Cyclist Takes on Bad Drivers In Waterloo and Reports them to Police

September 04, 2018, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

The Waterloo Chronicle published an article last month about one Waterloo cyclist who'd had enough of bad drivers. He took it upon himself to record their actions and then turn the recordings over to the police. I wanted to share the article with you. What are your thoughts on the bike/car battle that sometimes seems to brew on our roads?

You can read the original article here and watch the videos as well.

VIDEO: Waterloo cyclist takes on bad drivers with video camera, reports them to police

Keith Peck records his commutes and the hair-raising situations that arise when cars and cyclists clash

NEWS Aug 07, 2018 by Adam Jackson Waterloo Chronicle

If you’re planning on behaving badly on University Avenue, beware; Keith Peck and his trusty video camera may be there.

The avid cyclist has decided to start recording his trips as he commutes to work at the University of Waterloo, and post dangerous behaviour on his YouTube channel. Those videos are then forwarded to police, along with a submitted report.

In one case, Peck recorded a man driving an Audi convertible with what appears to be a desk unit in the front seat, partially obstructing his view as he drove in heavy traffic.

The camera he has shows GPS location, heading, speed and altitude, which is overlaid on the recorded video to show all of the applicable information.

Peck lives in Waterloo’s Westvale neighbourhood and commutes to UW during the work week. He said he does see dangerous activity often, but he also points out that it’s not every single driver who acts poorly.

“There are bad people and there are good people,” said Peck, adding that there are some cyclists who don’t follow the rules of the road as well.

Peck said the decision to purchase the camera was spurred by the death of a University of Waterloo professor, who was killed on his bike on King Street near Conestoga Mall in February 2017. The charges against the driver of the vehicle were later dropped.

“This way, if someone comes flying by me in their car, I can report that,” said Peck.

Peck has not received any notice from the police aside from an automated response, but he’s hoping that eventually, police will either ticket the drivers or as least give them a warning.

“I want them to at least get a warning, a phone call, from police,” said Peck, who used to race competitively.

In another video, it appears as though a driver intentionally blocks the bike lane in front of Peck. Peck waves his finger at the driver and yells that he is in the way of the bike lane and hits the vehicle on the way past.

When the two meet up again a short while later, the driver, leaning to the passenger side window, yells, “Do that again and you’re f*****g dead.”

While Peck is nervous at times about cycling, he said dangerous behaviour isn’t going to stop him from using it as his primary mode of transportation.

“I’m not going to stop because I view it as dangerous,” said Peck.

Waterloo Regional Police Service did not respond to a request for comment.

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