Every new driver is given the same piece of advice before they get behind the wheel for the first time: expect the unexpected. While this mantra is great as a general rule, sometimes accidents happen and can be unavoidable regardless of how diligent and alert you are. Anyone who’s spent a reasonable amount of time in the car will have a story about a dangerous driver, a crazy cyclist, or some other incident that will leave you wondering what kind of nutcases you’re sharing the road with. If the worst happens and you find yourself involved in a collision a Dash Cam could save you thousands.
What Is A Dash Cam?
Dash Cams (shorthand for Dashboard Cameras or Dash Cameras) are small camera units that attach to the inside of your windscreen and capture a wide angle, continuous video of the road in front of you. There are a number of reasons you might want to do this, but by far the most popular one is to protect your insurance premiums. More on this below!
How does a Dash Cam work?
Many Dash Cams have a small internal battery, however, this is really only meant as a backup in case power is lost; your dash cam will be powered via your car’s 12v cigarette lighter port, or you can hardwire a dashcam directly to the battery if you’re feeling adventurous! Hardwiring is well documented by most major manufacturers and you can usually find decent installation guides on YouTube. With your dash camera plugged into a power source it will automatically power on and start recording as soon as you start your engine, meaning it really is a ‘set and forget’ device.
Most models of dash cam will have a small internal memory, but like the battery, this is only meant as a backup. By installing an SD card or Micro SD card you can massively boost the amount of footage your dashcam will store for a relatively low price. Generally speaking, many Dash Cam models will continuously capture video in 5 minute clips until it runs out of space, at which point it will go back and overwrite the old clip and work forwards again. This is called loop recording, which means that in the case of an incident happening you don’t need to immediately preserve the recording, you’ll have several hours worth of driving/recording time before the important clips are overwritten. Some higher end dash cam models even have crash detection sensors and will lock clips where a collision occurs so they won’t be recorded over later.
Some Dash Cams also come with a rear facing camera or as a dual camera setup, meaning you’re capturing a full rear view too. Fancy!
Why Do I Need A Dash Cam?
This is the real question here. The main use most drivers would have for a Dash Cam is to prove fault in the case of an accident. High definition video footage beats ‘your word against mine’ 100% of the time. If you’re involved in an accident and you’re not at fault, simply wait until you’ve resolved the situation and retrieve the footage off your Dash Cam SD card. Your insurer can then use the footage to determine fault and you can avoid costly claims on your policy. With premiums and dodgy claims constantly on the rise, a Dash Cam will provide extra peace of mind. In fact, Dash Cams are so effective against scam claims that some insurers are offering discounts on quotes for vehicles fitted with them, meaning your purchase will pay for itself within a year or two even if you never need to use it!
Dash Cams are totally legal to use on the road in Ireland and the UK, and their footage is admissible as evidence in court. Otherwise, legality can vary by country, so do your research before you hit mainland Europe.
Dash Cams aren’t like a GoPro or other sports camera – you’re probably not going to be watching much, if any, of the footage afterwards. It just sits there recording, whether you interfere with it or not… and that’s the point. An always on camera won’t forget to hit record at the wrong moment! It just does it’s thing in the background and can be ignored until you need it.
How Much Does a Dash Cam cost?
Dash Cams were once only really found in Formula 1 cars and emergency service vehicles, and the place you were most likely to find footage from them was in late night police chase shows. Those cameras were either bulky and expensive or small and MEGA expensive. In-Car tech has come on leaps and bounds since those days, and Dash Cam pricing can start as low as £30… you won’t get much for that money though.
When shopping for a Dash Cam the number one most important thing to look at is quality. There’s no point at all installing a camera that’s only going to display jerky, blurry, low quality footage. If you consider that a Dash Cam is really an investment in your personal safety rather than just another gadget, it becomes much easier to justify spending a little bit more on a reputable brand. At the VERY LEAST you want a camera that records in 720p quality, at 30 frames a second (. This will ensure your footage is clear and smooth enough for you to read reg plates or other identifying features. The second most important factor is viewing angle – a camera with 120 degrees (or more) of forward vision will capture a wide angle view of the road in front, meaning you won’t miss anything! The final thing you should look at is mounting/installation. Is the Dash Cam too big and obvious? Can it be stowed away when not in use? Can it be wired in for auto-start/stop? Will it wipe the card for me when full? All of these features vary between manufacturers so it’s worth reading reviews to ensure you’re not missing out.
Contact us to see if we can help you to install your dash cam!