Here's a TV news broadcast about a Wisconsin cyclist who records close calls on video.
After lacking evidence in several near misses, Jeff Frings of Milwaukee started shooting video of his bicycle rides with a helmet cam and a rear-facing handlebar cam.
Capturing his near-misses on camera, he shows the video footage to police as proof a motorist violated Wisconsin's law that requires drivers give bicyclists a 3-foot clearance when passing. His experiences are no different than many of ours. He told the TV reporter:
“I have people violating the law and putting my life in jeopardy almost every time I ride.”
Some success
Frings, who posts his videos at Jeff's Bike Blog, has had some success with his mission, as some policemen have issued tickets based on his videos. Other times, he runs into official indifference, or ignorance.
Police in one city told him that bicyclists had no right to the traffic lane, a ruling backed up in a three-page letter written by the city prosecutor, according to the news report.
Reading his blog, I see that Frings' efforts have paid off there, however. Police from Brookline now say they've issued a citation in one incident. If the case goes to court, the city attorney who earlier agreed that cyclists don't belong in the traffic lane will be the one to prosecute the case.
It's good to see that one person can make an impact in helping to make the roads safer for bicycles.
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