Protect yourself from bad drivers causing accidents that are not your fault
Dash cams are not exactly a new technology, but in recent years they have certainly seen a rise in popularity. Millions of road users up and down the country now use them on their daily travels.
When you consider the benefits that a dash cam has to offer, it is easy to see why this is the case. Imagine having a car accident that wasn’t your fault. There are no witnesses around, just your word against the other driver.
How are you going to prove who is telling the truth? The best way is with the help of a dash cam. By recording footage of the accident, you have solid evidence to provide your insurance company with, potentially saving yourself a fortune.
The great thing about dash cams now is that technology has advanced so much, and there are a lot of things that they can now do that you might not be aware of.
5 Things you didn’t know about dash cams
1. They can protect you even when you are parked up overnight
Parking your car on the road outside of your home overnight is never going to be completely safe. However, for some people, such as those without a garage or private driveway, it is a necessity.
As you can imagine, this comes with risks. Not only is there a higher chance that your car will get broken into and potentially stolen, but there is also the risk that somebody may crash into your parked car and do untold amounts of damage.
The problem here is that because these things typically happen in the dead of night when nobody is around to witness it, there is very little that you can do in terms of insurance claims.
A lot of the more advanced dash cams on the market are now fitted with a 24 hour motion detection setting. This means that when activated, it will automatically record anything that goes on outside of your vehicle.
You can then use the footage to either take to the police, or to your insurance company, whichever is appropriate.
2. Most record accidents automatically so you don’t have to do anything
One thing that many drivers will find themselves worrying about is not having their dash cam recording when an accident happens. Obviously, if you don’t have the footage that you need then you are not going to be able to prove what really happened.
A lot of the mid-range to high-end dash cams on the market at the moment come with a built in G sensor. This sensor detects any sudden change in braking whilst the car is in motion and automatically starts the recording process.
The good thing about this is that you don’t have to worry about operating the dash cam at all. Because the sensor detects these changes in motion and automatically records them, you will capture everything.
3. You can use them to monitor your own driving
We all like to think that we are brilliant drivers. However, this is rarely the case and many of us could do with improving certain aspects. Nobody is perfect after all. New drivers especially will want to continue working on their skills once they have passed their test.
However, when you are focussing on the road, it can be difficult to monitor your driving and see how good you are or what improvements you could be making. By using a dash cam to record your journeys, you can play back the footage to learn from it.
4. You could potentially prevent insurance fraud
Whilst this may sound quite unbelievable, it happens all too frequently. Thousands of people every year stage crashes on the roads to make fraudulent insurance and compensation claims.
This is a scary fact, but it does happen, and it poses a very real risk to both drivers and pedestrians. As you can imagine, it can be very difficult for the police to catch these con artists in the act.
However, you can help. By having a dash cam, you can hand over the footage of any suspicious crashes that you happen to capture. The police will then take the appropriate action against the fraudsters.
5. You can report dangerous driving to the police
Unfortunately, there are definitely some very dangerous drivers on the road. Crashes happen all over the country every single day that are caused by careless driving. Again, unless the police catch them in the act, it can be difficult to get these drivers off of the road.
One of the good things about having a dash cam in your car is that you are able to capture video evidence of this type of driving to hand over to the police. Most dash cams offer HD recording, so capturing an image of the car registration should be no problem at all.
As you can see, dash cams are incredibly versatile these days. They are not simply there to protect you from accidents that are not your fault. If you want to benefit from all of the points listed above, then a dash cam would definitely be a wise investment.
