Dashcam
 

Anyone drive with a dashcam?

Not taking about a track day cam. Taking about a " that accident wasn't my fault" cam.

Thoughts about how useful or wise they are? Recs? Do you want the speed display? How good are they at night?

What I'm worried about is some black clad ninja pedestrian (or unlit cyclist) darting out in front of me on a dark rainy night. On the one hand, I would want proof that's what happened. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to get hung because I was driving 22 mph in a 20 mph zone, or because the camera has better night vision and a wider field of view than the human driver.

Used to.

Need to get new ones.

TX sun melted my last set.

I checked into the law for use of dash cams. They are great if they prove your innocence / someone else's fault in the accident. However, if they are not recording things that are in your favor, it would be illegal to destroy the evidence. It is then a catch 22. Destroy it and get caught - it will be clear that you tried to hide your fault by destroying evidence and this will be used against you. Don't destroy it and it gets used in court, same result.

I weighed this carefully and decided against dash cam. IMHO, there are many scenarios where you will be clearly exonerated from other evidence but adding a dash cam would increase the chance being found partially at fault for some minor issue like being a few mph over the speed limit or reacting too late.

I do not know how hard the police is looking for dash cams in minor events, like fender benders. There you may get away with withholding the evidence. (often no police is even involved), but in more serious crashes involving personal injury, IMHO you can potentially do more legal damage to yourself than it will help you.

Where I have been thinking about a dash cam is for cycling. I have been harassed by coal rollers and people trying to push me off the road. I would have really liked to have that on camera, along with license plate information to file a report. On a bike I also think I have a slim chance causing a bodily injury accident. What has kept me from this is a) less road cycling in recent days and b) having to keep the devices charged and maintained on a bike is more work.

In the end I rely on myself being a cautious driver with over 30 years of driving causing zero accidents.

Cheers,

G

I have thought about it, but I would want one that is integrated into the car, and not some hacked on appendage on the windshield.

One of my buddies that owns a 911 SC also has three Corvettes. The newest one is a 2017 or so. He took it to his dealer for some warranty work. He got it back and it had wheel curb rash, and a broken spoiler. The car has a valet mode and he had put it in that mode. The dude at the dealership that moves the cars around and washes the cars took it on a joy ride. 85 MPH down a 40 MPH road, then into a convenience store for a 6 pack of beer and tore up the spoiler. The camera showed the guy walking back to the car drinking one beer and the rest of the 6 pack in his hands as he walked back towards the car.

My buddy filed a police report, in case there was any doubt he did not drive 85 in a 40 zone, and the dealership did a brake job, 4 new tires and wheels, and all the body work needed to make the car right.

The culprit was fired, but the police never followed up on any charges.

Speed display? Only if you never speed, I think.
Exactly that! I'd rather rely on myself that potentially cause problems if I'm going with the flow of traffic.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a32124/the-surprising-legal-ramifications-of-having-a-dash-cam-in-your-car/

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I run Garmin Cam30’s in my Range Rover. One facing forward, the other facing backward. They’re hardwired in. Wife has one in the windshield. They have been great.

Yes. See my postings here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/915022-who-here-runs-dash-cam.html

7 pages and 130 posts (and counting ;))

You're welcome!

I was talking about this with a friend tonight. He asked when's the last time I had an accident. I had to think about it. I've driven into a curb by accident, and slid into the soft shoulder in the rain. But an accident where you hit another car? About 1983. An accident where you hit a pedestrian, cyclist, or object of importance? Never.

I might be getting one.

My neighbor has one in his car, used it to help out being a witness twice to accidents that occurred in front of him. Another time he filmed a reckless driver passing cars in a school zone and sent the clip to the local police. Found out that the driver was issued a summons later on.

He has not been involved in an accident for over 20 years until he purchased a new Jeep Wrangler. 2 weeks later he is nailed in the DS front wheel by a driver cutting accross 4 lanes of traffic. Driver that hit him claimed he was not at fault, it was my neighbor that was changing lanes. Dashcam footage proved it was the other guys fault. Insurance company totaled out the Jeep.

with the way people are today its a good idea to have one.


we have to run the "gauntlet' going to work of all the cars parked on both sides of the road of parents at the bus stop.
well one behemoth got mad at me and actually hit my car with her fist. this happened several days. if I had had a dash cam it would have been a lot easier on me to prove I did nothing wrong and how violent she was.
yes I got the police involved

I'm using one in my DD now. My son in law is highway patrol and he gave one to me and one to my wife for Christmas. At first it didn't seem like something I needed but he explained why I should use it. Scammers who pull in front of you and then jam on their brakes making sure you run into them. They claim neck pain of course because that's where the big bucks are. Naturally their story differs greatly from the truth when the cops show up. Pretty good scam too unless you have it all recorded. My son in law has responded to plenty of these claims in the last couple of years and if the victim has a dash cam the jig is up right there and now. Then he cites the POS scammer to be 100% at fault ha ha. Just thought I'd share this info. My cam records forward and backward, plugs into the cig lighter and moves easily from car to car. Don't know what it costs but one attempted scam and it would more than pay for itself

So what brands and models?

eBay and Amazon have loads of them. I paid about 40 USD for front mirror mount/ rear window mount sets . They even have a tiny battery for recording impacts when the car is parked .

If I had mine installed, I wouldn't be paying for my new windshield.

Is it Russia - or somewhere in eastern Europe, where you cant get your car insured unless you have a dashcam?

I have one in my daily.

I had 2 stupid not at fault accidents that went 50/50 and got the dash cam afterwards.

I have only downloaded the video once.

I did a post accident call yesterday with a client. First question we asked was "what does the dash cam show?"

Incredibly valuable if you are a good driver.

If some crook ever pulls the old "you hit me! my neck hurts!" thing I have it all planned
Me "omg mister, I'm so sorry, should we call the cops?"

Him "Yeah, we need the cops"

Cop "Oh, I see you have the whole thing recorded"

Me "yes officer and my neck hurts"