Motoring Dashcams?

[Gray]

Been wondering about this for quite sometime, anyone here use dashcams in their cars/bikes when out and about?

The more i thought about it the more i thought about how they could be a sound investment especially if you find yourself in a pickle due to an accident or being a witness.

I recall how i got screwed out of an insurance claim because the guy i was claiming against decided to backtrack on what he agreed with me many years ago - A dashcam could have been perfectly handy back then to prove what went on.

They seem relatively cheap and simple to setup as well, which is always an added bonus...

 

[Chilly]

How do they operate? A rolling two hour window or something?

 

[Gumbo]

YouTube - 7af7bc5fcb 360

They can be useful 1:20.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

I ordered one of these a couple of day ago, possibly to mount on my cycle helmet for the same sort of reason. At that price it's worth a punt.

RB

 

[Chilly]

YouTube - 7af7bc5fcb 360

They can be useful 1:20.

That might be quite cool, but it's not really what's being discussed.

 

[Tom]

If I'd had one of these I could have recorded the interesting conversation I had recently with a complete **** in a BMW X6, who thought that I should get off my bike and stand in the mud so he wouldn't have to put two wheels of his soft-roader onto another bit of mud.

The GoPro is the best of the bunch. What someone needs to do is start selling kits that replace your car's interior mirror, and which start recording the moment the car starts moving, with a constantly-erased buffer.

 

[Gumbo]

That might be quite cool, but it's not really what's being discussed.

Oh fuck off, it's relevant enough for Freddy's.

For what it's worth, they are extremely common now and extremely useful. They are the next thing being fitted to commercial vehicles after the ubiquitous reporting trackers now. Mostly to combat fraudulent claims from Asians for whiplash.

The only downside is the double edged sword. If you can honestly say that you always drive within the law you're fine. If you tend to enjoy a 'spirited' drive, then you're compiling your own set of evidence for your own conviction.

You don't actually need anything especially complicated anyway. A simple bullet cam and solid state recorder for under £100 is plenty.

 

[Gray]

LiveLeak.com - Cheating on Russian roads

Speaking of the insurance scams, i did come across that vid a few days ago and it made me remember a number of instances where it was happening up north and how you can never be too safe without a cam, especially as it happens so fast...

I was initially looking at one for the <£50 mark id think for now, the torch one does look okay but according to the review on the website it looks like it comes with its own host of problems, especially with the holder and the button...

Hmm!

 

[megadave]

here's a cheapo one if you fancy a mess around on your bike

Vehicle/Bike Cam + 8 or 4 GB Micro SD Card £19.99 or £16.99 at 7dayShop - HotUKDeals

 

[adams901]

I have the roadhawk RH-1.

It has GPS location and speed as well as sound and of course the video.

It's probally overkill, but I decided I would rather spend money one something I may never need, than regret not spending the money when something happens.

Sometimes I watch the video back and the amount of idiots you see is amazing.

The quality is no where near as good as that russian one though.

 

[Zenith.UK]

You can get something that does in-car recording for less than £50.
1280x960 CAR DASH VIDEO CAMERA RECORDER DVR 32GB on eBay (end time 07-Jan-11 12:13:27 GMT)

Good enough resolution to tell a number plate or recognise someone.

 

[ECA]

So what's the update?
How are your cameras gray/RB?

looking at getting 1-2 perhaps.

 

[Rubber Bullets]

Hi ECA,

I've not used it loads, though I am pretty impressed with what I have done with it, for £20 it is remarkable value. The view is a little bit narrow, and in the car the vibration is quite evident (though that's probably my fault for driving a diesel), but I doubt I could have done better for the money.

Here is a bit from a ride I did the other day, sorry it's a bit long and dull, but it does contain the only 2 moments of note from a 2 hr ride! Videoing a red light jumper (number plate clearly visible on freeze frame) and the car coming the other way at about 1:56.

YouTube - dash cam

By the way the output from the camera is in 4:3 ratio, but for some reason YouTube seems to have made it look a bit more widescreen. I don't know why.

I hope it helps your decision.

RB

 

[Ch3tan]

Can you post an actual car vid please?

 

[Gray]

Suppose i can get one sorted 5min each way later tonight. I just delete the files from my phone once i've charged the cam up for the night.

In the day time my cam is very clear upto now, however i found that the night time drive has been fairly crappy with a constant blurry-ness from headlights (suppose the rain has something to do with it as well).

It feels a bit jinxy though. The first time i used it, i ended up getting cut up for the first time in ages, the next time a White Van Man decided to cut me up as well.

The torch cam i use is a bit dodgy in terms of where you place it on the windscreen too, you don't know if you're recording or not because the green light is on the opposite side of where you're sitting. Plus the date and time settings are very poor as well, you have to manually enter the date/time everytime you charge up, but then it doesn't keep an internal clock of itself so it always resets back to original.

 

[Influenza]

A couple of months ago one of the wagons at my dads works went into the back of a car that braked for no reason on the A1. The police came out etc... then a few weeks later the copper came to my dads works and told the guy who had been driving the wagon that he wasnt at fault.

Apparently the guy driving the car had been a witness to 3 different crashes and one of his passangers had been a witness to 2 of the 3 aswell , it was all an insurance scam.

My dads works are now in the process of getting the wagons fitted with cameras aswell.

 

[Moriath]

tis a well known scam that one

 

[Rubber Bullets]

The video that Grey posted in this thread shows the scam in Russia, but it is sadly getting more prevalent in this country. It is in part responsible for the increased premiums all of us are facing.

Chet here is a video that I took in my car, perhaps I'll try it in Sharon's Picasso and see if it's any smoother.

YouTube - Dash Cam 2

I've had problems with the time setting too!

RB

 

[Gray]

YouTube - Dashcam test drive in the afternoon

That was during the afternoon, its relatively clear. The shakiness i think was my fault because i didn't tighten/secure it properly, but even then it was fairly safe. Quality wasn't too bad.

..

YouTube - Dashcam drive in the evening

This was pretty bad though. Coming home at night, the weather not too great [Just a bit of rain]. Because there was a lack of light the quality was/is pretty bad that all you really get is car headlights blurring at you.

Though on that one, a fucking police man ruined everything just after the video started. Cocksucker for scaring me like that.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Good quality, for a dashcam it's akin to police cams i think.

Not 100% sure about modern police dashes, but looks good enough.

 

[Gray]

YouTube - Dashcam drive in the evening

Cocked up on the second video, kind of left too much information present for Youtube viewers! Rectified!

 

[JingleBells]

YouTube - biker lands on feet after crash.flv

 

[JingleBells]

Sorry for the bump, but I just saw this on another forum:
YouTube - ‪MUST WATCH Hit and Run, driver in Southall chased and caught in Heston - dash cam footage‬&rlm;

Couple of guys, I presume, testing out a dash cam.... catch an awful driver, hit and run, and chase her.

2 year suspended, 200 hours community service, 2 year ban and had to pay the victim £500 compensation. Sigh.

 

[Lamp]

Bought a chinese one. Yes, I know. Absolute shite. Took series of freeze frame stills rather than continuous video. Lesson learnt. Now looking for something that actually works

 

[GimmlyThe3rd]

I'd like a universal one that's a pretty easy fit and removal for my Yam. Wouldn't wanna see the speedo or anything and would want to remove it fast if I had to.

 

[Himse]

Sorry for the bump, but I just saw this on another forum:
YouTube - ‪MUST WATCH Hit and Run, driver in Southall chased and caught in Heston - dash cam footage‬&rlm;

MAD!

Can't believe she just ignored running a person over, that's actually disgusting.

 

[Lamp]

Shocking stuff. I hope they throw away the key

 

[Tom]

Sorry for the bump, but I just saw this on another forum:
YouTube - ‪MUST WATCH Hit and Run, driver in Southall chased and caught in Heston - dash cam footage‬&rlm;

Suspect provenance that video.

 

[Chilly]

You suspect a setup ?

It is quite unlikely that they should be filming during such an accident, but it'll happen somewhere at some point with enough of these things on the road.

 

[Shagrat]

Sorry for the bump, but I just saw this on another forum:
YouTube - ‪MUST WATCH Hit and Run, driver in Southall chased and caught in Heston - dash cam footage‬&rlm;

thats pretty shocking