How many people here have installed a dashcam?

[Meldrew2]

Dashcams bought, fitted, in both my cars. Cheap enough to buy - about £70 from Amazon.

I bought the e-prance because it is so small - I didn't want anyone breaking a window to steal it.

It sits behind the rear view mirror, I'm now almost completely unaware of it's presence, my driving hasn't changed.

IMO, it's just another precaution that is prudent to take, but will probably never be used. Then again, people have said that of seat belts, abs, airbags, etc., etc.,

 

[B33fy]

@John Jones Junior..

Its not about the person with the camera, its the other idiots on the road they are the ones that should look to improve their driving skills.

As for your narrow minded attitude regarding their use, anyone in my book that uses them in the way you describe deserves to have an accident. As far as I'm concerned they are a silent witness to any incidents to use as and where necessary, especially where there is dishonest and deceit occurring.

I detest their use for vigilante type actions and believe there is a place for them as for invincibility you've lost me on that one. Your post makes huge sweeping assumptions which are largely incorrect and clearly from someone who doesn't appreciate their worth or understand the point, If they are not for you then so be it.

 

[baxlin]

One other point, if we are really concerned about road safety and protecting our insurance NCB and feel the need to fit cameras, why not take advance driving lessons too, buy the very best of tyres etc, etc. Oh, and learn to read the road ahead!

Yeah, I know I'm in the minority but I'm totally happy driving without one even in the S.E..

I don't have a dashcam because of my own driving, and, if I may point out without causing offence, you don't know what driving qualifications I have, or the state of my tyres (actually, they've all done about 600 miles, as it's a new car).

The UK's driving habits may not be as bad as say Russia's, but it's getting that way, I'm sure, so I want to have evidence if for instance I'm crashed for cash.

To put it in context, I've had a Dashcam for about two years now, and have had only one instance where the footage would have been very valuable, had I not braked as quickly as I did.

I hope, TBH, that from now on, all 3 cameras we have in our family fleet will be fitted and forgotten, and the images never viewed. In fact, a total waste of money.

But you could say that about every sort of insurance.

To lighten the mood, and talking of driving standards, I served in the Gulf in 1970/71, and I took my local RAF driving check in downtown Manama, Bahrain, where they had in the previous year or so changed from driving on the left to driving on the right, (presumably because most of the cars were either US gas-guzzlers/muscle cars, or big Mercedes, and all were left hand drive).

My RAF examiner explained that there was but one rule of the road which was observed by all - "If he hesitates, you go, because if you hesitate he will!".

Worked like a charm.........

Malcolm

 

[fab1975]

Hi All,



On my current car I am using a BlackVue DR650GW-2CH
<http://www.blackvue.com/en/contents/sub1.asp?idx=26> and on the previous
one I had a Lukas LK-7900
<http://lukashd.com/dashcam/product_info/car-dash-cams.html> ACE. I have
quite a long commute to work and there have been too many occasions when I
wished I had bought a dashcam sooner, including the few examples mentioned
below:



- a nice lady who hit my stationary car at the beginning of a traffic jam on
the M56: at first she admitted full liability, but one day later she tried
to change her version. Luckily (for me) I had two independent witnesses and
a few pictures, so she eventually gave up, but the whole process took quite
some time and effort.

- a tipper driver who purposely opened his truck rear lid as I was "too
close to his wheels". Plenty of topsoil hit my bonnet and windscreen, but
even if I chased him to his tip-yard and got the police involved, I could
not prove what he did and after 1 month I decided to drop my claim in order
to avoid paying a much higher insurance renewal premium.

- a young kid on a skateboard who popped out of nowhere and crossed the road
at lightning speed without caring about the incoming traffic. It was dark
and rainy, but I managed to stop "just on time" and car behind almost hit
me. Nothing happened and the kid even gave me the thumbs up, but I got
really scared and on the same evening I decided to buy a dashcam.



The only time so far I had to chance to use dashcam video footage as
evidence was when I appealed (successfully) against a penalty notice issued
by a private car park management company. I will spare you the boring
details, but the key to success was that I had been able to prove
unequivocally time of entry/exit, position and layout of warning signs and a
number of other small things.



In any case, I could never praise enough the importance of having a dashcam
and personally I do not really understand why such an important feature is
not offered as an option on modern cars. At the end of the day, my C300h had
already got everything I needed in terms of dashcam technology: an excellent
360° camera, a (not so) excellent Comand Satnav, 2x USB ports, HDD and
Bluetooth. In a way I had to pay for a device that performs functions that
are already available (but separately) in my car , but I would do it again.



Yes, I spent some money that I might never recover, but then the same could
be said about my fire extinguisher at home, the smoke detectors, various
insurance covers and many other things that I really hope I will never have
to use...including airbags ;-) The point is that they are all if needed and
I find that quite reassuring.



Cheers



Fab

 

[Meldrew2]

...if we are really concerned about road safety and protecting our insurance NCB and feel the need to fit cameras, why not take advance driving lessons too, buy the very best of tyres etc, etc. Oh, and learn to read the road ahead!

Advanced lessons - check.
Best of tyres - check.
Tyres visually checked every few days - check.
Tyre pressure monitored regularly - check.
Reading the road ahead - check.

Also: pre-empt and plan for the idiotic actions of others - check.
Driving plan based on what I can see, what I cannot see and what I expect to happen - check.
ABS brakes, stability management, modern car with good handling characteristics - check.

However, I also: Fasten seatbelt - sit correctly for airbag to offer maximum protection and yes - I have fitted a dashcam.

The dashcam has NOTHING to do with safe driving. It has NOTHING to do with making an incident survivable.

It's there in the (unlikely) event of an incident, to provide proof of my actions and those of other road users as an aid to making a successful insurance (and possibly injury) claim and as evidence to defend any allegations with regard to my driving. That's it.

 

[carlls]

just had this had this hardwired in good satnav toardwired in good satnav too

 

[John Jones Jr]

Ah, Baxlin don't take it personal, nor you Meldrew2. I don't know you guys from Adam and I've only made general comments. I made no specific comments about anybody in particular.

Mind, Meldrew2 you do sound like a right ball of laughs...you remind me of the guy who causes an accident but is not directly involved and drives off into the sunshine obvious. As I don't know you, don't take that personal either.

Also too, I did use words like ''some'' and ''suspect'', so I couldn't be pointing the finger at anybody in particular, so there's no need for anybody on the back of my post to feel like they have to justify filling the world with more cameras.

Sadly, those that have taken exception to my post never commented on my third paragraph, the most important one. Then again as I originally stated I knew I was on a hiding to nothing.

 

[TheFoX]

I'll make some points here that have been mentioned by other posters.

1) Dashcams can make us vigilantes. Yes, there will be a small minority who seem to think that installing a dashcam gives them the right to hunt out scum, but for the rest of us, after the initial honeymoon period of installing a new gadget, we will forget about the camera until its footage is actually needed. Indeed, my cameras are eclipsed by the rear view mirror, and have no distracting factor whatsoever.

2) We are not in Russia, and our standard of driving is much better. Yes, I do agree that British drivers are some of the best in the world, but I have to point out that in the area that I live in has seen an explosion of immigrants. Indeed, if you visit Boston Asda these days, you'd be hard pushed to hear a word of English. Now, I am not racist by any measure, but most of the foreigners in my area have a much lower standard of driving skill, such as only looking one way when exiting a junction, or driving with eight friends crammed in to the Vauxhall Corsa (and unable to change gear, meaning they don't get above 15mph while travelling between Moulton and Whaplode).

3) I have four high grip tyres, the latest braking technology and I am an advanced driver (or the Stig). It doesn't matter how experienced you are, and how well equipped your car is, if someone, accidentally or deliberately, rams you, you are going to get crunched. The only way to avoid an accident is not to buy a car, because it is likely to happen sooner or later. I consider myself a safe driver, yet I have been hit twice in the last 15 years. With the first one, I saw what was about to happen and braked to a halt, yet still got hit. The second one was totally unpredictable. When someone actually stops at a Give Way, you assume it is safe to pass the junction. No one can pre-empt an idiot.

3) I have been driving for 50 years and never had an accident. When you first passed your test, the number of cars on the road was minimal. You could probably count the number of cars on your street with just two hands. We have seen an explosion of cars over the last 30 years or so, and our highways are getting even more congested. Add to this the immigrant element bringing in their left hand drive vehicles and you have a recipe for disaster, as more and more people get frustrated with the chaos caused by congestion.

Finally, while there are a lot of honest people out there, there are an equal number of evil ****s who couldn't give a damn about you. They'll lie to the ends of the Earth, even producing fake witnesses, just to prove them right and you wrong. We have to protect ourselves against these scum, whose only attribute is that they are Jeremy Kyle material.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I'm sensing a very defensive stance from those who have bought this equipment.

 

[B33fy]

I'm sensing a very defensive stance from those who have bought this equipment.

And I'm sensing a poor attempt at flaming..

 

[TheFoX]

Ironically enough, just popped down to the Chinese restaurant to pick up a takeaway, and almost didn't make it. At the same spot as the accident that put us in hospital last December, an idiot in a Volvo XC pulled out in front of us. Thankfully, due to the previous crash, I take a much more active response to this junction, and had slowed my speed from 60mph to just 40mph, so was able to brake and swerve at the same time, avoiding a nasty crash.

Admittedly, he waved an apology at me, but I didn't really pay much attention as I am swearing at him and giving him the finger.

On returning home, I reviewed the CCTV footage from my dashcam, which not only showed him pulling out after only checking one way, but also showed that he was sitting way short of the Give Way markings, which would have restricted his vision anyway.

In fact, reviewing the CCTV footage showed that not only did I swerve, but I actually stopped short of the main junction. It also showed that he pulled half way out in to the main road, hit the brake hard when he spotted me, then moved off again.

This sort of information is just what the Police or insurance companies like to see, as a picture paints a thousand words as they say, and they can see how events transpire without any sort of ambiguity creeping in.

As for this incident, there is probably nothing I can do with the footage. As his vehicle was side on, his plates weren't visible, and since there was no collision, the police aren't interested anyway.

What I will do, though, is to liaise with the Police and see if we can get our local authority to try to do something with this junction, such as changing priority by introducing a mini roundabout system, so that everyone has to approach the junction at a reduced speed. Or even lower the speed limit for that stretch so that high speed impacts are reduced. Saturday Bridge is known as an accident hotspot.