Facelift Minor accident; hopeless, rude driving. Need a dash cam!

[Svenedin]

I was driving up a very steep and narrow hill this afternoon (Succombs Hill, Warlingham, Surrey). I saw a car coming down the hill and realised that it was going to be tight for us both to pass. I slowed down but the other car did not so I came to a complete stop. The idiot continued down hill even thought it was blindingly obvious that he would collide with my stationary vehicle........and that is what happened but fortunately just the driver's wing mirror. My mirror folded in with the force of it being clipped and the mirror glass was left hanging off by one of the wires for the heated mirror. Of course the other driver failed to stop.

I was shocked, upset and angry. I pulled over when I could to examine the damage. Fortunately it seems all that was needed was to reconnect a wire and pop the mirror back in. The silver cover has a few marks on it but the mirror appears to have survived as does the folding mechanism, heating and motorised adjustment. The only thing I haven't been able to test is the auto-dimming.

Anyway, lucky that it was just the mirror but really annoying that the other driver was so stupid and discourteous. All that was required was for him to have slowed right down! It is as well I stopped completely because that reduced the energy of the collision.

I really need to get a dash cam. Has anyone got a recommendation for something decent but tidy?

 

[MattSedg]

im looking at getting blackvue 650s i think it is? front and rear...
would also like to hear some opinions before i buy anything

 

[Svenedin]

Just tested the auto-dimming which is working as well (the sensor is in the rear view mirror so if you shine a torch at the rear view mirror it dims the wing mirrors if that option is fitted). Still irritated that this could have potentially cost me a lot of money and as it is it was an unpleasant experience and I am left with a scratched mirror housing. I believe those covers can be carefully removed and replaced though (people have swapped them out for carbon fibre versions).

 

[Spinstorm]

I almost had a similar incident myself recently.

I am not sure a dashcam would help with this - for a mirror what would you do? Obviously if the whole thing was broken thats another matter.

But I see the dashcam as a way of knowing I am covered should something happen and I can't resolve it.

 

[Timi8888]

I almost had a similar incident myself recently.

I am not sure a dashcam would help with this - for a mirror what would you do? Obviously if the whole thing was broken thats another matter.

But I see the dashcam as a way of knowing I am covered should something happen and I can't resolve it.

Surely the dash cam would show the car going past and hitting the mirror, it not visually, then audibly or with the g sensors in the car? Also you would get the reg plate of the car that hit you.

 

[S3GCN]

I've recently got a blackvue 650 but only went for the 1 channel front facing option. The playback is decent quality, and one of the main reasons for choosing it was it looks quite neat fitted, it's not a bulky unit with a screen and massive sucker.

 

[azibux1]

I've recently got a blackvue 650 but only went for the 1 channel front facing option. The playback is decent quality, and one of the main reasons for choosing it was it looks quite neat fitted, it's not a bulky unit with a screen and massive sucker.

This. I have the 650GW1CH and got it for this reason. Some others may be cheaper, some others may have better video quality... but the BlackVue is a good all-rounder camera with a decent feature set.

650GW1CH doesn't seem to be sold anymore, but 650s is very close in specs

 

[glospete]

I live in Devon (=very narrow lanes) and my defensive trick is to drive with my mirrors folded in on the lanes. That is usually sufficient to get 2 cars past each other and who needs mirrors on narrow lanes?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[RAF_S7]

I really need to get a dash cam. Has anyone got a recommendation for something decent but tidy?

I have a BlackVue DR650 (front & rear cams) that I've recently upgraded to the newer cloud model.

Originally cost me just over £300. It's a year old. If your interested in it message me, otherwise I'm just going to list on the for sale page.

Cheers,
John.

 

[micloi]

I just installed the 650s 2ch too, excellent camera. If you need something cheaper try the Nextbase ones, excellent for the money (I.e the 412 one my wife is using).

 

[Jimbo10]

I recently installed the Blackvue 650s-2ch. Compared to other dash cams, it's looks much better and is quite stealthy.

Video quality is pretty poor for the price. I've set the recording quality to the highest setting yet it is impossible to identify oncoming vehicles numberplates when travelling over 20mph.

This picture was at 30mph. I snapped this picture from the Blackvue viewer on my laptop and was skipping the video by micro seconds to see if it got any clearer...nope.
My advice. If you want a sleek looking dash cam with parking mode, get this.
If you're not bothered about being as stealth as possible and do not want parking mode - save your money and get a different camera. There are some great budget cameras. The most popular is A119 (I think) which surpasses this in video quality.

 

[RAF_S7]

Video quality is pretty poor for the price. I've set the recording quality to the highest setting yet it is impossible to identify oncoming vehicles numberplates when travelling over 20mph.View attachment 132141

I would suggest you have a problem with your camera, and if you have just installed it, return it for exchange or a refund.

I have the same camera, and I can tell you its crystal clear and more than capable of identifying other traffic.

I would add that the MicroSD card will make a huge difference in the quality of your recordings, so what are you using (Make and class)?

I tried to post a clip of actual footage, but YouTube video upload process degrades the quality quite a bit (that or my video editing skills is pants)

 

[DJAlix]

I almost had a similar incident myself recently.

I am not sure a dashcam would help with this - for a mirror what would you do? Obviously if the whole thing was broken thats another matter.

But I see the dashcam as a way of knowing I am covered should something happen and I can't resolve it.

I would get a dashcam anyway as its an added level of protection so to speak.

In the case of the OP, fine a dash cam might not catch the side of the vehicle but it's still evidence. Heated and auto-dimming side view mirror glass is £266 a side to replace and the housing / motor, with cap, is around £210... more if an S3.

 

[Jimbo10]

I would suggest you have a problem with your camera, and if you have just installed it, return it for exchange or a refund.

I have the same camera, and I can tell you its crystal clear and more than capable of identifying other traffic.

Hmmm...that's annoying. Are you using the default settings too or have you tinkered with one or two of them?
I was thinking that something was amiss with the quality of mine

 

[h5djr]

If the OP had a dash cam what difference would it have made. The police would not be interested as no one was injured. Even if you know the reg number of the vehicle how would you find out the owner. Any claim on your insurance for such a small amount would almost certainly be more than the excess on the policy. I very much doubt if the insurance company would pursue it further.
I had the same thing happen some months ago when a van strayed over the centre line on a curve and hit my mirror. I had to bite the bullet and pay for a new mirror.
Perhaps a Dash Cam could be useful in a more series situation but I doubt it would have been any help in this particular one.

 

[RAF_S7]

Hmmm...that's annoying. Are you using the default settings too or have you tinkered with one or two of them?
I was thinking that something was amiss with the quality of mine

The video doesn't record in full HD by default, you have to adjust that in the settings screen.
Also, the MicroSD card your using will make a significant difference to the quality of the recorded video. The WORST manufacturer to use is Scandisk! (Im using Lexar Class 10)

Ive not made any other changes to the video quality, just played around with what LEDs are on and off etc.

Are you using the Blackvue viewer to watch back your clips? The best way to "snap" a clear still is to use the pause button within the viewer.

John.

 

[Svenedin]

If the OP had a dash cam what difference would it have made. The police would not be interested as no one was injured. Even if you know the reg number of the vehicle how would you find out the owner. Any claim on your insurance for such a small amount would almost certainly be more than the excess on the policy. I very much doubt if the insurance company would pursue it further.
I had the same thing happen some months ago when a van strayed over the centre line on a curve and hit my mirror. I had to bite the bullet and pay for a new mirror.
Perhaps a Dash Cam could be useful in a more series situation but I doubt it would have been any help in this particular one.

Yes, that's true. I just thought it was a close call and could have been so much worse. I have been thinking about getting a camera for ages but I don't want wires showing or it being a hassle. I just want it to sit there unobtrusively and have taken decent quality footage that will actually be useful if needed.

 

[Jimbo10]

The video doesn't record in full HD by default, you have to adjust that in the settings screen.
Also, the MicroSD card your using will make a significant difference to the quality of the recorded video. The WORST manufacturer to use is Scandisk! (Im using Lexar Class 10)

Ive not made any other changes to the video quality, just played around with what LEDs are on and off etc.

Are you using the Blackvue viewer to watch back your clips? The best way to "snap" a clear still is to use the pause button within the viewer.

John.

I was using the Blackvue 16gb card but then got a Toshiba Exceria 32GB.
I was looking at the Lexar 300x and 633 but got the Toshiba as it had more reviews and a better spec.

I'll have a play around with the settings, if I have no luck I'll pick up a Lexar and see if that makes a difference

 

[Terminator x]

I have a Blackvue camera, nice and small so very discrete but still HD quality. Works very well. Hard wired in too so no wires.

TX.

Sent from my STV100-4 using Tapatalk

 

[testcard]

I recently installed the Blackvue 650s-2ch. Compared to other dash cams, it's looks much better and is quite stealthy.

Video quality is pretty poor for the price. I've set the recording quality to the highest setting yet it is impossible to identify oncoming vehicles numberplates when travelling over 20mph.

This picture was at 30mph. I snapped this picture from the Blackvue viewer on my laptop and was skipping the video by micro seconds to see if it got any clearer...nope.
My advice. If you want a sleek looking dash cam with parking mode, get this.
If you're not bothered about being as stealth as possible and do not want parking mode - save your money and get a different camera. There are some great budget cameras. The most popular is A119 (I think) which surpasses this in video quality.

View attachment 132141

Looking at the bottom right of the frame, Full HD is turned off.

 

[Spinstorm]

Likewise I have a Blackvue camera front and back; powered by the car as it was installed with the magic pro which keeps it recording for 12 hours even if I am not in the car.

It’s out of the way I don’t think about it but I am always covered.

 

[RAF_S7]

Looking at the bottom right of the frame, Full HD is turned off.

On the Blackvue 650S-2CH, XXX-XXX refers to the front camera and the rear camera. So in this case its FHD (Full HD) on the Front and it looks like the rear camera is not connected.

If you look at my snapshot, it says FHD-HD, thats because the rear cam is HD only

 

[RAF_S7]

Here's a clip from my dashcam. This is recorded in full HD (30fps)

On YouTube you loose some of the HQ, but you get an idea of the quality. If you use the pause button on the YT clip, and you can pretty much read the numberplate of any oncoming traffic.

Apologies for the cheesy muzak - YT forced me to delete the original soundtrack (radio broadcast) because of copyright.

 

[Jimbo10]

On the Blackvue 650S-2CH, XXX-XXX refers to the front camera and the rear camera. So in this case its FHD (Full HD) on the Front and it looks like the rear camera is not connected.

If you look at my snapshot, it says FHD-HD, thats because the rear cam is HD only

Spot on Sir. I haven't run the cable for the rear camera yet. Was planning on doing it this weekend.