Dash Cams

[LilyWDW]

Hey all, I need some advice.

To give a fast background, I just got done giving a report to the police because a crazy lady cut me off on my way home today and then got enraged when I honked (I had to slam on my breaks and just barely missed hitting her). She got out of her car and started beating on my window... then pulled open my door and hit me. Yea. Because she nearly caused an accident it is obviously my fault. Sadly, she got away when I was sitting there in shock so I had no info about her vehicle or her plate number. Nothing. So the police took a report but I doubt anything will come from it.

That leads me to my question. Does anyone here have dash cams in their vehicles? If I had had one then I would have been able to give the video to the cops. So now I want to get two of them (one for front and one for rear if I can figure out how to set a rear one up). If you do, what kind do you have and how much did they cost? I am willing to spend a bit of money on this so that crazy idiots like this lady can be held accountable for their actions instead of getting off hitting people. Because you know this wasn't a one time thing! She has issues for sure.

 

[AuntieMe3]

I'm so sorry that happened to you!! Some people just lose their minds while driving. I have no dash cam advice but I'll be watching this. My husband has a long commute and he's already had one accident that resulted in a lawsuit that could've been dismissed way before it was if we had a dash cam.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I'm sorry this happened to you. I think in today's world a dash cam is certainly a great idea.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I’ve been wanting one too because of all the crazies out there. Every so often I check amazon and then never get one. I always read the best and worst reviews of things and then talk myself out of purchasing.

I always keep my car doors locked.

 

[LilyWDW]

I always keep my car doors locked.

99.9% of the time I do too. I have no idea why my door was unlocked this time. Maybe I hit it on accident while rushing to get my window up or something. My dad would be so disappointed (he was a cop and drilled into my head to lock my doors).

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

99.9% of the time I do too. I have no idea why my door was unlocked this time. Maybe I hit it on accident while rushing to get my window up or something. My dad would be so disappointed (he was a cop and drilled into my head to lock my doors).

Yeah, I’m sure my “always” is right around 99.9% as well.

 

[fla4fun]

Just curious . . .doesn’t you car lock the doors automatically? My first auto locking car was a 1994, so I am just surprised anyone has to manually lock them.

I have also considered a dash cam, but haven’t bought anything yet. Would be interested in following this conversation as well.

 

[Floridaman999]

We use KDLINKS in our vehicles. Found them on Amazon and they have worked quite well.

 

[kleph]

i have used dashcams for several years. while there hasn't been an incident in that time that required documentation, it's very reassuring to have it. kind of like having insurance. in fact, exactly like having insurance, since the big reason i want it is in case i need proof of who was at fault in an accident.

at this point, you can find a pretty robust array of dashcams out there to choose from. cheaper ones tend to require additional technical savvy but an expensive one isn't necessarily the right one for you. it's worth doing a little bit of research but, be forewarned, you are gonna find a bunch of review sites that often simply direct you to a specific brand they are hawking for. there's good info, but carry a grain of salt.

i'm not an expert but here are my recommendations for what to look for:

• you want a good resolution. 1080p at minimum. the more you can afford, the better.
• get one that will turn on when the car starts. you'll just stop doing it/forget if you have to do it manually.
• GPS is a good option since it helps document what is being recorded on the video.
• it needs a looping feature so it never stops recording.
• look for something that is decent for nighttime use.
• put the camera smack dab in the middle of the window, preferably behind the mirror.

the one i have now also includes a rear camera. i had to install it myself and it wasn't too terrible to figure out. i've had tons of problems with different brand's smartphone connectivity. this is probably due to lame apps. but, as long as i can pull the video off the camera directly (connect it directly to my computer, for example) that's not a big deal.

ideally, you want to hook it up. test it. and forget about it. check every few weeks to be sure it's working properly, but just let it do its thing.

oh, and if it has a microphone, you might want to limit your color commentary regarding bad drivers a bit.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Wow, that's nuts!

I thought about getting my husband a dash cam for Christmas. But I'm afraid as evidence in a potential lawsuit, it could be more likely to be a liability for him.

If you have a dash cam in your car and are in an accident or other "event," does the other driver (or law enforcement) have a right to access the information recorded on your dash cam?

 

[ThisIsJason]

Wow, that's nuts!

I thought about getting my husband a dash cam for Christmas. But I'm afraid as evidence in a potential lawsuit, it could be more likely to be a liability for him.

If you have a dash cam in your car and are in an accident or other "event," does the other driver (or law enforcement) have a right to access the information recorded on your dash cam?

The cops would have to get a warrant for it. The other people would have to get a court order. You don't have to hand anything over to them on your own.

I would get one though. Both mine and my wifes car had front/back dash cams. Paid for themselves when some idiot kid back into my wife and told the cops that my wife rear ended him. She showed the cop the dash cam, kid got the ticket and not her, and we got a $12,500 towards a car (air bags went off, our insurance totals a car when a airbag goes off).

 

[low-key]

gotta love cray ladies, they keep things interesting

 

[jeff_h]

I have dashcams in all 3 of our cars, which I like to have as I commute about 125 miles R/T each day in the DC area and sure see some interesting things. So while it's primarily for gathering video of incidents such as the OP noted, we've also found it entertaining to pull the memory card out as needed and play video clips for DW of "look what this idiot did on today's drive." Third, as a PP noted, the microphone captures the audio from inside the car and that also can capture language or comments that you may want to forget, but we've had a couple occasions of one person saying something silly and another getting into an uncontrolled laughing fit, and it's fun saving and replaying that stuff too, as those are moments that we don't want to forget. But for the primary reason of safety/evidence purposes, I highly recommend one and we have the "Rexing V1 3rd Gen" in each car and they have worked very well.

 

[Squirlz]

I have a Blackvue system in one car. Front and rear camera.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I own a car audio store and we install DVR's with cameras all the time. I run a 1TB DVR with front and rear cameras. I had a lady pull out in front of me after stopping at a stop sign and I totaled her camry. Damage to my truck was only about $2,400. Front bumper, fender liner, fog light and 1 tire. My truck is lifted so no paint damage. My dash cam footage was copied by the police but it happened in front of the police station so I didn't need it for the report since there were 2 officers outside when it happened. It did help with the insurance because they wanted to fight it until I showed the adjuster the footage.

 

[Klayfish]

Wow, that's nuts!

I thought about getting my husband a dash cam for Christmas. But I'm afraid as evidence in a potential lawsuit, it could be more likely to be a liability for him.

If you have a dash cam in your car and are in an accident or other "event," does the other driver (or law enforcement) have a right to access the information recorded on your dash cam?

The police don't determine liability, but if you wanted to show it to them it's not bad to have. The other driver would not have a right to it. However, if you were to delete it that could be considered spoliation of evidence, which would not be a good thing. You'd want to hold onto it and if it was requested during discovery in a lawsuit you'd have to produce it.

There are so many dash cams out there. They range from $40 to $500 or more. If you just want the basics of high resolution recording, just about any $50 type one will work well. I've seen them used many times with great success. The more expensive ones will get you other features like GPS, audio or other data but it doesn't sound like you'd need/want that.

 

[JaxDad]

I don't have a dashcam, but I had a similar crazy driver incident not too long ago. I was crossing an intersection in a parking lot, at the point where people line up to leave the parking lot via a traffic light. Unfortunately, the guy who went through the intersection ahead of me stopped unexpectedly at a fast food restaurant entrance, so I stopped and was stuck in the middle of the intersection impeding anyone leaving (although the light was still red). A guy in a SUV I was temporarily impeding honked his horn. I held up my index finger, indicating just a moment. He must have thought I flipped him off, because he jumped out of his vehicle and started to come for me. He was a big dude. I grabbed my phone from the center console and started filming him through my closed window/locked door. He saw that and immediately backed off. The sad thing was he was apparently with his family. I saw a woman in the front passenger seat and kids in the back. Even if I did flip him off, really?!?!

 

[tvguy]

Seems like a lot of folks have them, I don't. The flip side, they CAN be used against you too.
Interesting OP on your situation that the police actually responded. They wouldn't have come out for that here, they would ask you to file a report online

 

[LilyWDW]

Thank you everyone who responded with suggestions or even with just well wishes.

I am still shaken and my anxiety has been through the roof today. Even a half dose of my "emergency" meds did not help last night when it came to falling asleep. I went to work today, but ended up leaving early due to the anxiety. Yay for super understanding bosses though.

 

[willowsnn3]

I also think about getting a dash cam from time to time. I don't know the price or quality but HSN has had them on sale a few times. They show a video so you could probably go to their site & watch the videos of the cameras they sell. Like I said, I don't know the prices or the quality of the ones they sell.