by Rachel Cernansky, Boulder, Colorado on 02. 1.11

Image: Evening Standard

The road can be a dangerous, even deadly place for cyclists, and battles between cars and bikes have a sneaky way of turning out in the driver's favor. But by riding to work with a camera built into his helmet, London's Ben Porter was able to prosecute a driver who'd cut him off and then got out of his van to yell at Ben about it—and video evidence helped get the driver a fine of £300 and five points on his license.

Cycle-cams aren't new, but they're steadily on the rise, and cases like Ben Porter's go to show just how useful they can be. (Although the BBC story does point out that, despite the hard evidence provided by video footage, "cyclists say the police's attitude to their footage varies between forces and even between police stations.")

Here's BBC reporting on the rise of cycle-cams:

Road safety for cyclists is no simple issue, but helmet cameras hold some promise as a means to avoid blaming cyclists for accidents or even mishaps that aren't their fault.

Source: treehugger.com