What Can You Do with a Dash Cam?
Posted by Todd Morris on May 1st 2024
Dash Cam Uses: What Can You Do with a Dash Cam?
Key Takeaways:
- Accident Documentation: Dash cams provide clear footage of incidents, helping with insurance claims and legal disputes.
- Improved Road Safety: They allow reporting reckless driving to authorities with video evidence.
- Monitoring Teen Drivers: Parents can track their teen's driving behavior and promote safer habits.
- Capturing Memories: Dash cams record fun family moments or road trip scenery for lasting memories.
- Additional Features: Many dash cams offer night vision, motion detection, and mobile connectivity, enhancing vehicle safety and usability.
Dashboard cameras, or dash cams, are small video recording cameras that – just like the name suggests – are mounted on or above a car’s dashboard. They can capture footage of incidents outside the car and, sometimes, depending on the style, inside the car.
Police units have been using dash cams for decades and, more recently, ordinary civilians have begun using them too. Dash cams are legal, although there are some limitations as to what one can do with footage that includes a third party’s face or their vehicle license plate. While most road users obtain their dash cams to use in the event of an insurance claim, these nifty devices have proven their worth with many other applications as well.
Documenting an Accident with a Dash Cam
Bad drivers, jaywalkers, inclement weather, and more can create potential perils for drivers. Dealing with the aftermath of an accident or incident can be made a whole lot simpler with the footage taken from a dash cam. This is especially true where two parties are concerned, and those involved are inclined to place blame on the other.
Operating a dash cam enforces the truth, making insurance claims and legal proceedings a far more streamlined procedure, often leaving little doubt as to what happened and who was at fault.
Make Roads Safer – Report Recklessness
When recklessness driving is reported to the authorities without any evidence or witnesses, the case usually goes cold, and the driver at fault goes unchallenged. This contributes to the escalating problem of having undisciplined drivers wreak havoc on our roads.
With the introduction of a dash cam to a car, drivers can easily approach the authorities with undeniable evidence of undisciplined driving and bring reckless drivers to justice. By doing so, the roads are made safer, and people are more inclined to drive well knowing that there could very well be a camera capturing their every move.
Monitoring Teen Drivers
Let’s face it: teenagers and young adults believe that they’re invincible, and this translates to dangerous driving habits. Whether joyriding, texting while driving, or facing distractions in the form of passengers, drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 hold the record for the highest incident and traffic violation rates, compared to other age groups.
A dash cam is an invaluable tool for monitoring your teenager’s driving habits. This information can allow parents to educate their children about what is safe and unsafe, and in still in teens the importance of driving responsibly. Research has shown that people’s behavior does often improve when they know that they’re being watched. This psychology behind the dash cam could very well save lives.
Dash Cams Can Help You to Capture Your Life
It’s said that the average American spends up to 101 minutes in their vehicle each day. That means a lot of life that happens in the confines of a car. While one might employ the use of a dash cam for safety reasons, these useful tools can also contribute to the enjoyment of everyday life.
- Fun Family and Friend Videos: It’s all over the internet: families or couples performing endearing songs, children saying silly things, all captured by the interior dash cam. Those special moments, that so often do happen in the car, can now be captured and immortalized with the use of dash camera.
- Recorded Videos of Road Trips: It’s now become quite trendy to use dash cams to record road trip scenery, as well as the antics that car occupants get up to while passing time along the journey. Using simple video editing programs, you can turn your dash cam footage into a lifelong memory of an amazing vacation or road trip.
Should You Get a Dash Cam?
Dash Cams are not required by law, or by insurance companies. Having one does not necessarily earn you any discounts with your insurers (although it some cases, it may, depending on your insurance provider). However, having a dash cam in your car could be an investment into your personal and financial safety, as well as the safety of those who ride in your car, and those who occupy the roads that you drive. Furthermore, they’re outright cool contraptions to have when something unforgettable happens.
Once installed, they are fairly easy to use and some can be linked to your mobile device, making your footage easily accessible. Some devices enjoy night vision mode while some are weatherproof and can be mounted on the exterior of the car. Some are rotatable and others are covert, enabling them to remain hidden for unsuspected recording. There are some that have motion sensors and can switch on when the car is approached, even if the car is parked with the ignition switched off.
If you’re in the market for a dash camera and are interested in learning more about the various features of the best cameras we offer, we invite you to contact our team directly. We can help guide you toward the device best suited to your personal or business needs.