Dash Cams - are they a good idea?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by JWK, Jan 7, 2015.

  1. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    Thinking about getting one, I see that Swiftcover give 10% discount on insurance if you have one fitted so maybe they are worthwhile. Any experiences?
     
  2. Phil A

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    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      Yes, I had checked back on one of his threads to see what sort he uses, a Transcend DrivePro200 which gets good reviews.
       
    • Phil A

      Phil A Guest

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      I thought he had a standard 8 cini camera and some gaffer tape.
       
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      • Fat Controller

        Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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        Fantastic bit of kit, especially for the money - happy to email/dropbox some footage at the full quality if it helps :)

        The Transcend comes with an SD card so no hidden costs, and a two year warranty. One small scrape and it has paid for itself
         
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        • JWK

          JWK Gardener Staff Member

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          I can see from your previous threads that it is very good quality.


          Without going into specifics, how did it pay for itself? Presumably on an insurance claim? Did you submit the video to the insurers?
           
        • pete

          pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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          Just a thought?
          Have you ever done something whilst driving that was, in hind sight, not probably the best thing to do.
          I mean we all make mistakes, the bloke that dont, aint been born yet.

          At this point we hide the dash camera and deny ever having one?

          For my thinking there are far toooooooo many cameras about, you cant even sneeze without it appearing somewhere, and then some one decides to put it on the net because its funny.
           
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          • JWK

            JWK Gardener Staff Member

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            Yep, quite often. I'd like to think if I was in an accident and it was my fault I'd own up to it, but that's just me being old fashioned. If the video helps then why not use it.
             
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            • NorthantsGeezer

              NorthantsGeezer Total Gardener

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              I wouldn't be without my dash cam. Too many nutters on the roads.
              Mine was only about £11 and does the job. Card was extra.
              We do all make mistakes, but most of us would put our hands up to it. Unfortunately, some people blame everyone except themselves.
              I haven't told my insurance company yet.
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                I've seen nutters on the road ever since I've been driving, but never thought the need to film them.
                 
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                • JWK

                  JWK Gardener Staff Member

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                  It's not so much the nutters pete as everyone and anyone. I've had a little old man drive straight across a roundabout in front of me, don't think he saw me or any other drivers although we all had to brake and swerve. No harm done that time, so I'm just wondering if it's another useless gadget I'll only use for five minutes or will save me a fortune in insurance costs.
                   
                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                  Well my guess is @JWK it depends on how many accidents you have been having:snork:
                   
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                  • wiseowl

                    wiseowl FRIENDLY ADMIN Staff Member

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                    Good evening I have always had one very useful and helped my case enormously when somone ran in to me:smile: I asked him what he thought he was doing and he said sorry I had just glanced at my Dash Cam for a second:lunapic 130165696578242 5:
                     
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                    • NorthantsGeezer

                      NorthantsGeezer Total Gardener

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                      It depends if one of those nutters hits you!
                      To put things into perspective, my work colleague heard me saying I had one, but she carried on without getting one (which is fair enough, her choice of course), but it wasn't long before she said 'Where did you get your cam from?, we got hit by a cyclist who was in a race down a country lane', the cyclist ended up on their bonnet.
                      They looked after him, got him an ambulance, and he said he was to blame. Later they had a letter from a solicitor arrive on the door mat.
                      It's your choice, but my opinion is for the small price, they can really stick it to those dishonest *****'s.
                      I had experienced dishonesty many years ago, but luckily I was in a position to prove my innocence without the cam on that occasion.
                       
                    • Fat Controller

                      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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                      Sorry @JWK - that was badly phrased, one of the joys of writing on a phone. I meant that all it would take would be one small scrape that you could prove wasn't your fault, and it would have paid for itself. I haven't had to use my footage in that way - yet. However, I know of someone who had his car damaged when a tractor started to pull out of a side road that he was passing. The tractor could be seen moving forward as he was approximately 10ft away from the junction - front of the tractor tore a gouge right down the nearside of the car. From what I recall, there was some initial denial on behalf of the tractor driver (think he was trying to insinuate that my mates approach speed was way over the top), and the footage demonstrated that not only was this not true but also that my mate had moved over toward the offside as far as he possibly could to avoid the collision, but could not move any further due to oncoming traffic.

                      I believe he submitted the footage via Dropbox, although that may differ from insurer to insurer. The one thing I know for sure is that he got his car back, fixed in a reasonable amount of time and had a courtesy car whilst it was being fixed, without all the nonsense of having to claim back excesses and car hire costs.

                      Yeah, £80 or so is a small price to pay for the peace of mind in my book.
                       
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