Why did you buy a dash cam?

Not with places like Bell who won't even start the conversation about requoting unless you agree to a box.

I asked the guy if they would remove and then refit the box every time I did a track day. He didnt really know what to say :p. Apparently high cornering loads, aggressive braking, and high speeds can "adversely affect my policy price".
 
I honestly hadn't noticed Elephant, Diamond or Admiral doing that. I see the black box options, which at best save about £5 and are usually more expensive, but I've always been able to get normal quotes, despite being 22, with a Z4 and a fault claim. Bell IIRC do generally quote for a black box only though.
 
Because the suction mount on my windscreen cost £2.49 and the app cost 69p.
The camera itself is my phone that records at 1080p...
 
Burnsy2023 said:
What if someone reverses into my car in a carpark and drives off? That happens more often than many people would like.
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You wouldn't know about it because the dashcam wouldn't be on....;) Unless you're intent on draining your car battery..

For me, they don't have a use, at least not in this country. That will probably change, as the mentality of drivers proves, what one has, others want.

My question would be, for those that have a dashcam, recording every journey, how many journeys have you had to review. Probably none, or, at best, less than 10
 
Marvin said:
I honestly hadn't noticed Elephant, Diamond or Admiral doing that. I see the black box options, which at best save about £5 and are usually more expensive, but I've always been able to get normal quotes, despite being 22, with a Z4 and a fault claim. Bell IIRC do generally quote for a black box only though.
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Bell refused to requote me without taking a box. I could have just rolled on with the original renewal quote and not had a box, but it was £lol. My sister had the same so left. Elephant (other sister) and Diamond (GF) both quoted for box and non box policies, but the ones without a box were far higher and uncompetitive, so both moved elsewhere.

My parents were with Admiral and left just because they were no longer cheapest, so they never got to a box/no box conversation so I don't know if that arm are pushing them.
 
Django x2 said:
You wouldn't know about it because the dashcam wouldn't be on....;) Unless you're intent on draining your car battery..
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Lots of cams have a 'parking mode' which records low fps footage until motion is detected at which point they switch to normal recording for that time block.

They are generally wired in with low voltage detection circuits to prevent battery drain over extended periods.
 
Six6siX said:
Lots of cams have a 'parking mode' which records low fps footage until motion is detected at which point they switch to normal recording for that time block.

They are generally wired in with low voltage detection circuits to prevent battery drain over extended periods.
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Indeed, mine records to a buffer to save power and then records to SD card if motion is detected, so I get full frame rate.
 
I bought one as i've seen some very close calls unfold in front of my lately and wanted some evidence that may help swing it in my favour if something did happen.

However i was greeted on the way into work one morning by an armed policeman asking about the 'video recording device' in my car in the company car park and after a lengthy chat with him and one of his equally armed to the teeth colleges about every detail of it, where i bought it and how it works and i have since removed it from my car.. So they are great just not when you work somewhere slightly security sensitive, then they're not worth the hassle!
 
£30 and I haven't touched it once since I put it in, except once to test the recordings saved properly.

Sure, it could be £30 wasted but if there is an accident I could potentially have some proof it wasn't my fault.
 
[TW]Fox;27594549 said:
Irrelevant, we are legally obligated to have insurance in order to drive and insurers do not offer a choice of TPO cover for cars over a certain value.
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It's not irrelevant. The frequency of insurance claims directly influences the risk of being in an incident where a dashcam is useful.
 
I suspect his point is 'why buy insurance if you don't think you'll need it', as a counter to the 'why buy a dashcam' crowd.
 
[TW]Fox;27587492 said:
Although there is an existing thread for daschcam users this seems like as good a place as any to discuss why or why not you might have one and not derail the other thread with ‘why bother’ comments.

I don’t have a dashcam and neither do I want one – infact the increasing prevelance of them is IMHO not exactly a good thing. We have enough surveillence in our society without introducing even more.

I don’t have a dashcam. I have been driving now for 13 years and in that time I have had precisely zero experiences on the road where I felt a dashcam would have been useful.

From the videos on youtube and scaremongering news stories you’d think scamming third parties are lurking on every street and it’s a case of when not if you are going to get screwed in a fake accident or something. But IMHO in reality the chances of this happening are very rare and the standard of driving in our country is sufficiently high that rigging up your car with numerous front and rear facing high definition video cameras is bordering on a bit weird rather than an essential precaution.

Every so often you see some footage that makes you think a dashcam is a no brainer, until you realise that was ONE event out of what, millions of daily car journeys.

Have a look for Russian dashcam footage on Youtube and you are given hours and hours and hours of completely bizarre driving and often horrific accidents. No wonder they all protect themselves with Dashcams. Have a look for UK dashcam footage on youtube and despite there being more cars and more people on the internet in the UK there is almost nothing other than a succession of tediously dull videos of people whinging about ‘guy who didn’t indicate’ or ‘red light jumper’. This is anecdotal evidence for sure but it seems to me like it’s a total waste of time.

Currently if you go for a drive and overtake the doddery fool in the beige Rover 45 who is doing 30 in a 60 the worst you’ll get is a flash of the headlights but it’s becoming increasingly more common you might end up on YouTube :D

IMHO the best way to avoid being caught out in a ‘cash for crash’ scam is to maintain a safe distance behind the car in front so that if they stop suddenly you can stop too. After all, if the car in front emergency brakes you should be able to stop whether they’ve done it for whippy compo or whether they’ve done it because there is a genuine emergency situation. More alert driving is the answer, not rigging your car up as a mobile recording studio. Though frankly if that’s your choice don’t forget that one day when somebody does an emergency stop because of an obstruction and you pile into the back of them with your video footage of what you assume was a cash for crash scam it might be useful evidence for the prosecution :p
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I take it you don't live anywhere near the Midlands then? The standard of "driving" around here is abysmal!
 
Skeeter said:
Bell refused to requote me without taking a box. I could have just rolled on with the original renewal quote and not had a box, but it was £lol. My sister had the same so left. Elephant (other sister) and Diamond (GF) both quoted for box and non box policies, but the ones without a box were far higher and uncompetitive, so both moved elsewhere.

My parents were with Admiral and left just because they were no longer cheapest, so they never got to a box/no box conversation so I don't know if that arm are pushing them.
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Hmm, that's really weird and not my experience at all. Will have to see at my next renewal.
 
Skeeter said:
Bell and Elephant now force you down the box route if you want a decent price.
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At the moment I suspect that is aimed at the younger driver.

I am amazed how many friends who have teenage drivers all have the box fitted. Without it they are simply uninsurable without a premium of many thousands of pounds.

I would say it is close to compulsory for newish drivers. Once it is I am pretty sure it will be rolled out to more and more.

At 42 and pay around £225 fully comp until about 11 months ago. I struggled to get below the £300 mark. My insurer at the time said they could do £230 providing I have the box fitted.

I must admit I was tempted but declined, so not having the box I already have a £75 surcharge for opting out. How much will it be in 2/3 years
 
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