Experience with dash cams?

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

Does anyone in the Saloon have experience with dash cams? Those are the cameras which record everything in front of you while driving.
 

I am convinced that people are becoming stupider on the road, and I am having too many near misses.  I would like something to document a stupid person should I happen to be involved in an incident.

 

As always, the Saloon’s expertise is appreciated.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

It can provide evidence for or against you.

[Michigan Slim]

Spend a couple bucks on one. Don't just buy the cheapest you can. My wife was hit by a woman who claimed that my wife hit HER and was faking injury. That ended fast when my son showed up with his laptop and played the video for the officer. I also was able to provide video of a fatal crash when a woman ran a stop sign on a four lane highway. 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Take a look at some of the channels on youtube. There are several that show dashcam videos, and they have links to different recommended systems on them.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

33 minutes ago, Michigan Slim said:

Spend a couple bucks on one. Don't just buy the cheapest you can. My wife was hit by a woman who claimed that my wife hit HER and was faking injury. That ended fast when my son showed up with his laptop and played the video for the officer. I also was able to provide video of a fatal crash when a woman ran a stop sign on a four lane highway. 

What model do you have?  Could you install it yourself?

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

My son, Big Red, got T-boned last winter, when a woman ran a red light around 11:30 at night.

She tried to claim it was Ian who ran the light, because she didn't see a Dash Cam in the dash of his van.

OOPSY!

It got knocked to the floor in the collision, but was still running c/w audio and showed he had the right of way as well as catching her tirade and accusations as she continued to rant.

We made sure her insurance company got a copy.

[Chief Rick]

I run a Garmin.  Plugged into an outlet that powers up when the truck is started.  Will automatically turn off after an amount of time when power is removed.  Automatically starts recording over the oldest footage when the memory card is full.  Shows MY speed in the video playback along with some other info, like time and date.

 

I haven't, and hope to never, need it.

 

My daughter had a camera mounted in her tractor/trailer and recorded a motorcyclist losing it in front of her at an off-ramp.  She was able to provide the video to the Highway Patrol for their report.

[Matthew Duncan]

I went with a Garmin Dash Cam Mini 2.  Small, sticks to the windshield and I ran the power cable overhead to a USB port.  Connected to it with their APP on my iPhone to set parameters and view the videos stored on the onboard SIM chip..  For a monthly fee ( I declined) vids could be stored in the cloud.  Does not have GPS so your speed is NOT recorded.  So far I’m impressed.

[Three Foot Johnson]

This was recorded with a very basic $25 cheapo dashcam from Walmart. I really need something better, but...

 

I caught this incident just north of Great Falls four years ago. The trailer being towed by the semi at about the five second mark threw a tire which went flying down the ditch and eventually into the oncoming lanes where the white pickup passing me hit it, knocking it into the guardrail and back into the lane in front of me. The pickup might have saved my life - I don't think my Honda Fit would have fared so well. The semi never even slowed down - I don't think he realized he'd lost a tire & wheel. 

In 2018, I caught a drunk driver incident north of Helena with the same cam. The guy was coming off the pass at 90+ mph, bounced off the center divider half a dozen times, across both lanes into the ditch, throwing gravel, then back onto the Interstate, sideswipe the divider again, repeat. We called  911 and when he exited the Interstate five minutes later, a Highway Patrol car crossed the median, pulled in behind him, and pulled him over, simultaneous with the County Sheriff in his personal vehicle. The Sheriff lives very close by and was off-duty at home when he heard the call. The two occupants got a free ride to jail and I gave him the camera card for a couple days to copy the footage. 

 

 

[Pat Riot]

My old boss in Oregon had one that fit over his rearview mirror and had two cameras that you could rotate. He aimed each one forward at a 45 deg angle so he got a view forward but also left and right. 
He was in a left turn lane when a woman from the perpendicular lanes made a left and ran right into the front of his truck. 
She claimed he pulled up to hit her. 
He showed the police officer the video. 
After questioning the woman he arrested her and took her in for a drug test. Apparently she was high on pot. His truck was repaired at no cost to him. 
 

Another time my boss was headed out to eat. Someone cut him off. He blew his horn. Words were shouted, fingers thrown. The offender followed my boss into the restaurant parking lot where he was meeting friends. As the knucklehead ran up to the side of his truck he rotated the camera so it was aimed out his drivers side window. 
The guy ran up screaming and started to grab my boss then noticed the Beretta 9mm in my boss’ right hand. The guy ran away. My boss called 911. The police came, took his statement and he emailed them his footage right from his phone as he was sitting there. 
I am not sure what became of that incident. 
 

My point is I think a video camera needs the ability to view to the front and sides. It should be readily downloadable to your phone for immediate viewing at the scene. 
 

I do not know what brand my boss’ camera was. It was a highly rated model on Amazon. 
 

—————————-

My helmet cam showed that the woman that hit me was at fault. It also showed the police and my insurance that I was riding legally and was well below the speed limit. 
 

Cameras truly are a benefit. BUT they can also be a curse. You are also videoing your driving as well. I speed all the time. I also delete unneeded videos often. 

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

44 minutes ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

This was recorded with a very basic $25 cheapo dashcam from Walmart. I really need something better, but...

 

I caught this incident just north of Great Falls four years ago. The trailer being towed by the semi at about the five second mark threw a tire which went flying down the ditch and eventually into the oncoming lanes where the white pickup passing me hit it, knocking it into the guardrail and back into the lane in front of me. The pickup might have saved my life - I don't think my Honda Fit would have fared so well. The semi never even slowed down - I don't think he realized he'd lost a tire & wheel. 

In 2018, I caught a drunk driver incident north of Helena with the same cam. The guy was coming off the pass at 90+ mph, bounced off the center divider half a dozen times, across both lanes into the ditch, throwing gravel, then back onto the Interstate, sideswipe the divider again, repeat. We called  911 and when he exited the Interstate five minutes later, a Highway Patrol car crossed the median, pulled in behind him, and pulled him over, simultaneous with the County Sheriff in his personal vehicle. The Sheriff lives very close by and was off-duty at home when he heard the call. The two occupants got a free ride to jail and I gave him the camera card for a couple days to copy the footage. 

 

 

We need a “wow!” Emoji. 
Glad you were safe. 
Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

1 hour ago, Chief Rick said:

I run a Garmin.  Plugged into an outlet that powers up when the truck is started.  Will automatically turn off after an amount of time when power is removed.  Automatically starts recording over the oldest footage when the memory card is full.  Shows MY speed in the video playback along with some other info, like time and date.

 

I haven't, and hope to never, need it.

 

My daughter had a camera mounted in her tractor/trailer and recorded a motorcyclist losing it in front of her at an off-ramp.  She was able to provide the video to the Highway Patrol for their report.

Do you recall which model?  Checking on Garmin’s web site and they have a number of them of various prices. 

[Chief Rick]

2 hours ago, Charlie Harley, #14153 said:

Do you recall which model?  Checking on Garmin’s web site and they have a number of them of various prices. 

Garmin Dash Cam 56

[Calamity Kris]

I'm interested also.  I have a HUD display in the car so I was going to aim the camera at my windshield to pick up that data as well.

[Sedalia Dave]

Biggest issue with dash cameras is that most are incapable of providing video quality good enough read a license plate.

 

 

 https://www.thesmarthomehookup.com/ultimate-dashcam-comparison-2023-license-plate-reading-is-here/#:~:text=When it comes to license,are more difficult to capture.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dashcam/comments/16sj5ko/best_dash_cam_for_reading_license_plates/?utm_source=embedv2&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_content=post_title&embed_host_url=https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php

 

 

https://www.rdforum.org/threads/129572/

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

Anyone who drives without one these days is crazy! 
After someone tried to get me to rearend them I got cameras for all our vehicles!

There are so many available it’s hard to chose one particular brand! 
But get one!!

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

If at some time you have a crack in your windshield folks might believe you were driving in Russia.  😎