Local58 is a YouTube channel for a news affiliate that does not, thankfully, exist. Written and edited by Kris Straub, each video depicts increasingly alarming emergency broadcast interruptions and test cards, all implying invasion, revolution or government mindfuckery. (NOTE: "Contingency" instructs the viewer to kill themselves and others).
My favorite, though, is You Are On The Fastest Available Route (embedded above), three minutes of creepy dashcam perfection based on an idea by Mikey Neumann. Read the rest
Enjoy this dashcam video capturing a meteorological phenomenon in Russia, where road surfacing work is underway. Read the rest
The driver, Richard Poirier, is fine. But he was charged with careless driving after his erratic driving in Carleton Place, Ontario, ended in what I timed as 1.67 seconds of excellent air. Read the rest
Phil Huddy, parked at an intersection, has little time to respond to an oncoming driver fleeing the cops. Salty language ahoy! Read the rest
Directed by Robert Carlos, filmmaker and author, who "spends his spare time playing with toys and riding roller coasters."
Read the rest
Watch as Jasmine Lacey, 22, calmly exits her automobile in the middle of traffic allowing it to roll the road, cross into oncoming traffic, and cause a multi-vehicle wreck on Harbor Boulevard in Rowland Heights, California. Read the rest
Dashboard-mounted cameras provide a world of youtube schadenfreude—bad drivers and insurance fraudsters getting their public comeuppance—but also come wedded to the promise of safety and security from those things. But what about the guy constantly fiddling with it?
And dashcams are just the beginning of the technological feast glowing away at driver's eye level: GPS navigation systems, entertainment consoles, and now elaborate heads-up displays threaten to keep our eyes on high-tech gadgets rather than the highway.
At The New York Times, Matt Richtel looks at the most impressive HUD yet, from Navady, as well as what's cooking from usual suspects such as Google.
This technology is in its infancy. Navdy’s device isn’t shipping until later this year, and it’s not clear if it will work as seamlessly as presented in the video when used in less perfect real-life conditions. But, broadly speaking, the Navdy device falls into a booming category of in-car gadgetry that might be fairly categorized as “you can have your cake and eat it too.” Drive, get texts, talk on the phone, even interact on social media, and do it all without compromising safety, according to various makers of the so-called head-up displays, repeating a position taken by a growing number of automakers who sell monitors set into the dashboard or mounted on it. Some carmakers also display basic driving information, like speed and turn-by-turn directions, within a specialized windshield so a driver can remain looking ahead and not down at the instrument panel.
Psychologists hate this. Read the rest
Another exemplary Russian video: dashcam, bad tempers, likely vodka abuse, and an abrupt ending leaving you wanting more. Read the rest
Niles, OH Patrolman Todd Mobley followed an acquaintance home in his cruiser and yanked him out of the car and threatened his life; when another cop arrived, Mobley had the cop turn off his dashcam and continued his illegal behavior; he has served a 30 day suspension and is back on the job. Read the rest
Two cops from Bloomfield, NJ's police department have been indicted, and another plead guilty after a suppressed dashcam video showed them beating a man who was facing years in prison for "resisting arrest" (the DA dropped his charges right away). Read the rest
On a Russian highway, a truck filled with propane cylinders explodes 39 times, boom, boom, boom, each explosion more spectacular than the last.
Взрыв газели с балонами на МКАДе
(via Kottke) Read the rest
In this video recorded on a dashboard-mounted camera, Raguruban Yogarajah stops his car in the middle of the highway—then lets it roll back into following traffic. Herman Sham, the other driver, claims to have been subjected to a shakedown as the two motorists examined the damage: $500 cash, or the cops get called.
Thanks to Sham's dashcam, however, it was Yogarajah who received charges: fraud, attempted fraud and public mischief.
Russia appears to be ground zero for this sort of shenanigan. Violent confrontations abound, but my favorite is this driver's ostentatious display of frustration and despair at being rear-ended by such an irresponsible dri--Oh wait, you have a dashcam? I'll be going, then.
There are lots of Dashcams on Amazon, but it looks like you need to spend at least $50 to get something decent. And they all kinda look janky, if you ask me. Would a GoPro be a better bet, or do you need a specialized device for battery-life reasons? Read the rest
