What is the view on Dash cams and self incrimination

C2 DTN

C2 DTN

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Ive been considering buying one for a while for the obvious benefits they have but i have this niggling thought in the back of my mind that it also records all them borderline naughty bursts away from the lights and questionable overtakes, not to mention the fact it logs your speed.

Is there really an issue with this, or doest it not really matter ?

Im not saying i drive like a tool all the time im out, but its not like i religiously stick to the limits either.
 
Only submit the footage you need to.
I have speed turned off on mine though lol
 
C2 DTN said:
Ive been considering buying one for a while for the obvious benefits they have but i have this niggling thought in the back of my mind that it also records all them borderline naughty bursts away from the lights and questionable overtakes, not to mention the fact it logs your speed.

Is there really an issue with this, or doest it not really matter ?

Im not saying i drive like a tool all the time im out, but its not like i religiously stick to the limits either.
Click to expand...

If you don't drive like a ***** then you won't have any problems.
 
/dev/null said:
If you don't drive like a ***** then you won't have any problems.
Click to expand...

Ohh look we have a perfect driver that never ever ever strays over the limit.
 
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Hahaa

Must be amazing to be so perfect :p :)
 
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That's not really the point is it....

If you have a smash and the dashcam footage finds its way to the police and if you were over the limit then they're bound to use it aren't they.

That's all ifs and buts though the point remains the same....if you use a dashcam then you should be prepared to be caught by it as well.
 
S3Alex said:
That's not really the point is it....

If you have a smash and the dashcam footage finds its way to the police and if you were over the limit then they're bound to use it aren't they.

That's all ifs and buts though the point remains the same....if you use a dashcam then you should be prepared to be caught by it as well.
Click to expand...

Thats the exact reason behind my doubts, you place yourself in a position where something could be used against you.
 
I don't believe /dev/null said he was perfect, he said don't drive like a *****. I agree. Noone is perfect but for the most part if you don't drive like a ****, you'll be fine. At the end of the day it's still your footage, you don't have to use it or submit it if you don't want to. Unless it's part of the terms & conditions of your insurance company because they gave you a discount or something of course!

Speed display is turned off on my dashcam even if only for the reason that it's wildly inaccurate and lags behind, being GPS based. It's probably quite accurate when doing a constant speed for a long time, but useless in other situations.
 
Get a cam that doesn't show your speed if you are worried! My front cam does show speed and also gives me alerts for speed cameras, whilst away last week it alerted me of a cam on a dual carriageway in the middle of nowhere!!! it also pinged to say I was over the speed limit, I looked down and I was doing 75mph, I dropped back to 70 and then to my surprise there was a speed cam at the side of the road....never seen one in such a strange location before! But having the speed shown on your footage could go in your favour, if you were doing 30 in a 30 and hit someone and they then tried to say you were going like a nut at least you can prove you weren't :)


This is from my rear Transcend drive pro 200 which doesn't show the speed, just time and date:

(If you click the Youtube icon after you push play you can see how clear it is)
 
I’ve had a dashcam for around 2 years which only records video and sound ie. no GPS or speed. I can’t say it has changed my driving behaviour in any way and I often forget it is there.

Of course there’s a risk that you could make a mistake and the police use your cam as evidence for dangerous driving. But if, as has been said, you don’t drive like a **** then I think you have little to worry about. As for minor transgressions like 80mph on the motorway….what are the chances the police will care about your footage?

Don’t think that you can conceal the camera or footage from police if they want it. The wires and any velcro will make it obvious and if you’re involved in crash, you may not be in a position to conceal anything. There are strong penalties for lying to police or refusing to hand over stuff that they ask for.
 
The DashCam is there for your protection if someone / thing does wrong to you.
Likewise, if you do wrong to others then it should be there to protect them to.

From your description of how you drive, suggest it prudent that maybe you don't have one.
As always, the choice is yours.

Enjoy and Have Fun.
 
I have the sound and GPS / speed turned off on mine. It was miles out to be fair, 30mph would record on the camera at 55mph!! So essentially it just records footage. It's picked up numerous idiots on the road already and it's peace of mind knowing it's there incase something were to ever happen (touch wood it doesn't).

If you're paranoid about doing something wrong and incriminating yourself, destroy / dispose of the memory card.....
 
I'm also looking at a dash cam. I'd definitely switch off speed but, like someone else said, the speed tracking is probably inaccurate and unlikely to be used in court.

The police usually use other methods of determining speed - tyre skid marks, damage etc. Though if you're doing an dash-cam indicated 40mph+ in a 30mph zone then that gives them "reasonable" evidence that you were speeding.

Personally I'd switch off speed tracking but if I'm in an accident as a result of my bad driving, then quite rightly I should be prosecuted for it.

I want a dash-cam that automatically records when it senses movement when parked up. Most bad driving seems to happen when I'm not there!!!
 
It looks like eventually the
whole world will be "Big Brother"
 
Ignition1 said:
I want a dash-cam that automatically records when it senses movement when parked up. Most bad driving seems to happen when I'm not there!!!
Click to expand...

My Blackvue does that. Also works off the g sensor built in too to detect people hitting you.
 
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@S32B

Bought the transcend driver pro 200 on my way from home. Cheers for posting the test footage.
 
If something on your own dash cam is unfavourable to u then all u need to do is delete it. Simple.
 
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Dash cams , black boxes all concern me as insurance companies will start demanding them. Then it will give them more reasons not to pay out.
 
Basic physics means that using Distance/Time calculations, Speed can be calculated from the footage as you will be passing road furniture & possibly landmarks so having the speed display turned off would be irrelevant. The only thing is that it would have to be pretty serious for them to go to those lengths.
 
The speed display is a double edged sword. Provided you drive within the law it will be on your side countering vexatious accusations or litigation against you. We use Thinkware 750 and Blackvue 650 and keep the speed display on.
 
cemerson said:
I don't believe /dev/null said he was perfect, he said don't drive like a *****. I agree. Noone is perfect but for the most part if you don't drive like a ****, you'll be fine. At the end of the day it's still your footage, you don't have to use it or submit it if you don't want to. Unless it's part of the terms & conditions of your insurance company because they gave you a discount or something of course!

Speed display is turned off on my dashcam even if only for the reason that it's wildly inaccurate and lags behind, being GPS based. It's probably quite accurate when doing a constant speed for a long time, but useless in other situations.
Click to expand...

My point exactly - the dashcam isn't an approved speed measuring device so couldn't be used as evidence in court if you were shown to be doing say 80 on a motorway. However if you were driving like an idiot and something happened then sure it could be. I said "don't drive like a *****", not "don't drive safely a bit over the speed limit".
 
C2 DTN said:
@S32B

Bought the transcend driver pro 200 on my way from home. Cheers for posting the test footage.
Click to expand...
No problem, I covered all the shiny bits with black matt tape to hide it a bit more...but if I had it in the front I'd probably just take it out when not in use.
 
audi upgrades
Guys if it's YOUR dashcam then you are the owner of the footage. Unless you submit it to someone or some program or some website, nobody will ever see it. You are the CEO of your dashcam footage. Police can request the footage but you do not have to give it to them unless they have a legal subpoena / search warrant or unless they demand it because they are in full belief that the footage has captured a crime. There must be reason to believe this though.

Also, if you drive 37 miles across town and nothing happens on your drive that you'd like to keep footage of, best thing to do is just always delete any footage you don't need. Nobody required you to record it and so therefore that footage will never be missed. As long as you use the dashcam for its intended purpose then you should have nothing to worry about. For most of us it would be simply to protect ourselves from dishonest people making false claims about what did or did not happen on the road or in a parking lot or whatever.
 
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If you're involved in a significant incident (e.g. big smash, someone dies) aren't the police going to recover the cars as evidence leaving you with no chance to decide what to do with the card?

In those circumstances, surely trying to removing the card would be classed as destroying evidence and likely to cause you even more problems.
 
wow this thread is going deep! If you're driving like a tit and cause a big accident then face the consequences, it's your own fault! For me the camera is there for peace of mind if someone hits me or causes an accident in front/behind me. If I do drive like a tit and the police use my camera against me then who else can I blame?!?!
 
S32B said:
wow this thread is going deep! If you're driving like a tit and cause a big accident then face the consequences, it's your own fault! For me the camera is there for peace of mind if someone hits me or causes an accident in front/behind me. If I do drive like a tit and the police use my camera against me then who else can I blame?!?!
Click to expand...
I suppose the worry (at least for me!) would be in a borderline case.

If you've done absolutely nothing wrong - no worries.

If you've driven like a total bell-end and caused a massive smash - you deserve everything you get and footage or not, you'll probably be charged

If, however, you've been marginally above the speed limit (say 70mph in a 60mph) and there's been an incident which you didn't especially cause but was exacerbated by your slightly excessive speed, could the footage be seized and used to transfer blame to you?

All theoretical in my case of course because I don't have a dashcam, and I'm a driving god like everyone on here ;)
 
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TBH I don't know, but it is all if's and but's, if we thought like that about everything we do we wouldn't do anything :)

I'm just uploading a cam video now which I'll post in a new thread as it's a lighter note :)
 
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