Author: Ronald Kaplan And Dylan Kaplan

Dash Cams – Set It and Forget It – Not so much

Dash cams have become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to their aggressive pricing and their ability to capture and record accidents and unexpected events on our road journeys. Infact, dash cam footage saved us a ton of aggravation in resolving a he-said-she-said dispute with the insurance company of the redlight-runner who totalled our car. However, a recent road incident and our dash cam’s failure to capture video documenting the event, alerted us to the widespread misconception that dash cams are ‘set it and forget it’ devices. In this article, we’ll describe the dash cam’s failure and give you some helpful tips for dash cam setup and maintenance, so your dash cam will continue to be functional and you can count on it to document the events it was purchased to capture.

Setup

Ensuring a proper setup is pivotal. Check that your dash cam is positioned so that it doesn’t obstruct your vision, it is securely fastened to the windshield (usually with a rubber suction cup) and properly positioned to capture the desired viewing perspective.  Most dash cams have a viewfinder to help establish the viewing area. Next, check that the correct date and time are configured – this will be critical to document when an incident occurred. Refer to your owners manual to find an appropriately sized high-endurance memory card (usually an SD card) and format the card with the recommended compliant filesystem. Then ensure video recording options are configured with high resolution and loop recording is configured. Check whether your dashcam supports locked video clips (meaning that designated video files will not automatically be deleted when the dashcam deems an incident has occurred) and determine whether you want file locking on or off. 

Checkups

Regularly check the positioning of your dash cam and clean the camera lens. It is important to periodically remove your memory card from the dashcam and plug it into a computer to validate the dashcam capture angle, the integrity of the memory card and which clips are locked and not automatically overwritten (are new recordings happening?) so there is plenty of memory space to capture new video. 

Our Failure Mode

Our dash cam automatically locks (meaning will not automatically delete) footage that it thinks is important, which seems to mostly be events caught while the car is off. None of these supposedly important clips were important to us. Gradually over time, the number of these locked files grew to the point where there was not much space to record new videos. By the time we returned home after the road incident, the footage that documented the incident we needed was overwritten. Had we ensured a proper initial setup and performed routine checkups, we would not have lost this critical evidentiary video. Fortunately, we lucked out that our passenger used her cell phone to record the incident in addition to what we had hoped we would find on the dash cam, so we were able to establish fault with the cell phone video and photos. Often there is no passenger to depend on to document things when an incident occurs.

Dash cams can be incredibly useful tools for protecting yourself on the road, but they require regular attention and maintenance in order to work effectively. By staying informed about the features and settings of your dash cam, periodically checking the memory card, and being vigilant about potential malfunctions, you can ensure that your dash cam is always ready to capture important footage when you need it most.

Tech Saves the Day – the Dash Cam

I had been looking to buy a dash cam when one showed up on my doorstep, a gift from my son. Dash cams have been around for several years and I have read several articles about the necessity to have one in countries like Russia where if you don’t have a dash cam, you will be a victim of a staged accident. Since there are many options to consider when buying a dash cam, I remained stuck, not able to finalize a decision and bite the bullet.

Now that I have had a firsthand experience, I have seen just how invaluable a dash cam is under the right circumstances. I can now appreciate why certain features are more critical than others and the ultimate importance of having one in each of one’s vehicles. My firsthand experience was an accident with our car when my wife was driving without passengers. I got the phone call just before noon from my wife that she was in a car accident.

The damage to both vehicles was to the front end and on the other vehicle the right front wheel well. On our vehicle, it was to the front end and the left wheel well. Without witnesses, considering the damage pattern of both vehicles, and both drivers saying they had green lights, it was a matter of “she said, she said” and the insurance company would not accept responsibility. That was until I submitted the dash cam video.

So what’s the takeaway? Dash cams are relatively inexpensive devices [the one that captured my wife’s accident was purchased on Amazon for under $50 US (around ₹7,496)], had excellent reviews and made by Apeman (Apeman C420) that everyone should have in each of their vehicles. Sharing a single dash cam amongst vehicles is a very bad idea because if dash cams are not fully automatic, coming on each time the car is started and staying on for the full duration of the ride and then turning off automatically, the likelihood of the dash cam working its magic in the unexpected incidents is greatly diminished. Dash cams need to be “set up, test the results by taking a ride and then reviewing the video for clarity, positioning, and automatic operation, and then forget it,” that is until you need it.

Here is my take on the critical features/options for choosing your dash cam:
  1. Resolution – at least 1080p, 4K is now affordable and would be a better option to catch license plate numbers, but it also requires 4 times the storage space
  2. Viewing angle – at least 150 degrees
  3. Window mounting suction cup – this is critical, the dash cam has to stay on your window, if it keeps falling off you won’t use it
  4. Night vision – check out YouTube videos of the dash cams you are reviewing to confirm that the captured night video is of value.
  5. Power plug – it must fit well into the cigarette lighter (power point) or the automatic operation of the dash cam will be hindered
  6. Ease of removal of the dash cam but leaving on the suction cup – this is important for theft prevention. You do not want to keep putting on and removing the suction cup from your windshield as it can be time-consuming to affix the suction cup correctly.
  7. Removable SD memory card storage.

Dash cams are not only helpful to car owners when they are in an accident, but they can also prove very valuable when a driver witnesses a road rage incident where they are the target or when another vehicle operator is the target. Some dash cams can be set up to monitor your vehicle when it is parked and even notify you of an incident if one occurs.  Since dash cams store both video and audio a driver can read off a license plate number and car description aloud and know that it’s captured on the dash cam, so you don’t need to write it down or memorize the information.

Technological advances are often a double-edged sword, where the benefits must be weighed against the drawbacks of costs, inconvenience, and loss of privacy; dash cams are no exception. Many dash cams record all the audio (unless configured not to do so) spoken when the car is in operation, so you need to be mindful of what is said in a “dash cammed” vehicle. Dash cams will capture evidence of the cam’s owner’s own mistakes and could be used to prove the guilt of the cam owner. The vehicle operator needs to pay attention to the dash cam’s signalling indicating that the cam is in operation and when the operation has ceased or like any other technology it may stop operating and become just a useless appendage to the vehicle’s windshield. However, the benefits cannot be overstated if you need a witness and one does not come forward.

Dash cams have become a commodity product. The components used to make them are inexpensive and readily available. While there are many options that can complicate purchase decisions, the most important decision is “do I need a dash cam?” As with any product, it is important to read the reviews and make purchases from reliable companies that stand behind their products. That said, the most important decision is whether or not you need a dash cam. In my experience, the answer is a resounding “YES.” Regardless of the sophistication, options and features of the dash cam you choose, having one in your vehicle is much more important than having the “best one” in your vehicle.

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