly car pool lane. Many jokers will get in this lane to avoid regular traffic and then shoot back over into the normal lanes when 1) they get close to where they want to exit 2) they see a CHP cruiser watching the lane. Its a very common accident as they suddenly jump back over into regular traffic. It looks like he locked up his brakes and started to spin when the biker hit him.
Just another dumb-a** behind the wheel.
She lucky she had all her crash suit on and lived.
I was crossing the road today on a green walking man when a cop on a bike a) didn’t stop for me and b). went through the red light.
I shouted at him but he pretended not to hear.
I usually take a digital camera with me incase of accidents and stuff, just like TC.
You know when sometimes you horn at someone for getting to close or being being a complete twat and they take offence and stare at you or say “gamma?” Then suddenly you find yourself in an argument?
Well, just get you digital camera out and take picture of them. For some reason the Taiwanese hate this and they usually bugger off when you take pictures of them.
[quote=“Dangermouse”]
You know when sometimes you horn at someone for getting to close or being being a complete twat and they take offence and stare at you or say “gamma?” Then suddenly you find yourself in an argument?
Well, just get you digital camera out and take picture of them. For some reason the Taiwanese hate this and they usually bugger off when you take pictures of them.[/quote]I do this all the time. Sometimes they ask why I photographed them, and I say; “Well, it’s easier than getting your name and address. I’ll give the photos to the thugs I’m sending around to kill you. I’d hate it if they got the wrong guy…”
Another line I use is; “I’m an anthropologist doing research into neanderthal tribes still living in Taiwan. I’m going to do skull measurements from the photos because I think you might be a long-lost member.”
So… has anybody seen this kind of cameras in Taiwan?
I have a small-ish digital camcorder, but it’s still too big and heavy to mount it on the scooter.
It has analog A/V input though, so I guess it should work with one of those small helmet/bike cameras… if only I could find them here.
Go to any of the major computer malls and you’ll find a few stores selling camera/security equipment in the basement. A guy in Taichung city showed me a wireless camera/solid state recorder combo that had a tiny X10-style 2.4ghz rechargeable camera paired with a recorder that takes flash cards. The recorder automatically writes over old material. I’m sure if you had cash to burn you could just clip the camera to the front, recorder in your luggage space and recharge overnight.
[quote=“Andre”]So… has anybody seen this kind of cameras in Taiwan?
I have a small-ish digital camcorder, but it’s still too big and heavy to mount it on the scooter.
It has analog A/V input though, so I guess it should work with one of those small helmet/bike cameras… if only I could find them here.[/quote]
I bought a small CCD camera, it fits nicely behind a lid on the front of my scooter.
I ran the wires to the glove compartment (or whatever that is), where I keep the battery and the camcorder.
So far it’s working pretty nicely. The sound is terrible though - at high speed I can’t even hear the engine, it’s only wind noise.
Oh, and I have to unscrew it each time I get home, I’m afraid to leave it on the bike. [/quote]
Could you put the camera inside the headlight? That would solve the wind noise problem…and no one would notice it in there…so you could probably leave it there…maybe get a new cover for the headlight for a clearer pic.
Yeah, I was thinking about this, but I didn’t have time (or money) to do it yet.
The headlight cover definitely needs changing.
Camera + battery + charger = 5100NT.
The camera itself was selling for 3300, and I guess you can run it on the scooter’s battery (it needs 12V).
I didn’t wand to risk it though… and my battery is dead anyway, I guess there’s a short circuit somewhere.
And, of course, you need a camcorder with analog input.
The first time… he rolled over the hood… got bashed up pretty good, leg shredded to shit… not to mention his [girl friend’s] bike. As he picked him self up off the asphault… he looked up to see that the guy actually stopped to see if he was ok. The guy rolled his window down, poked his head out to check the aftermath… and saw that my buddy was standing there… the guy took this as “ok, your good enough to stand… that means your ok…” So the punk drove off.
The second time… my buddy rolled over the hood – once again. This time however, he wasnt thinking pain… He was thinking that the guy would drive off just like the last one did… so as soon as he hit the asphault, he got right up – as if it were some kind of a football drill – and ran over to the driver as fast as it took him to hit the asphault. The driver was babbling some shit indicating that he was about to drive off and not take responsibilty… so my buddy, pissed off as he already was, grabbed the guy and pulled him clean out of the car – as if it were another football drill… slammed him up against the car and held him there till the cops arrived. My buddy ended up with a broken ankle and a totally totalled ride. When the cops arrived… they surveyed the scene, assessed the damage, etc… and told the driver to take my buddy to the hospital and pay for all damages… which he later did.
I thought it was a bit strange that the cops told the driver to take my buddy to the hospital (as opposed to calling up an ambulance for him)… afterall, it endangered the life of the driver heh… but I guess thats how things go here…
So yes… cams would be nice in such cases… unless of course there are scenes you would like to hide
Perhaps a micro cam (or two) somewhere on or in the helmet might work as well… but that might look a bit silly… or not work out too well, if it’s no longer on your head after the fact.
