Anyone use a Dash Cam?

[altrenda]

I spend most of my day driving around near the center of the Hollywood TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) where most of the studios and offices are located. It's dense and full of crazy drivers, tourists, out of control bicyclists and don't give a damn pedestrians.

I have often thought I would like a dash cam, like what a lot of Russians seem to have, to keep track of some of the odd things I see and to protect myself in case of an accident.

Does anyone use one? I see them at all price levels, from $20 to $600, but I don't really know what to look for or what things I need or don't need.

 

[14049752]

I used an old android phone as a dash cam for a while. It recorded GPS location, speed, time and video. The app was free, I can't imagine that I searched for anything other than "Dash cam".

I quit using it, though, because I got sick of remember to take it out of the car. (I was worried a phone in full view would make my car an easy target) A rear-view mirror dash cam would probably be less risky for theft.

 

[Markverhyden]

I looked into it but from what I gathered it's illegal where I live. Make sure you check the laws in state as they can get very nasty about this stuff.

Some others I've talked to about this have bought devices in the $200 or so range. It's well worth it. Say you get tagged by a hit and run and you don't visually see a plate you can use it in your defense to keep from getting whacked on your premium.

 

[Martyn]

I use one on my land rover mainly from when I used to be off roading. People are getting them in the uk because of all the Crash for Cash insurance scams going in. Basically some one driving a car will get you to rear end their car by braking suddenly. The person in the shunted car will claim for whiplash injuries(even if they don't have them) along with other passengers that were supposedly in the car. A few if these people have been caught by footage of what actually happened and who was in the car at the time.

 

[katz]

I looked into it but from what I gathered it's illegal where I live.

Really? I'm not doubting your word, but do you have a link on that? My understanding was that you don't have the expectation of privacy in a public place...or maybe this doesn't fall under that...

 

[Markverhyden]

People are getting them in the uk because of all the Crash for Cash insurance scams going in. Basically some one driving a car will get you to rear end their car by braking suddenly. The person in the shunted car will claim for whiplash injuries(even if they don't have them) along with other passengers that were supposedly in the car. A few if these people have been caught by footage of what actually happened and who was in the car at the time.

When I lived in Houston, Texas back in the late 80's they called this swoop and squat. A quick lane change so they are in front of you, the passenger watching for when the driver does a quick glance in the mirror, etc. Then jam on the brakes.

 

[Markverhyden]

Really? I'm not doubting your word, but do you have a link on that? My understanding was that you don't have the expectation of privacy in a public place...or maybe this doesn't fall under that...

Laws vary by state. In MA it is against the law to record a conversion without all parties prior consent. I think 12 states have this. And they seem to take a stance that even recording video in public, like with a dash cam, is also an invasion of privacy. They make exceptions to things like media and "recreational activities". Interesting enough there have been court cases where people were trying to record police actions (alleging abuse, etc) and those recordings were deemed illegal from what I remember.

 

[mraikes]

I looked into it but from what I gathered it's illegal where I live. Make sure you check the laws in state as they can get very nasty about this stuff.

Some others I've talked to about this have bought devices in the $200 or so range. It's well worth it. Say you get tagged by a hit and run and you don't visually see a plate you can use it in your defense to keep from getting whacked on your premium.

Really? I'm not doubting your word, but do you have a link on that? My understanding was that you don't have the expectation of privacy in a public place...or maybe this doesn't fall under that...

MA has a couple laws that might be argued cross over into the dash cam arena. Primarily one that requires ALL parties to give consent before an oral conversation is recorded. That can be circumvented by turning off the sound recording of a dash cam.

The second is that MA (like most states) has a restriction against hidden cameras secretly recording someone in a circumstance where they would expect a level of unobserved privacy. That may be circumvented by a clearly visible dash cam. Someone would have to convince a jury a dash cam is hidden and that it recorded someone in a situation normally entitled to privacy. Not likely on a public road or other circumstance a dashcam would be useful.

Nevertheless even in MA the mere existence of a dash cam in your vehicle is so unlikely to cause you trouble that I wouldn't give it a second thought. And if the evidence it contains is deemed inadmissible by a court - for example if I were struck by another driver that then sped away - the camera capturing the license plate - I wouldn't really be any worse off.

Just like any other tool or civil right, it's when they're actually used or exercised that you have to be ready to defend or justify the action.

 

[jkurgeek]

After some reading, I settled on a GW1 camera. Search Amazon for GW1 and it'll come right up.

At $60 it was a more reasonable risk compared to picking up something like a GoPro. Haven't had a lot of time to fiddle with it too much, but so far I'm satisfied.

Here's a writeup at The Wire Cutter with features and specs:
thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-dash-cam

 

[LifelineIT]

I have a dedicated dashcam hardwired into the car so it doesn't need a plug, mostly because we do almost 30k miles a year and that doesn't count rentals... And I use one of those for everything over 125 miles. I edit down the idiots and drop them on my YouTube channel.

 

[altrenda]

California is a two party consent state as well, but that only covers audio recording. Video recording is OK. There is even a California section on dashcamaccidents.com.

 

[gikstar]

Wondering if one of these dashcams would attach to the side mirror of my Ninja motorcycle?

 

[4ycr]

Someone on my Google + circles has a dash cam in the UK, they often put up videos showing the crazy driving of others. I have thought about it but not done any research on them.

 

[dombooth]

Yep,

Videos can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/user/domdombooth/videos

Hardwired into the car pics:

http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/dominicbooth/library/InCarCamera?sort=3&page=1

Ebay item number: 251290925387

With a class 10 32Gb MicroSD card.

Dom

 

[baytech3]

I bought this and liked it so much bought a second one for my wife
Decent quality, Hardwired to record and the ignition is on.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GTKY24/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Larry Sabo]

Excellent review site here: http://dashcamtalk.com

I'd love to get the G1WH but suspect the wife would see it as monitoring her driving, which our daughter says is frightening!

 

[citizensmith]

Top Gear had a drive in the new London red buses. They got 11 camares. 5 inside watching the driver and pasengers and 6 outside watching the traffic.