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#297425 - 11/03/20 06:14 PM Dash Cams
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Over the last few years Houston has become a hotbed of insurance fraud auto "accidents". To help protect my family and I for this sort of fraud I've installed dash cams in all our vehicles. Picking a camera system was fairly easy. Understanding the rules and regulations of them has been a real trip down the rabbit hole. Things to consider:
1. What are your state's privacy laws? Do people need to agreed to being recorded before you can record them?
2. Will your court system allow dash cam video as evidence?
3. Can other video from the camera be used against you? Do you normally drive like a jerk?
4. Does having a visible camera invite smash-and-grab theft?

Sadly, dash cams open up a big can of worms. That being said, I personally still feel the benefits outweigh the potential negatives.
Thoughts?
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#297427 - 11/03/20 07:40 PM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
Did you go front and back or just front facing?

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#297437 - 11/03/20 11:14 PM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
Bingley Offline
Veteran

Registered: 02/27/08
Posts: 1576
Blast, can you share your product research with us? There is tons of dash cams out there. I'm guessing that the lower end ones are all made in the same factory. But then the higher end ones might also come out of the same factory.

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#297438 - 11/03/20 11:19 PM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
brandtb Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/26/04
Posts: 500
Loc: S.E. Pennsylvania
Two of your points -

3. Can other video from the camera be used against you? Do you normally drive like a jerk?
4. Does having a visible camera invite smash-and-grab theft?

- - - -

I have a post-it note on my dash. It says "Drive Meekly." There are too many (other - besides me) jerks out there to be ticked off at their bad behavior. "Teaching him a lesson" never works.

I have a Garmin GPS/dashcam in front with a dash-mount pad instead of a suction cup window mount. It has a 'sticky' weighted pad that just sits on the top of the dash. When I park I move it from the dash to the center console to discourage people from seeing it. I also have a budget rear-mounted cam on the back window.


Edited by brandtb (11/03/20 11:21 PM)
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#297443 - 11/04/20 05:11 AM Re: Dash Cams [Re: TeacherRO]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Originally Posted By: TeacherRO
Did you go front and back or just front facing?


Both front and back facing.
-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

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#297444 - 11/04/20 05:26 AM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Bingley]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Originally Posted By: Bingley
Blast, can you share your product research with us?


After ordering, trying, and returning several I settled on this make/model for our vehicles: AUKEY Dual Dash Cam*

It uses capacitors instead of batteries so supposedly this makes it better in southern cars where the internal summer temperatures can get over 120F. I hardwired each directly to an "always on" slot in the fuse box of each car so that it records even when parked. The only issue with that is it does slowly steal power from the car battery if it's left sitting for a long time. The video quality is good, it's easy to program, and it came with cables more than long enough to run the length of a Toyota 4Runner and a Honda Pilot. I've had them for several years and they are still going fine.

The others I tried either had too short of cables, glitchy rear-facing cameras, or flimsy construction.
-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

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#297446 - 11/04/20 06:52 AM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
Phaedrus Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/28/10
Posts: 3148
Loc: Big Sky Country
I'd like to try a dash cam but I've found the process of researching them to be overwhelming. I'm not really super confident in installing one if it has to be wired in.
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“I'd rather have questions that cannot be answered than answers that can't be questioned.” —Richard Feynman

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#297447 - 11/04/20 09:23 AM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
Tjin Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/08/02
Posts: 1821
Use a good endurance SD card for recording. Normal ones will fail soon when used in continuous recording.

I skipped the cable that came with it and just use a very long USB cable. Cable is hidden under the trim and shows up at my 12V socket, where it goes in one of the four USB slots. This allows me to disconnect it easily when crossing some borders.
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#297452 - 11/04/20 03:44 PM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Phaedrus]
Blast Offline
INTERCEPTOR
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/15/02
Posts: 3760
Loc: TX
Originally Posted By: Phaedrus
I'd like to try a dash cam but I've found the process of researching them to be overwhelming. I'm not really super confident in installing one if it has to be wired in.


They don't require hardwiring in, that was just something I did on my own. They come with a 12VDC "cigarette" power plug.
-Blast
_________________________
Foraging Texas
Medicine Man Plant Co.
DrMerriwether on YouTube
Radio Call Sign: KI5BOG
*As an Amazon Influencer, I may earn a sales commission on Amazon links in my posts.

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#297556 - 11/14/20 01:43 AM Re: Dash Cams [Re: Blast]
CJK Offline
Addict

Registered: 08/14/05
Posts: 601
Loc: FL, USA
Blast.... AFAIK... recording in public..... there isn't any expectation of privacy. As a road medic, I have had people literally cell phone video OVER MY SHOULDER on scene of a crash. Cops have said there is no law against it. I'd assume since a dash cam is in public, there'd be no problem. Even the 'audio' portion as it is IN PUBLIC. Hence no expectation...... Just my 2c.

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