dash cam

[PHILMEWAGON]

hey,

as soon as i found out i was buying a new car i ordered a dash cam. Cost 80 quid and does 1080 video plus records if it detects a crash.

Why?

I bought a new car because an old man driving on the wrong side of the road (round a corner) wrote my car off - one of only 450 SEAT Altea Freetracks left on the road.
I had cleaned, serviced and maintained that car consistently - it looked and drove like new.

For insurance purposes the companies wont take the witness testimony of the 3 other people in my car, the fire, police, or ambulance services that showed up. With no roadside witnesses its my word against his, and i may end up 50/50 on the claim.

unbelievable right?

One of the first questions insurance company asked when i rang to report the crash "do you have a dash cam fitted?"

So now i do, at this point with so many morons driving I wouldn't go anywhere without it anymore.

anyone else?

 

[chris728]

Shocking that they won't accept police views. I'm thinking of getting one myself. Which one did you go for?


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[Portlanders]

Have never been involved in an accident, and to be honest never thought about getting one. I see them advertised, but just breeze past them as not a necessity.
Perhaps i should take a different view as it's one of those things that you don't normally think of getting until it's too late, and the cost is probably less then the insurance excess.

What are like when positioned, in terms of eye-line, are they a distraction or do you forget it's there?
And may i ask are they battery operated or wired in?

Thanks, your post made me think... and on a Sunday!

 

[PHILMEWAGON]

I got a cobra cdr 835.

It doesn't have GPS or speed (i didn't want that info) but it has looped recording and crash detection -it'll definitely catch the next person that front ends me!

when i was looking you could buy them from 40 quid to 500 depending on what you wanted, i thought 80 was a good price for peace of mind.

edit: doesn't get in eye line, fixes just under mirror. Mine is powered by either USB or 12v cigarette lighter socket. I have a dual USb charger so i plug it into that. took about 2 minutes to run the wire around the header above the windscreen and under the side of the dash.


dashcam vid

 

[Houghsx]

Really good thread here (how to fit) as well for those interested http://seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=415052

 

[Dr.Dash]

First thing I did when I got my new FR. Having been hit at speed by another driver, who then failed to stop, I too wanted some protection in case it happened again.

The police were absolutely useless, wouldn't even attend the scene, and despite both a traffic cam and 2 ANPR cams 100m from the scene, under which the other car drove, they were unable to locate the driver. Hence for insurance purposes it counted as my fault.


I went for a Mobius With the extended lens cable it is the most discrete of all the cams.

 

[Houghsx]

First thing I did when I got my new FR. Having been hit at speed by another driver, who then failed to stop, I too wanted some protection in case it happened again.

The police were absolutely useless, wouldn't even attend the scene, and despite both a traffic cam and 2 ANPR cams 100m from the scene, under which the other car drove, they were unable to locate the driver. Hence for insurance purposes it counted as my fault.


I went for a Mobius With the extended lens cable it is the most discrete of all the cams.

How did you mount it?

Edit: With one of the many car mounts available for it

 

[andycupra]

sadly, my one claim in 24 years of driving is similar to yours, in that it was someone else's fault, but despite me providing evidence that clearly proved what they were saying was false the insurance company failed to do anything, even with legal assistance option after nearly 3 years it was settled 3/4 against me. and i agreed to attend court if required. id have done a better job myself.
(they put a statement in listing 23 'facts', of which 21 i proved to be untrue, which included a counter claim from them for damage to their vehicle that never happened, they even said it was dry, bright with my photo showing it was dark all cars with lights on, wet and with remnants of snow/ice. They also said they did their 8 point check before pulling away and there was 'absolutely' no vehicles approaching. - where i magically appeared from has not yet been explained in anyway that satisfies the laws of physics or any form of reality, or that i would need to be travelling at a speed of around 200mph to cover the distance in time, - with the speed camera located 150 yards before the incident suggesting this wasnt the case!)

I am sure that i spent more time on this, providing information and data than the 'legal assist' team.

I have family working in insurance, and they have made it clear to me that unless the claim involves a serious amount of money, and when i say serious i'm talking hundreds of thousands of pounds, they wont follow it to court due to the costs and low chance of a result. When you consider that there are two insurance companies both of whom will try to defend their side for financial reasons, is it any wonder they simply both adopt a position of not admitting any fault.
It is a civil case, police are not involved generally, but in a civil case it only need proof of what 'most likely happened' rather than beyond reasonable doubt. Yet courts undermine this, they simply see insurance as something that is not important and the company can just pay out without affecting anyone. A case i know of where there it was even difficult to establish any contact or damage to the cars following a very light rear end yet the 'victim' (who stopped violently for no reason) claimed for back/neck injuries. Analysis evidence showed the force involved would have been no higher than stepping off a curb with the judge saying he was impressed with the evidence provided, but then said, 'but this person says they are injured and i have to take their word for it' so they won the claim.
Is it any wonder we are in the mess we are?

It is also high time we reconsidered the accepted blanket rule which says if you are hit from behind its their fault. while on the other hand we are advised to keep up with and close to others in traffic to maximise the capacity of the roadway. Or if you hold back to give space people get angry or overtake you to fill the space.


However, after my ramblings:
yes its a good idea to have a dash cam, however i would also say front and rear is a good idea to capture events that may take place prior to that caught on front only.

My concern is that we want a camera to protect us, even if only after the event, but in reality there is a higher that it may be used against you. Its one of the first things police look for in cases where they think they may have been up to something. Now, i'm not saying we all drive round like madmen, but drivers that stick strictly to the rules of the road are very rare, so some may want to consider if a camera recording on loop your recent driving means.

 

[simonsaunders]

I would have one, but only as a fully integrated, specified as new option. I hate cables across my dash, needed to recharge and all that ****. As a £600 for front and rear facing cameras, I'd be all over that.

 

[Dr.Dash]

I would have one, but only as a fully integrated, specified as new option. I hate cables across my dash, needed to recharge and all that ****...

Mine's hard wired, comes on with the ignition, no cables visible. Not a single passenger has spotted it.

The lens part is about the size of a sugar lump. I made a small ally bracket and then use velcro pads to secure it, stays put but easily removed.
I've taken a photo from outside of the car but it's pointless posting it as you can't see the camera lens.

There's a handy "How to" guide here on the forum.

 

[chris728]

Dr Dash, which one did you go for?


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[Dr.Dash]

Mobius, C2 wide angle lens, lens extension cable and fitted with capacitors rather than a battery. Purchased from JooVuu.

The first photo shows what you see from the driving position. I've untucked the cable that goes to the lens so you can see where it's mounted.

Taken from down by the gear stick, showing the "camera box" (it's about the size of a matchbox). The mini usb power cable runs under the headlining, down the A pillar and takes it's feed from a piggyback fuse on the cigarette lighter fuse.
The Dashcam thread I linked earlier has more details. Pretty straightforward, I've not done one before and it took me about an hour.

Using Velcro pads means it can be disconnected in a couple of seconds if required. HTH

 

[simonsaunders]

Mine's hard wired, comes on with the ignition, no cables visible. Not a single passenger has spotted it.

The lens part is about the size of a sugar lump. I made a small ally bracket and then use velcro pads to secure it, stays put but easily removed.
I've taken a photo from outside of the car but it's pointless posting it as you can't see the camera lens.

There's a handy "[removed URL due to silly forum rules].

I'll take a look at that, cheers!

 

[chris728]

That's really helpful. Thanks


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[gshaw]

Mobius going in mine too with the capacitor and extended lens mod

 

[Houghsx]

Dr Dash, how did you fix the lens part? I can see the extension cable but what do you secure the actual lens to?

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[strummer]

Mobius, C2 wide angle lens, lens extension cable and fitted with capacitors rather than a battery. Purchased from JooVuu.

The first photo shows what you see from the driving position. I've untucked the cable that goes to the lens so you can see where it's mounted.

Taken from down by the gear stick, showing the "camera box" (it's about the size of a matchbox). The mini usb power cable runs under the headlining, down the A pillar and takes it's feed from a piggyback fuse on the cigarette lighter fuse.
The Dashcam thread I linked earlier has more details. Pretty straightforward, I've not done one before and it took me about an hour.

Using Velcro pads means it can be disconnected in a couple of seconds if required. HTH

Exact same installation as the one I put in my Leon last year.

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showpost.php?p=4564365&postcount=105

 

[Biker]

hey,

as soon as i found out i was buying a new car i ordered a dash cam. Cost 80 quid and does 1080 video plus records if it detects a crash.

Why?

I bought a new car because an old man driving on the wrong side of the road (round a corner) wrote my car off - one of only 450 SEAT Altea Freetracks left on the road.
I had cleaned, serviced and maintained that car consistently - it looked and drove like new.

For insurance purposes the companies wont take the witness testimony of the 3 other people in my car, the fire, police, or ambulance services that showed up. With no roadside witnesses its my word against his, and i may end up 50/50 on the claim.

unbelievable right?

One of the first questions insurance company asked when i rang to report the crash "do you have a dash cam fitted?"

So now i do, at this point with so many morons driving I wouldn't go anywhere without it anymore.

anyone else?

Your accident wasn't in the Newcastle area by any chance! The reason I ask, I was visiting my nephew in the RVI at Newcastle, some t**t knocked him off his motorbike. There was an old guy brought in after having a road accident and I overheard him telling a nurse the accident was his fault. He went around a corner on the wrong side of the road as he thought he had seen diesel on his side of the road.
Just wondered if it was the same incident?

 

[Dr.Dash]

Strummer, yep almost exactly the same , your mini-usb lead is a straight plug which is a bit neater.
I used a couple of velcro pads to secure the "box" part of the camera, it holds it off the screen so may help prevent the sun heating the unit, but more importantly makes it easily removed.

Dr Dash, how did you fix the lens part? I can see the extension cable but what do you secure the actual lens to?

I used a small piece of aluminium, which came from an old printer I was throwing out. Essentially an L-shaped bracket, the lens is secured to that with a couple of double-sided sticky pads, then the bracket fitted to the rear of the mirror with a self adhesive velcro pad.

The bracket is made at a slight angle, so the rear fits flush to the mirror, but the camera points straight forward. Very easy to do.[I tried taking a photo but my photo host is rejecting it].

 

[Houghsx]

Strummer, yep almost exactly the same , your mini-usb lead is a straight plug which is a bit neater.
I used a couple of velcro pads to secure the "box" part of the camera, it holds it off the screen so may help prevent the sun heating the unit, but more importantly makes it easily removed.


I used a small piece of aluminium, which came from an old printer I was throwing out. Essentially an L-shaped bracket, the lens is secured to that with a couple of double-sided sticky pads, then the bracket fitted to the rear of the mirror with a self adhesive velcro pad.

The bracket is made at a slight angle, so the rear fits flush to the mirror, but the camera points straight forward. Very easy to do.[I tried taking a photo but my photo host is rejecting it].

Thank you

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