HN Explorer

Ask HN: Do you use a dash cam?

20 points by lwhsiao ↗ HN
Last time this was discussed on HN was two years ago [1]. Since then, I've noticed more and more dash cams. Do you use a dash cam? If so, what do you recommend and why?

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10341625

15 comments

[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 43.0 ms ] thread
thisone
I just bought one, yes. I drive a back road (UK, so lots of bends and also 60mph) for a fair part of my commute and the last time I came around a bend to see a car half in my lane, was the last straw. At least if I die in a 60mph head on collision I want proof it wasn't my fault.

I purchased a nextbase 512gw second hand for £70 vs about £150 new. Seems to be working well, the auto segment lock (hit a bump, it flags the recording segment to not be overwritten) is a bit sensitive, but it does seem to be learning a bit. It doesn't auto-lock as often anymore.

It's rather annoying that it expects to be always plugged in however.

eltoozero
I've got an older model Lukas Blackbox LK-7900.

It's a no-brainer. I've had two instances where it eliminated any question of fault which were otherwise going to be my word against theirs.

Literally went from collecting witness statements to implicate me in one second to "oh you have a dashcam? Can I see the footage?" in the next.

The answer is "no" by the way, you give that to the insurance company. Assuming its in your favor, otherwise you're under no obligation to furnish incriminating evidence to anybody.

There is no downside.

Here's a wild accident I saw, dude lost a tire on the freeway. I pulled in front and went to aid the driver when I saw he was totally out. Revived the driver then pulled the battery cable with my letterman to stop the horn once the cavalry got there. [0] Just another day on the road.

[0]: https://youtu.be/A8keMz0fWO0

AznHisoka
"lost a tire in the freeway" why does this (as well as flat tires) still happen in the 21st century?

we dont just need self driving cars. we need self healing cars too.

pacala443
It still happens because very few people take proper care of their car. Some of them neglect them so much that their tires literally pop off, like in this video. OT, but this is why I don't believe self driving cars will become mainstream any time soon. Not many people will buy a car that won't drive at the first sight of a fault. There are thousands that drive with their check engine light on and won't fix it until it breaks.
Gustomaximus
> this is why I don't believe self driving cars will become mainstream any time soon

Firstly your assuming cars will be down with any level of frequency to concern people. This I doubt as cars are amazingly reliable these days and electric (which should grow with driverless tech) should be further due to less things to go wrong.

Secondly, driverless increases the chance of the non-owner model (probably some all you can eat Uber type model) where you have hundreds of cars at your disposal.

I think true self driving will delay a little due to the huge number of scenarios systems are going to need to account for almost perfectly. From this I guess we will get increasingly 'assisted driving' on freeways and know roads. But even this will disappear fast as cars with driverless tech requiring people to drive unknown areas will be uploaded and compiled to make this a known area fairly fast if there is any level of traffic.

EADGBE
Not a mechanic, but have been around a few to know that an ignored bad wheel bearing can have disastrous consequences, including the removal of said wheel entirely.

Luckily, most wheel bearing damage will "tell" you long before this is an issue for most people, but still, it's a pricey fix and some people try to ride it out as long as possible.

whamlastxmas
Mentioning you have a dash cam at all seems like a bad idea. I have one but would never admit it. Let them lie their way into a corner first then present evidence they're being fraudulent. Also the risk that it can be used against me if, upon review, I am not entirely faultless myself.
railroad_jerk
I drive in Portugal. My first dashcam was JooVuu X, but it was always extremely unstable and at the moment it seems to be abandoned by the producer. I don't use it anymore. Such a frustration and a waste of money. So I recently bought Viofo A119S and I'm happy with it. It's stable, it has a good quality at day and at night and there is great support.
Can_Not
A cop lied saying I ran a red light. I instantly bought a dashcam after that. I haven't had to pull the footage for any reason in the five years I've had it, but it's well worth the security.
EADGBE
Do insurance companies offer discounts for dash cams?

My current insurance has the "safe driving monitor". But this only grades your style of driving...

thisone
some UK companies do. from what I understand, you must have the cam on for every drive (some require them to be hardwired), and the insurance company will/can check up on your usage by requiring you to provide footage whenever they ask.
kbaautumn
Had an accident several years ago, I was 100% sure that the other car ran the red light. Of course the other driver lied and nobody was determined at fault since there is no evidence nor witness (midnight). Later in police report I saw the other driver is DRIVING WHEN SUSPENDED, NO WONDER WHY.

So I bought a dash cam. I recently bought a new one that acts like a rear mirror (it also has a rear camera that I didn't use). I think it's pretty cool so I don't need to stick it to my window and fall off due to day/night temperature change. No accident ever since but it makes me feel safe :)

jpetersonmn
I've been thinking about building one of these, looks pretty cool. They want quite a bit to just buy one, I wonder if they'll ever sell just the case.

https://dride.io/

everybodyknows
Kdlinks X1, 1920x1080, 165 degree field of view. Good to have the high-res and quality sensor, for a better chance at catching the license plates on hit-and-run offenders.

Came with a Windows-only app that's a bit rough, but video is written to a removable microSD, in files of a standard format readable by freeware tools on Ubuntu distro.

One unhappy surprise: The camera will not recognize a card that has been formatted by mkfs, whether as FAT or any of its variants.

waibelp
Would be useful but not allowed (not legally safe) in Germany. You may record for private purposes but if you have an accident and you try to use the records you offend against data protection resulting in fees up to 300k €.