Chances are you’ve seen dashcam video footage while flipping through the TV channels and seeing the news. And, we’re pretty sure that you have seen the popular footage from police dashcams. Did you know that you can buy your own dashcam, though? It is ultimately your decision about getting a dash cam. However, we hope that this article will serve as a great resource in helping you decide what to do!
Dash cams are not very popular on personal vehicles in the United States, but in other counties like Russia they are. Let’s discuss.
In the United States
Here in the States, one of the big reasons to purchase a dashcam is to protect yourself if an accident happens. A driver with a dashcam can give the recording to an insurance company to help determine who was at fault. This can speed up the claims process. Insurance fraud is another reason. Like police officers do with their in-car cameras, the footage makes for good evidence in court and can help prove a case.
Use of Dashcams in Russia
A number of cars in Russia have dashcams. Because Russian car insurance is pricey, most Russian car owners have only basic liability coverage on their cars. To protect themselves if crashes occur, Russians mount dashcams in many of their vehicles because insurance companies are unlikely to give them compensation without photographic evidence of the driver at fault in the case of a crash. Referred to as “videoregistrators,” by the Russians, dashcams offer a reliable and inexpensive method for drivers’ protection.
In fact, the prevalence of dashcams has just about stopped the business of insurance scammers in Russia. Insurance scammers would make a weak attempt at pretending to be hit by a car and then demand cash from the driver so they wouldn’t call the cops.
Chevrolet and Corvettes
According to this full-service Chevrolet dealer in Roslyn, NY, Chevrolet offers a personal video recorder in new Corvettes. These personal video recorders are like dashcams, but they are built into the car’s electronics and can overlay the video with throttle and brake position, speed, RPM and even the car’s g forces. The recorder has the storage capacity to record about 200 minutes of footage. Thankfully, it records the video onto its SD card. This makes it so that you can upgrade the available capacity. The Cadillac ATS-V has this personal video recording feature, as well.
How expensive are these?
You may pay as little as $50 for a model with a basic feature set, or over $300 for full-featured models with GPS, motion sensors and other features. Most dash cams are powered by the vehicle’s 12V outlets and may be mounted on the dash or behind the rear-view mirror (so it is out of sight). Like Chevrolet’s personal recorder, most aftermarket dashcams have an internal storage capacity that is fairly limited but may be upgraded with higher capacity SD cards. The super great dashcams also have software that rewrites over old recording footage. Doesn’t that seem neat?
