Driver Maliciously Attacks Cyclists in Hit and Run

A guest post by Stuart Baker.

My wife and I went on a cycling holiday to Italy in July 2015. On the trip were a number of Australians and one of them had a Fly6 which he brought over with him. He explained the background and the rise in the number of incidents between cyclists and motorists, and I thought it was a great idea – especially as I do a lot of early morning rides when it is still dark (I live in Singapore) – so on my return I bought one.

Within a few weeks of getting the device, something nasty happened while out riding with my wife.

We were out on our usual Saturday morning ride on a loop which takes us along the side of the runway. Nice big 2 lane, wide road and usually fairly quiet which is why it is popular with cyclists in Singapore.

As we came to the end of the stretch, we stopped at the traffic lights, waited for them to turn green and starting rolling off. Just at that time a car came up behind us sounding his horn in an aggressive manner. No idea why as we weren’t doing anything wrong. The car then pulled up alongside us and made a swerve towards us before speeding up and then pulling in front of us and slamming on his brakes.

I was at the front of the group and managed to avoid him but my wife and friend couldn’t stop in time and crashed into the car. The driver then took off and left us with my wife lying in the road. She was pretty shaken up and I was very angry.

It was one of those times when of course the driver didn’t stop and no one else who may have witnessed the incident stopped either, but luckily I had the whole thing captured on my Fly6 HD bike camera and rear bike light combo.

We ended up sitting around for an hour whilst we waited for the police to come and take a statement. I took some photos at the scene:

Luckily, there was no major damage but my wife was sure shaken up by the event.

When we got home I was able to download the clip from my Fly6 and sure enough, it was all captured in high definition. It was great that the incident protection feature (can be heard in the video with three ‘beeps’ after I lay my bike down) kicked in ensuring the important footage was not overwritten.

We were assigned a case officer who was impressed with the video and asked us to send it in as evidence. He said that without that it would have been difficult to take any action. They used the footage to identify the vehicle and driver.

4 months after the incident, we received a letter from the police saying the driver had been convicted of 3 offences – inconsiderate driving, failing to stop and failing to make an accident report within 24 hours. So I am pretty glad I bought my Fly6 and certainly use it on all my rides.

I know these things don’t happen to everybody but I can’t recommend enough to everyone that rides on the roads: get yourself a Fly6 and use it on every ride. It could be the best insurance policy you ever take out.

Stuart Baker, Singapore

Note from the manufacturers: Cycliq is the No.1 brand for best bike camera and light combos designed specifically for cyclists. Fly6 (& Fly12 for the front of a bike) can be ordered from www.cycliq.com