My new toy

[Brian Ellis]

A few months ago, I had expensive repairs done to my car following an incident where I drove off the road to avoid a head-on collision and no ID of the faulty driver. Shortly after, there was a thread on another forum on car cams and this made me think of shutting the stable door. I would have documentary proof of any future incident or police actions.

I received my carcam on Monday and tested it to produce a preliminary sample video, visible at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFgeKQiicQQ

This is in full HD and best viewing will depend on how well you can stream YouTube clips. Ideally, set it up for full screen at 1080 HD. If this is jerky, try reducing the screen size and/or set it to 720 HD until it runs smoothly.

The sample shows it in urban, suburban, 3 lane motorway, 2 lane motorway, country road and village conditions.

[VJ]

I acutally was also thinking of getting one... A few weeks ago, I had 2 cases where a car cut in front giving me just centimetres to spare to make an emergency stop. Then I had one who engaged the wrong gear at the traffic lights before accellerating: reverse! (luckily I kept enough distance). Yesterday I saw cars running red lights at 4 intersections (in total about 8 cars, and 2 trams) and today at the lights, the car in front of me just rolled back (I had to use my horn to get the driver's attention away from her make-up and back on the road). Driving in Warsaw on occassion can be so hectic, that I'm beginning to see the sense of a car cam.
I just don't know the legal value: if the other party is not identified, would it make a difference to my insurance company if you have video footage or not? The value is of course in proving what was happening at the time of the accident, particularly if the other party is known.

[Brian Ellis]

The resolution is good enough to capture number plates on still shots from the movies. With my incident, if I had one fitted, I could have identified the vehicle and called the police. I'll do a new sample showing speed at all times and recording sound (hear the click-clack of indicator working). With such a video showing exact co-ordinates, speed and time, the insurance co. will have no legs to stand on!

[gt40]

Wow, the resolution is quite good! Compare that to this video from a cheap $20 low end 720p camera I bought last year : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23xtPNP6Js. The quality of yours is outstanding.

[paulw]

Nice new toy. May but one myself. 4.30 pm and where is all the traffic?? Your roading system looks very English..

[Brian Ellis]

Wow, the resolution is quite good! Compare that to this video from a cheap $20 low end 720p camera I bought last year : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23xtPNP6Js. The quality of yours is outstanding.

I take it the visible red bit of the car is Robin Hood?

For a 20-buck cam, not bad, at all, but we could have done with some of that water.

[Brian Ellis]

Nice new toy. May but one myself. 4.30 pm and where is all the traffic?? Your roading system looks very English..

We have two rush hours. Civil Servants, bankers and such-like parasites knock off at ~14:00 while those who support the economy by working finish between 17:30 and 19:00.

[Umfriend]

FCOL! Them's all CRAZY driving on the wrong side of the road! NO wonder you;d want a cam.

[gt40]

I take it the visible red bit of the car is Robin Hood?

For a 20-buck cam, not bad, at all, but we could have done with some of that water.

The water was quite high, typically the dock at the cottage is 5 ft above the water level, that year it was high enough it pulled the 4 ft concrete pillars out of the river bed when it tried to float the doc away. The red bit yes, was the hood of my truck - I get the reference to robin hood Tires are 32" tall, and the water was well above the tops of them at certain points.

[Brian Ellis]

I was asked whether it was OK under poor lighting, so I tried it out, directly into the setting sun, in poorly lit village. along unlit country road and, at the end, on a nighttime big game hunt!
Still 1080HD!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maivgANPIno

Some lens flare, to be expected under such conditions.

[Dr Mordrid]

NICE!

These dash cams are nearly universal in Russia because of the court system being a pain. This is why so many videos of last years meteor explosion exist.

[Brian Ellis]

I'm waiting for the next meteor

[VJ]

These dash cams are nearly universal in Russia because of the court system being a pain. This is why so many videos of last years meteor explosion exist.

True... but they may also help to prove to your insurance company what happened.

My brother installed a security camera in the pharmacy, partly as deterrend, but mainly to be able to prove e.g. theft or something. When it happened before he installed the camera, the security cameras of a nearby building proved quite helpful, as it showed the thieves fleeing the pharmacy.
I have been in a number of traffic situations that I nearly managed to avoid an accident because of a stupid driver, but if it would have come to an accident, without witnesses or camera I would have had a hard time proving that I was not to blame. (e.g. they cut in front of you and slam the brakes: you have no way of proving that you were keeping safe distance)

I actually wonder when dashcams would become a factory accessory...

[Dr Mordrid]

The US now requires a backing up camera and the carmakers are looking at replacing all rear view mirrors with them, including the exteriors. Those and a DVR hooked into the cars black box on a 10-20 minute loop would save accident investigators a lot of work.

[paulw]

The US now requires a backing up camera and the carmakers are looking at replacing all rear view mirrors with them, including the exteriors. Those and a DVR hooked into the cars black box on a 10-20 minute loop would save accident investigators a lot of work.

And make the life of the police prosecution service so much easier..