Simple Dash Cam

[firemediceric]

Had a minor fender bender this morning. Woman claiming she was distracted by her 4 y.o. as she attempted to change lanes ran her left rear quarter panel into my front right fender while we were both traveling in the same direction. She was apologetic and there was no dispute as to the cause of the accident.


While waiting for the traffic officer, I tried to pull up the footage from the dash cam I currently have. I had no success. I read the owners manual and then found a better description of the required steps posted on-line. I was able to access video from days ago. I also have video of my hand removing the dash cam from the windshield after the accident. For the life of me I could not find footage of what had just transpired.


Although the officer said the woman's story was the same as mine and he cited her for careless driving, it bothers me that I could not pull up the video while on-scene to share with the traffic officer. In many ways this completely defeated my reason for having the dash cam. Later this evening I will put the SD card from the camera into my computer to see if I can find the video, but that won't address the frustration of not being able to conveniently locate the footage while on the roadside.


Any recommendations for a dash cam which is constantly recording every moment and allows for simple intuitive history viewing on the camera itself while in the vehicle?

 

[qwerty3656]

I don't have a good answer for you, but I'm reminded of the attached video saying how hard it is to find a good dash cam:

 

[pacergal]

Good video info.
we are also just beginning to look for a dash cam.

 

[firemediceric]

Good video info.
we are also just beginning to look for a dash cam.

Please post back with what you decide on. I am so frustrated that I was driving around for years with such a false sense of security. Hoping for usable footage on the dash cam was nothing but an illusion for me.

 

[teetee]

My cheap dashcam without the screen has a red flashing light to indicate it is recording. If there is no red blinking light while the car is on, it is an indication that no data is written into the memory card.

It could be a corrupted memory card or the faulty system.

 

[firemediceric]

My cheap dashcam without the screen has a red flashing light to indicate it is recording. If there is no red blinking light while the car is on, it is an indication that no data is written into the memory card.

It could be a corrupted memory card or the faulty system.

Mine likewise has the flashing light and the screen is showing the footage as I drive. Through trial & error I also can see when the camera is in record mode versus playback mode.

 

[skipro33]

I bought this one on Amazon but selected the USED but like new for under $80. With a 4K screen, it has a wonderful picture. Capable of downloading videos to your phone via an app using wifi, not blutooth. I bought their special hard wired cable harness because that invokes a feature that monitors your car when parked. If disturbed while parked, it will video for 1 minute and notify you. That's not a necessary option, as the full dash cam functionality works while the motor is running. It's just that if the car is off, after an accident for example, it will keep recording if there's movement.
The biggest problem in a serious accident is forgetting to take the camera with you as they prepare to tow it away or haul you to the hospital. Guaranteed it won't be on the car after it's towed.
The company has a very good presence on Facebook and was quick to reply to all my questions with chat, emails and Facebook. I was surprised when I got almost instant email replies after hours and weekends.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074JT3698/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The manual is a BOOK, consisting of 68 pages. Very easy to understand English and lots of full color photos.
Here's a link to the manual:
https://dashcamtalk.com/cams/r2-4k/ROVE R2-4K English User Manual.pdf

 

[sengsational]

^You recommend taking the camera with you if you're separated from your car, that's good advice, because you'll probably want to review the footage right away. But are you also saying it's a certainty that the towing service will steal it?

 

[Dash man]

I have a Viofo dash cam that works pretty well. The app to view the video using WiFi stinks, but I found a third party app that works a little better. However, I keep a SD card reader with an adapter to my iPhone in my glove compartment that works much more quickly.

 

[skipro33]

^You recommend taking the camera with you if you're separated from your car, that's good advice, because you'll probably want to review the footage right away. But are you also saying it's a certainty that the towing service will steal it?

I don't know if the towing service, an impound yard worker or a break-in at the impound yard, just that the manufacturer recommends you take the camera with you or don't expect it to be on the car when you return for it.
The camera mounts to the windshield holder with a slide-on/off friction fit. It's very easy to grab the camera and slide to the right and it comes right off.
If you have the wherewithal, while waiting for law enforcement to arrive, connect via your smartphone via wifi and download the video. You can then easily show this video through your phone to the officer. It is also then emailable from that download.

It would be cool if wifi was constantly connected and your phone was continuously gathering the video, but the transfer is not fast at 4K. Lower resolution is faster. There's even a timelapse feature and slow-motion feature to the recording options by selecting the frames per second. For example, selecting 4 frames per second vs 60 frames per second results in a timelapse video.

EDIT
The manufacturer makes a higher end model with 3 cameras: front view, rear view and inside cabin view all in one unit. Very cool and worth checking out.

 

[Sunset]

^You recommend taking the camera with you if you're separated from your car, that's good advice, because you'll probably want to review the footage right away. But are you also saying it's a certainty that the towing service will steal it?

If it's not the towing staff, I'd expect the police to grab it to look at it later in a serious accident. A fender bender they don't care.

I'd take mine out, because I want to see the video before I decide to use it, as maybe it would show I'm at fault

As to OP's concern.
I'm not concerned with seeing the video at the time of the accident. As long as you can see it later, you can prove you were innocent.
Worse thing would be to show the cop, and it shows you are at fault and didn't know it.
Best use of normally is for the insurance company to place blame.

My camera does not transmit to my phone, I see it on my computer later.

 

[firemediceric]

As to OP's concern.
I'm not concerned with seeing the video at the time of the accident. As long as you can see it later, you can prove you were innocent.
Worse thing would be to show the cop, and it shows you are at fault and didn't know it.
Best use of normally is for the insurance company to place blame.

My camera does not transmit to my phone, I see it on my computer later.

If at the scene of the accident I can show convincing video to the traffic officer so they issue the citation on the spot to the other driver, that’s what I prefer. Hopefully cut & dry making it easier to deal with the offender’s insurance company. In this case, when I called the other party’s insurance company, the representative started by saying “I see our insured was cited for the accident.“ That immediately disarmed me of any fear I had that I would need to argue with the insurance company.

 

[SecondAttempt]

If at the scene of the accident I can show convincing video to the traffic officer so they issue the citation on the spot to the other driver, that’s what I prefer. Hopefully cut & dry making it easier to deal with the offender’s insurance company. In this case, when I called the other party’s insurance company, the representative started by saying “I see our insured was cited for the accident.“ That immediately disarmed me of any fear I had that I would need to argue with the insurance company.

The issue I see with your arguement is that a responding officer cannot necessarily give a lot of credit to your video. Based on your username I suspect you are very familiar with emergency scenes. But your video has no chain of custody provenance so if the other driver disputes your version even if you have video "proof," you will be headed to court.

Even if the police issue a citation on the spot to the other driver, that does not mean you are off the hook. If there is no criminal ticket, i. e. excessive speed, the police account and decsions are largely irrelevant. Most traffic accidents are civil matters and police that respond after the fact have no value in providing evidence. They are at best hearsay witnesses.

I was involved in a minor accident in a rental car several years ago. Based on our statements the police said I was at fault, which I accepted. But it was iffy enough that neither of us were cited. The insurance companies ultimately concluded that the cop was wrong as a matter of law based on both my statement and the other driver, which agreed. In other words, the cop did not understand the law. So even if he had witnessed the accident I would have gotten off.

Having a dashcam video would clearly be helpful. But the cop inially responding is irrelavent. You mostly need it for court.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I have a VioFo A119 and am pretty happy with it. Only once did it get weird -I rarely check it and it didn't record for about a month but working fine again (think it just got full as I hadn't used it and park mode captures a lot of video so I occasionally clear the card). I hard wired it so it records parked too. Only feature I wish it had was bluetooth/ability to view on phone. I just take it out of the car and upload to the computer once in a while but if I had an incident it would be nice to view/save/share immediately on my phone and not the small screen. I believe the newer models have bluetooth and if I upgrade I would get another Viofo... I'm pretty happy with it but even moreso so I could use the installed hardwire kit.

 

[camfused]

I too have a VioFo A119, and I keep an SD card adapter for my iPhone in the glove box. I have had this for 2 years, and have checked it (pulled the SD card out and looked at the video on my iPhone) about 3 times. Each time the video was fine.

 

[aja8888]

I have a VioFo A119 and am pretty happy with it. Only once did it get weird -I rarely check it and it didn't record for about a month but working fine again (think it just got full as I hadn't used it and park mode captures a lot of video so I occasionally clear the card). I hard wired it so it records parked too. Only feature I wish it had was bluetooth/ability to view on phone. I just take it out of the car and upload to the computer once in a while but if I had an incident it would be nice to view/save/share immediately on my phone and not the small screen. I believe the newer models have bluetooth and if I upgrade I would get another Viofo... I'm pretty happy with it but even moreso so I could use the installed hardwire kit.

My A119 allows me to see the v Videos live with the software on my phone. It's through a wireless connection.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I'm concerned that our Outback has the three EyeSight cameras in front and a backup camera, and the front-facing cameras take up part of the windshield behind the mirror. Has anyone ever seen an ODB-II device that can capture/transmit those instead? Or in addition, maybe just for the rear camera? Otherwise I might try out a RoveR3.

 

[firemediceric]

Reporting back with what I went with. I purchased this very inexpensive dash cam from Walmart.com. Only $35. I bought one for my car and one for my truck. Being over $50 for the order, no shipping charges.

The buttons/functions are easy to understand. I've checked numerous times over the past week and I've been able to access the footage easily on the camera while seated in my vehicle. That was just what I was looking for. No missing footage and able to retrieve footage without hassle on the side of the road. Perhaps not all the bells & whistles of some, but good for what I want.

Ahttps://www.walmart.com/ip/AUKEY-Wi-Fi-Dash-Camera-1080p-FHD-with-6-Lane-170-FOV-Supercapacitor-G-Sensor-WDR-and-Clear-Night-Vision/653986428?adid=22222222264452189228&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=b&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=74492068224185&wl4=dat-2326291726814204:loc-190&wl5=72330&wl6=&wl7=&wl14=Walmart%20Aukey%20Dash%20cam&veh=sem&gclid=60d63a574f051ea0fb4159a4cc4cfead&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=60d63a574f051ea0fb4159a4cc4cfeadUKEY Wifi Dash Cam, 1080P FHD Dash Camera for Cars, 6-Lane 170-Degree Wide Angle Lens Car Camera, Black-DR02 P - Walmart.com

 

[CaptTom]

Thanks! That does like like a good deal. FYI, here's a working link:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/AUKEY-Wi...G-Sensor-WDR-and-Clear-Night-Vision/653986428

 

[sengsational]

I've thought about a dash cam, but haven't acted yet. The choices are so numerous. But going super cheap might be the way forward. At that price, I could get two, and put one rear facing. It seems like one in the back would be a good idea, but seems not much talk about that?

 

[Sunset]

I've thought about a dash cam, but haven't acted yet. The choices are so numerous. But going super cheap might be the way forward. At that price, I could get two, and put one rear facing. It seems like one in the back would be a good idea, but seems not much talk about that?

I had one in the rear, until it died.

If someone backs into the front of my car, I would be blamed as it looks like I rear ended them, a common scam in some places.
If someone hits my rear, by default they are to blame so less need of a camera.

 

[camfused]

@firemediceric, Dang! A decent camera has really come down in price since I install my VioFo A119 a couple of years ago. I may have to consider one of these for each of the fleet.

 

[aja8888]

@firemediceric, Dang! A decent camera has really come down in price since I install my VioFo A119 a couple of years ago. I may have to consider one of these for each of the fleet.

I'm in the same camp you are with the VioFo A119. That Walmart one looks quite nice for $35.

 

[ownyourfuture]

Haven't read every reply, so it's possible someone already mentioned this.
Have you considered a regular camcorder?

I bought a Panasonic HC-V770 about 4 years ago & I'm completely satisfied.
I just set it on the dash. Has a nice 3" screen & you can pull up the latest video anytime you want. If it's a video I want to save, I hook it up to my iMac & start editing.
https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-HC-V770-HD-Camcorder-Black/dp/B00S9BDALS

Here's a video from last year.

 

[camfused]

Haven't read every reply, so it's possible someone already mentioned this.

Have you considered a regular camcorder?



I bought a Panasonic HC-V770 about 4 years ago & I'm completely satisfied.

I just set it on the dash. Has a nice 3" screen & you can pull up the latest video anytime you want. If it's a video I want to save, I hook it up to my iMac & start editing.

https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-HC-V770-HD-Camcorder-Black/dp/B00S9BDALS



Here's a video from last year.

So when you stop in a hurry, or are in an accident, does your camcorder become a projectile in the cabin?