Do police and insurance companies accept dashcam videos?

braveness23

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I just joined this forum and this is my first post.

I have been seriously considering purchasing a dashcam and then yesterday I was in a very near-miss situation involving another car that was driving in what I would describe as a criminally reckless manner. The other driver had crossed over the double yellow line at significantly over twice the speed limit ... on a blind curve no less while I was trying to make a left turn into a driveway. A crazy bystander who observed the situation yelled at me which caused me to question who he would favor in any testimony. In short, I need to be able to cover my butt because no one else will.

I would assume that in the case of an actual accident any video I had of the situation clearly showing that I was driving safely and legally could be submitted to the police and my insurance company. My girlfriend encouraged me to NOT just assume this but to find the actual answer. Can anyone answer this?

Also, in the case of a near miss with a nutty driver, do police ever allow you to submit video of criminally reckless drivers if the car, driver and plates can be identified? Our city is in a serious budget crunch and police officers have been laid off meaning that there is virtually no one handling traffic violations. As a result a lot of people are driving as though there are no laws. I'm pretty sure its illegal to pass someone going 60 in a 30 zone on the other side of the double yellow lines on a blind curve and I'm pretty sure they are going to kill someone sometime.

Incidentally, I am in the USA
 
In some Australian states, where I live, there is what we call "Hoon" Legislation. If you observe someone driving dangerously or damaging infrastructure you can report the details and plate number to the Police who then investigate it. If found guilty they have their car impounded and they are fined. If it happens 3 times the car is destroyed.

Recently I caught an idiot on my dash cam in a ute tearing up a nature strip. I passed the footage on to the Police. They impounded the vehicle for 7 days and fined the driver. Happy Days :D

Cheers :) Mario
 
I say it is better to have it, just in case. This does not mean that the evidence will be used, though. I read recently about a case where a dashcammer tried to submit video evidence, but the judge presiding over the case did not allow it, even though it clearly showed who was at fault. You just never know. Also, keep in mind that the video can also be used against you, especially if you have GPS which shows speed and location. An accident may have been caused by another party, but if the on-screen display shows that you were going faster than the posted speed limit, you would be sh!t out of luck, even if the OSD was incorrect. I say get a discreet camera WITHOUT GPS and turn the mic off.
 
depend country i guess at here is matter of luck , you can get a responsible judge that will accept your prof and ask for validation if its got edited/Adulterated and has a risk get a judge tell wont accept anything else than on Police Details of the problem , them you in big problem

i take my dash cam was a , Better than nothing eh.
 
spaceballsrules said:
I say it is better to have it, just in case. This does not mean that the evidence will be used, though. I read recently about a case where a dashcammer tried to submit video evidence, but the judge presiding over the case did not allow it, even though it clearly showed who was at fault. You just never know. Also, keep in mind that the video can also be used against you, especially if you have GPS which shows speed and location. An accident may have been caused by another party, but if the on-screen display shows that you were going faster than the posted speed limit, you would be sh!t out of luck, even if the OSD was incorrect. I say get a discreet camera WITHOUT GPS and turn the mic off.

Also, there are problems with gps speed readouts. I use an app called waze. I shows my speed, which is handy since it's easier to read than my dash. But there are times when I get flashed by 'reminder' signs & I am clearly doing the stated limit according to the gps readout.
There are also times when the speed fluctuates quite wildly as the unit plays 'catchup'
So why I don't use gps speed readout on the cam. In any case, speed is easily calculated when editing the footage since the editor shows time to 100th of a second. If there are identifying road markers, these can be measured in google earth & the time taken to pass them is known - the average speed over that distance can be calculated.
 
spaceballsrules said:
I say it is better to have it, just in case. This does not mean that the evidence will be used, though. I read recently about a case where a dashcammer tried to submit video evidence, but the judge presiding over the case did not allow it, even though it clearly showed who was at fault. You just never know. Also, keep in mind that the video can also be used against you, especially if you have GPS which shows speed and location. An accident may have been caused by another party, but if the on-screen display shows that you were going faster than the posted speed limit, you would be sh!t out of luck, even if the OSD was incorrect. I say get a discreet camera WITHOUT GPS and turn the mic off.

A camera without GPS and mic would still not pose any problems for working your speed out. The calculation for speed is distance divided by time. The video will record at generally around 30 frames per second, so 1800 frames per minute.

If the video shows you driving a (later measured by the Police) distance of 1 mile in 2 minutes, that would show you are travelling at 30mph. If you did it in 1m 15 seconds, you'd be travelling at 48mph.

Your dashcam by itself is probably *more* accurate than GPS, as GPS generally can give erroneous readings if the gradient of the road changes by a large margin. Granted - the more observed satellites the better the reading, however with an exact number of frames recorded by your dashcam, and a known rate at which they are recorded at, the time taken to cover a measured distance can be measured down to the millisecond, and as such the accuracy of the speed determined by it is less disputable and more concrete.

ETA: Just noticed that the poster above me has said pretty much the same thing here.
 
You are from the states I don't know how it works there so just ask your police station would they accept the evidence of the reckless driving caught on a camera, the same with insurance companies make a call.
My country have a website where you can write a claim (anonymous or named) without the need of going to police after which they investigate and write back. Here dash cams are not as popular as in russia but people keep submitting videos not only with reckless driving but also,bad parking, red light jumpers and ect. there also been a writing in a newspaper where "the police" thanked citizens for submitting videos..
 
Slightly off topic but...

When this thread started, I went on my local police website & asked a couple of questions.
One was regarding 'undertaking', the other was regarding submitting videos of 'problem' driving (bad lane discipline, bad driving etc) - stuff that is supposedly enshrined in law (like not using your mobile whilst driving or any rule in the highway code that is law).

Got a reply back straight away regarding the 'undertaking' but still waiting for anything on submitting video reports.
 
My experience:
I was in an auto accident before I got a dash cam. When talking with my auto insurance adjuster (AAA) I asked him about dash cams. He immediately told me that he has one. I live in Orange county, California. I asked him if it was a good thing; he said that it was.
Based on his recommendations I got my dash cam. I don't intend on posting any pics from it anywhere, except maybe of scenery as I drive. If I am in an auto accident, I will notify the police of my dash cam as well as my insurance company.
 
In my experience, 90% of the time it is clear who was at fault. I wouldn't rush and offer my footage just because I have it.
I'll reserve it only if there is a dispute.
 
That is probably so. However, the other party and I simply exchanged information; the police were not there. It came down to the other parties word against mine and I had no way to back up what happened. My insurance adjuster told me that had I had a dash cam, the whole thing could have been settled in minutes rather than weeks.

If anything, a dash cam would show me what happened, as the accident happened very quickly.
 
They ( police ) do here, or at least it appear so.
But when i turned in a insane driver nothing happened before i also bring in media ( TV )
But this is due to cutbacks and a large number of old cops retiring, and the remaining ones getting extra work like border protection which customs use to do and standing guard in front of some religious temples due to one religion being mad enough to kill about another religion.
And the lawgiving assembly turning out more and more laws, which many dont care about and so its really wasted effort if you ask me.

But after media got in the picture things started to move within a week.
But i cant say if that's just pretend or what, i have heard nothing after i hand delivered the footage on the police station.
So in theory they could just have accepted my footage to get me and media off their back, but if not i would have liked to hear how my footage was used, but as far as i can tell the guy broke so many laws within 30 seconds that he should no longer have a driving license.

In regard to insurance, well they like footage too, but no discounts for having a dashcam yet.
When i got rear ended a few years back the guy took blame no problem, but the insurance still like the footage i provided from front and R side cameras only as rear camera dident work.
It is also on the increase here to lie and in any way possible try to get off the hook, this is a habit that have filterer down from the law giving assembly and regular criminals all the way down thru society to us regular folk's on the bottom.
 
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