Accident camera's

[Yeti]

Anyone got any experience of these accident dashcams? Currently looking at the Thinkware X500 Dash Cam with Rear Camera. Seems to have the lot, speed camera warning, lane departure etc. Bloomin expensive though at nearly 400 quid fitted with all the bells n whistles. Trouble is there are so many on the market now, many of which are Chinese ****.

Thinking about what I need as opposed to what I want I get the following:

Front and Rear HD camera
Option to set camera to record when parked
Speed camera warning
Hard wire fitting - no visible cables


Nice to have:

Lane departure
Traffic collision monitor
Speed limit zone warning

Thoughts anyone?

 

[mjheathcote]

Whats happened to actually paying attention when 'driving'.
If you are paying attention you shouldn't need any speed warning/speed zones/lane departure/traffic collision!!

 

[D Walker]

Whats happened to actually paying attention when 'driving'.
If you are paying attention you shouldn't need any speed warning/speed zones/lane departure/traffic collision!!

Try telling that to the person who drives into you in a car park and then jumps out and says you reversed into him! When you were stood still!!!
Yes I do know someone it happened to.

 

[Wack61]

Whats happened to actually paying attention when 'driving'.
If you are paying attention you shouldn't need any speed warning/speed zones/lane departure/traffic collision!!

It's a modern thing, how would they monitor Facebook, Twitter and incoming texts without them

This is why you need a dashcam, because it probably saves thousands in detective work when a hit and run gets caught

The incident is around 3:20 but it's worth watching the whole thing just for the appalling standard of driving

http://youtu.be/6-4TYhkx1CU

 

[mjheathcote]

Try telling that to the person who drives into you in a car park and then jumps out and says you reversed into him! When you were stood still!!!
Yes I do know someone it happened to.

Nothing against the camera part, its all the other stuff!

 

[allandwf]

Watching with interest. For me I would want camera to be just that, but be able to start recording when required, (when parked,) and also to automatically start when car is started as I know if I fit one Mrs allandwf would forget to switch it on. So probably something that was permanently on stand by then triggered by motion?

 

[zagatoes30]

Someone posted some details on here recently, Drew I think, relatively cheap and reasonable quality. I plan to fit one to the GT and the RR replacement soon.

 

[chippiepilot]

Allandwf: something like this? http://domestic.roadhawk.co.uk

 

[Carpetman]

I have a dash camera in my van that is from amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amacam-AM-M...03919&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dash+camera&psc=1
Pircture quality is very good & within a week of putting it up I filmed someone back into a car in a car park and then drive off. I passed on the video to the owner of the car that had been hit.

 

[Trev Latter]

The downside with these dash cams is the new breed of person they're generating. I've seen several uploads to youtube now where the commentary (verbal or otherwise) is being severely critical of the driver being filmed when their own isn't much better. One I saw recently had the driver commenting on another's driving for trying to cut in, bragging about "that'll teach him because I wouldn't let him in" and accelerating to prevent it from happening. That action alone forced the driver into oncoming traffic and very nearly caused an accident. Whilst the first driver was clearly in the wrong, nobody has the right to try to kill him or any completely innocent drivers coming in the opposite direction.

That aside, there is a use for them and in the right circumstances they can and do provide usable evidence. I have a couple of those cheap ones from ebay similar to Drew's, mainly for recording scenery and fun stuff if off road. They seem to work pretty well for the money. I did have to set the default mic setting to off in Toni's car - that girl really can't sing and I'd be far too embarrassed to pass it on to anyone

 

[Wack61]

I've had one of these in my van for a year and 50,000 miles and it's not stopped running once, good picture quality too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/E-PRANCE-No...=UTF8&qid=1445508431&sr=8-1&keywords=e+prance

 

[Ebenezer]

£399 down to £39.99
Is that for real?

 

[Yeti]

So what you're saying here is that you never need any assistance or reminders when driving in a strange city at night in the rain that maybe that bus obscured the 30mph sign on a dual carriageway and there's a camera behind that tree? Good luck with that.

Whats happened to actually paying attention when 'driving'.
If you are paying attention you shouldn't need any speed warning/speed zones/lane departure/traffic collision!!

 

[rossyl]

So what you're saying here is that you never need any assistance or reminders when driving in a strange city at night in the rain that maybe that bus obscured the 30mph sign on a dual carriageway and there's a camera behind that tree? Good luck with that.

A strange city, at night, in the rain, with an ominously positioned bus....sounds like a horror movie!

I do see the point in these cameras, but I also think it is a massive shame. Does the prevalence and need for such items mean that we are becoming a society of untrustworthy people? Also an extremely litigious society, always on the lookout for evidence against others. It is a sad state of affairs if so.

 

[Doohickey]

One of the guys I work with is married to a top insurance lawyer and she regularly sends out reports on 'accidents' where the driver of a car/minibus full of people stands on the brakes for no apparent reason so you shunt them. There's then a massive claim for injury always using the same doctors and recovery companies.

At the very least it will give you some protection from something like this.

 

[Yeti]

I've had two questionable incidents recently, both in the Strad. One was a blatant brake test when a bunch of chav's in a Clio slammed on in front of me for no reason, the second was a gimmer who pulled across from a right turn only lane into my left turn only lane at the last minute. That one was VERY close and might have been difficult to prove liability without evidence.

The other stuff is simply "nice to have" if you're going to the trouble of having one of these things hard wired

A strange city, at night, in the rain, with an ominously positioned bus....sounds like a horror movie!

I do see the point in these cameras, but I also think it is a massive shame. Does the prevalence and need for such items mean that we are becoming a society of untrustworthy people? Also an extremely litigious society, always on the lookout for evidence against others. It is a sad state of affairs if so.

 

[mjheathcote]

The other stuff, okay nice to have, incase of your horror movie!
I do still think though that there are too many 'aids' that really should not be necessary, that drivers (non Maserati drivers of course) rely on ...even when not driving in a horror movie scenario.

 

[Doohickey]

Drove home tonight behind someone with one of these but he(?) had the picture switched on so you could see what it was recording. Surely that's not clever.

 

[Wack61]

£399 down to £39.99
Is that for real?

No

 

[D Walker]

A strange city, at night, in the rain, with an ominously positioned bus....sounds like a horror movie!

I do see the point in these cameras, but I also think it is a massive shame. Does the prevalence and need for such items mean that we are becoming a society of untrustworthy people? Also an extremely litigious society, always on the lookout for evidence against others. It is a sad state of affairs if so.

Unfortunately you have hit the nail on the head. Too be a simple honest person in today's society will do you no good if you are relying on the honesty of other people!