Five reasons why you need a dash cam – from protecting yourself against scams to fending off speeding fines

I’ve grown to emotion dash cams, chiefly because they’ve sewage nan imaginable to thief a driver retired erstwhile assistance is needed most. Better still, basal models are truthful affordable it seems for illustration a no-brainer to get one. Want much features? Then caput for nan best dash cam you tin afford. However, I’ve been helped retired by nan likes of nan reasonably pocket-friendly Thinkware X1000 and, astir recently, nan Nextbase Piqo Dash Cam, which is simply a snip to buy.

There are tons of reasons for owning a dashcam, but I deliberation nan main 1 is that it helps to supply portion of mind. Where I live, driving standards are falling, roads are becoming much congested and, frequently, nan roads themselves are successful specified a bad authorities of repair that I thin to thrust pinch an ‘anything could happen’ mindset. It’s a stressful, pothole-riddled minefield retired there, truthful owning a dashcam for a comparatively mini outlay makes cleanable consciousness to me.

Added to that, location are increasing stories hitting nan news astir really scammers are causing accidents successful a cynical bid to make immoderate speedy cash. I didn’t person to look acold to spot grounds of this and astir societal media feeds look to propulsion up examples of what’s going connected very regularly. Owning a dash cam tin really thief pinch this because, if nan worst does happen, you’ll person hopefully irrefutable grounds of what really occurred.

So, I’m sold connected owning a dash cam and, conscionable maybe, these 5 reasons outlining why mightiness person you to get 1 too.

I’ve had first-hand acquisition of conscionable really invaluable a dash cam tin beryllium aft our car was rear-ended and written off by immoderate who ran into nan backmost of it astatine astir 40mph. I only had a front-facing dash cam exemplary fitted to nan windshield astatine nan time, but nan effect was specified that it captured nan car being pushed crossed 2 lanes.

Submitting nan footage, on pinch our security claim, helped america retired large clip and convinced maine that owning 1 wasn’t conscionable desirable; it was essential. Of course, it’s imaginable to beef up your evidence-gathering capabilities by purchasing a dashcam bundle, pinch some beforehand and rear-facing dashcams contained wrong box.

I had an lawsuit very precocious wherever I was driving connected a awesome road precocious astatine night, wherever location were roadworthy works, lane closures and adaptable velocity limits. Curiously, arsenic I approached an overhead gantry pursuing a azygous statement of traffic, each of which was good nether nan velocity limit owed to nan congestion, I could spot nan overhead velocity cameras flashing.

I’m beautiful judge this must person been immoderate benignant of method rumor pinch nan velocity cameras, but you tin stake that I downloaded and person kept nan footage aft arriving home. The dash cam shows precisely what is happening and captious information specified arsenic date, clip and my velocity are each day stamped connected nan footage. I’ll support it; conscionable successful case.

As I mentioned above, security scams are connected nan up and therefore, being capable to supply video grounds of immoderate incident is simply a definite bonus. Rather than relying connected a ‘your connection complete theirs’ written submission to insurers, aliases moreover nan constabulary if needed, being capable to proviso video and audio successful nan arena of a declare aliases ineligible lawsuit tin beryllium invaluable.

An further upside to having video evidence, moreover if nan matter is truthful evidently clone that it is hardly worthy taking seriously, is nan truth that examples tin beryllium shared online. This tin beryllium a useful measurement of educating others astir nan scam activity that is going on, moreover if immoderate of these attempts are truthful poorly executed, they’re hardly worthy airing, conscionable arsenic agelong arsenic nary harm aliases wounded has occurred.

There are respective reasons why owning a dash cam has go essential, but nan biggest 1 surrounds evidence. When incidents aliases accidents occur, things tin often get mislaid successful nan power of nan moment. People could beryllium successful shock; they could beryllium angry aliases confused. Worse, location could beryllium injuries. With a dash cam fitted and up and moving nan full time, a imperishable grounds of proceedings captures audio and video astatine nan clip erstwhile it is needed most.

The different prize pinch astir dashcams is that they tin besides automatically seizure selected events. This tin scope from insignificant bumps and irregular driving scenarios including going complete velocity bumps aliases potholes, done to existent interaction pinch different vehicles. Better still, these incidents are often captured and stored some locally connected nan microSD paper and, increasingly, successful distant unreality storage, which intends they’re going to beryllium safe and unafraid without you moreover having to deliberation astir it.

I’m evidently not ever successful my car, which is wherever a value dash cam tin thief out. Many of nan latest exemplary dash cams travel pinch nan action of parking surveillance, which tin thief to show your conveyance if you’ve parked and near it locked up for nan nighttime in, say, a parking batch aliases edifice somewhere. A dash cam tin beryllium hardwired into your car and configured truthful that it will seizure immoderate activity that mightiness hap astir it. This intends it’ll video a doorway aliases bumper ding, aliases moreover immoderate unwanted criminal activity specified arsenic personification trying to unit a doorway or, worse, bargain nan conveyance altogether.

Advanced parking and monitoring features usually request nan dash cam to beryllium hardwired into nan vehicle, truthful that nan camera tin person a root of powerfulness astatine each times. Doing this intends nan installation is simply a small much permanent, truthful it’s not going to suit everyone who whitethorn request to move their dash cam from conveyance to vehicle. It is simply a awesome characteristic action to deliberation astir though.

While I’m a keen advocator of buying a dash cam, it doesn’t needfully mean that owning 1 will support you covered for immoderate eventuality. For example, retrieve that driving conditions are ever changing and earthy occurrences for illustration fog, unexpected storms and different unpredictable upwind events tin make life difficult moreover for nan champion dash cam models you tin buy. Even thing silly for illustration a soiled aliases misted surface tin return nan separator disconnected recordings.

I for illustration to deliberation of my ain dash cam arsenic being a supplement to my driving. It’s awesome knowing nan portion is location and capturing events arsenic they occur, but method issues tin hap too. Occasionally, nan microSD paper successful a dash cam tin go faulty. Sometimes they mightiness request reformatting to reconstruct their capabilities. If failures are occurring connected a regular basis, nan microSD paper mightiness request replacing altogether.

Checking this regularly is simply a very bully thought arsenic there’s thing worse than needing to autumn backmost connected footage arsenic evidence, only to find that nan paper has corrupted and not captured a captious event. It mightiness not beryllium capable to put you disconnected buying one, but it’s worthy noting each nan same.

Given their affordability, I deliberation its moreover worthy having different dash cam arsenic a back-up – conscionable successful case, but possibly that’s conscionable maine and my mindset pursuing my ain experiences connected nan road. There are ever deals to beryllium had, arsenic witnessed by our

while I've included links to immoderate of nan champion dash cams below. Dash cams person helped maine retired large clip and, hopefully, they’ll do nan aforesaid for you. Just retrieve though; they, for illustration us, tin beryllium fallible too.

Rob Clymo has been a tech journalist for much years than he tin really remember, having started retired successful nan wacky world of people magazines earlier discovering nan powerfulness of nan internet. Since he's been all-digital he has tally nan Innovation transmission during a fewer years astatine Microsoft arsenic good arsenic turning retired regular news, reviews, features and different contented for nan likes of TechRadar, TechRadar Pro, Tom's Guide, Fit&Well, Gizmodo, Shortlist, Automotive Interiors World, Automotive Testing Technology International, Future of Transportation and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International. In nan uncommon moments he's not moving he's usually retired and astir connected 1 of galore e-bikes successful his collection.