How Effective Are Dashcams?
Dashcams are used to record footage of occurrences both outside and inside your vehicle. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including the unobtrusive mirror dashcam. With these car cameras becoming increasingly popular, it’s vital to understand the limits of their recording capabilities.
What Can I Record with a Dashcam?
While most drivers purchase dash cameras to utilize in the case of an insurance claim, these handy gadgets have also been helpful in various other situations.
Monitoring young drivers
Dashcams can come in handy for parents as you can use them to keep track of your teen’s driving behavior. If you notice any reckless driving behavior, you can immediately take notice and teach them the proper way to drive, before they get themselves into an accident.
Generally, teens tend to drive more responsibly when they know that their parents are watching, making dashcams a great investment if you want to inculcate good driving behaviors.
Proving your innocence in case of accidents
One incredibly useful benefit of dashcams is that they record everything as you drive. In an unfortunate turn of events, if you get in an accident you can use your dashcams to prove your innocence. All you need to do is to present the footage to the respective authorities, helping them decide the person at fault.
Capture your road trip
While dashcams are commonly used for safety purposes, they may also aid in the pleasure of daily living. Dash cameras are becoming popular for recording picturesque views of your road trip, without you having to prop up your phone to record the views. Ideally, a mirror dashcam is perfect for this as it’s small size allows it to be placed anywhere.
This allows you to soak in your surroundings and enjoy your time without having to worry about capturing the moment. Once you are done with your trip, you can save the footage and come back to it if you want to relive those moments, or share them with your friends!
Report reckless behavior on the road
Cases of reckless driving generally go cold when you report them to authorities without evidence. That is why most reckless drivers are not held accountable, leading to the rise in chaotic drivers wreaking havoc on our roadways.
With the addition of a dashboard camera to a vehicle, drivers can approach authorities with undeniable proof of reckless driving and bring dangerous offenders to justice. As a result, individuals are more likely to drive safely since they know that a camera might be recording their actions at any moment.
Do Dashcams Work When the Car Is Off?
Dash cameras require a steady power supply and will typically not work if the engine is turned off. But, some specific dashcam models do exist that are intended to function even when the vehicle isn’t on. Your car may also feature an always-on auxiliary port that could power your camera at all times, even if you’ve chucked the keys out of your car. In addition, you can even hardwire dashcams to your vehicle’s fuse box for constant power.
How Long Do Dashcams Record?
The recording quality, SD card capacity, and other variables determine how long a dash cam records. With cameras that have a high-quality recording (suppose at 1080p), you may expect it to record from around 1 to 4 hours. In such a situation, you can increase the recording limit by investing in a high-capacity storage card.
Remember that, even if the recording period is restricted, a decent dash cam will not just stop recording when the memory card is full. Most high-quality cameras offer continuous loop recording so that the oldest footage is overwritten when the storage space is gone. That is why you need to take into account the specific number of hours your dash cam records or you risk losing older footage.
Final Thoughts
There are many factors that go into choosing the right dashcam for you, but don’t let that prevent you from making the purchase. Dashcams are a great additional safety tool to add to your vehicle.