Would you submit footage over a brake check?

thehank

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Would you submit footage over a brake check?

Scenario: slow driver in the fast lane. Nobody ahead of the car in front of you. And driver brake checks you. Distance of me behind the driver would be debatable considering the wider angle of the camera. I don't think I would've been ticketed for any sort of tailgating.

Would you submit the footage to police? Submit anonymously?
 
Submit it here first, including a bit of previous, for an opinion. Only submit it to police if most people agree, since otherwise it is likely that most of the police wont agree! If you do subsequently send it to the police then take it down from here first.

Generally there is no excuse for a brake check, however it can be hard to prove that is actually what happened and that there wasn't a mouse on the road that had to be avoided. If you were driving too close then that is a separate issue, and is often hard to determine because there is a need to know the angle of view of the dashcam before you can correctly judge it.
 
I doubt there is a police department in the US that would take any action - especially if it were submitted anonymously. Reason being that traffic violations (assuming a 'brake check' is a violation) are misdemeanors and in almost all jurisdictions have to be witnessed by the LEO to be cited. A court would have to issue a warrant for any action and that's not likely to happen unless something dramatic besides the 'brake check' occurred.
 
If it didn't cause any repercussions, such as a collision, no, I wouldn't bother. But I'd make a note of the plate for "future reference" though

Recently I was travelling in lane 1 at the speed limit, signalled and moved into lane two to pass a slower vehicle, it was perfectly safe to do so, along with a vehicle behind me that did the same, and at the very same time the speeder coming up fast in lane 3 chose that moment to move into lane 2 without signalling then got pissy at me, brake checked me then pulled out his phone (illegal) to video my somewhat perfect driving for reasons I'll never understand, I politely asked him if he'd like to pull over to discuss the matter, he understood that my intention was to harm him. I didn't know at the time that my cam actually caught him with his phone in his hand, but if I see him again, he'll wish he drove like he did on his driving test
 
I think i would ( i have never been brake checked )
Only problem is danish police are so under staffed and over burdened that it would not matter and would only serve to insult my feelings that are hurt enough already as i fully understand / know how sick my country are.

Only once have a turned in a guy, that made such a big mess in 30 seconds of driving the police should go and take his license, but i had to bring in media ( TV ) before anything happened, and i have a sneaky feeling they just asked for the footage for me to get off their back.
So the footage would probably just go up on my youtube channel as that make me feel a tiny little bit better.
My 2 latest uploads.
A bus using right of weight and block 2 lanes of traffic, i am sure this is a mark on your license and a fine.

Second a truck making a left turn from a strait lane, when there was a red light for the 2 left turn lanes in the intersection, so to me a left turn under red light, also a mark on license and fine.

PS. The Danish system only have 3 marks, so 3 of those within 3 years and you have to retake your driving test and theoretical test.
 
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Recently I was travelling in lane 1 at the speed limit, signalled and moved into lane two to pass a slower vehicle, it was perfectly safe to do so, along with a vehicle behind me that did the same, and at the very same time the speeder coming up fast in lane 3 chose that moment to move into lane 2 without signalling then got pissy at me, brake checked me then pulled out his phone (illegal) to video my somewhat perfect driving for reasons I'll never understand, I politely asked him if he'd like to pull over to discuss the matter, he understood that my intention was to harm him. I didn't know at the time that my cam actually caught him with his phone in his hand, but if I see him again, he'll wish he drove like he did on his driving test
If it was in the UK then you can report it: https://www.nextbase.com/en-gb/national-dash-cam-safety-portal/

If it was as you describe then I would expect the police to send him a fine and points...
 
In the US the cops won't do anything. Even if there is an accident the driver ahead would just have to claim he braked for something you couldn't see, because you were too close behind him. :)

For a 'brake check' to be dangerous requires the following driver to be inept, following too close, mutual road rage, etc.

The 'brake check' videos I see on youtube where the same vehicle brake checks another vehicle, repeatedly, is kind of like falling for the 'pull my finger' trick repeated every 5 seconds for an hour. You almost have to be a willing participant after the first time.
 
Yeah that what i was thinking after my last post, though i don't feel like i tailgate cars, then most often there are a reason to why some person would brake check you.
So i think i would look really close on my footage before i might submit it.
I also don't brake check myself though i some times feel people are quite close to me back there, but there are no need to now that i have a camera in the back.
BUT ! i do turn of my rear fog light when i have a car behind me with his front fog light on, and this i do day or night and often, and only once have the guy back there been smart enough to figure it out and turn off his fog light.
 
I get braked checked at some level occasionally. Usually it's a result of the car expecting my 70 foot long truck to vanish or run over other cars to let them merge or change lanes. Most these seem to get bored and move on to create chaos somewhere else when you don't react, and back off....more. I don't 'brake check, but will slow down a little at opportune times. (without touching the brakes)
 
If it was as you describe then I would expect the police to send him a fine and points...

Of course we'd expect them to, but we know how things work (or don't work) here :)
 
Here, the police don't seem to respond to online reports where vehicles go past buses with stop sign out and the flashing red lights when they pickup and drop off students. Subscribers to my youtube channel who have encouraged me to send reports a few years ago, have stopped submitting reports now themselves as there doesn't seem to be any action from the police.

As of January 1st, in my province, the penalties for distracted driving have doubled for what they were last year. Doesn't seem to have any effect on the matter as drivers are fully aware the laws here aren't enforced as it appears the police forces are understaffed for traffic. Seems drivers have no fear of a $1000 fine, demerit points or increase in insurance as they know its unlikely they will be caught.
 
Here, the police don't seem to respond to online reports where vehicles go past buses with stop sign out and the flashing red lights when they pickup and drop off students. Subscribers to my youtube channel who have encouraged me to send reports a few years ago, have stopped submitting reports now themselves as there doesn't seem to be any action from the police.

As of January 1st, in my province, the penalties for distracted driving have doubled for what they were last year. Doesn't seem to have any effect on the matter as drivers are fully aware the laws here aren't enforced as it appears the police forces are understaffed for traffic. Seems drivers have no fear of a $1000 fine, demerit points or increase in insurance as they know its unlikely they will be caught.
Yes, in the USA, this is what happens when the police are present:
https://jalopnik.com/why-did-this-cop-brake-check-a-driver-1773612956
(Edit: full video with conversation with cop!)

While in the UK, based on dashcam evidence, the brake checker narrowly missed being locked up, still a heavy penalty though:
https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/02/lega...y-slammed-brakes-road-rage-convicted-7355567/
 
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American officer has some good logic for the brake check /s
Not sure he is kind of guy I would want carrying a loaded weapon.

The good news about this, is does appear officers in the states are investigated for misconduct as per your second link.
 
there doesn't seem to be any action from the police.

This is very discouraging, cuz this simple way are one of the prime ways on which a justice system works, And there are only 3 alternatives.

1: Have a huge system of snitches like the STASI in Former eastern Germany.
2: Have a huge number of actual police men doing what they can do to stem up crime.
3: Utter anarchy.

This are one of the most important things we need too fix in our respective societies, and anyone obstructing that in any way should BURN.
 
At one time, before there were dash cam's available to the public, there was programs or services to report aggressive drivers. It seems these are operational for a few months. There are still websites for the major municipalities in the region. As we don't seem to get any response, we get the impression nothing is done about the reports we submit online.

Now for cases where there are major crimes, either traffic such as an accident with injury or worse, or hit and run, or things like a shooting, police thru the media, are requesting dash cam video. I guess its a no brainer if one records gun shots or something that may imply attempted murder to keep the footage. But if I see really aggressive driving, I may not retain it or report to the police. Some of the times I hear about the police wanting video a day or so after the incident. With cards that only keep 5 hrs of footage, its possible it may be overwritten.

I would be more willing to retain video and inform the police if I am sure they may show interest in it.

It only seems the police are interested in dash cam video if there is an accident where there is a serious injury or death. For an accident I recorded, I call the collision reporting centre one day and the officer wasn't interested. The next day I called the same centre and the not only was the officer interested, but he passed on my contact details to the victim.
 
Here in SC there have been a few cases prosecuted for "brake checking" which is considered attempting to cause a crash. But I know of none which were prosecuted on dashcam video alone, nor would I do more than save the file on YT privately, and on my PC as well for future reference should it happen again. One thing your dashcam can do for you is to show if someone pulls in front of you without leaving proper space (illegal) then suddenly brakes, in which case a crash isn't going to be seen as your fault where all other rear-end collisions would be. That is one of the scenarios I spoke of being prosecuted earlier which I'm aware of. Witnesses and sometimes Cops are what made those prosecutions work, and the Cops seemed to make sure the media was aware of the goings-on.

With my tall workvan my cam "sees" over most cars and through the windshield of many others, so if someone claims they had to brake for a non-existent cause that will show on my cam and destroy their veracity, as well as opening the door for me to sue them on civil charges :love: Braking suddenly for anything non-human-involved and causing a crash will get you nailed here too. But with me being the slower traffic in the slow lane few people bother me- they just go around and I try to make space for them to do that. I really don't care what you do as long as it doesn't involve me :cool:

In the few times I've seen 'brake checks' done in person it was always involving two aggressive drivers which is always going to be an issue. The law here is clear: you never have the right to endanger anyone else needlessly and you must always maintain proper distances between yourself and all other vehicles. You must also stay to the right except when overtaking or preparing for an imminent left turn (which darn few people do). If you encounter an idiot on the road, the safest thing you can do is let them go by and involve someone else in their problems instead of you ;)

Phil
 
Distance of me behind the driver would be debatable <snip> I don't think I would've been ticketed for any sort of tailgating.
Off hand.. if there is some doubt.. admit you probably were too close and the guy ahead of you was... suggesting.. you back off. Become a better / courteous driver from this experience and don't ride on his / her tail.... you won't get to your destination ANY faster. In fact.. I would slow down assuming you wanted to pass but did not have the power to do it at the current speed.
 
I don't think any of my local law enforcement would do anything with brake checks. One thing to consider is that even if they could, they would have to prove who was driving so you'd have to try and get video of the driver.
 
I don't think any of my local law enforcement would do anything with brake checks. One thing to consider is that even if they could, they would have to prove who was driving so you'd have to try and get video of the driver.

Another reason for having rear and side cams- more chances to identify persons and not just cars ;)

Phil
 
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