KAILUA-KONA — In a world increasingly inundated with video surveillance, courtesy of devices like traffic and police body cameras as well as cell phones, a growing trend among Hawaii cyclists is putting even more eyes on Big Island roadways.
More riders are mounting Fly6 and Fly12 cameras on their road bikes. Equipped with both video and audio functions, the cameras allow cyclists to constantly record what’s happening behind and in front of them, while also providing a light function to make themselves more noticeable to passing motorists.
While the numbers are yet minimal — Grant Miller, owner of Bike Works, estimates roughly 1 in every 50 cyclists utilize either one or both types of cameras — local cycling enthusiasts say the technology is on the rise.
“I think they’re a really good deterrent,” Miller said. “I think they make drivers and cyclists more responsible for their actions out there, which is good for our community.”
Pedestrian and motorist safety are no small concern on Hawaii Island, which is wrought with tight, winding roadways and offers minimal, disconnected recreational infrastructure in more heavily populated areas.
Tina Clothier, the director of Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawaii (PATH), said that based on data collected by Hawaii Island police between 2007 and May of this year, 915 crashes involving pedestrians were reported, 23 of which were recorded as official traffic fatalities.
One more highly publicized incident — in which visiting cyclist Jeffrey C. Surnow, 63, of Michigan, was killed on Waikoloa Road in March 2015 after being hit by on-duty police officer Jody Buddemeyer — has yet to produce any charges and is still being investigated more than a year later.
Surnow’s death and the subsequent investigative complications have contributed to a growing sense of need among cyclists to protect themselves, both prior to and after potential crashes with motorists.
Sgt. Robert Pauole, Traffic Services Section of the Hawaii Island police, said while his office is hardly overrun with complaints from cyclists, he observes several disconcerting behaviors from pedestrians and motorists alike on a daily basis.
“I see a lot of vehicles and bicyclists making a lot of mistakes,” Pauole said. “Motorists need to know if you’re exiting a driveway, you need to stop and wait for the bicyclists or the runners to cross before you proceed. They’re not doing that. They’re cutting in front of them causing a lot of dangerous situations.”
He added cyclists are actually supposed to be operating on the roadways. By law, pedestrians may ride bicycles on sidewalks at 5 mph or less, but as that’s extremely slow and unlikely for a cyclist, they should essentially be functioning as motor vehicles, which includes following all traffic laws.
And while there is a Facebook page entitled Kona Drivers HALL OF SHAME, dedicated to negligent and purposefully disruptive motorist behaviors caught on camera, Franz Weber said too many cyclists engage in inappropriate road etiquette, which can lead to injury or death.
Weber, a certified bike safety instructor who pedals upward of 10,000 miles annually, works with PATH and serves as the information and communications director for Ironman, has observed faster-moving cyclists swerving off the shoulder and into the road to pass their slower counterparts.
He also said cyclists must understand that whether they’re riding on a portion of pavement equipped with a shoulder or not, they need to obey traffic laws — stopping at red lights and stop signs, for instance. The notion that pedestrians always have the right of way, which is technically true, can have negative consequences on the road in real time.
“Some cyclists may feel they have all the privileges and none of the responsibility,” Weber said.
Still, examples abound of careless or vindictive motorists behaving poorly and irresponsibly endangering the lives of those piloting bicycles, some of which are now documented on the aforementioned Facebook page via Fly6 and Fly12 technology.
Weber said he deals with incidents of that nature four or five times every year.
“On the highway, a car made a sharp U-turn around and in front of me and cut me off,” Weber recalled. “I had to hit my brakes, then he opened up the window and used some four letter words that can’t be printed.”
Weber added the cameras do more than provide recourse for cyclists who experience harassment or hazardous driving, affording riders evidence beyond hearsay when they file police complaints. The simple knowledge that bikes may be mounted with recording devices provides a deterrent.
“For one thing, people are becoming aware bikes have cameras, so they are a little more cautious not to do anything stupid,” Weber said.
But it would be erroneous to suggest all or even the majority of danger to pedestrians on roadways stems from intent on the part of motorists.
Kym Kiser, an avid cyclist and mother of three, was heading south past Costco on a ride a couple of years ago when she collided with a north-bound truck making a left-hand turn. She escaped serious injury, although her bike was left damaged and her psyche severely shaken.
“I didn’t want to stop riding, but you just think about what can you do to make yourself more aware?” Kiser said. “My husband, he rides with me, and I thought if something happened to both of us, that would be a disaster.”
That’s when Kiser started researching the headlights and came across the Fly6 and Fly12 technology, which she utilizes religiously to this day.
“The more we can be seen, the more we can make ourselves obvious, the better,” she said. “But I think sometimes people are in such a hurry, they don’t think beyond ‘That person is in my way, and I wish they were off the road.’”
An occasional poster on the Kona Drivers HALL OF SHAME page, Kiser said her social media activity is less about shaming drivers and more about providing awareness for fellow cyclists to watch out for a few repeat, intentional offenders and particular areas or vehicles that pose increased risk.
And that’s precisely the point of the upward trend of mounted bike cameras in Hawaii — awareness and accountability.
Miller believes motorists and cyclists will be safer and more responsible alike if they keep one notion fresh in their minds: You never know when the cameras might be rolling.