Does having a dash cam affect your driving?

Borg

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I joined the forum a few weeks ago to research my first dash cam. I'm probably going to get an A119 in a few weeks when the CPL comes out. As part of my research, I have been thinking about various usage scenarios such as driving, parking mode, etc. This got me to thinking about how it might affect my driving when I know that everything is being recorded. I think that it would probably be a continuous reminder to watch how I'm driving.

I like to think that I'm a pretty safe driver to begin with but we all have our moments where stressful driving situations can test our patience. So I'm curious what others have experienced once they started using cameras in their vehicle. How has having a dash cam affected the way that you drive?
 
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I am quite patient driver too, but to be honest after installing my 1st dashcam I have started paying even more attention to my "small mistakes".
 
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(...) but to be honest after installing my 1st dashcam I have started paying even more attention to my "small mistakes".
I think you speak for everyone. In my case, watching how I drove made me realize the "big mistakes" I was doing. ;)
 
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I definitely made extra effort to drive correctly when I got my cam, but I've probably become desensitised to that a bit.
And other factors have made me lower my standards. I like to leave a very safe gap in front of me, but other people treat that as an invitation to overtake and cut me up. After watching my own footage of this happening and realising just how shameless (and usually dangerous) their behaviour is, I've started actively making sure the gap is not big enough for them to do it. I don't like doing that, but I don't like being treated like dirt either or encouraging unsafe habits in others, so I finally caved in. And in that one respect only, the camera has caused a drop in my driving standard.

Overall it has made me a better driver though.
 
Thanks for the responses. I've also seen a couple of videos that leave me thinking that sometimes people will pace their driving in order to catch the action. I don't want to do something like that just to get a video but I would think that the urge could be pretty great in some situations.
 
I like to leave a very safe gap in front of me, but other people treat that as an invitation to overtake and cut me up...

I've started actively making sure the gap is not big enough for them to do it.
Definitely one of my peeves and reactions as well. I'm not sure that part of me can be fixed easily. :rolleyes:
 
My dashcam has improved my driving because I know I am always being watched. I only wish it had that effect on all the other drivers :p

Phil
 
I have done less risk taking since having the dashcam. If an event occurs, the video may also get used to decide how I was driving before the event. It made me aware that it could get used against me also.
 
Thanks for the responses. I've also seen a couple of videos that leave me thinking that sometimes people will pace their driving in order to catch the action. I don't want to do something like that just to get a video but I would think that the urge could be pretty great in some situations.

I think there's a subset of dashcam owners that have them in the hopes of catching something, the types that do often seem to have YouTube pages full of "worst drivers of (insert hometown)" content like as though bad drivers only exist where they come from, for everyone else I believe it makes you more aware of your own driving and more responsible as a result
 
I don't even have a dash cam yet, but just watching Youtube videos has changed my already cautious driving habits. I've been able to identify several things that seem to consistently lead to crashes; following too close, running yellow and especially red lights, racing down blind alleys (traffic in one lane is stopped so you move into the other lane and keep going as if there is no reason for them to have stopped), passing unsafely, excessive speed for the conditions and anticipating what other drivers will do - incorrectly.

This is a true story. I was teaching my oldest daughter to drive, and we had moved onto the freeway. I directed her to take an exit that had a very long sweeping arc that merged into a six lane road. At the merge point there was a large Buick with a small pickup truck behind it. I used the opportunity to reiterate the following point; when you are behind other vehicles merging into traffic, you only need to look at one thing - the vehicle in front of you. DO NOT look at oncoming traffic until you are first in line. Why? Because you can't go anywhere until the vehicle in front of you is gone.

While I was doing that I noticed that the pickup driver was looking back and forth, waiting for an opening in traffic. I pointed that out to my daughter. Just as I finished up, the pickup driver slammed into the back of the Buick.

My daughter looked at me and said, "You set this up, didn't you Daddy?" I just grinned and said, "Ill bet you'll never forget that lesson!"
 
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Jokin, there's worse than that going on: http://wlos.com/news/local/guilty-verdict-for-man-who-intentionally-caused-multiple-serious-wrecks This guy was causing crashes so he could record them and post them online. I live about 45 minutes south of there and happened to see it on TV news which I sometimes watch. The victim's comment on the sentence given was right, this was no less than attempted homicide.

It's fame-and-glory seeking idiots like that which worry me the most. They make all the rest of us look bad. That's also why I'll not post crash vids anywhere publicly even though I haven't gotten any of those yet and TBH I hope I never do. You get similar things when an event occurs somewhere that may be newsworthy- a gaggle of idiots instantly show up out of nowhere taking cell phone vids while totally unaware of what's going on around them. If you want action and some fame, run down Main St. naked at noon, and you'll get it faster.

Phil
 
My driving was improving long before i got into dashcams, and that was sorely needed as i had been driving like a lunatic when i was younger.

What helped me the most was changing from regular cars to 4 x 4 vehicles, you got to have a death wish if you drive like a madman in a 4 x 4 and i was not that far gone after all.
But i also think my cameras help a little, but its not really something major as i have always been a expert in seeing my own flaws and shortcomings, or at least more of a expert in that regard than other ppl seem to be.

Still if i won a crap-load of money in the lotto i would not by a nice sports car, at least not with plates on it, but i might get a track car if my new home country had track days ( something we don't really have here in Denmark, also "race tracks" here is like most other countries go cart tracks in size )

For a daily driver i would still prefer something special, that do not lean itself to fast or ridiculous driving
 
Even if you are a super careful and conscientious driver to begin with. I feel the introduction of a dash cam in the car, consciously raises the bar.

With overpopulation, chaotic traffic and a mostly lax attitude towards traffic laws here, it is imperative to have a dash cam in the car. Don't get me wrong though, the laws are very much in place and enforced but even the slightest slack is taken advantage of. People just don't have the patience or are conscientious enough while driving.

Installing a dash cam has instilled an extra sense of responsibility. Over the last few months I've learnt to be a lot more patient in bad traffic situations and on the open road alike.
 
I like to leave a very safe gap in front of me, but other people treat that as an invitation to overtake and cut me up. After watching my own footage of this happening and realising just how shameless (and usually dangerous) their behaviour is, I've started actively making sure the gap is not big enough for them to do it. I don't like doing that, but I don't like being treated like dirt either or encouraging unsafe habits in others, so I finally caved in. And in that one respect only, the camera has caused a drop in my driving standard.
I know that leaving a smaller gap isn't the right thing to do but if you don't take any action against those pricks, who will? They have to be "taught" that they can't do whatever they please, so I think your "driving standard's drop" is excusable. ;)
 
I think there's a subset of dashcam owners that have them in the hopes of catching something, (...)
Those people wouldn't change their previous bad driving standards even if they had 10 dashcams installed in the vehicle! Usually the mindset that you described only makes them drive even worse.
 
My driving was improving long before i got into dashcams, and that was sorely needed as i had been driving like a lunatic when i was younger.

What helped me the most was changing from regular cars to 4 x 4 vehicles, you got to have a death wish if you drive like a madman in a 4 x 4 and i was not that far gone after all.
But i also think my cameras help a little, but its not really something major as i have always been a expert in seeing my own flaws and shortcomings, or at least more of a expert in that regard than other ppl seem to be.
Same here on the young lunatic statement. Driving the speed limit seemed like I was crawling.

The biggest help to my driving has been the Prius that I've owned for 10 years. It has a nice display that shows how your driving is affecting your mileage. It's a game to me to get the best possible mileage per tank. I still keep up with traffic which is 5 to 10 over in this area but I'm a lot more concious of the traffic lights ahead of me. It has also helped me to stay farther away from tailgaters who are constantly riding their brakes. Using the brakes excessively is a gas mileage sin that I hate committing. :)
 
I definitely made extra effort to drive correctly when I got my cam, but I've probably become desensitised to that a bit.
And other factors have made me lower my standards. I like to leave a very safe gap in front of me, but other people treat that as an invitation to overtake and cut me up. After watching my own footage of this happening and realising just how shameless (and usually dangerous) their behaviour is, I've started actively making sure the gap is not big enough for them to do it. I don't like doing that, but I don't like being treated like dirt either or encouraging unsafe habits in others, so I finally caved in. And in that one respect only, the camera has caused a drop in my driving standard.

Overall it has made me a better driver though.
The problem with this is you have to be extra alert, because you have a smaller margin for error. I've always made it a habit to watch the car behind me in traffic. If that car is following close, I will increase the gap between me and the car in front of me. This does two things. It irritates the tailgater to no end (and usually they'll change lanes), and it gives me an extra margin, because now I have to stop for both of us. I have to watch him to make sure he's paying attention and stop short enough that I can still move forward if he isn't.

Once we were in completely stopped traffic due to an accident on a bridge. There was a beautiful new Lincoln Navigator in front of me with temporary tags on it and a semi and pickup truck beside me. (I was in the passing lane.) I had left plenty of room between me and the Navigator. (Almost a car length.) I caught something out of the corner of my eye, and I moved left and forward as far as I could go and as close the guard rail as I could go. Just then a 1 ton Dodge dually pulling a loaded flatbed went sailing by me. He had gone between the lanes because he knew he couldn't stop in time.

He destroyed the Navigator, exploded the fiberglass fender on the semi and destroyed the pickup truck. What stopped him was his trailer hitting the bumper of the Navigator. He was wedged between the pickup and the navigator like a sardine. Both his rear fenders were gone. Our car had two minor scratches on the right side doors. I didn't even notice them until we got home from vacation.

I've gotten to the point that life is too short to worry about the jerks. If they want to cut in front of me and risk their lives and fortunes with lousy driving, I let them.
 
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This without animosity,
I have noticed that some drivers with dash cams (on rare occasions), seem to hunt or attack a situation, just to either prove a point or assert there place on the road. Some folks have a point to prove rather than from a safety outlook.
 
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