Names, logos, vehicle numbers, etc.
People see company name, think money, run into them and scream whiplash.

 

I believe ya, but have you ever known anyone to actually get a ticket for that?

 

Nope but thats about the same as getting a ticket for texting while driving.

 

Indiana has been aggressively going after people who cut off trucks in traffic as well as truckers who bully their way down the road. A couple of intersections near where I work, we get drivers who have their rigs ALL the way on the left (my right) side of the road. One guy I work with slid into one on icy pavement. His POS car was worth maybe $500 but the company bought him a fairly nice used car to replace it. Most of the truckers are pretty good but we get some who really shouldn't be on the road with a moped, much less a n 18 wheel truck.

Years ago I had a way to deal with people who cut in front of me. I had a 1957 Chevy 3/4 ton truck. It had at least 10 different shades of red where it had paint. It had the hooks holding the tailgate shut. Bondo in many places. A large wide plank of barn oak for a front bumper and the cab leaned due to rust.

This was before radials were common and the old bias ply tires would really squall when they locked up. Idiots would cut in front of me and I'd reach down and grab the hand brake to lock the rear wheels while engaging the clutch. The tires would start screaming, the tail gate would rattle and clank and there would be this huge grill and bumper coming up behind them. They tended to move quick.

 

LOL. Love it.
One of my favorite vehicles was a 3/4 ton '73 Suburban with a 454 that had come from NJ and had massive rust. What wasn't rusted was a tanish yellow and I don't think it had a totally straight panel on it. All that was that way when I got it but people never seemed to get in my way when I was driving it because they knew that one more dent wouldn't even be noticed on that heap and that if they tangled with it, they'd be on the losing end. Always felt safe with that rusty mass surrounding me.

 

does anybody on this site actually own (or use) a Trucker Cam?

 

black box camera

looks a little smaller, the unit is less expensive but the site seems gimmicky

ultimately this thing is more useful than an air horn...by the time you blow that it's usually too late

 

Trucker Cam seems to be out of business, their website is gone

two weekends ago I was pulling a utility trailer up to Saratoga doing 60-65, minding my own business in the right lane with plenty of distance between me and the next car, a red sedan that was travelling well under the limit. an exit loomed ahead and I checked my mirror to move over to the center lane.

just as I am checking, a car in the LEFT lane suddently veers across the center lane, across my lane, and onto the exit

I blow my airhorn and scowl at this moron but in those seconds notice that the red sedan has now dropped to 30 mph and is "thinking" about taking the exit. at this point I'm on the brakes hard with my air horn going but the woman driver is completely oblivious and actually trying to get back into the right lane. well my bumper must have been inches from her car and I thought I was going to be in one hell of an accident as a result.

since I first posted this thread, the cost of these trip recording cameras has really dropped but the quality seems to have dropped as well

before I start towing my boat around this summer I have to get one of these cameras...other drivers can not be counted on to be focused on driving, much less act rationally. If I cream one of these distracted people there will be serious damage done and I don't want to pay for it!

 

Probably because there are 100 others on ebay for $39.95. The autumn after you originally posted this thread, someone else on here posted about 'dash cams' and we got one. Saved our butts once already too!

 

What kind did you get?
I watched a video clip on one of the Ford sites where a guy had his dash cam going, a lady cut in front of him and actually clipped him. They pulled off to the shoulder, he took it off the dash and filmed the damage to her car and his truck and her ranting at him, he said when he showed it to the cop, it made all the difference.

 

It doesn't take much googling to find all sorts of dash camera video on the internet.
It doesn't necessarly have to be of a crash you are involved in to prove useful.

Quite a bit seem to origionate from Russia.

 

I don't remember right off the top of my head and there's not much for markings on the camera itself. If I can find the box I'll report back. Takes a VERY good video tho and it has self-contained batteries if you want to use it somewhere other than a vehicle. It also can be motion activated if you want to use it for a security camera. I think it stores around 6 hours of video then starts recording over the beginning again.

 

I was thinking about getting one of these and dash mounting it for my constant road trips.

 

yah, I see all of those on Amazon but the reviews are very mixed

$40 doesn't seem like enough to get a quality unit

 

I have a GoPro Hero2 camera,
mounted in my truck and had to use a skeleton case so I could power it from the USB cable since the battery only last about 1 1/2 hours, I have the optional monitor that mounts to the rear of the camera.

I have a 32gb SD card in mine.

There is an optional WFi back I also want to get.

The pictures are in Hi Def.

I have the Motorsports Edition and have about $500.00 invested less warranty.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero2-cameras/


This I caught with my Canon 12mp camera I always carry at all times,
I was going down I-10 Kellogg Hill and had to slide from the #1 lane to take the next off ramp as I pulled right in behind this guy, I moved over as quickly as possible to so I was not behind him, his load projected probably 5-6 feet behind the trailer.

I cringe when I see something like that, it looks like he might have had a flag at one time but something this dangerous should have had a banner.
If I did not have to take another freeway I would have tried to get a company name and report to his dispatcher before somebody got killed.

As you can see from the skid marks this is the spot where people suddenly realize they wanted to pull off and jam on their brakes at the last second.

Even at 70 MPH someone is always on your tail on this freeway.





I am thinking about making a video showing how people drive here in California.

Jim