Hit while parked - Viofo A329T

[Vortex Radar]

Yesterday our car running a Viofo A329T 3CH got hit while parked. Here's the video and story:

Yet again (unfortunately) it was the rear cam that captured everything I needed. I had it set up in Hybrid Parking mode with Auto Event Detection initially so the motion/impact detection is what caught the incident. The impact was hard enough to trigger the G-sensor set to high sensitivity.

I'm so grateful for these dashcams, especially multichannel ones with good parking recording capabilities.

 

[Finnegan]

Although you mentioned the other driver did leave their contact information, do you think
having the video, even after-the-fact, made any difference? Were any parties interested
in seeing the video?

Obviously this video would have been huge if they just kept going. Sorry this happened
to you, but also very glad you were prepared for the worst.

IIRC My A329s 3CH is set to LBR > Impact Detection, so how do you think my settings would
have worked in this exact scenario? I have always liked the idea of catching any video *before*
an impact, and I typically do not park for very long, usually less than 1 hour.

 

[Vortex Radar]

Although you mentioned the other driver did leave their contact information, do you think
having the video, even after-the-fact, made any difference? Were any parties interested
in seeing the video?

Checking the footage, I didn't see them looking at my dashcam, so I doubt it made a difference in terms of "whoops, I can't run away. I guess I have to leave my contact info."

Obviously this video would have been huge if they just kept going. Sorry this happened
to you, but also very glad you were prepared for the worst.

For sure. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

IIRC My A329s 3CH is set to LBR > Impact Detection, so how do you think my settings would
have worked in this exact scenario? I have always liked the idea of catching any video *before*
an impact, and I typically do not park for very long, usually less than 1 hour.

I think it'd be fine. The tricky part there is that you'd have to review all the footage manually to go and find the clip itself. I find it useful to have the dashcam mark the clip, especially if you park for longer periods of time. Shorter parking times are certainly easier of course.

With LBR, you're all but guaranteed to capture the clip. With AED, you run the risk of the G-sensor not registering the impact, and that's happened to me before like with the truck that hit us from the side, so that's when I fall back to sifting through all the motion detection clips.

 

[TonyM]

I think it'd be fine. The tricky part there is that you'd have to review all the footage manually to go and find the clip itself. I find it useful to have the dashcam mark the clip, especially if you park for longer periods of time.

The impact was enough to trigger the g-sensor, so even in low bitrate mode the video clip should be moved to the RO (read only) folder?

 

[TonyM]

Yesterday our car running a Viofo A329T 3CH got hit while parked. Here's the video and story:

What video editing software do you use to blur part of a moving plate in a video clip?

 

[Vortex Radar]

The impact was enough to trigger the g-sensor, so even in low bitrate mode the video clip should be moved to the RO (read only) folder?

Does the parking mode G-sensor work like that in low bitrate mode? I thought impacts only trigger in auto event detection, but I could be wrong.

What video editing software do you use to blur part of a moving plate in a video clip?

I use a SliceX plugin for FinalCut Pro. It works pretty well for tracking and blurring, but it does crash a lot during the process and I have to restart FCP multiple times throughout the process so it's good, but certainly not perfect.

That said, FCP now has native object tracking built in and I believe should be able to do the same thing without having to use a paid plugin. I just haven't messed with it too much since my current method works well enough and I'm already familiar with the workflow.

 

[rcg530]

Does the parking mode G-sensor work like that in low bitrate mode? I thought impacts only trigger in auto event detection, but I could be wrong.

When I ran my power consumption tests for the A329S dash camera [prototype unit], I found that impact events moved LBR files to the Movie\RO directory.

Here's an A329S RO directory listing from a recent drive:

Note: the "Bit rate" column is under reporting since this third party file explorer is dividing by 1024 instead of 1000 to convert the raw bitrate to kbps bitrate.

 

[jsmith]

@Vortex Radar

I would like to add that an Interior Camera is actually quite helpful, too. I shared a video on here given to me by someone I know. The Front Video only registered a jolt as did the rear video. Without an interior camera, the accident would have never been captured. Therefore, I argue that the more angles one can capture, the better.

 

[Finnegan]

@jsmith Thanks, this is a great example and the main reason I added and installed a cabin cam.
I don't use my vehicle for transport like uber etc, I just wanted the extra protection.

IIRC @Vortex Radar also had a situation where one of his vehicles was damaged at the side
and there was little to no video coverage, although maybe for different reasons than shown
above.

 

[TonyM]

Does the parking mode G-sensor work like that in low bitrate mode? I thought impacts only trigger in auto event detection, but I could be wrong.

I use low bitrate on the A329T and there are g-sensor triggered events in the RO folder, the same behaviour as @rcg530 noted.

I believe the impact sensitivity in low bitrate is the same as in the other parking modes, but with just one A329S unit I've not been able to verify that for myself.

 

[jsmith]

@jsmith Thanks, this is a great example and the main reason I added and installed a cabin cam.
I don't use my vehicle for transport like uber etc, I just wanted the extra protection.

Exactly. The interior camera is actually good for several reasons:

1. Captures views missed by front and rear, as evidenced by the video I shared.

2. While it may not see out the windows like an affixed side camera (only vehicles with a fixed door can use this setup properly), it does offer some coverage if say the police or a person walks up to the car.

IIRC @Vortex Radar also had a situation where one of his vehicles was damaged at the side
and there was little to no video coverage, although maybe for different reasons than shown
above.

Because of this video, the person was able to submit the entire event to their insurance. The person's plate was captured and there was no dispute what occurred. Hopefully, @Vortex Radar has learned from that experience and upgraded his dashcam setup!

 

[Vortex Radar]

Yeah the example I shared in this video, starting at 9:39, the rear cam did manage to capture the vehicle, driver, and plate info, but it missed the side impact itself.

I’ve thought about switching the A329T 3CH into an A329TC and throwing an A119M Pro onto the rear window, but my wife doesn’t love the idea of having a cabin cam in her face while driving. Maybe she’s more receptive to the idea now though, especially if I set it to record in parking mode only.

I wonder if you can do an A329S with two rear cams and set them up as side cams? Kinda like an A329WW, but with the regular interior rear cams. I don’t want another big bulky rear cam that blocks more visibility, but just brainstorming.

 

[jsmith]

Yeah the example I shared in this video, starting at 9:39, the rear cam did manage to capture the vehicle, driver, and plate info, but it missed the side impact itself.

Exactly an argument for an interior camera. Alternatively, you drive an SUV and could mount cameras on the affixed side windows where red arrow points. Presumably those windows are static when the doors are opened. A lot of people choose this method to capture side video out their vehicle when driving / parking.

Did you capture the sound of an impact? Unfortunately, the person could always say it wasn't me unless it's clear the same paint color rubbed off onto your vehicle. Even then, without definitive proof, people can be dishonest. Side cameras or interior camera helps eliminate this ambiguity.

I’ve thought about switching the A329T 3CH into an A329TC and throwing an A119M Pro onto the rear window, but my wife doesn’t love the idea of having a cabin cam in her face while driving. Maybe she’s more receptive to the idea now though, especially if I set it to record in parking mode only.

I wonder if you can do an A329S with two rear cams and set them up as side cams? Kinda like an A329WW, but with the regular interior rear cams. I don’t want another big bulky rear cam that blocks more visibility, but just brainstorming.

Show her my video. Speaks volumes. Alternatively, side cameras per the above. You'd install them on the fixed windows. Ask Viofo about the A329S supporting two rear cameras and affix them onto those side windows.