Are dashcams actually worth it?
Discussion
I was gifted a budget dashcam for Christmas.. Apachie something or other, front and rear. I normally find cheaper electronics are false economy but as it was a present I wired it up to show willing.
Having used it for a few days now it's actually working really well. Resolution isn't great, but it offers some peace of mind. Also It may be psychosomatic, but just like the above, it really does seem like people back off when they see the rear camera. Handy when you've got your kid in the back.
I have no idea how long it will last, but when it fails I'll invest in a more premium one for sure now.
Having used it for a few days now it's actually working really well. Resolution isn't great, but it offers some peace of mind. Also It may be psychosomatic, but just like the above, it really does seem like people back off when they see the rear camera. Handy when you've got your kid in the back.
I have no idea how long it will last, but when it fails I'll invest in a more premium one for sure now.
I had something fall from my trailer onto the road, my fault
flaps behind me sees this as an opportunity to claim he hit the item and claim for damage to his damaged bumper on his works van
At the road side I apologised and gave my details as I believed him.
Get home and reviewed the rear camera, it fell straight onto the road and into the hedgeside
He clearly missed it by a good 5 secs
I suspect he'd damaged his van and saw this an opportunity to pin the blame on me
I supplied footage to his insurance, case quickly went away
I would have been out of pocket I suspect
flaps behind me sees this as an opportunity to claim he hit the item and claim for damage to his damaged bumper on his works vanAt the road side I apologised and gave my details as I believed him.
Get home and reviewed the rear camera, it fell straight onto the road and into the hedgeside
He clearly missed it by a good 5 secs
I suspect he'd damaged his van and saw this an opportunity to pin the blame on me
I supplied footage to his insurance, case quickly went away
I would have been out of pocket I suspect
So 3 years on, thread revival somewhat...
Came across this thread, and I think driving standards have got considerably worse here in the UK.
I have always been on the fence with these 'dashcams' but in the past few years' they have got increasingly cheap, and very good value!
I am really tempted to get one for the front windscreen, I drive very defensively anyway, always have, but some of the loons I encounter on a near daily basis, quite frequently feel I need to cover myself just in case something happens, I am strongly looking at fitting one now, and feel the time is about right, after my 20 years of driving.
I am in no means a 'dashcam vigilante' that is just sad, just a normal person trying to drive safely, since having a child my driving has really become very very sedate even more so than it use to be
, especially with the little one in the rear seat.
Came across this thread, and I think driving standards have got considerably worse here in the UK.
I have always been on the fence with these 'dashcams' but in the past few years' they have got increasingly cheap, and very good value!
I am really tempted to get one for the front windscreen, I drive very defensively anyway, always have, but some of the loons I encounter on a near daily basis, quite frequently feel I need to cover myself just in case something happens, I am strongly looking at fitting one now, and feel the time is about right, after my 20 years of driving.
I am in no means a 'dashcam vigilante' that is just sad, just a normal person trying to drive safely, since having a child my driving has really become very very sedate even more so than it use to be
, especially with the little one in the rear seat.Still the same point of view for me, it sits there recording just in case. I now have one fitted to my motorbike following when someone rolled into that at a junction and knocked me off it. That turned into 4 months of frustration with the other party lying. Eventually, it went my way but 10 seconds of footage would have prevented all of that.
As an ‘independent witness’ definitely yes. I’ve got a decent one in my daily driver and a basic Nextbase in my camper van. I tend to overtake a fair bit so it’s good to have an independent record that I’m not actually driving like the 42mph flasher thinks I am.
I’d prefer to have it than not. And as an aside I generally capture one lunatic overtake per month and stick said drivers on.
I’d prefer to have it than not. And as an aside I generally capture one lunatic overtake per month and stick said drivers on.
After my comments four years ago, I actually have one, but then I'm sure my driving has deteriorated.
In my case it was after some oddball accused me of tailgating him in my work van when I wasn't, I just wasn't going as slowly as him, but of course I had no way of proving it. So I now have the most fisheye camera in the world so everyone looks miles away.
In my case it was after some oddball accused me of tailgating him in my work van when I wasn't, I just wasn't going as slowly as him, but of course I had no way of proving it. So I now have the most fisheye camera in the world so everyone looks miles away.
I just bought a second one for another car from BT for £30.
They're so cheap now it's madness not to. They can easily pay for themselves. Recently I had my car in the garage for a suspension problem to be fixed. The machsnic took the car put fir a test drive after the work was complete....
His boss was alarmed when I showed him that he had taken a customers car to 112mph down the bypass and overtaken 6 cars in that 'test drive' of a broken spring replacement. Sure it's tempting to see what a 340bhp car is like when you're 24 and never had one but still it was something that got me the Labour knocked off the bill and the garage owner aware of a major reputational and insurance risk to his business.
I would not have one now. Next is a 360 helmet cam for my motorbike.
They're so cheap now it's madness not to. They can easily pay for themselves. Recently I had my car in the garage for a suspension problem to be fixed. The machsnic took the car put fir a test drive after the work was complete....
His boss was alarmed when I showed him that he had taken a customers car to 112mph down the bypass and overtaken 6 cars in that 'test drive' of a broken spring replacement. Sure it's tempting to see what a 340bhp car is like when you're 24 and never had one but still it was something that got me the Labour knocked off the bill and the garage owner aware of a major reputational and insurance risk to his business.
I would not have one now. Next is a 360 helmet cam for my motorbike.
Dog Star said:
Try living in the NW, Slough, Leicester, Brum, West Yorks.
Dashcams are absolutely essential - crash for cash, false witnessing etc. You'd not believe the stuff I've seen. I have them installed for this reason alone.
How to say you are racist without actually saying I'm racist Dashcams are absolutely essential - crash for cash, false witnessing etc. You'd not believe the stuff I've seen. I have them installed for this reason alone.
Honeywell said:
I just bought a second one for another car from BT for £30.
They're so cheap now it's madness not to. They can easily pay for themselves. Recently I had my car in the garage for a suspension problem to be fixed. The machsnic took the car put fir a test drive after the work was complete....
His boss was alarmed when I showed him that he had taken a customers car to 112mph down the bypass and overtaken 6 cars in that 'test drive' of a broken spring replacement. Sure it's tempting to see what a 340bhp car is like when you're 24 and never had one but still it was something that got me the Labour knocked off the bill and the garage owner aware of a major reputational and insurance risk to his business.
I would not have one now. Next is a 360 helmet cam for my motorbike.
I lost all trust in my main dealer. The customer service was appalling and they were always trying to upsell unnecessary work, even work that wasn’t part of the manufacturers service schedule.They're so cheap now it's madness not to. They can easily pay for themselves. Recently I had my car in the garage for a suspension problem to be fixed. The machsnic took the car put fir a test drive after the work was complete....
His boss was alarmed when I showed him that he had taken a customers car to 112mph down the bypass and overtaken 6 cars in that 'test drive' of a broken spring replacement. Sure it's tempting to see what a 340bhp car is like when you're 24 and never had one but still it was something that got me the Labour knocked off the bill and the garage owner aware of a major reputational and insurance risk to his business.
I would not have one now. Next is a 360 helmet cam for my motorbike.
Whenever I took the car in for a service or repair, they’d always hand my car back with the dash cam unplugged. It amazed me they were too lazy to plug it in again afterwards and the first thing that came to my mind was, if they had nothing to hide why would they unplug the dashcam?
Dog Star said:
Try living in the NW, Slough, Leicester, Brum, West Yorks.
Dashcams are absolutely essential - crash for cash, false witnessing etc. You'd not believe the stuff I've seen. I have them installed for this reason alone.
My experience of a certain West Yorks city is they’re totally lawless. Red traffic lights or give way junctions are totally ignored by them and they expect you to slam on. They’re also the type of person who will deliberately be in the wrong lane when approaching a junction, then cut across everyone else at the last second. Because they have an IQ in single figures and too thick to realise they’re not getting to their destination any quicker.Dashcams are absolutely essential - crash for cash, false witnessing etc. You'd not believe the stuff I've seen. I have them installed for this reason alone.
Hopefully a dashcam will prove to the insurance companies that I wasn’t at fault in the inevitable collision caused by them. Not surprisingly, that city also has the one of the highest car insurance costs in the UK.
Edited by Mr Miata on Saturday 16th October 17:06
Tyre Smoke said:
Can anyone recommend a dashcam that doesn't have a rear screen and can be hard wired, that I don't have to sell a kidney for?
I’ve got a Nextbase jobbie from Costco, was about £55 if memory serves. Cylindrical body. No screen. Looks like this one …
https://www.costco.co.uk/Tyres-Automotive/Automoti...
With regard to hard wiring I just buy one of these ….
2 Pieces DC Converter 12V to 5V... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F9QYJV2?ref=ppx_pop...
… and wire them into a switched positive (usually fag lighter supply) and locate them behind the glovebox. Run one tail into the glovebox (handy for charging stuff) and the other by the bulkhead - use that to run the usb power cable for your dash cam up the A pillar.
If you’re being properly neat get a right angled connector for the end that goes into the dash cam. I try to locate mine so they’re hidden from view by the mirror.
Tyre Smoke said:
Can anyone recommend a dashcam that doesn't have a rear screen and can be hard wired, that I don't have to sell a kidney for?
I've installed these on 4 different cars. Bit old now (2018) but decent day and night video quality and still available on eBay for less than £50.https://dashcamtalk.com/blueskysea-b1w/
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