[Chas]

Geo,

If I wasn’t opposed to placing signage on my coach I would love to advise other drivers they are being video recorded. It would be great if just some signage like that could modify driver behavior.

But how do I stop them from texting long enough to read the sign. How will I stop them from tailgating so they can get close enough to read the sign, How will the sign help prevent the morons that haven’t quite gotten the concept of merging jump from the on ramp directly in front of me while being afraid to stand on the gas pedal because i am going 30 miles and hour faster than they are?

Di wants a cannon. Nothing real big. Maybe something that will blow the average car into the next county will do.

[Archived]

I’am not a fan of stickers on windshields. Just another thing for a distraction.

One of the reasons I installed the camera was to be able to prove with camera support what happened in case I’am involved in a road mishap.

Went on ebay, several stickers available indicating video cameras for windshield applications.

[Bernie]

I have had a dash cam on my bus for the last two years. This year we saw two almost bad accidents, it was interesting to view them later on the computer and see exactly how and why they happened. I believe that most bad drivers are only thinking of themselves so I doubt if signage would help .

[Davy]

While in Florida in January I watched a woman with an older Mercury Marquis (Florida plates) on a 270 degree ramp which merged into our lane on the bridge she just went under and thought “she hasn’t looked towards us”. There were three semi’s nearly bumper to bumper to our left. As she got up next to us I started to brake as I knew I couldn’t get ahead of her by accelerating, we were just to long with the toad. If she had continued accelerating she would have gotten out in front of us crossing the bridge before she got onto the shoulder after the bridge. But NO … as she got 3/4’s of her car in front of our front bumper she finally realized she was next to a bus and she must have hit the brakes as she stopped gaining on us. I still had no place to go to our left so I went off the brake and hard on power and laid on the air horn. In the rear view mirror I saw her drive onto the shoulder after the bridge, then onto the grass between the shoulder and the ditch, and it looked like she came to a complete stop.

[Corey]

If I had a dollar for every driver that stomped on the brakes at the end of the merging on ramp and came to a stop instead of mashing the gas and accelerating ahead of us and merging I probably would have enough money to pay for enough diesel to fill my tank.

And then a few seconds later that driver is going around us in the fast lane.

[Archived]

Undoubtably, we all have many experiences with rude or clueless drivers around us. The main reason to have a dash cam is to document why we are sitting on top of a vehicle when on the face of it, it would appear to be our fault. The only reason that I am suggesting a sign is for the retalitory driver. It may make them think twice about pulling in front and slamming on the brakes. I don’t want signage on the bus either, but an attractive magnetic banner (approx 32-36″ x 7 or 8″) that can be attached to either the bus, toad or trailer might be helpful. Remember, being magnetic means it’s easily removeable. Geo.

[Dick]

Geo,

May I presume you have the only Prevost with ferrous skins, such that you can attach a magnetic sign????

Just kidding. I fully understand how if a person thinks you are recording them that it might influence them to at least consider what they are going to do and maybe not do it. But I am not convinced some drivers are even aware of their surroundings. The enraged driver that pulls in front and then spikes his brakes is unlikely to care. But in 25 years of driving the bus we have only had two of them. Almost all of the time when people pull in too close it is because they are unaware of what they are doing (a cell phone is often involved), some pull in too cloase because they are intimidated by the semi pushing them up the road, some don’t even realize they are doing it.

Di wants the cannon. Nothing too big, but big enough to blow the morons into the next county.

[Archived]

I’ve always wanted a paint gun. Geo.

[Dick]

I
think Geo is making some sense, the least it would do is possibly act
as a deterrent for some moron thinking about screwing with you..

[Davy]

Jon wrote: “But in 25 years of driving the bus we have only had two of them.”

Happened to us the first time we had a Prevost (rental). Picked the bus up in Kaukauna (between Green Bay and Appleton), drove it to Grafton (two hours), hooked up the race trailer, and headed for lower Michigan. Less than 15 miles from home on the Milwaukee expressway some clown pulled that trick. I guess we got the first one out of our system early!

[Tim]

On ebay

[Fred F.]

Interesting … but remember there are two sides to this. As many Police Departments have learned, “dash-cams” not only have proven to be great technology to enable the collection of valuable evidence for the police when executing traffick stops, but they have also been used as evidence “against” the police when they do something stupid.

The same would apply to any RVer, if for some reason, you happen to do something “stupid.”

[Archived]

Jon said,
If I had a dollar for every driver that stomped on the brakes at the end of the merging on ramp and came to a stop instead of mashing the gas and accelerating ahead of us and merging I probably would have enough money to pay for enough diesel to fill my tank.

A few years ago we were preaching revival for a very nice Pastor and his wife. One day we all climbed in our car and went to lunch. As I was merging onto a limited access highway the driver on the ramp in front of me came to a complete and sudden stop, stuck his head out the window and looked to his left behind us. Thankfully I was aware of what was going on around me and I had room to swerve into the open traffic lane and avoid slamming into his back bumper.

While we were all catching our breath I said, “Stupid stuff like that is what gets people killed.” NOBODY said a word in response.

My wife told me why it was so silent later when we got back to the bus. The Pastor’s wife had came to a complete stop at the end of the exact same entrance ramp earlier in the day when they were out together. The Pastor’s wife said while stopped and looking backward, “My husband is always tellling me I am going to kill somebody or be killed doing this but I just can’t get on the highway the way he does it.”

Oops! Open mouth and insert my foot! I had just said in no uncertain terms that she was stupid. It is no wonder no one spoke up!

Davy

[Joe]

Great Story Davy!

Now, if you had that Dash Cam, you could have replayed it later, with full audio, and I’m sure everyone would have gotten a good laugh, especially considering no one got hurt.

[Corey]

What Davy said.

We find it amazing that we can merge with a lumbering 65 foot Prevost and car with very little drama, we see 75 and 80 foot trucks doing it all the time, but someone in a Prius can’t understand the concept of merging.