Hat Cam Reasons

asommerville

asommerville

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I am increasingly interested in the number of people who are now hacking out etc in hat cams and I am about two clicks away from getting one myself. My reasoning being drivers and loose dogs - these two seem to be getting worse!

Am I being paranoid and should just do what I have done for 20 odd years - ie hack out without one or are they worth the investment?
 
I have one and used it for fun things but I always felt weird using it when hacking in company (and I only hack in company as I don’t really like it)
 
I think it's part of life now, SO many incidents involving bad drivers and loose dogs that it's essential to have one as cameras don't lie where as people do. Imagine how angry you'd be if you were involved in an incident and the police couldn't do more as it was your word against theirs, I know I would be fuming. I have a dual dashcam in my transit van for the same reason, I've lost count of the amount of times I have nearly been driven in to through no fault of my own, even stationary at the side of the road and then verbally abused or threatened all because I drive a white transit van and it's not even for commercial use, just private use.
I would encourage all of my customers that when they ride their horse use a hat cam. I am in the Pass Wide and Slow group on facebook and it's sad to see the amount of people who post telling you of their accident or near miss and the first thing they say is I must get a hat cam, so please, do buy one, Oz (Saddler)
 
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cremedemonthe said:
I think it's part of life now, SO many incidents involving bad drivers and loose dogs that it's essential to have one as cameras don't lie where as people do. Imagine how angry you'd be if you were involved in an incident and the police couldn't do more as it was your word against theirs, I know I would be fuming. I have a dual dashcam in my transit van for the same reason, I've lost count of the amount of times I have nearly been driven in to through no fault of my own, even stationary at the side of the road and then verbally abused or threatened all because I drive a white transit van and it's not even for commercial use, just private use.
I would encourage all of my customers to ride their horse and use a hat cam. I am in the Pass Wide and Slow group on facebook and it's sad to see the amount of people who post telling you of their accident or near miss and the first thing they say is I must get a hat cam, so please, do buy one, Oz (Saddler)
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I use a phone tucked inside the orange band on my hat. It picks up everything I need.
 
I no longer hack on roads without one. I have one that films front and back. The rear facing one has picked up the worst of the behaviour - tailgating, revving at me from behind, scarily close overtakes (which then appear on the front camera) ... I have reported bad driving to companies and sent one off to the police. All with good responses, I have to say. I just really don't want me or my horses to die on the road. I find drivers are better when they notice the camera - which I have highlighted in reflective tape so you can't miss it!"
 
I bought one originally for fun rides but then upgraded to a DC1 and use it all the time for hacking. It's surprising the difference it makes even when it's not on! I've had drivers apologise profusely whilst looking straight at it and I'm sure they wouldn't have even acknowledged they had done anything wrong if they hadn't spotted it.

I have also sent a download of a driver to the police and the driver was then issued with a warning but if I was alone they would have been unable to do anything without an independent witness.
 
how do you find the picture quality between those 2 BB? I have an oldish Yi 4k that I've tried to resurrect for bike/horse but it's very much struggling on the battery front these days.

I will say Im also not entirely happy attaching them to a helmet but there's more mounting options on the bike 🤣
 
ester said:
how do you find the picture quality between those 2 BB? I have an oldish Yi 4k that I've tried to resurrect for bike/horse but it's very much struggling on the battery front these days.

I will say Im also not entirely happy attaching them to a helmet but there's more mounting options on the bike 🤣
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There is not too much difference to be honest, wait till I show you 🙂
 
ester said:
just as there's quite a big diff in £ . .
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Yeah there is and I must admit I dont like the dc2 as much because of the connectivity, I have had to wait till I am home to download even though it uses its own wifi, it drops the wifi connection.

Did you know that you can send it away and get a new battery?

I broke my dc1 charging port it fell out. And I sent it away and got it replaced, £40 if I remember right
 
Barton Bounty said:
Yeah there is and I must admit I dont like the dc2 as much because of the connectivity, I have had to wait till I am home to download even though it uses its own wifi, it drops the wifi connection.

Did you know that you can send it away and get a new battery?

I broke my dc1 charging port it fell out. And I sent it away and got it replaced, £40 if I remember right
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Mine is a yi, it has removal batteries but new ones hasn’t fixed it.
 
I've had one about 2 weeks and a new high viz vest with a camera sign on the back. Wow are drivers behaving! You can almost see them think oh **** she's got a camera on as they approach. Some of these are locals who never bothered to get to 10mph before and the Tesco delivery guys - who have actually beeped at me in the past - are now respectfully crawling past.
 
I have one after too many incidents with loose dogs. It’s the techalogic DC2 and I wear it on a shoulder mount which makes it more prominent. Only issue is that it doesn’t turn to where I am looking in the same way that it does when it’s mounted on my helmet and therefore follows line of sight.
 
I’m another owner of a Techalogic DC2, which mounts on the side of my hat recording forwards and backwards. I also wear a hi-viz tabard with “Camera in use” written on it to avoid any doubt. The footage downloads to an app on my phone and iPad in short seactions to avoid having to work through a whole ride in the event of any kind of incident. I think the presence of the camera has made a difference to driver behaviour, so well worth it.
 
I have the DC 1 mounted on my helmet, wouldn't hack out without it. I haven't had a problem with dogs since I've had it but I have reported quite a few drivers. I never ask them to slow down or react if they pass too close/fast, I just call out the reg number and report to the police. I wear hi viz but nothing to tell them I'm wearing a camera, I'd rather they get a letter from the police!
 
I use a GoPro Hero (2018 model) for fun but it definitely has perks when it comes to cars! They definitely take more care when passing or letting me cross the road!
 
Barlow said:
I have one after too many incidents with loose dogs. It’s the techalogic DC2 and I wear it on a shoulder mount which makes it more prominent. Only issue is that it doesn’t turn to where I am looking in the same way that it does when it’s mounted on my helmet and therefore follows line of sight.
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I wear mine on my helmet and have thought a few times about getting a shoulder mount as I'm a swivel head when I ride and I'm always looking around so it can make people feel a bit seasick 😂
 
asommerville said:
I am increasingly interested in the number of people who are now hacking out etc in hat cams and I am about two clicks away from getting one myself. My reasoning being drivers and loose dogs - these two seem to be getting worse!

Am I being paranoid and should just do what I have done for 20 odd years - ie hack out without one or are they worth the investment?
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Thete well worth the investment. Same with dashcams, quite frankly I don't understand why more people don't have them in their cars.

If I was getting another hat cam I'd prefer the bullet type with front and back and I've said it's going to be part of my 'contingency fund' when I get another horse. I like BB's one that she wears. It looks good quality and is well worth the investment, I'm sure you'd not be without now BB?
 
Birker2020 said:
Thete well worth the investment. Same with dashcams, quite frankly I don't understand why more people don't have them in their cars.

If I was getting another hat cam I'd prefer the bullet type with front and back and I've said it's going to be part of my 'contingency fund' when I get another horse. I like BB's one that she wears. It looks good quality and is well worth the investment, I'm sure you'd not be without now BB?
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I wouldnt, its absolutely brilliant! The battery lasts two hours so usually long enough but i think extra batteries can be bought however, I haven’t done that yet, I might if I go for fun rides etc
 
I wear one for hacking now, drivers round me are generally respectful but one of my horses is sharp and after a couple of near misses with idiot drivers I wanted the footage incase of worst case scenario I ever needed it for an insurance liability case.

There’s also one particular local idiot who clearly has a chip on his shoulder about horses and continually passes me too fast, squeezing past on narrow lanes or speeding through puddles. If he continues to do so I will build a file of evidence from my hat cam and report him to the police.

I haven’t noticed drivers slowing down any more since wearing the camera but as I say most are respectful anyway and I don’t advertise I’m wearing it with a tabard etc. (mostly because I want to catch said idiot out!)
 
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