Dash Cam

[ACN]

Blackvue dual cameras in both cars. Have an additional battery pack so the cameras can record parking lot events up to 24 hours. The battery is recharged within an hour of driving.

Profesional install, no wires visible.

[zlandar]

I was kinda hoping to be entertained by some ridiculous footage. Guess, I should focus on something productive. Carry on.

Well you can view my lone dashcam video post on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCar...eb2x&context=3

Most exciting that's happened to me on the road in years. I'm not complaining.

[FIREshrink]

Thinking of getting some dash cams for our vehicles.

Recently had a case where a drunk or a thug or a drunk thug was wandering across a dark road at night where i was going forty. I saw him in time to not have to brake emergently, but he just stood in the dark roadway glaring at me and I ended up having to drive around him. I actually thought he might pull a gun or something.

Made me think about a dash cam.

Do you own one? Front only, or also rear?

I've read that they actually make you a better, safer driver. More conservative, since you know you're on video. I'm a law observing driver but I do tend to drive right at or just a little over the speed limit so I also worry it could be used against me like if I was going forty in a thirty five. I could also just slow down a tad.

[zlandar]

Recent discussion:

https://forum.whitecoatinvestor.com/the-lounge/313004-dash-cam

Yep I have one. Front and rear. I paid a stereo shop to install for both cars. If you install only a front cam you could likely DIY. I personally like the Blackvue cams. Small form factor, capacitor instead of Li battery (car heat ruins Li batteries), has parking mode if you choose to connect it to your car battery or separate backup battery. Viofo is a less expensive but also popular brand. They all record to microSD cards and you want one designed for constant rewrites like the Samsung high endurance.

I don't think it makes me a better driver. Whether your own dashcam video can be used against you is debatable. I'm more worried about the other party lying.

[FIREshrink]

I have it on all my cars. I use one that is rear view mirror mounted. Fairly easy to install. It records both front and back and records audio. (Two separate cameras recording 1080P) Acts like a mirror if I turn display off (but keeps recording) Very useful for backing up as it has larger view angle. Plus if there is ever a question in accident about he-said-she-said, you know what really happened. Best $100 spent !!

What model is that?

[childay]

I got the garmin mini 2 in mail just waiting on power cord adaptor for the mirror

[Tuxedo]

Blackvue dual cameras in both cars. Have an additional battery pack so the cameras can record parking lot events up to 24 hours. The battery is recharged within an hour of driving.

Profesional install, no wires visible.

Sounds nice. How much $ all told per car?

[StarTrekDoc]

Ok, but did anyone actually collect the footage and use it?

We witnessed a hit/run with our Tesla 3 literally one week after the teslacam came out. That went as far as trial but settled because of our footage.

My daughter ran a light and hit someone turning left with her Kia (no cameras either party) and took the insurance companies four months to settle on the amount of fault between them.

My nurse hit a person who turned right without stopping the non-stopping driver is disclaiming any responsibility and said my nurse was driving too fast (no cameras, no injury so no cop report) -- insurances STILL battling it out 6+months later.

We were hit (by another tesla) two months ago while stopped in traffic. Insurance companies settled fault before the car was even repaired.

--Cameras make the process easier for the insurances to settle it out. Insurances definitely there to KIS for us and they all know each other and play 'nicely' as bunches of lawyers with their noses in the trough.

[Larry Ragman]

We witnessed a hit/run with our Tesla 3 literally one week after the teslacam came out. That went as far as trial but settled because of our footage.

My daughter ran a light and hit someone turning left with her Kia (no cameras either party) and took the insurance companies four months to settle on the amount of fault between them.

My nurse hit a person who turned right without stopping the non-stopping driver is disclaiming any responsibility and said my nurse was driving too fast (no cameras, no injury so no cop report) -- insurances STILL battling it out 6+months later.

We were hit (by another tesla) two months ago while stopped in traffic. Insurance companies settled fault before the car was even repaired.

--Cameras make the process easier for the insurances to settle it out. Insurances definitely there to KIS for us and they all know each other and play 'nicely' as bunches of lawyers with their noses in the trough.

Ok, I concede the point. They can help if you are willing to put up with being on camera. Though I still maintain that all these delays that keep getting referenced here are basically irrelevant. If you just ignore them the insurance companies eventually sort it out.

[CalMD]

If the rear view mirror has power, often the dash cam can tap into it for power and there will be no unsightly excess cord. We used a nifty adopter called SimpleUSBPort for about $30 and the dash cam plugs right in while preserving the rear view function. Since there is power, the dash cam will record parked if the dash cam has park mode. In another car we tapped into the OBD and got power from there.

[FunkDoc83]

We witnessed a hit/run with our Tesla 3 literally one week after the teslacam came out. That went as far as trial but settled because of our footage.

My daughter ran a light and hit someone turning left with her Kia (no cameras either party) and took the insurance companies four months to settle on the amount of fault between them.

My nurse hit a person who turned right without stopping the non-stopping driver is disclaiming any responsibility and said my nurse was driving too fast (no cameras, no injury so no cop report) -- insurances STILL battling it out 6+months later.

We were hit (by another tesla) two months ago while stopped in traffic. Insurance companies settled fault before the car was even repaired.

--Cameras make the process easier for the insurances to settle it out. Insurances definitely there to KIS for us and they all know each other and play 'nicely' as bunches of lawyers with their noses in the trough.

Maybe cameras should become standard in cars? Will insurance companies lower your premium if you have cameras because it makes their job easier to sort things out?

[OldSoul]

I am a huge dashcam fan! When my daughter was a new driver, she was sideswiped by an awful woman in an expensive BMW. In a panic, she didn't take any photos, but did take the name and contact information from the perpetrator. Wouldn't you know it, she wrote down a fake name and a fake phone number. I was incensed! Yes, I could have just had my insurance company take care of it, but I felt wronged, and didn't want an increased cost of insurance.

The crash happened in front of a store with security cameras (also a fan of those), and the store manager was kind enough to share the video. My insurance company tracked down the woman, who of course, claimed that my daughter hit her. Physically impossible, given the pattern of damage. I shared the video with her insurance company, and they finally conceded that they were at fault. The vindication that I felt was well worth the time and effort that it took to achieve this gotcha moment.

My wife used to think I was paranoid, but now fully supports the need for dashcams in all our cars. That doesn't mean that I'm not paranoid. This dashcam has GPS, and emits a wifi signal to my phone. The miniSD card also plugs into the software downloaded onto my PC.

[southerndoc]

I am a huge dashcam fan! When my daughter was a new driver, she was sideswiped by an awful woman in an expensive BMW. In a panic, she didn't take any photos, but did take the name and contact information from the perpetrator. Wouldn't you know it, she wrote down a fake name and a fake phone number. I was incensed! Yes, I could have just had my insurance company take care of it, but I felt wronged, and didn't want an increased cost of insurance.

The crash happened in front of a store with security cameras (also a fan of those), and the store manager was kind enough to share the video. My insurance company tracked down the woman, who of course, claimed that my daughter hit her. Physically impossible, given the pattern of damage. I shared the video with her insurance company, and they finally conceded that they were at fault. The vindication that I felt was well worth the time and effort that it took to achieve this gotcha moment.

My wife used to think I was paranoid, but now fully supports the need for dashcams in all our cars. That doesn't mean that I'm not paranoid. This dashcam has GPS, and emits a wifi signal to my phone. The miniSD card also plugs into the software downloaded onto my PC.

I like that dashcam. Been thinking of getting one myself. Is it powered by batteries or hardwired to the car?

[OldSoul]

I like that dashcam. Been thinking of getting one myself. Is it powered by batteries or hardwired to the car?

You have power options. My car just has it plugged into my cigarette lighter, but it only works when the car or accessories are on. For my wife, we purchased the adaptor that plugs into the On Board Diagnostics port that is present on all modern cars. This adaptor allows the camera/sensor to run even when the car is parked, and senses the voltage of the car battery, and can be adjusted to turn off when the voltage decreases to 11.5V/11V/10.5V etc. This allows it to run for perhaps 6 or 12 hours even when parked.

[childay]

You have power options. My car just has it plugged into my cigarette lighter, but it only works when the car or accessories are on. For my wife, we purchased the adaptor that plugs into the On Board Diagnostics port that is present on all modern cars. This adaptor allows the camera/sensor to run even when the car is parked, and senses the voltage of the car battery, and can be adjusted to turn off when the voltage decreases to 11.5V/11V/10.5V etc. This allows it to run for perhaps 6 or 12 hours even when parked.

I got my garmin cam in. Took a while (way too long) troubleshooting how to FAT32 format a 128GB card but it seems to be working now.
I have adaptor for the powered rearview mirror, easier than running wires. Don't care much about parked recording.
Just waiting on some parts to mount it
Thats cool though on the OBD sensor didn't know they could do that