I just finished installing a mirror that looks OEM (easily attached over existing). It has HD cameras that record both what's happening in front AND behind! You can see the rear mounted mirror just below the red indicator lamp; it's mounted with Velcro in the back ceiling (I need to get it farther back, since the field of vision is HUGE: "fish eye"). Incredible features for <$90 from China, of course. Everything is tucked in nicely (I used a plastic bicycle tire tool to insert the wires behind trim)...
So you can have proof with a video, and avoid fraudulent claims mainly. Which is why Russia is the #1 seller of dash cams.
Actually, it IS for defensive driving -- against police. Many years ago I was cited for 77 in a 55mph zone by a rural next-county-over Barney Fife-like 'deputy.' Even though my wife was in the car to my defense, I still went to court. My attorney arranged for me to plead 'guilty' to 69mph (ME: "But that's perjury, Jim... I wasn't speeding!" JIM: "Do NOT say that to the judge...") I went to court and it cost me $59, but it didn't get reported to the state and affect my car insurance rate or standing... I am leery of local use of radar and the best defense is a good offense. The date/time-stamped 60fps 1080i HD video could be used to extrapolate speed, based on moving objects (the time stamp in a video editor would show the elapsed time for a given distance). Of course, living in a college town means I could create a YouTube channel of all SORTS of driving antics recorded...
A friend of mine used his front and rear dash cam in an accident a Month ago. The driver claimed that my friend had side swiped him. The recorded video showed the real events... The driver veered into the shoulder and overtook my friend while sideswiping him. His setup was less than $500 and it proved he wasn't at fault... saving him a $500 deductible and future increases in his insurance premium.
We Northern Virginians do indeed fear Maryland drivers... ;-) especially those from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.
in VA I worry more about those with diplomat tags and the bicyclists riding however they want, wherever they want... There have been more than a few occasion where I would have loved to have a dash cam just to post the video of the idiots...
And I can remind the other driver that, in light of my video evidence, lying to a law enforcement officer is a felony... May never need to go to court!
Here's the camera outfit I bought: 4 3" TFT LCD Car Rearview Monitor Mirror HD 1080p Camera Digital Video Recorder | eBay
I don't want a dash camera...simply because I don't want a dash camera. Oddly for owning a Prius, I'm strangely techno-gadget adverse. BUT...I wouldn't feign to argue against the potential wisdom of owning one. Sad, but that's the age we live in. Last winter I was involved in a very minor rear end collision. Yes, my fault, never tried to deny it. But VERY minimal damage. The person whom I BARELY touched, kept the claim open for months and eventually hit my insurance company for over $1000 worth of "damage". I did not have a camera with me that day, so no evidence that I could prove that I left her bumper.....well...I did not even see a scratch. Well, she got a whole new bumper...or at least got to pocket some money. If I had a dash cam that would of recorded the whole thing would the outcome of been different? Maybe. With all the insurance fraud, people being less than truthful about what happened and how? Well even though I'm probably NOT going to install one, I can't really argue against the value of having one.
Having a dash can is a chronic insurance. There are too many fraud coma these days. I have one in my car for 59$. Hope I never use it
You know they make them with built in GPS for speed data. I use one specifically because i was in an accident once where the other driver was at fault. He played nice and apologized for it, we didn't even call the police since it was a parking lot fender bender. He said he would take care of it, we exchanged insurance and both went on our way. Problem was we had the same insurance company. He lied and said i caused it and they sided with him because his truck had no damage on it, where mine had about $1500 worth. So they sided with him because i had to pay a deductible to help cover the costs of the damage to my car. I've learned from this and an accident my parents were in, that insurance companies are only looking out for number 1. People rag on others that get injured in car accidents and sue insurance companies, but really those law firms are correct in their ads. Insurance lawyers are trying to save as much money as they can, they don't want to be fair at all. These camera's are proof you wish you had when the time comes.
