I was hit by a driver from behind. She was obviously driving without due care and attention. I have the footage of her hitting me, stopping, calling the police and exchanging details. I have reported her to the police and I have hired a solicitor. Can I make the video public on YouTube to shame her for the ridiculous driving? I'll obviously edit and mute the audio of sensitive information being given.
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7What did your solicitor say when you asked? – Andy P Jun 09 '22 at 21:45
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13I’m voting to close this question because this is probably a better fit on law.stackexchange. – Andy P Jun 09 '22 at 21:47
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3Even though various acts may be gratifying... do they help anything? – paul garrett Jun 09 '22 at 22:45
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2Will 12 YouTube views even do any good? Or even anything at all? – Andrew Henle Jun 10 '22 at 13:15
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3Shaming someone is never a good idea, imho. You may document the behavior by properly anonymizing the actual person (blur/pixelate face and license sign at the very least) and saying that this behavior is what endangers cyclists. Attacking the person, however, will reflect badly on yourself. – cmaster - reinstate monica Jun 10 '22 at 14:07
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You need to consult that legal solicitor, and take legal advice that is based in your legal jurisdiction.
If you do choose to post something, that could be construed as harassment, and may not help your case if it goes to arbitration.
Consider that you can choose to do something later, but once its done you can't un-post it. Have patience - legal matters can be glacially slow, and listen to your solicitor in the first instance.
Criggie
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Be careful- you run the risk of indirect reputational damage:
Personally, I think cycle camera videos should be published to educate & inform to improve safety. Publishing videos for humiliating a motorist who made an unintentional technical driving error could backfire and make you appear to be malicious/vindictive and reflect negatively on you, despite being faultless in the accident.
Totally agree it sucks being struck by a careless motorist- I've had it happen to me. I've been struck riding my 50" Penny-Farthing by an elderly motorist. But he stopped, apologized and offered to pay for my damages. So yes, he was totally wrong, but felt that he'd be more cycle-aware in the future and the matter required no further escalation. We all make mistakes, the only question is wether we're decent enough to own-up them. This motorist was and the matter was concluded with a handshake and no Police. BTW, I'm a former Transit Police Officer myself, so I'm fairly circumspect when escalating to the Police.
Indeed, although I have Gigs worth of careless & bad driving archived from my helmet cam, I've only ever published (2) on the 'net and the exclusive purpose was to educate: (1) was a nutter who sped-up to cut across a roundabout to strike me and the other was an aggressive driver who nearly killed me. Having only the plate for the latter, I referred him to the Police who are enforcing him. The driver's face is not identifiable in either of those videos.
There was a HUGE thread on this very topic in a recent post I made to this forum that deals with helmet camera evidence and its use which is worth a read as some of it overlaps your question:
Can Cycle Camera Evidence be Used by Police to Enforce Dangerous Motorists?
Hope you were not injured badly in the accident; there but for the grace of God go all of us as road cyclists. Could have happened to any one of us I guess-
F1Linux
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