Dashcams

"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley) 02/07/2019 at 12:10 • Filed to: None

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I wanted to expand on my opinions of dash-cams that I mentioned in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While I agree that dash-cams are useful, they only get you so far in an insurance or civil law situation. I’ve obviously handled claims in which there was footage and I’ve also been involved in my own accidents in which footage was involved.

I can’t comment about it’s use in criminal law, but I would guess that since criminal law is codified rather than based on a “test of reasonableness”, that dascham footage is more useful. If footage shows a crime being committed or a traffic offence, then it happened. Criminal/traffic law rarely takes context into account until sentencing.

They provide only a snapshot of a situation. They don’t provide much in the way of context. If I receive footage in a claim, it isn’t a be all/end all. What if my driver gave a “you go!” hand signal to the other driver? What if my driver was impaired? What if my driver’s car was not well maintained? All I see is a brief clip of a car accident. It isn’t as helpful as you would think.

As an exercise/example of context, I have included a GIF of some footage from the Kia’s dashcam earlier this week. Without context, can you tell what is occurring?

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:16

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Your attempt to finally get the Kia impounded once and for all. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 02/07/2019 at 12:18

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Damn, you did guess it.

ttyymmnn > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:23

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You are not sure if you can go around the cop or not, and the cop is making it clear that no, you cannot.

Future Heap Owner > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:24

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Alright, so I shouldn’t buy one with the expectation that it’ll solve all my problems whenever I’m in an accident where I’m not at fault. But... it usually helps, right?

Part of the reason cameras are so effective in jury trials is that the jurors are average people, and the average person (for better or for worse) still puts a lot of faith in video evidence. It sounds like what you’re saying is that insurance adjusters are a lot more skeptical of video evidence and know that it’s not the whole story.

But let’s say you’re my adjuster, I tell you a story about the accident and how I’m not at fault. Then I say I have dash cam footage. H ow much better do you feel about my chances of being declared not-at-fault when you hear me say that? I understand there’s a lot of other factors that would influence it, but ballpark it: none, a little, significantly?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:26

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What ttyymmnn said.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > ttyymmnn 02/07/2019 at 12:26

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Yeah. You got it. Clearly I was walking from that point.  I was going to a claim.  

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Future Heap Owner 02/07/2019 at 12:28

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It helps, but I don’t know if I would feel comfortable making a liability decision purely on Dashcam footage.

Each claim is different, but as a rule, I would not make a call on liability just off a 20 second bit of footage

Future Heap Owner > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:30

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For sure. But is it so limited that, to you, there’s not really a difference between having it and not? If you could wave your wand and have the client produce  dash cam footage that matches your story, your response would be: “meh”?

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:31

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US court system is different. Dash Cam footage is prima facie evidence in civil and criminal cases. Meaning that not only does it have to be accepted, it is considered absolute fact unless one can prove it was tampered with or doctored. Doesn’t matter if context is missing .

Which means if I have a rear cam showing your client plowing into my rear end? That is that. Your client is guilty of a moving violation. You can argue mitigating circumstances , but it doesn’t change the facts and evidence.

vicali > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 02/07/2019 at 12:36

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lol, thought you were going somewhere else for a minute there;

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > vicali 02/07/2019 at 12:49

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“Don’t taze me bro!”

Thomas Donohue > Future Heap Owner 02/07/2019 at 14:41

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I’m thinking that if someone runs a red light and t-bones me, my dashcam footage is pretty good insurance against the other person saying “I had the green!”

Like any video we see now, there are always two sides. But if I have footage of my car driving through an intersection with a green light, I’d think that’s pretty solid proof, unless the other person also has footage of a malfunctioning light coming the other way.

That’s primarily why I bought mine....to protect against obvious infractions by another driver who decides to lie about it.