Category: UpRide Stories

Everyone knows that at a red light, you’re required to stop—it’s one of the most basic rules of the road. But how can a driver’s attempt at intimidation ever be justified when the cyclist is simply following the law? This type of aggressive behavior could have ended much worse, but in moments like these, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and ride with eyes behind.

I was commuting home from work and was stopped in the bike lane at a red light. This bicycle lane is a right turn on red — a driver can use the lane to turn right if there is no cyclist present. In this case, the driver should wait in the lane to my left. I commute through an urban environment with many cars, and I want to be prepared in case the worst happens. This is the worst that has happened so far.

I feel most vulnerable as a cyclist when riding on roads with narrow and unprotected bike lanes. Bicycle safety is taken fairly seriously by local governments in the Bay area, but car is definitely still king. My commute goes through a mix of very good and pretty bad bicycle lanes and bicycle boulevards.

Protect bicycle lanes from cars so that an interaction like the one I had is not possible. San Jose recently made some excellent protected bicycle lanes along 10th and 11th streets that have really improved my safety while cycling, a decision that was not popular with drivers. I was really happy to see the city go ahead anyways. I hope to see more of the same throughout the city and surrounding areas.

I called the police non-emergency line the following day. They declined to take a report when I described what happened.

I’m glad incidents like this can receive some notice.

Always bike defensively when on the road and make yourself obnoxiously visible.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

A driver sped directly in front of UpRider C in the bike lane, going the wrong way against traffic. This reckless behaviour could have ended in disaster if UpRider C hadn’t swerved just in time. Situations like these are a reminder of why recording your ride is essential—you never know what might happen on the road.

I was on a bike path on my way home after visiting my Mom. I always record my ride in urban areas after my friends were hit by cars. For my friend that recorded being hit, the insurance claim was much easier.

I feel most vulnerable whenever cars are nearby.

Enforce traffic law for a start. A minority of car drivers make things extremely unsafe for pedestrians. Driving should be a privilege, it isn’t.

Oakland currently doesn’t have a way to report these crimes.

Always record your ride in urban areas. A camera is minuscule fraction of the cost compared to surgery.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

A driver tries to avoid traffic by moving into the next lane, but in doing so, clips the UpRider with their side mirror. Taking shortcuts isn’t worth it if it means neglecting safety and awareness of your surroundings.

This section of Hampton Rd between Wray Av and South St is just plain awful. It is badly designed and needs an overhaul. I record my ride because motorists find it just a bit too easy to blame cyclists for poor road behaviour. Having video also keeps me accountable to a higher standard too.

Wet weather. Visibility is reduced and drivers seem to throw caution out their tightly wound-up windows. I always use my lights when it’s wet.

Accumulating and feeding back hard data to local councils about road conditions and cyclist safety. Great cyclist and driver education is indispensable. Councils usually only make changes to road layouts if someone dies. Nobody wants that to be the data threshold for improving cycling infrastructure. UpRide provides a great global platform that local councils can access hard data any time they like.

I did report this to the police.

UpRide is an awesome global database of real data that grows on a daily basis.

Get all the right gear to see and be seen, get educated and always check up on the road rules and regulations. Get a Cycliq camera because you never know when it is going to pay for itself.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

Do you have an incident you’d like to share to raise awareness? Join the movement—by sharing your incident, you’re helping make cycling safer, one video at a time.

If you have any questions regarding the uploading process, please reach out to the UpRide team.

Traffic rules apply to everyone on the road. But when an UpRider encounters a driver pressuring them to break the rules, what do they do? Naturally, they stick to the same road rules that apply to everyone. This driver could use a reminder that patience is a virtue.

This was a nothing special sunny afternoon ride. I have been recording my rides for years because I’ve had too many friends killed while riding and then, contemptuously, blamed afterwards for the accident. I don’t see why I shouldn’t do what I can to spare my family from that at least.

Early morning training rides during the Tradie GP hour.

Treat road deaths with presumptive manslaughter charges and commensurate prison sentences. Ideally motorists would be required to spend at least a month commuting by bicycle before qualifying for a license.

Yes. There’s an on-line process in the ACT that is relatively painless. The advice that I have received from ACT Pol subsequently is that they would be taking action.

I think it’s a useful resource, potentially, that i wish was used more by other cyclists. It should give transport policy makers and law enforcement agencies pause for thought but at the moment I think that it hugely understates the scale and scope of the problem.

Use cameras, know your rights, keep going.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

While riding in the bike lane, a cyclist experiences a close call that could have been easily avoided if the driver had respected boundaries. Instead, the cyclist was squeezed into the gutter. When confronted, the driver neither cared nor apologised. What happened to basic respect for others?

I have been cycling for over 35 years and have had a number of close calls and incidents involving various vehicles/animals/pedestrians. This prompted me to get a camera over 10 years ago as soon as they became small enough to fit on a bike, and record all my rides. Because as they saying goes, “If you don’t have proof it never happened, nor can it be proven in court.”

Riding in wet weather, alot of drivers just seem to go into autopilot and not drive to the conditions, and distracted drivers on their phones.

In New Zealand, it is very much a car driven culture on the roads, the Government needs to push for more safety campaigns regarding cyclists, as there are alot more of us on the roads now, especially with the introduction of E-Bikes and Scooters.

It was reported to the Police and the Company. Police were helpful, but in the end they only got a warning and a $150 fine. The Company was very much “Oh well, shit happens”, stay off the road in future.

I like it, knowing that there are cameras out there and more people reporting incidents, can only make for a better experience.

Get a camera, not every country has a cycling culture and be hyper aware of your surroundings at all times.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

An UpRider narrowly avoids disaster as a Hilux veers into the bike lane without checking its mirrors. Simple actions like checking mirrors and blind spots can mean the difference between life and death.

I was doing my usual commute work from home. I’ve had so many close calls recently doing my commute, which is why I decided to purchase the Cycliq cameras and always record my ride to and from work.

I feel most vulnerable riding on high speed roads and in the inner city, even though there are bike lanes.

Motor vehicle drivers need to be reminded of the laws around cyclists, such as: 1m distance on roads with speeds up to 60km/h, 1.5m distance for speeds greater than 60km/h, rules around crossing green painted bike lanes, just a general reminder that drivers don’t always have to overtake cyclists, particularly when they are travelling close to the speed limit.

I didn’t report it, as I wasn’t injured and I given I communicated with the driver, I believe he learned a lesson. I have reported some instances where drivers are deliberately being reckless and intimidating, but I think that was the case in this instance.

I think it’s great, but I’d like to hear about some of the penalties drivers receive for their bad driving. My only concern is that despite collecting and reporting incidents, nothing is actually being done about them.

Always anticipate bad driving. Ride defensively at all time.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

During a routine ride, a cyclist experiences a harsh collision when a driver speeds through an intersection without yielding. Was this a dangerous decision made out of impatience, or did the driver simply not see the cyclist? Fortunately, the cyclist was equipped with a light and dashcam to capture the entire incident.

I was covering my 2023 Ironman Oregon training by covering my routinary Saturday morning long ride. The routine includes riding my TT bike around the county side of the city, carrying the necessary cautionary devices such bike lights and recording cameras.

As soon as I’m out of my garage there is always a vulnerability concern that increases as the roads start reaching the transition between urban and rural areas, where larger, rural vehicles are less minded to share roads with bicycle riders.

Improve education regarding the need of sharing the road with bicycles in a more consciously and safety manner. Make this requirement a training and gating item for getting a driver license/permit.

Yes. Reports to police and insurance parties as requirements for further litigation process. I’m still waiting for our lawyer to reach an agreement with the driver’s party, looking for at least coverage on all medical and personal expenses; it’s expected to reach closure by end of August.

A great forum for documenting and exposing the current vulnerability of bicycle riders.

It’s not about if it’s going to happen or not, but rather when will happen: Get informed, minded, equipped and ready for take proper action for when it happens.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

An UpRider has captured every cyclist’s nightmare: the moment of a crash that left them stranded on the side of the road—a situation no one wants to experience. Despite claiming not to remember the incident, the driver was cited for failure to report a crash after being reported to the police.

With too many close calls from drivers, I felt it necessary to document my rides. Therefore, in the event of an incident, I have video proof of what happened.

All the time! With the routes I take, about 50% of the time, I’m on a road with no bike lane. However, most close calls have been when I approach an intersection and the drivers just cut me off.

Obey the traffic laws. Use proper hand signals. Have local governments build bike lanes.

Yes, the local law enforcement responded to the incident. The driver was eventually located and cited for “failure to report a crash”.

It is a great platform that has room for improvement.

Keep your head on a swivel and acknowledge other riders as they pass. They may be the only ones to come to your help if something happens.

We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share your stories and experience as a cyclist please reach out to the UpRide team.

Grésy-sur-Aix, France

Thanks to the UpRider’s Fly12, they were able to capture the moment a driver committed a classic roundabout error by overtaking before giving way. Incidents like these are easily preventable if basic traffic rules are followed.

Since my first accident, 3 years ago, I record every time I ride even if it only provided me the pleasure to see the driver’s face when he sees the camera.

Designate lanes exclusively for bikes or two-wheelers. Inform pedestrians to walk on the left side to face oncoming silent vehicles, as pedestrians are the second most dangerous hazard cyclists encounter. Most importantly, authorities should always treat road traffic incidents (RTIs) involving cyclists as serious events, even if there are no severe injuries.