I've been driving with a camera for over a year now. While I haven't needed it for evidence of any sort, I do enjoy being able to create movies of enjoyable drives and idiot drivers from time to time :)
I worry less about people in front of me doing idiotic things now. I know that even if there's an accident, I'll have proof that I (hopefully) wasn't to blame.
I like the G1W-C models for cheap and works, and the BlackVue DR* (I have a DR650-GW) models for "really nice."
The BlackVue models have GPS, which is nice because it provides a speed readout overlaid on the video. They also have WiFi (mostly useless IMO) and run Linux, which means there are a few interesting hacks for them.
Two often-overlooked things to look for are:
* A capacitor for power-off storage (this is what keeps the camera on while the video is finalized and buffers flushed) instead of a LiPo, which is ill-suited to use in a hot, sunny area like the windshield.
* A discrete design without flashy chrome bits and blinky lights everywhere. The last think you want is someone breaking in and stealing your dashcam itself.
I turned off GPS on mine for that exact reason. If your speed is +- 10 mph the average speed of traffic, it's not a factor. Unless you're an insurance company, of course, and then it's a great excuse to deny a claim.
Insurance companies will need to jump though hoops to access that data in a fender bender where you still have possession of the vehicle. If you provide it (in a dash cam video that's evidence that you shouldn't pay) you're giving them an opportunity to deny the claim right there. There's also a lot of cases where traffic is doing 20-over and 20-25 over is criminal in most states
I got the transcend drivepro 200 with the suction mount. I picked it because the video quality day and night were rated near the top, and it has wifi so I can configure it/download videos easily from my phone.
I don't see it being very long until all vehicles will be required to have a 'black-box' like aircraft.
Basically, in the event of an accident that is serious, both black boxes from each vehicle can be submitted to ...somebody, and the the account of what happened will be recorded in perfect detail. This would probably be able to settle fault in a high percentage of cases.
Now for the case of people jumping out in front of vehicles like they do in Russia...many vehicles will have cameras and lasers on board which will be used both as safety features (automatic collision avoidance) and autonomous driving. Every bit of data from these will also be recorded.
There will come a point in the future, (< 10 years), where most vehicles on the road will have all of these features and disputed accident claims, fraud, people suing the driver after they intentionally jump in front of a vehicle, will all be the past. Data storage is cheap.
It will also change all statistics about insurance and driving. New models will come about, including the insurance per mile, etc. And How much of the time is spent under fully autonomous driving versus driving yourself. If you are fully autonomous on most streets all the time, I can imagine a very low insurance premium.
2016 vehicles are already shipping either as options or as standard in some trims, safety features which can detect obstructions and take automated action (collision avoidance systems). Some are aimed only at detecting other vehicles ahead, but some are specifically designed to detect and avoid pedestrians/cyclists.
These systems utilise lasers and cameras. They aren't currently being used as a black box but it is practically turn-key, no additional hardware would be required except maybe an SD card and encoder to add a built in car-cam.
I agree that it may take ten years for this stuff to become standard in all new cars, but in the next two or three years if someone wants this in their new car they may very well be able to buy it.
Toyota are adding many of these features to their 2016 cars as a $500 option (lane departure, collision avoidance, etc) on all trims as far as I know.
An alternative possibility is that the prices are getting cheap enough to be cost effective for problems which have always existed; fraudulent claims, and ambiguity when settling insurance claims.
Reportedly, fraudulent claims are so common in Russia that there are many video compilations of Russian pedestrians sprinting to ram themselves into slow-driving cars.
Or as this Economist article puts it, "Indeed, thousands of Russian videos of horrific crashes, remarkable near misses and blatant attempts at insurance fraud by drivers and pedestrians have become a staple on YouTube and other websites."
That the Russians have been doing it for years and it's been so slow to catch on suggests the opposite, for the same reason that the increasing spread of autonomous cars is not a sign of the decay & fall of the West but its continued technological vitality.
Russian's have been doing this for years because fraudulent insurance claims, simple extortion and roadside robbery were too common.
People would literally jump in front of your car (usually in more or less a safe manner) even if it was in the middle of a red light slam on your hood and pretend that you hit them.
Then they will either threaten to sue and try to extort you or if you are dumb enough to get out under the wrong circumstances simply rob you.
But having a front and even back facing cameras isn't a bad idea, it makes insurance claims much easier - GL explaining that the idiot backed out into you and you didn't rear end them.
Wouldn't surprise me if insurance companies would start giving discounts on premiums for drivers with camera setup, and in a few years mandate a tamper proof always on camera for you to actually get insurance.
Mandatory always-on cameras for insurance, insurance which is mandated by law in many places, is terrifying. These devices would necessarily have to phone home constantly and provide another stream of involuntary data for the surveillance state.
I'm all for using dashcams, but the data should not leave the vehicle unless the owner intends it to (or a warrant is issued).
In the US many cars already have a microphone for AAA type services, some cars will automatically dial home/911 if they've been in a car accident where the air bags have been deployed.
As for the data not leaving the dashcam it won't at first because internet connectivity is still spotty and expensive, eventually it will probably stream it live to you insurer which will perform some analysis on it to see how you drive in order to define your premiums, so if you speed you get to pay more. It won't surprise me if insurers don't already have access to some telemetry from cars (e.g. the one which is downloaded during routine checkups) that can be used to extrapolate your driving behavior for example how often you break suddenly/emergency break, most modern cars come with accelerometers today to ensure that air-bags deploy properly even when the is hit from the rear or the side that data is probably stored in the control box.
If I had the spare cash for 2 cams, I'd set them up on my motorcycle for insurance purposes. I've heard too many stories about motorcyclists getting hit and being blamed for the accidents. Or even worse, hit and runs. In the age of cell phones, distracted driving is the norm. I almost get hit by someone almost weekly. I really need some cameras soon :(
Depending how long you ride for and how frequently, and if it's just for backup purposes, you could potentially use the Spy Gear Panosphere with a large MicroSD card.
I have two of them and while the native recording is very fish-eye, the software that comes with the unit functions fine in focusing on a specific point.
With a 32 GB card and full charge, I think I've gotten about 45 minutes of recording. Might not be good for daily use, but for recreational outings it might be usable with some customization (e.g. super glue a mount to it). I've got one mounted on a swivel clip from a clip-on guitar tuner that broke and it's been a neat tool.
You're correct that it's not a true HD unit. It doesn't do well in low light either. I think if mounted in the right place though, it could potentially get that info in one of the frames.
I like the Replay cameras, you can set them to overwrite old files, and to turn on and start recording on external power. So basically I just had to plug it in every time I went out on the bike, and then unplug it when I was done.
Unfortunately after about 2 years the plug on my XD1080 stopped working so I can't reliably charge it :/ I'll probably replace it with the Prime X when my budget allows.
I know a few people who use Mobius cameras or newer mini-cams on their helmets. They usually have some sort of snap-on or strap to hold them in place but also allow for removal if you get caught in the rain.
Lower profile than strapping a GoPro to your head and cheaper too.
Honest question: Has anybody used telemetry from a personal wearable device in the context of using it as proof of testimony, or something akin to that?
Right. There was no collision, the cyclist fell because he had to break hard to avoid it, but the car driver did not even notice what happened. The license plate number was visible in the video.
On a related note, could this backfire if, e.g., you're compelled to give someone your video so they can make a case against you? In a criminal case an American could probably exercise the 5th amendment, but what about a civil case, or insurance claim?
The 5th Amendment wouldn't apply. The 5th Amendment protects against self-incrimination, not incriminating evidence (like a video recording from you dash cam) except in very specific circumstances that aren't applicable here.
5th amendment for the most part covers only your testimony and pretty much what's in your head.
Any physical evidence can be accessed through a search warrant, and in some cases if it's on your person (e.g. cell phones) without it.
Not sure what's the case of a car, but as far as i know if the car is impounded everything in it is admissible evidence.
If the car wasn't impounded then the court can order you to produce the recorded footage as evidence, if you refuse then you can be charged with contempt of court, and technically put in jail indefinitely until you comply.
Question for those of you with dash cams: What do you use and why?
Seems like a ton of options available. Some expensive and some not. Many features to consider like storage limits, power source, integrated rear-view cams, etc.
I've got a G1W. I use it because I don't want to get screwed over by an idiot in front of me. I also drive a POS in a nice place and get frequently bothered by law enforcement (stopped for under 5-over...or really?) and if you bring an umbrella it usually won't rain.
The most common close call I have in my truck is slowing down to stop in a right or left turn lane and having someone cut me off to get in the lane while I'm stopping. I've only ever seen close calls but if more than one or two people do that when pulling up to one turn then it's gonna be hard for everyone to have enough space to come to a stop without rear ending someone.
When driving my 90s compact (not my DD) in traffic I've had two very close calls where people blast through one lane of dense traffic in order to pull out onto the road and cut me off (I assume because they don't see me). Both times I went jumping over curbs to avoid T-boning or rear-ending them.
I took a 12v outlet from the junkyard, wired it in parallel with the stock one (hot in run) and located it under the dash. The camera is powered by a USB plug so I just used an adapter I had lying around. I drilled a hole through the trim for the cord and used a grommet to keep it clean looking and prevent the cord from wearing out.
I use a standard Blackvue HD camera because it was recommended to me - the quality is high enough to make out details (like plates) and it has good low light performance. It works long enough to ensure if I have an accident I can pull the card out and be good to go (I don't need hours of recording, right?)
It has front and back cameras, but I only use the front one as I'm too lazy to wire it in and assume 99% of likely trouble is at the front of the vehicle (yes, people can rear-end you, but in my country that person is almost automatically in the wrong).
Usually dash cams come with a 12v/cigarette lighter charging cord. In my car, the 12v ports turn on and off when the car turns on and off. The cameras are designed to start up and start recording when they receive external power, and have small battery or capacitor that lets them save files and turn off when the external power source is turned off.
My car doesn't turn off my lighter port when car is turned off and I'm not sure I'll remember to unplug it every time I get out of my car which could result in a dead battery. :/
There are dash cameras that are designed to be run 24/7, and you typically need to hardwire them to your battery. That way you can capture any vandalism/comprehensive damage that happens when the car is parked. From what I understand, they can go several days recording on the cars battery, so you could check the actual power usage or look for an always-on camera system that is designed for such use. You'd still need to run the car every couple days to keep the battery fully charged, but if you drive a lot it would work fine.
benmanns basicaly has my setup down. It's plugged into the 12V cigarette lighter port, the cable is wrapped numerous times around a display my car has built in, and the wire just dangles the 4 or 5 inches from the camera to there - it's not in my view so doesn't bother me.
The reasons: It's very cheap, and has worked fine for about 6 months. It does however have an absolutely terrible user interface. The more general reason why I use a dashcam is to avoid he-said-she-said arguments about who caused an accident.
I worry less about people in front of me doing idiotic things now. I know that even if there's an accident, I'll have proof that I (hopefully) wasn't to blame.