Front View Camera-anyone else use one?

4X4Dodger wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:

Johno02 wrote:
Just remember that legaly these things work both ways. After an accident, the video can become evidence, either for you or against you. I still think I want one.

I am inclined to agree with you. Here are some things to think about.

Can the police seize it as evidence? Will that work for you or against you? It could be made to work against you even IF you are innocent or not at fault.

Can your insurance company use the evidence generated by the camera to raise your rates whether you are at fault in an accident or not if you use the camera as evidence?

Ar you liable for any lawsuit (invasion of privacy, wiretapping etc) if you use this device to identify someone accused of a crime but later found innocent?

These are so new I am not sure we have answers to these questions.

They sound like fun and at first glance a good idea....I am still on the fence about this.

Boy you must be a real bad driver if it worries you that much!
One the biggest insurance scams is "Brake Checking" this is were a car cuts right in front of you and slams on the brakes. Most Likely you will hit them and thy have three or four people in the car all will testify you were tailgating when they needed to brake! That and all have neck injuries. That is when you show the cop the video.

I was posing general questions for people to think about regarding the use of these cameras. They are too new to have generated much in the way of legal precedent.

It's interesting that you turn these general legal questions into what you think are my driving habits.

I have been driving 46 years have had no accidents (chargeable to me) have had only three moving violations and have held a CDL for most of that time. (My family's business was trucking although I was an Engineer by trade and owned a trucking company on the side)

I have driven in many different countries, Europe, Egypt, SE Asia, a Few countries in West Africa and the easy places like the US and Central and South America...

Any more assumptions you want to make about my driving habits please feel free to post them.

Didn't mean to offend, just seemed a bit paranoid the part about it being turned on you in a court action.
Myself feel it will be my friend not an enemy! I have been driving for 48 years and my record is as good as your with the exception of a couple more speeding tickets!

Thanks for the clarification. I think dash cams can be useful and may be a good idea. BUT as I pointed out, in the rush to praise them as a "be all" and "end all" solution we might want to consider the other side of the coin.

The legal issues I raised are real but there hasn't really been enough time for a lot of scenarios to play out.

I think if you have one you should be very careful who knows it and when they know it. The other side of that is if stopped by the police or border patrol you should inform them right away that the encounter is being recorded video and sound. I'ts kind of like "informed consent".

Dash cams are not much different than cell phones or any of the numerous other small recording devices people have these days as far as the legalities. While many of these issues have yet to fully be known or play out I determined that for me the possible benefits outweighed the possible legal negatives. One of those issues is whether you need to inform a police officer. According to court cases you do not. Several courts in several states have upheld that recording a police officer during a traffic stop is legal. Even in states, such as California where I live, that require two party consent for audio recording it has been ruled that police have no expectation of privacy during a traffic stop. So far the Supreme Court has refused to overturn any of these rulings.