Are dashcam's catching on in America?

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MoneyT8

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I think dashcam's in America are still kind of a new thing even though I feel it's catching on a bit. I just saw an episode of The People's Court, where a dashcam was used as evidence, however it was actually used against the plaintiff in a car accident. I felt the plaintiff should've known that it would be used against him because the insurance company sided with the defendant. The judge asked "What are you doing with a camera in your car?" and "Why do you have one?". The outside reporter also asked the same questions and Harvey stated it was a good idea to have a dashcam for insurance companies to save money and to have evidence. In Russia, dashcams are heavily used as that's how the meteoroid was caught on cam.

I've thinking about installing a rear cam as well to accomodate my front one, just in case someone rear ends' me.

What do you guys think? Are dashcams in America catching on fast?
 
Pretty slow still... Maybe in places where there's a lot of Asians, I've seen those cars with dash cams, e.g.: LA, SF, SJ, and maybe Vegas I notice the most.
 
Other than the cameras in our 2 vehicles I've only seen 2 others in the past 3 years so I'll say they're still very much a niche market - nowhere near mainstream. Last summer I gave one to my son who's a truck driver and he still hasn't gotten around to installing it. :confused:
 
In seven years of owning dash cams I've only seen perhaps about five other cars with cameras, most of them with out of state plates. The really odd thing is that on at least three occasions with the last just two days ago, the dash cammed cars were driven by inconsiderate, aggressive, almost reckless drivers. I've wondered what that means, if anything. If anything dash cams have made me a more aware, more careful driver.
 
I'm wondering why car manufacturers won't have dashcam's installed into the cars themselves? They already have cams in front of windshield for lane departure, mitigation, etc. I have relatives with dashcam's and haven't seen anyone else with them besides some people talking about it on the radio/tv, forums, etc. I also would never dashcam as evidence if I was at fault in an accident. I'm surprised insurance companies are not pushing for this.
 
DT MI said:
Other than the cameras in our 2 vehicles I've only seen 2 others in the past 3 years so I'll say they're still very much a niche market - nowhere near mainstream. Last summer I gave one to my son who's a truck driver and he still hasn't gotten around to installing it. :confused:
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I can still count on one hand with fingers left over the number of dash cams I have seen.
 
In Denmark they are gaining speed in pickup, in 2017 i have sen at least 5 X more dashcams that the previous years put together.

It is almost where if i looked for them on every drive i take i will also see one :cool: now i just hope a certain little red Suzuki dont feature in another persons videos on youtube one day. :oops:
While i am leagues better and more considerate driver now, i realize that i am not without flaw.

Lately it seem like the type of cameras that wrap around the mirror stalk have become the most popular, or maybe its just due to Danes being cheap asses and buy those as they are often in the cheap end of things.

On the other hand,,,,,, or should i say in the other hand, the phones from the fruit company are the most popular,,,,,,, and expensive here, so if dashcams could be as popular as phones the high end brands should sell well here.
I should maybe also say that Denmark on top when it come to general smartphones adoption by the population. ( +88% )
you could say we are off the chart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_smartphone_penetration
 
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I don't spend much time driving or looking for cams but I've seen a few others- less than 10 I'd say. It seems to be a common theme that people get a dashcam only after some incident occurs involving them where they get screwed over or a close call occurs, so that ain't really a lot of people. :( But they do seem to be catching on with those who like tech-type gadgetry :) I see more people with phones mounted high which are probably recording than real dashcams- they don't yet realize the shortcomings. My insurance agent says that nobody here in SC offers discounts for dashcams either. And a lot of people know they drive like idiots and don't want any recordings of that :eek: There has been some TV advertising and some TV news clips showing dashcam footage so the awareness is there, just not the sales.

Given how relatively cheap a good dashcam can be had for I don't understand the paucity of them in the US.

Phil
 
SawMaster said:
And a lot of people know they drive like idiots and don't want any recordings of that
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I know, pretty scary if you ask me.
And if you confront one such person about it he will Stonewall Jackson you and deny anything.
Even if he are caught red-handed like the Beemer boy i caught up with this summer, the first thing he did when i started talking to them was ask if i want to race, i relpy i cant do that with 10 cameras in the car that record idiot drivers.
 
I haven't noticed much of an increase in the USA.
Maybe 5-10% of big trucks have them, at most. (Not counting the commercial cameras some fleets have, and those are on the increase.)

I see them occasionally in cars. You can usually tell since the glowing screen in the windshield is much smaller than the 7 inch screen on the GPS they have pasted directly in front of them. (Next to the almost equally large cell phone on a suction cup mount.)
 
I would say I have definitely noticed an increased amount of drivers with dash cams BUT I also live near Disney World in Florida, where I am surrounded by people who work at Disney - most of them from different places in the world like Germany, Russia, Puerto Rico (still the US), Ecuador, and many from the UK. So maybe my experiences are a result of the hodge-podge of nationalities around me. Regardless, I got a dash cam, and my coworkers and friends thought it was funny at first. Then I made a YouTube channel where I started to show people the things I deal with on a daily basis. Now I have 6 or 7 friends who drive with dash cams in their car. I won't leave home without it. If I get to the car and realize I forgot it, I go right back upstairs to get it!

When I go out to eat or go shopping, I am (and I know this sounds kinda creepy) looking into peoples cars around me that I walk past (just a quick side eye or a glance lol) to see if they have a dash cam...and believe it or not, sometimes I see them! It's pretty cool to see people protecting themselves and exercising their rights.
 
I am convinced majority of people in Minneapolis that have a dash cam were just friends or family of mine that I gave my extra cams to. :D

My co worker has one that he had before he met me, but other than him I think I have only seen 4-5 dash cams in random peoples cars.
 
MoneyT8 said:
I'm wondering why car manufacturers won't have dashcam's installed into the cars themselves? They already have cams in front of windshield for lane departure, mitigation, etc. I have relatives with dashcam's and haven't seen anyone else with them besides some people talking about it on the radio/tv, forums, etc. I also would never dashcam as evidence if I was at fault in an accident. I'm surprised insurance companies are not pushing for this.
Click to expand...

Some companies are now doing dashcams as optional extras, BMW and Citroen to name two, I also though that many years ago Mercedes would have tried something as they tend to do all the innovative stuff ahead of everyone else, but there are still many countries where dashcams are actually illegal (privacy reasons)
 
DashcamDPR said:
Some companies are now doing dashcams as optional extras, BMW and Citroen to name two, I also though that many years ago Mercedes would have tried something as they tend to do all the innovative stuff ahead of everyone else, but there are still many countries where dashcams are actually illegal (privacy reasons)
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so in those countries where it is illegal is it also illegal to just start filming in public with your cell phone?
 
Two years ago, on the drive to work, I would see one. Now I see 3 to 6. These are non discrete cameras. Large or in the middle of the window where they could be blocked by the rear view mirror. Some people not turning off the screen saver on wedge types.

My point, I am sure there are many more I am not seeing.

In a parking lot, I feel one car in 20 will now have them.

I know of only one person that I work with that is interested in getting one. This is AFTER an accident.
 
Bungus said:
Toyota have them as a option for CAD 450.00 with wifi, made by FujitSu Ten.

https://parts.sptoyota.com/products/dash-camera-2018-rav4
Click to expand...

Interesting to see a Japanese designed and manufactured dash cam. That's a first as far as I know. (Assumming it's not actually made in China or some other nation even if it is from a Japanese company.) It would be interesting to see some footage.

It's also interesting to see the dilemma a car manufacturer is faced with in offering dash cams as a factory item. The one thing that is never mentioned is the concept of having a dash cam in the event of a car accident. Instead, they tout the, "Five ways the Toyota Genuine Dash Camera can make for inspiring footage".
 
There are a couple of brands in Japan that make their cameras there, don't see them selling outside of Japan though
 
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