can a rear cam actually show a person texting while driving?

[David-ogopogodude]

If I was to get a dual channel dash cam system, ... would a rear facing cam actually be able to record the driver behind you texting while driving, for example ? (I realize that there a multitude of other factors such as lighting, speed of vehicles, etc. )

 

[parklawn]

Maybe. You could see that the person was looking down but that would not prove they were texting. But what good is having that information?

 

[dash riposki]

Probably not unless they are holding it up in plain sight while texting.

I notice a lot of people texting as they pass me, can clearly see the phone, but when I check the video only rarely can see enough to identify it as a phone. The dash cams don't handle tinted glass or minor reflections as well as our eyes do.

 

[SawMaster]

Even if you can't see the phone in the vid, it does give the Cops grounds to check that person's phone records for that time which will show positively if they were texting or not. These days it's the norm for insurers or Cops (or both) to check phone records after a crash has occurred, and it doesn't go well in court for those who are caught letting their phone be more important than their driving, especially if they told the Cop they weren't doing it

These 'distracted driving' crashes have become so endemic that I wouldn't be surprised to see the offense moved up into the 'drunk driving' range of penalties soon. If you can't pay proper attention to your driving and do something else at the same time, then you stop whatever else you're doing and drive, or you get off the road and park until you can.

Phil

 

[2000rpm]

Often the darkened interior of a car, combined with reflections off its windscreen, make it difficult to see the driver if the car is at a safe stopping distance. It's only sometimes that light conditions are favourable, and the vehicle behind needs to be quite close.
You're more likely to capture good footage of what the driver is doing if your cam sees them side-on; vertical windows make it easier for the cam to see into the car.

 

[MiiHere]

These 'distracted driving' crashes have become so endemic that I wouldn't be surprised to see the offense moved up into the 'drunk driving' range of penalties soon.

It's funny that you say that because SC has one of the cheapest fines for texting while driving and it can't be reported to insurance and there are no points added to your DL. According to what I read two cities in SC had only issued a total of 10 tickets for texting while driving in almost a year. I don't see penalties getting that severe anytime soon, unless it becomes a federal law.

 

[kamkar]

Problem i found with the rear cameras i had so far.

1. The ordinary wide angle lens make it hard to see as the car behind appear to be further away than it actually is.
2. often the sky reflect in the windscreen of the car behind, making it hard to see in the footage what is going on, i am not sure if a CPL filter would help with this issue.
3. i have tried larger lenses ( up to a 15 mm ) and that help a lot with getting up close with the person in the car back there, but that in turn make the FOV smaller and so i have tried to think " got ya" in the car, but reviewing the footage at home the person is not in frame.
I actually think with if using a narrow FOV lens it might be better to put it to the side of the rear window and not in the mittle, but still thats a issue as the car behind dont allways follow dead in your tracks, so the offset will place what you like to capture out of frame.

IRL what you see the most in regard to ppl texting while driving or stopped at intersections, is they look down into ther lap and can only be doing 1 of 2 things.
A. play with them self
B. be texting/on the phone

At night the glow of the screen will give them avay.

I have dropped capturing phone junkies with my rear camera, but my side cameras do pretty good, so much so i wish i had one in the Left side of my car too.

Side cameras do however present another problem, there is no wipers there so water will bead on them, so some form of nano stuff on those windows is preferred, and offcourse cleaning your car more often that i do will help a lot too

The 90 deg lens on the innovv C3 i have in the side is perfect, but the C3 have some issues of its own so its not the 100% perfect side camera.

I have tried the C3 lens on my rear mobius, that worked too.
Dashcams and ther lens is often a optimised bunch of components, but that dosent mean that putting on another lens will make the footage useless, but offcourse you have to stick to good lenses and not the cheapo 2 doller ones you can fine on the interweb.

I really wish some one would sell other lenses, i would buy a handfull thats for sure.

 

[Witness Auto Dash Cam]

In the current market, I afraid there is no rear camera that can record people who is playing with their phone.

However, I know one brand in Hong Kong called the X8. If you don't mind for spending money with that.

It is total with 8 cams inside your vehicle. where you can record people using phone if you drive beside them. You can check more review about the cam. It is used by the Hong Kong police force.

 

[Number400]

My rear camera can clearly show distraction. You may not be able to see what they are preoccupied with in their lap but if I am ever rear ended, you can bet that I will share the footage and push to add a distracted driving charge onto whatever tickets they are getting, especially if I notice them looking down a lot prior to any contact. I have had several rear end close calls with the person behind looking everywhere but in front of them in traffic.

 

[Sunny]

I'll get a clip from yesterday if I get a chance.
This girl was going well under the speed limit on the fast lane and weaving at times.
Ignored few drivers who passed her from middle lane and cut her off.
I passed her and saw her bobbing down to look at the phone and up to look ahead continuously.
Now, I can't for sure say she's texting but definitely can say she was doing something on the phone besides calling.
Could be texting, browsing internet, browsing pictures or whatever...
So it's hard to say someone was texting but if something happens, it's easy to track it down.
I maybe looking at the phone to dial someone and passing driver may think I'm texting so unless you are following someone a while, it's hard to make sure whether someone's looking at phone to find a contact to call or for texting/browsing.

 

[DT MI]

Sometimes it's pretty obvious what the person behind you is doing. Sometimes you see more than you want to.

 

[parklawn]

That's a classic. One of the best 'recorded by you' videos I've seen for a long time.

 

[kamkar]

Looks like she could do without the breakfest, and exchange that huge ass Dodge for a bicycle

I only caught a litterbug on my mobius, "F" word in use on subtitles.

My L side mounted innovv C3 with the 90 deg lens do a good job of getting up close and personal with phone junkies of all sorts.

 

[Schnickelfritz]

Depending on the type of windows both your car and the other person's car has, a polarizing filter can offer either a great deal of improve clarity or or make the view worse. Some car windows from the 50's, 60's, and 70's interfere with polarizing filters that result in a wavy or grid-like pattern.

Regardless, I use two cameras--two SJ4000's. The forward-facing one uses a polarizing filter, and the rear-facing camera does not.

I run dashcams as a defensive measure.

I assume that those who lie--such as denying being on their cell phone or texting while operating (dare I say "driving") a vehicle--will fit a pattern of digging their own holes deeper. That is why I would not initially mention that may have dashcam footage should some vehicular collision occur.

 

[2000rpm]

My L side mounted innovv C3 with the 90 deg lens do a good job of getting up close and personal with phone junkies of all sorts.

A week ago I had one of my Cobra 840E peeping through the small triangular window in my A-pillar. It was set to 720p 60fps and caught some excellent shots - 60fps is brilliant for fast-moving video, and the not-too-wide field of view of the cam is good for being zoomed-in and capturing details.
In the screenshot below I was travelling at 70mph (stamped on the top of the Cobra media player) and the lorry would have been travelling in the opposite direction at approximately 55mph (lorries are generally limited to 56mph in the UK and tend to drive as close to that as possible). So that lorry is effectively passing the cam at a speed of 125mph. I've left the camera there because it wasn't being used due to my wife not liking silver-coloured cams (more noticeable) and my car already having an identical cam.

 

[2000rpm]

......I run dashcams as a defensive measure......

Yes, mine are primarily for 'defensive' purposes.
I occasionally post videos on the web but don't bother giving them to police (the police won't be interested anyway, except if it is connected to an accident or criminal activity).

However, an unusual occurrence a few weeks ago left me suspecting my dashcams had captured an attempted crime in progress.
I later contacted the police, gave them all information which was captured, and have saved the clips onto an SD card for them to collect if they want to see it for themselves (they took the vehicle registration plate and other details over the phone at the time of reporting).

 

[Sunny]

My L side mounted innovv C3 with the 90 deg lens do a good job of getting up close and personal with phone junkies of all sorts.

Hot mama...

 

[kamkar]

O yeah she got it all, but a brain

 

[DocHudson]

Sometimes it's pretty obvious what the person behind you is doing. Sometimes you see more than you want to.

What camera do you have on the rear (of the vehicle)? and if your rear windshield is tinted, doesn't look like but still want to confirm.

 

[DT MI]

What camera do you have on the rear (of the vehicle)? and if your rear windshield is tinted, doesn't look like but still want to confirm.

I'm using an SG9665GC in the rear. I was originally going to use an A118-C but the SG video quality is so much better I used it because of the tinted glass and moved the A118-C to my wife's car.

I did set the EV to +2/3.

Picture of how dark my rear glass is - https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/attachments/darkglasssmall-jpg.13895/ (piece of paper taped to inside and outside of glass).