Have you or a buddy ever used an action cam to record your rides? That's true for a lot of riders, and it's a great way to capture awesome memories and sights you can look back on later. For folks who regularly post video on YouTube or social media sites, it might even just be a regular part of their routine.
Now, we wouldn't ever advise you to go out and do stupid stuff on public roadways. If you're going to go blazingly fast or do stunts, there are appropriate times and places (at the track, on a closed course where other traffic isn't an issue) to do so. Absolutely, go see what your bike (and yourself) are made of, just don't hoon in school zones and potentially ruin lives.
But if you're the type of person to record your exploits, you need to really think about what and when you're recording, because police can and will use your recordings against you. I've written about this before, and I'm sure this new story of a rider in Denmark won't be the last time, either.
What happened this time? Well, a 29-year-old rider in Denmark was charged with no less than 86 preliminary counts of reckless driving. What for? Among other things, driving his motorcycle at high speeds, doing wheelies at high speed, and subsequently endangering others.
And the kicker is, the authorities apparently had hours and hours of helmetcam footage to analyze that showed this rider doing all these things. That's why there are so many counts.
That old saying about giving someone enough rope to hang themselves? This is the digital, 21st-century embodiment of that saying.
Of course, the police wouldn't have found this camera and footage in the first place if they hadn't stopped the rider for some other reason. So, why'd they stop him?
In May, the rider was apparently out on a bike with no license plates and without a valid motorcycle permit. After pulling him over for those reasons, the police then found the helmet cam and started looking through the footage. They reported that 25 charges were laid against the still-unidentified rider based on that footage alone.
So essentially, the rider's penchant for recording his stunt riding practically gift-wrapped a litany of charges against him. Posting it later online also wouldn't have been a smart move on this guy's part, either.
It's not clear if that was in the cards, or if he just enjoyed keeping a video record of what he did for his own amusement. What is clear is that, once again, playing stupid games can absolutely win you stupid prizes. Especially in Denmark, where cars and other vehicles can and do get confiscated by police for incidents of dangerous driving.
