Tag: Stories

As we reflect on the last few years of UpRide.cc, we are so proud of the community of UpRider’s for posting over 10,000 incidents and together, helping to make cycling safer. With many of our users uploading over 20 incidents to UpRide, we’re glad to see the platform performing its desired task as a cycling safety hub and awareness platform.

Let us introduce our friend Steven.

Steve lives in South Australia, and has been involved in numerous incidents on the road. Thankfully Steve always rides with a Cycliq Fly12 light and camera, so has evidence of all of the incidents.

“I first decided to get a Cycliq camera when a bus squeezed me against a kerb as they turned left and I broke the boa dial on my brand new shoes on the kerb, but I had no evidence of the incident.”

“My bike was fine, even after a ride with a near death experience I’m still riding my bike, and that’s great!”

Record your ride. Make it count.

“I first decided to get a Cycliq camera when a bus squeezed me against a kerb as they turned left and I broke the boa dial on my brand new shoes on the kerb, but I had no evidence of the incident. Now, I commute to work in some fairly heavily trafficked roads, and am resigned to the fact that I may need the evidence to show what happened. I think the more drivers that get held to account for their irresponsible actions the more that word would get around.” 

“ I think UpRide is a very useful tool. I use it to be able to send police a link so they can view a video without having to email, Dropbox or give them a memory stick. It’s also fun to show friends and colleagues what kinds of idiocy exist on the roads. UpRide is better than just showing them clips on my phone, as the map really gives some context to the number of incidents.  ”

“Driver education. Teach them that impatient drivers are what makes cycling unsafe. Bike lanes are great, but they aren’t everywhere, so drivers need to learn to look for and respect cyclists as road users. Something like the “think bike” ads for motorcycles would be good, but it needs to emphasise that cyclists are 1. Legal, 2. Don’t break the law anywhere near as often as drivers, 3. Really vulnerable.”

“An ad portraying impatient drivers as ‘selfish pricks’ like our drink drive ads would be good. Sadly though, while all police officers agree drink driving and using a phone are offences that are intolerable, my experience suggests to me that they don’t all feel the same about offences that endanger cyclists.”

“I can only speak for the process in South Australia. In the event of an injury or damage, less than $3,000 reporting is mandatory. Close passes that don’t result in injury are voluntary. 
I take the footage to a police station, and file a report outlining the incident, showing the desk officer the footage which they then included in their report. I usually get a report number.

Something that makes it particularly hard is that reporting a non-mandatory incident can normally be done online, however, there is a single checkbox that asks, “was anyone injured or was there video of the incident” as soon as this box is checked, the auto response is “This must be reported in person at a police station”. 

Another issue with reporting in person is that the there is no easy way to actually get the footage to the police officer to include in their report, the high resolution videos are still quite large and on more than one occasion I have crashed their inbox with a 40 second video! UpRide is good for this, as I can send a link. “

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.

As we reflect on the last few years of UpRide.cc, we are so proud of the community of UpRider’s for posting over 10,000 incidents and together, helping to make cycling safer. With many of our users uploading over 20 incidents to UpRide, we’re glad to see the platform performing its desired task as a cycling safety hub and awareness platform.

Let us introduce our friend Paul.

Paul hails from Taunton in England, and recently suffered a nasty crash in which he required surgery and 2 of the 3 bikes involved in the crash were a write off. Thankfully Paul is due to make a full recovery and there’s been some positive correspondence with law enforcement since the event. Paul is an avid cyclist, and says he always rides with a Cycliq Fly12 light and camera.

“I had an email from the police this weekend who have confirmed that based on the video provided there is sufficient evidence to take further action against the driver. We are so pleased to have had the video evidence which is also supporting the insurance claim and clearly hard to dispute.”

“I can see cameras becoming commonplace with cyclists, just as they have with motorists.”

Record your ride. Make it count.

“I was on a ride last year when a friend was involved in a serious collision with a van. When the police arrived the first thing they asked was did anyone have the incident recorded – which we didn’t – but it got us all thinking about this and the benefits of doing so. My friend and I both bought a Fly12.” 

“It’s interesting looking at the incidents and seeing some awful incidents. Sometimes a bit scary!”

“Educate both drivers and cyclists to respect each other. As well as careless and bad driving, I see some dreadful cycling too which unfortunately gives cyclists a bad reputation too.”

“The police were called to the incident along with 2 ambulances as the vehicle took out 3 cyclists. Statements were taken roadside and the video uploaded to them.”

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.

As we reflect on the last few years of UpRide.cc, we are so proud of the community of UpRider’s for posting over 10,000 incidents and together, helping to make cycling safer. With many of our users uploading over 20 incidents to UpRide, we’re glad to see the platform performing its desired task as a cycling safety hub and awareness platform.

Let us introduce Rob!
Rob is an avid cyclist from Rotorua in New Zealand, and has uploaded over 30 incidents from his home town.

“UpRide is a brilliant service.  It provides a good record of the difficulties that cyclists face on the roads.”

Record your ride. Make it count.

“I record my ride so that there is video evidence if a serious incident occurs.  It is useful to review footage, to see how I can improve my riding to ensure incidents happen less frequently.”

“UpRide is a brilliant service.  It provides a good record of the difficulties that cyclists face on the roads and it shows where ‘black spots’ of frequent incidents are. I hope the data can be used by third parties to improve driver and rider training and road layouts.” 

“I think the most important thing that can be done to improve safety for cyclists is to educate drivers about sharing the road with more vulnerable road users. Segregated cycleways are ideal, but costly. Nearly all of the close calls I’ve experienced are at junctions. I have spoken to drivers after they fail to give way at roundabouts, and on two occasions they said that they don’t have to give way to a bicycle. I don’t think they were being obtuse; they genuinely believed that this was the rule. There are also some drivers that simply seem to perceive that roads are for cars only.”

“I have only reported one driver to the police, although I have wanted to report many more. That is largely because it is time consuming to go into the Police Station to write a formal report. The incident I reported was when a driver in Rotorua did not give way at a roundabout and clipped my front wheel.  I did not fall off but the collision would have been clearly audible to the driver.  The driver did not stop.” 

“When I reported it, I offered the Police the video evidence and the person dealing with the complaint was not sure how to accept the footage. There was no portal or formal process to submit video. The Police dealt with the complaint seriously and followed up with the driver.  They went to his house more than once and he provided an explanation to them.  The Police then contacted me to tell me how it went.  They issued him with a fine. I was pleased to see the Police take it seriously.”

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.

As we reflect on the last few years of UpRide.cc, we are so proud of our community of UpRider’s for posting over 10,000 incidents and together helping to make cycling safer. With many of our users uploading over 20 incidents to UpRide, we’re glad to see the platform performing its desired task as a cycling safety hub and awareness platform.

Let us introduce Batman! The Coffs Harbour Batman has requested that he stay anonymous, which we respect.

“I think UpRide is bloody fantastic! Such a valuable resource for cyclists. Especially in even more dangerous places to ride than Australia, like the USA, Canada & UK, where some of the close passes are horrific.”

Record your ride. Make it count.

“I started group riding in 2015 and was astonished at the high frequency of road violence we experienced by drivers, and I thought I need to record this in case of police prosecution. I went and ordered a Fly6 for my piece of mind.”

“I realised that not exposing road crime like this was never going to improve conditions for cyclists. So I do my bit to help shine a light on the problem and change driver behaviour if possible. Better driver behaviour means more people can get out riding safely.”

“Recording is also a great learning tool. If I’ve had a close pass on my ride, I can go back later and review the footage to work out what happened and how to avoid it next time.”

“I think UpRide is fantastic. I’d hate to think we ever would lose it. A site with a searchable map, plotting real world cycling video clips and accompanying information from cyclists all over the world, a huge repository all at ones’ fingertips. What else like it exists for cyclists?”

“A great tool for police, town planners, engineers, councillors, behavioural psychologists, tourists etc.”

“One junction near me, featured in a clip on UpRide has since changed. I am certainly not claiming that the change was purely due to the clip, but this is the power/capability of UpRide, to assist with improvements for the community.”

“Every rider’s situation is different, so my main advice is just to keep riding and enjoy yourself. Don’t stop riding out of fear of the unknown. Drivers generally aren’t out to kill you, a few randoms might want to frighten you.”

“Ride where it’s the safest. If that’s the full lane, away from debris, gutters or reducing the risk of a close pass, then that’s what I’ll use. When I see riders, riding in gutters or road shoulders littered with glass and other debris, it makes me nervous.”

“In NSW, riders have the same rights to use the road as drivers and it’s their choice to ride the shoulder, but only if they wish to.”

“To me it doesn’t make sense to spend my whole journey riding in the gutter, risking punctures or crashing, just to reduce the risk of hurting a driver’s feelings. So far, it has served me well. I have not had a puncture for many years now.” “The biggest change I’ve noticed since sharing footage on UpRide is the general increase in space given by passing motorists to cyclists, on many occasions passing completely in the next lane. In the past few months, I’ve also had multiple drivers pull up alongside me or by the side of the road to ask me about my bike setup, which I see as a positive indication that driver attitudes towards cyclists are softening, and more people interested in cycling on the road.”

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.

As UpRide grows patterns begin to emerge. Specific types of unnecessary dangers happen at far high frequencies than you’d expect. Certain common behaviours are illustrated, and hot spots are identified.

This week we focus on the hot spot Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne.

One local UpRider, Will has taken up the challenge and been on a mission to help make cycling safer in his local area. Having recorded his rides for almost two years, Will has uploaded over 55 incidents that have received over 3,000 views.

Will has seen it all on the road, close calls, chicken runs, bad roads, animal encounters, and the closest of near misses. Watch some of Will’s incidents and read why he always records his ride and what he thinks can be done to improve cycling safety.

We thank Will for his amazing effort and contribution to UpRide. BUT, he can’t do it alone! Be part of the future of cycling safety and become an UpRider today.

Record your ride. Make it count.

Will came back to cycling in March 2020 at the beginning of COVID and the start of lockdowns. Soon after he quickly noticed and unfortunately experienced “poor drivers and belligerent driver behaviours” and started to document it all on his Cycliq Fly6 and Fly12.

“In April 2021, I witnessed a deliberate hit and run on a pedestrian. My Fly6 captured the vehicle leaving the scene and with a partial plate and distinctive markings on the car, the police were able to use the video from the Fly6 in the prosecution. This is when I realised the potential of recording my ride.”

“UpRide is great for spreading awareness of the challenge and dangers that cyclists face. The plotting of incidents highlights incident hotspots, poorly planned roads and poorly maintained infrastructure. I use the UpRide footage to address these issues with local authorities and the police.”

• Better planning to physically separate bike lanes from traffic. Perhaps putting the cycle lane on the left, then parking, and then live traffic.
• Enforcement of the minimum passing distance laws
• Stricter penalties for heavy vehicle infringements
• Better signage to designate bike lanes

• Stay safe.
• Record your ride.
• Being seen, use lights day and night and reflective clothing
• Practice good roadcraft
• Know and follow the road rules

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.

As we reflect on the last two years of UpRide.cc, we are so proud of our community of UpRider’s for posting over 6,000 incidents and together helping to make cycling safer. But there can only be one Super UpRider. Let us introduce to you Kwinten.

Kwinten has taken up the challenge and been on a mission to help make cycling safer. Having been an UpRider for almost two years, Kwinten has uploaded over 420 incidents which have received over 21,000 views. Kwinten has seen it all on the road, close calls, close passes, chicken runs, punishment passes, and too many “what in the world” moments.

Watch some of Kwinten’s incidents below and read why he always records his ride and what he thinks can be done to improve cycling safety.

We thank Kwinten for his amazing effort and contribution to UpRide and making the roads safer for cyclists. BUT, he can’t do it alone! Be part of the future of cycling safety and become an UpRider today.

Record your ride. Make it count.

1. Awareness of car drivers and their impact on our safety.
2. Good infrastructure – particularly without conflicting situations.
3. Visibility (using lights, especially when riding in the dark) and being able to listen to your surroundings (ie no music.)

“First of all; ride a lot and enjoy it! This should be the main driver for every cyclist.”

“Secondly, work on your and others’ safety. Yesterday I passed a dangerous situation (fallen power lines) on of the most-used cycling routes in Belgium. I took the time to make an emergency call to fix the situation. It takes me 3 minutes and all other cyclists will benefit from it. By the time I passed again later that day, it was solved.”

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.