do you let your dash cam record audio inside the car?

[DashCams Direct]

Good question. For whatever reason it may be ,lets say your raw video footage was to be handed over to the police or insurance company.
Would you feel comfortable regarding them listening to your conversation (if any?).

Also depending in which country you are in, recording audio without the third party consent may be an offence.
Food for thought..

 

[cheap_newbie]

...
However, I do feel it is important to record audio.
You can hear my indicator - Might be important evidence in an insurance claim - they say you were indicating to turn into the road they pull out of, simply play the video & find an example of the indicator 'clicking' as soon as possible before the incident.
You can hear my horn - Again, might be important. someone claims they didn't see you & you didn't warn them...
You could hear my ABS kicking in - shows how hard I was braking?
You might hear panic in my voice at the possible impending impact - "Ohhhh CCcraaaap..." :-D
Someone does something stupid - maybe drives straight across your path? - the cams won't catch the polate but if you (or a passenger) see it, you could read it aloud! Might also be important in a hit & run.
....

wow...that are definitely some arguments...the clicking of indicator and horn....braking....these sound can definitely be useful
i guess ill have to rethink my strategy
though the recording can really be a mood killer or huge trust test between people for some passengers...

 

[sludgeguts]

If you look in the thread "where did you mount...", my dashcam is almost flat against a parcel shelf over my screen, there is very little evidence that it is there aside from the blue flashing LED - and even that isn't very noticeable.
All my friends know I have a cam - not sure if they remember when they get in - but I don't remind them. In any case, the cam is only there to protect my Ass in case of accident. If I had to submit evidence, I would simply mute out any private conversation. Any audio immediately prior to impact is likely to be some sort of cussing/swearing, maybe the odd prayer...
I've just uploaded on from my bus - had to split the audio as my passengers were most unkind about the elderly driver of the car in front !

In the wishlist thread, someone mentioned input for external mic to record outside conversations (in the event of a prang?). Seems to me that if we could have my wishes fulfilled (central DVR with remote lenses), we could maybe go for dual audio input as well with remote mics? One could be mounted externally, the other could be mounted in such a position as to pick up a quieter indicator relay (under the dash?).
My DR32 picks up the indicator 'click' on my bus but the relay in my car is ultra quiet.

 

[sludgeguts]

Good question. For whatever reason it may be ,lets say your raw video footage was to be handed over to the police or insurance company.
Would you feel comfortable regarding them listening to your conversation (if any?).

Also depending in which country you are in, recording audio without the third party consent may be an offence.
Food for thought..

Here in the UK, if you are going to use audio as evidence then you have to mention this - every time you ring a call centre (banks, insurance etc) they say "calls may be recorded for training purposes" - yeah, right, they record them so they have you when you later complain that they didn't tell you something etc.
I used to have a manager who was a right cow to everyone. She would always make sure to tell me stuff when no-one else was around - then deny she ever said it, so I took to carrying an MP3 player around. It'd record about 4 hours' conversation (great, i had rechargeable batts on charge by my desk). When I took out a grievance against her, she denied ever saying stuff - I produced some clips of her. Of course, none of it could be used - but what has been heard cannot be unheard! It was so funny, after that event, every member of staff took to carrying one of my MP3 players around on a neckband (only a fiver on ebay) - the manager was as good as gold after that.

 

[cheap_newbie]

i tried today and if i have radio at normal volume you can barely hear the cklicking of indicators... that surely is depending on your car
that definitely needs some more evaluation : )

 

[DashCams Direct]

When I took out a grievance against her, she denied ever saying stuff - I produced some clips of her. Of course, none of it could be used - but what has been heard cannot be unheard! It was so funny, after that event, every member of staff took to carrying one of my MP3 players around on a neckband (only a fiver on ebay) - the manager was as good as gold after that.

Sounds like a toxic workplace lol

 

[sludgeguts]

i tried today and if i have radio at normal volume you can barely hear the cklicking of indicators... that surely is depending on your car
that definitely needs some more evaluation : )

Even with my radio off, you can barely hear the clicks in my car - in my bus, however, it is very loud.
So, back to the wishlist again - having an external mic that can be mounted under the dash to pick up the indicator clicking would also slightly muffle conversations.

 

[sludgeguts]

Sounds like a toxic workplace lol

It was, I was the sixth member of staff to walk out of there in the 8 months that manager had been in charge - and I had worked there for 19 years - with no blemish on my record!
The woman was in the fast lane - she wanted to get to the top by any means & didn't care who she crapped on to get there. The original manager left through ill health (we later discovered it was this new woman's interference that caused the ill health!). We'd previously had glowing reports from outside assessors about the work we did.
This new manager even had the cheek to bring in (at great expense) someone to assess our teamworking abilities - the assessor couldn't believe just how well we worked as a team - almost symbiotic!
Of the 20 staff, 10 walked out and a further 5 went on long term sick leave due to stress. The powers that be had to bring in loads of agency workers to cover - they eventually closed the place down.

 

[Xybone]

Yes, I like the ambient noise and my dad is a bit of a road rager in the car sometimes.

 

[CheckYourLights]

Of the 20 staff, 10 walked out and a further 5 went on long term sick leave due to stress. The powers that be had to bring in loads of agency workers to cover - they eventually closed the place down.

I hate to keep things off topic, but that is just insane that one person could cause enough hassle to shut an entire place of business down like that.

I think as time goes on i would like to see more cameras offer a dedicated mute button like my Vico TF2 does. It is really nice to be able to tap a button if i need to go to the bank drive through or a passenger gets a personal phone

 

[Sunny]

Recording audio may be illegal in some US states when you are pulled over and the officer can seize it and even arrest you for wire tapping a LEO.
I'm not sure why that is as I think our cars are our personal property and we can play, record what we like.

Recording private conversations without consent is illegal/protected under wiretap law but when a cop pulls you over, it's not private.
Cop's dashcam is recording everything so why can't we do it?

 

[parklawn]

I don't record audio.

 

[Keiman]

Won't be recording audio.
reasons being:
My bad singing
could show the dodgy choice of music I listen to.
SWMBO nagging about what I should be doing, grandchildren in the back saying are we there yet- or annoying each other.
Speakers for stereo- factory fitted are in both lower corners of the dash.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I listen to a lot of Howard Stern for entertainment on long drives. If an event occurs I want to upload it will have an interesting audio track that's for sure.

 

[singlespeed]

I don't record audio, I don't want a record of work or personal calls left on a device that could easily be stolen.

 

[Sunny]

I realized I say words while driving at other stupid drivers that I never say anywhere else.

 

[Dashmellow]

Recording audio may be illegal in some US states when you are pulled over and the officer can seize it and even arrest you for wire tapping a LEO.
I'm not sure why that is as I think our cars are our personal property and we can play, record what we like.

Recording private conversations without consent is illegal/protected under wiretap law but when a cop pulls you over, it's not private.
Cop's dashcam is recording everything so why can't we do it?

It's true that some cops have used wiretapping laws against people who've recorded them. The "legal" solution to avoiding a wiretap charge is to immediately inform a LEO that you have a recording device in your vehicle. The cop could order you to turn it off but the recording of him demanding that you shut it off might get him in trouble in certain jurisdictions and certain circumstances.

 

[russ331]

We probably prefer that other people don't hear us effing & jeffing, coughing, sneezing & farting.

Nevertheless, I always have audio enabled, so that I can say out loud & record the vehicle description & license plate details of any car, etc involved in an incident, which may not be fully captured on video because it's night time, or you've been hit from behind, & the guilty driver has done a u-turn & driven away.

If I don't want people to hear a particular audio track, I simply delete it from the video using RegistratorViewer. Better to have it & delete it, rather than have no audio evidence at all.

 

[Dashmellow]

Yes, what Russ said.......

 

[Dashmellow]

When I finally get dash cams installed I will have audio activated. Beyond the reasons already mentioned it can have one more serious benefit in a collision. When you are in a crash be sure to scream (like a little girl), yell, and moan a lot before, during, and after the crash. You will have proof how badly the crash affected your mental health and that you actually suffered great fear and physical anguish. This could help sway a jury when presented in court.

Ferchrissake! Many people here install dash cams to prevent being defrauded by the numerous insurance scammers they encounter out on the roads, not so they can become one!