Can footage from a helmet camera be used in a court to decide compensation or prove someone's criminal behaviour?

It's a question many have been asking recently in light of recent media coverage of helmet camera-wearing cyclists.

What cyclists should also be aware of is whether helmet cam footage can be posted online in a public forum such as YouTube.

The answer to the first question is 'yes'. Helmet camera footage can be used in both civil claims for compensation following a cycling accident, and by the criminal courts when prosecuting someone who breaks the law.

With civil claims, if the footage clearly shows the lead up to, and the circumstances of, an incident, it's highly likely that the issue of liability can be agreed before the need for a court hearing.

The position with criminal matters is different. It's for the CPS to decide to bring a prosecution, and as QC Martin Porter discovered recently (for further information, click here), even having footage of a criminal offence doesn't mean the authorities will take action.

However, what any helmet-wearing cyclist will need to be aware of is that the same footage could also show up their own bad behaviour, whether illegal or negligent.

The issue of making helmet cam footage public is also under lively debate amongst cyclists. Some helmet cam wearers make their footage public and blur out faces or vehicle registration numbers - others don't.

The legal point here is the recording and online displaying of information. Generally speaking, the recording of the footage is fine, because it's generally intended for personal use. Only when one decides to make it public should there be consideration for the law.

Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights, now enshrined in domestic law through the Human Rights Act, gives every individual a right to a private and family life. A breach of this may give rise to a civil action and a claim for damages. Footage of vehicles may also be in breach of the Data Protection Act in certain circumstances.

There's a fine line between 'naming and shaming' bad driving and what's in the public interest.

If an offence has been committed, or there's behaviour which may result in a civil claim, the person posting the footage online may have better grounds for doing so than simply posting what may be bad or aggressive driving where no offence has been committed.

One must assess the risk of posting footage and hope that the subject either doesn't notice or is ashamed of their behaviour. If the footage accidentally features other people, that will probably not be an invasion of their privacy, but uploading footage of particular people, or vehicles which identify people, holding that person up to universal ridicule, could be deemed to be an invasion of their privacy. What may be of interest to an individual or to cyclists may not be 'in the public interest'.

Helmet camera-wearing does raise some interesting legal issues. As a practising personal injury lawyer, I've seen an increase in the use of mobile phone footage, while smart phones have become very useful evidence gathering tools, even more so when witnesses have smart phone evidence.

Most of the vehicle manufacturers are already looking at ways of incorporating cameras into cars - front and rear facing - and may only be a few years away from being standard equipment.

At the moment I don't foresee a legal challenge on this issue, but if every cyclist had the capacity to film live data of their surroundings every day, then a challenge on the basis of privacy laws and human rights may not be far off.

If an organisation the size of Google had to back track on its Street View data, then it may only be a matter of time before the 'wrong' person becomes the subject of helmet camera footage.

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