dash cam cost vs. benefit analysis

[digitalride]

Has anyone ever seen a detailed breakdown of the cost / benefit analysis of operating a dash cam? I can certainly see their benefit for drivers in high risk situations including city driving, but for the average driver who has a collision once every 19 years do they make financial sense? I think a lot of people, myself included, see a video posted online where someone was saved from a lying jerk and think " I need one of those " without running the numbers.

Let's say you spend $150 every 3 years on a dash cam and sd cards. So you'd spend $900 every 18 years before you get into a collision ( on average ) . In a collision it can be obvious who is at fault but of course some times the dash cam comes in handy in proving you're innocence. Has anyone run across any numbers for how often a dash cam matters in a collision / legal investigation? Maybe 1/4 accidents a dash cam would help? ( assuming you're always not at fault - if you're often causing accidents I guess you don't want a dash cam ) . So if there was a 25% chance of a dash cam helping you save your $1000 insurance deductible that only saved you $250 per accident on average. But then there's the issue of how much your insurance premiums will go up. Maybe you avoid getting sued for a million dollars in an insurance scam but unless you're under-insured how much are you going to end up paying out of pocket? ( of course there's a huge time savings being able to prove your innocence at the scene and not letting it get further than that )

Further variables include how often a dash cam didn't record the accident due to hardware malfunction, how much time you're going to spend reformatting your sd cards every few months, etc.

So it seems to me like an open question as to whether dash cams really save money in the long term on average, I'd like to know if anyone has done a detailed analysis of this, I've had trouble finding anything with google. I'm sure insurance companies would be able to compile this and I'm a little surprised they haven't.

Of course there are other benefits to using a dash cam, like cool shots of animals barely averting your vehicle, and lots of people will say "peace of mind" but I'm just wondering about the pure economics of them.

 

[DT MI]

I seriously doubt anyone has done that type of analysis, especially given that dash cams are fairly recent to the market and the relative low cost of ownership compared to the total cost of ownership of a car/truck/SUV/etc. The one scenario you failed to mention is the possibility of your dash cam video providing evidence that absolves you from criminal liability which could have far worse consequences than anything financial (but that could fall under 'peace of mind').

That said, it's my opinion that the cost/benefit potential is more favorable than that for any commercial insurance you may have - given that the insurance companies are 'for profit' organizations and thus the total subscriber base is guaranteed to come up short in the long run.

 

[arcticfire]

As far as I'm concerned a dashcam is invaluable. I've used footage from them from various vehicles and trucks to save tens of thousands of pounds in claims and possible insurance hikes.

I would like to see more DVR/NVR based setups for greater reliability over SD cards, but I doubt there's enough consumer demand for it.

 

[Privateer]

Hi @digitalride

I bought my first dashcam in January 2013, that was a few months after I first became aware of the concept of having a dashcam but I waited until a certain model was available before I purchased it.

The reason I bought one was some time before then, I was involved in an accident where I was exiting a roundabout and T-boned a van that had just entered the roundabout. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and my vehicle wasn't scratched but the van that I hit was bent like a banana and I believe the van was written off. I didn't think that I was not at fault and others that I spoke to agreed with me but somehow my insurers settled on a 50/50. As I had collision damage insurance on my insurance my premiums didn't increase but it was the principle of the judgment that upset me.

The initial cost of £100 for a dashcam is low compared to other running costs, if my fuel tank is low then I can easily put more than £100 of diesel in my vehicle. So I've never considered analysing the cost of the dashcam per mile or per year.

Ever since I have run a dashcam I would like to think that my driving has improved (it's being monitored all the time by the dashcam). In fact, I would feel nervous driving without a dashcam acting as a witness. BTW, I drive defensively especially as I've seen so many dashcam videos on YouTube where the dashcamer technically has right of way but acts like a complete idiot and in some extreme circumstances collides with another vehicle just to prove that they're right!

As others have already said, a dashcam can prove your whereabouts. If you get a notice of a fine for staying too long in a car park with grainy black and white pictures time-stamped showing when you arrived and left, then if I'm innocent, I know that full colour timestamped videos in 2K are far more impressive for the adjudicator to look at and make a reasonable defence and proof of innocence for me.

Other befits of having a dashcam are for including footage for documenting family road trips and days out. Having a rear dashcam capturing a monkey playing with a whip CB antenna that's mounted on the spare wheel mount on the rear door, whilst the monkey is sitting on the spare wheel, is priceless!

Regards,

 

[kamkar]

The 1 camera which are generally enough to document what you did in / with your car, is a good investment if you get in a alteration with a person trying to wipe his mistake off on you by lying to police / insurance.
BUT ! the #1 problem is many people tend to buy the cheapest dashcam and memory card, and then put it in their car and forget all about it until they have a crash years later.
And so as we have seen a few times in here, people realize that their camera stopped recording months ago and did not capture their event.

No dashcam are set and forget, so you need to spend 5 - 10 minutes every month or two to ensure the footage on your memory card at that time are consistent with what you have driven lately.
To do that you must focus on start and stop location on drive sessions ( that would be your home / home of people you visit / your favorite shopping location / favorite gas station / place of work ASO )
So if a drive session don't start or stop in any of those places but rather a mile down the road or maybe not at all, then you are having some form of issue with your camera or memory card.
And you of course don't have to review every second recorded, just the first seconds of a segment to give you enough time to see what you need, and then maybe some random files, for me looking over a 128 GB memory card on my computer with the card in a card reader take 5 - 10 minutes.
If you do the same over a cameras wifi and on a phone i recon it would take considerable longer i assume.

No dashcam last forever, but in a good camera the memory card no matter how expensive and good brand you have, it will always be the weak link.

i had my #2 car insurance event a few years ago, but that did not need any footage as the guy took blame just fine, and it was 30 years after i had my first insurance event in a car.
Still i would not be without a camera in my car, if not for liability then my cameras capture a lot of idiotic driving on the roads, and 2 times i have also gone to the police with that footage as the driving witnessed have been that bad, and 1 time last summer i also recorded a guy running a red light, and he ran leaving his M8 and crashed car behind, but not before standing next to my car, and that was a mistake as he was "one of those guys" the police know well, so 1 hour later seeing my footage on the station they could drive out and talk to him, and get that blood-sample as people like that are often high on one or more things.
So its not just yourself you will be able to help with a dashcam.

PS: hopefully every dashcam investment will be a bad one and you will never need it, but the way people act and drive there days one would be stupid to take the chance and not have one.

 

[digitalride]

Good points about criminal liability and helping to catch reckless drivers, but you have to factor in the statistically very low probability that will occur. In the end $50/year is very cheap insurance, and you could even make the argument that you could adjust your auto insurance coverage down and still come out ahead. I think the "monkey" argument is what really sells it for me though.

 

[kamkar]

Indeed, i have what directly translate to "free damage" meaning i can total my car 2 times in a year and not get more expensive insurance. i also have glass coverage occupant coverage and of course my own car ( minus 500 USD or so )
And it is not like i have a super expensive insurance, it cost me around 600 USD a year, and for that kind of insurance ( not the rock bottom minimum one that only cover damage to the other part ) that's not expensive for Denmark or the fact i drive a tiny "cheap" Suzuki car.
I wrote "cheap" as Denmark are among the top 3 most expensive countries to buy a new car, in the US what i paid for this little Suzuki i would probably get a brand new VW jetta or something.

 

[kamkar]

My car after the last event.

 

[DT MI]

...In the end $50/year is very cheap insurance,

I suspect most vehicle owners spend considerably more than that annually just keeping the interior/exterior clean without even considering the cost/benefit.

 

[Nigel]

but for the average driver who has a collision once every 19 years do they make financial sense?

Nobody is average, we are all individuals!

Some of us pay $3000 a year in insurance, others pay $300 a year, and some have their insurance paid by their company and thus is free.

Some of us have insurance that covers everything and doesn't increase in price if we have an occasional accident, others only have third party insurance or have insurance that doubles in price after an accident.

Some of us have a big insurance excess payments that can be avoided if we can show that the incident was not our fault.

Some of use have expensive cars, others have cheap cars.

It is impossible to come to an accurate figure even if you have all the information, because incidents will always be a game of chance.

So, since you can buy a decent dashcam for less than the cost of 2 tanks of fuel, or one service for the car, and if you buy from a decent brand then the dashcam will probably work until you next replace your car, possibly needing a memory card replacement at some point, I don't think you need to work out an accurate figure, or even a guideline.

In addition, if you use your dashcam to analyse incidents and learn from them, or get others to comment on your driving and learn from the comments, then you may well manage to avoid that 1 in 19 year accident entirely, and if it happens to be one that would have put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, or one that would have killed your daughter, then you might consider the dashcam invaluable.

I also think it is highly valuable for reporting idiots to the police and thus either removing them from our roads or changing the way they drive, something that again may save you or your friends and family from disaster, or maybe save someone you don't know but who has done the same and thus saved you from disaster. This is a bit easier to do in some countries than in others.

Also a very good way to save the memories of great drives during your holidays.

I'm sure insurance companies would be able to compile this and I'm a little surprised they haven't.

No, insurance companies work on chance and the cost to them, very different to the cost to you.

They generally don't give discounts for dashcam users because although a dashcam may reduce the payments for an individual case, overall there are still the same number of incidents and the same cost to be paid, it is only a question of who pays, but it is almost always insurance that pays and unless one insurance company only deals with people who have dashcams then dashcams tend to increase insurance prices for all insurance companies since they provide evidence that results in more court cases and more lawyers fees when otherwise it would be a simple 50-50 payout that could be completed in seconds.

 

[SawMaster]

Just saw this thread and thought I'd chirp in. Three times I've been falsely accused and convicted by mistakes, lies, and collusions, plus one Cop here doesn't like me at all. That's the main reason I got into dashcams, as well as them offering some security while parked. To me, the peace of mind I get knowing that nobody is going to easily screw me over is priceless. And if they try that now I'll have enough evidence to take to my lawyer and sue them directly- and win. So there's a chance my dashcams might just make me money instead of costing me money

And beyond that I find these little gadgets interesting- a relatively cheap hobby which doesn't come with hangovers or other side-effects. And being here on DCT I get a taste of the international world, and generally of a good class of people too, so I learn things beyond dashcams at the same time Small costs, but great benefits.

Phil

 

[measuredpath]

I agree with Phil. It has been a valuable tool in catching liars and cheats. In my wife's MKVII Gti it has saved about 3-4k in cost with fender benders and parking lot liars. It has also aided in other accidents where people tried to lie there way out of running red lights/stop signs.

I hope I never have to use it on my 2017 GS350 F Sport in that same capacity, but at least it is there just in case.

 

[Jay Brown]

For me, purchasing a dash cam is just paying money to decrease the possibility of getting into criminal liability or claims and possible insurance hikes. It just like buying a health insurance. You have no idea are you going to be sick or not, but to avoid the possibility of being sick and have not money for medical treatment you will still buy a health insurance. The real question is which dash camera you should buy, not whether you should buy a dash camera or not.

 

[country_hick]

As much as most people spend on insurance each year to protect their house, car, and cover medical bills the additional insurance cost of dash cams is negligible. There is no reason an average dash cam should cost over $100 or not last for at least 5 years. Although electronics do malfunction dash cam failures from good brands are rare. The micro-sd cards will wear out. The cost of micro sd-cards should be no more than $10 a year per dashcam.

In short, the cost of one oil change for my dodge is more than the cost of a years use for a dashcam and the micro-sd card if you buy right.

 

[DT MI]

There is no reason an average dash cam should cost over $100 or not last for at least 5 years.

Absolutely, my first camera was a Black Box brand G1W-H bought Oct. '14 that still functions today. It's replacements 2 SpyTek A118-C cameras purchased June '15 are still in daily use today.