I dropped a video a few months ago about a project in Vancouver that has reduced bicycle theft by 42% over the past few years, an amazing number considering bike theft is getting worse in many other cities. That video generated a lot of questions, so in this video, I'm posing the most commonly asked questions to one of the guys behind the Vancouver program, Rob Brunt, a former Vancouver police detective who now works with Project 529, and is probably the most knowledgeable (former) cop in North America about bike theft.
Here's the original video: https://youtu.be/48V9Xtpgq9I
Here's Project 529: https://project529.com/garage
0:00 Intro
1:17 Explaining Project 529 in 30 seconds
2:34 Why is this needed? Shouldn't people just do a better job locking their bikes?
3:16 Why can't police just treat bike theft more seriously?
4:00 Why do police sell recovered stolen bikes? Doesn't that disincentivize police from finding the rightful owner?
4:45 How bit of a problem is bike theft really?
6:33 With so much distrust of police these days, do police need to be part of this program?
7:56 What's the single most important part of this approach?
8:50 Why isn't my city already doing something like this?
9:49 My city already has a bike-theft database, but the problem persists. What's different about this?
10:51 Were you really the only cop in North America working full time on bike theft?
11:09 Bike advocates often see licensing as a way of regulating who can ride. How is this program different?
12:15 My country already has a national bike-theft database, but the problem presists. What's different here?
13:10 Can't bait bikes solve bike theft?
13:41 Can't GPS trackers prevent bike theft?
14:41 Why should bike shops help prevent bike theft when it just leads to more bike sales?
15:33 What are bike manufacturers doing about bike theft?
16:55 Why do you think rates of bike theft are lower in countries such as Japan?
17:19 Should the theft of e-bikes be treated differently?
18:08 I found my stolen bike on an online reseller and stole it back. Why didn't the police help me?
19:02 How do I avoid buying a stolen bike?
19:55 How do I get a program like this in my city?
20:28 Bonus question: Hey Tom, you talk about this program so much, are you getting paid to promote it?
#cycling #bike #bikecommute
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I don’t really do proper product reviews, but here are some products that I’ve tried on this channel that I like. (Of course, you don’t need anything fancy to ride a bike, other than a bike, but these are Amazon affiliate links, and I get paid a small commission if you buy them 😉)
• Here's the winter bike I'm riding these days: https://bit.ly/2PhqUqF
• Cliq Smart Bike Light (nice rear brake light): https://amzn.to/39lfqwo
• RedShift Acrlight Smart LED Pedals (clever lights for your pedals): https://amzn.to/3NL1Npg
• Aftershokz Titanium bone-conducting headphones (if you want to listen while you ride): https://amzn.to/3e9Tofa
• JBL CLip 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker (for your party-pace group rides): https://amzn.to/3pcMLPm
• Crane Bicycle Bell (the ding is sublime): https://amzn.to/3OwfZCu
• Ibex Merino Wool clothing (good for summer and winter): https://bit.ly/3xXkbEd
• Bicycle Cargo Net (why did it take so long for me to buy one of these?): https://amzn.to/31s1Ovu
• Vaude Cover II Rain Poncho (for higher-end, try Cleverhood or People’s Poncho): https://amzn.to/3jLkift
• Kryptonite U-Lock (your bike is going to get stolen eventually, sigh, but at least make it difficult on the thief): https://amzn.to/3tPWcGi
• Peak Design phone case (the one I use, paired with the Peak Design phone mount): https://amzn.to/3HGM0FU
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