We have heard of many stories where our colleagues or family members failed to claim their insurance after suffering from a traffic accident. Most of these cases revolve in inadequate proof or absence of a witness that makes the claim process stalled or even gone cold. This kind of incident can be entirely avoided if they have solid evidence from a dash cam. How does a dash cam work? Keep reading to know and why you should have one.
What is Dash Cam?
If you look up the internet and search for ‘dash cam footage’ you will get the gist of what it is. A dash cam (or dashboard camera) is an in-vehicle mounted camera that continuously records any events happening outside/inside the vehicle. You can use dash cams to record while you are driving, or use the parking surveillance feature on some dash cams to document any events while you are away from your car. You mainly use one dash cam that looks through your front windshield but you can mount more than one to record sounds and videos from multiple angles of the car.
Why should you use a dash cam?
There are many reasons why you have to consider using a dash cam. Every vehicle owner should resort to investing at least one dash cam to prevent unwanted losses. A front-facing dash cam, for example, can provide footage of an accident, so you can prove you are not the one at fault. Presenting a piece of solid evidence will serve you well in a trial or insurance claim proceeding. Most people are unaware of how useful it is until they desperately need it.
Some professions are required to use dash cams due to the nature of their work. Police officers (especially traffic police officers) have multiple dash cams to document pursuit and law-enforcing activities. Bus drivers also use front and rear-facing cameras to record activities in their cabin while operating the bus. Nowadays, dash cams have reached its way to consumer-level users and many cars have been implemented with a personal surveillance system to give the burglars a hard time.
Maybe you often drive with children or run a taxi service? A rear-facing camera can help you monitor the backseat without losing focus on your driving. There are many incidents involving parents who constantly look back to check up on their children. Taxi service drivers can make use of the rear-facing dash cam to intercept a robbery attempt if they caught it in time. These are only some of a dash cam uses. Sure you need to spend some money to install one, but it will be all worth it in time. Let’s just hope you never get caught in a complication but when you do, you will be ready. You should invest as early as possible in buying a dash cam, but do not rush into buying one without knowing how a dash cam works.
Best uses of dash cam
Dash cams are usually mounted on the dashboard or on the windshield to get great coverage of the surroundings. They now offer various features you can choose to suit your need. The best dash cam under 100 is usually equipped with GPS tracking to monitor the position of a vehicle while recording the course of the trip. This feature is very useful as a safety measure to keep your young driver in check. Add a few dollars and you can purchase one with the Parking Surveillance feature that tackles burglary while you are away from the vehicle.
How does a dash cam work?
Put one on your windshield or purchase a whole surveillance system, it’s your choice. A dash cam consists of one camera and a display LED to help you set it. Some dash cams offer a package of a display and 2 cameras that you can mount both on your front windshield or the back windshield to give a good view of the rear part of your vehicle. Our recommendation will be those that cover 2 coverages to ensure full protection over your vehicle.
After mounting the dash cams, you will plug the camera into the recording system module and connect it to the vehicle’s power supply. You can power the cameras via the cigarette lighter charging port or have it soldered into the fuse box. Once it is powered and connected to the recording module, you can synchronize it to your phone using the camera recommended app if it has such features. To turn it on, you only need to start the car and the camera will auto-start. You can also control the camera and set up the features via the app if you want to.
Make sure you complete the recording module with a micro SD card so it can store the recordings. A 16gb micro SD card can store approximately 2-hour 4K video recordings. But the number highly depends on the resolution of the video. The videos are usually stored in segments that will be reused should the micro SD card runs out of space, but you can always customize this option if you need a full recording instead of segments. You can watch the recorded videos on the app or—if included in your purchase—on the LED display on the recorder.
Before you purchase one, do check if the dash cam has a crash detection system; this feature is highly useful to prevent the system from erasing important videos. Once the camera detected that the vehicle has gotten into a crash, it will keep any videos where the crash happened, and even after it did. The kept segments will not be reused by future recordings.
Conclusion
Having a functional dash cam is indispensable in certain situations. It helps you give a piece of solid evidence for trial and insurance claim proceedings, like a parking surveillance system, or monitoring the passenger cabin while you are driving. Most dash cams are equipped with features like GPS Tracking, Parking Surveillance, and crash detection system to allow you to have peace of mind whether you are away or in your vehicle. It is simply an investment that is worth every dime.