BrownMotoring

Got my X6000 just behind the windscreen mirror, slightly to the left. It sticks out slightly but has to for the second inward facing camera. I find with it there it captures what's going on through the windscreen, inside the car, back window and a few bits through the driver side windows too. Size wise the main body of the camera is a bit like a slightly fatter pack of polo mints, the screen is perhaps 2.5'ish cm diagonal and can be turned off. It's not distracting and gives irritating passengers the chance to admire themselves on long journeys.

There are smaller and better built but they're much of a muchness. Mostly Russian audience targeted cheap Chinese manufacture but chose the right one and it's a discreet neatly packaged little insurance policy and peace of mind. I don't want people hitting me but I'm not half as bothered about other people's stupid driving any more.

Word to the wise though, it logs everything including bad habits and your speed. I passed a Police speed check and wondered for a mo wh was watching who. Either way, at the time that was the smallest I could find that was cheap, reliable, had all the logging, GPS and shock features and dual lenses. The GPs ones have got some cool handy features like positioning with a Google Maps overlay so you can watch the footage and see the data inc g/shock, speed etc but also exactly where you are on the map as you tootle along.

It's already proven its worth for me this year when I was rear ended. They had difficulty pinning him down and I showed them what I'd recorded, job done and case closed. A mate fitted one soon after and he was rear ended too. The driver accepted fault to the insurers but later foolishly changed his mind and said he hadn't been there after all. Mate showed insurer and Police the footage/data and now idiot is preparing to face prosecution by the insurers. Definitely worth the money and always something you know you should buy leave until it's too late and someone runs up your chuf.

Have to recommend the one I've fitted. Should find it on eBay if you search for X6000 DVR. About £50. Small, dual lens, GPS, shock sensors, iR LED's, full logging of everything going on etc. Been rock solid and reliable. it's amazing the things it captures. I even caught (kid you not) Santa running southbound on the A350, just north of Warminster a few weeks back. Was a concern if I'm honest :-/ Guess he was legging it from Mrs Santa.

Morning,
Could I ask where you got the switch that goes to your power point? I'm after something like that but no luck finding anything.
Phil

Just wondered how many of you have dash cams in your car? I often watch bad drivers on YouTube that have been caught on other people’s dash cams, or driver’s purposely causing bumps and rear endings so they can get cash from the victim’s insurers etc.

I've had a dash cam for about a year after seeing the usual idiots that we have to share the road with - (luckily I've never been involved in anything and I've never had to use my footage as evidence, but it’s nice to know I can prove/show what happened if I was involved in an incident).

For the first time today I actually noticed 2 other cars pass me that also had cash cams on - one was a taxi driver which makes sense being on the road all the time.

Me and my dad have cameras that stick to the screen and hang from underneath the rear view mirrors - how ever with my dad being a driving instructor we ordered a replacement that iNath also uses - its much smaller and hides behind the mirror so it’s unnoticeable to the driver (I'll post pics of it once fitted tomorrow).

My cameras now effectively a spare and is currently pointing out my back window, and my dads current HD cam is now in the front of my car.
(I know its not the neatest or most subtle but I'll be able to remove them easily without trace when changing cars, and for the time being, well, they do their job)






I wouldn't know where to start to wire them to the ignition so I just use this switch to turn em on and off...


The wires to the cams run from the power outlet, then under the drivers chair and into a 4 way socket adapter, then out towards the drivers door and into the rubber door seals, through the A pillar, headliner and out to the camera.

Only sloppy/visible bit is this section but its only me that sees it so I can live with that...


My new front cam from my dads car unfortunately has an interior view cam too so please ignore the right hand side. It ain't as good as the exterior view so hence on sunny days it makes people look like Casper the ghost.




Yeah, so I guess you never know who’s watching you. It'd be good to hear if anyone else uses dash cams and if you've ever had to use the footage?

Heres a few YouTube vids.


This first one is a must watch if you haven't already seen it. Watch the whole thing, its quite shocking. (London Southall)








Great YouTube channel.... http://www.youtube.c...s/videos?view=0

Not sure if anyone has already mentioned this - but if you have an on-window phone mount, why not something like this?

http://itunes.apple....d437813388?mt=8

(Probably something similar for android users too)

Records as you go, delete as required.

I've used the same app and it's not bad. Perhaps not particularly intuitive but works well enough. Only thing I didn't like is that it wouldnt run when the phone was in standby/blank screen. I don't tend to plug in and charge all the time when driving so it emptied the battery having the screen on. It was also a bit of a distraction soemtimes. It may have changed in more recent versions but it also stopped recording when someone called and I switched to phone, or any other app for that matter. The information it gathered was first rate and you avoid cabling etc. Tried, tested, thought it wasn't bad at all but opted for a little DVR camera anyway.

Really interesting topic Paul - I never considered the need for a camera but those videos have really made me think about getting one!

My sister had someone run in the back of her a few months ago. If it wasn't for a couple of witnesses stopping, I'm sure the guy would have tried arguing it (though, how far can your argument go if you've run into someone from behind at a junction?) But those witnesses won't always be there, or be willing to stop.

I guess it's also helpful if you aren't involved in an incident but manage to capture something that might be of use to the police.

Pay day is Friday - think my car is going to have some money spent on it

Good point when it comes to gathering indisputable evidence. You'd have thought it was clear cut but it doesn't always work that way it seems. When someone kindly hit the back of my car in April my insurer took the stance that I was in theory equally responsible until they could establish fault. Fair enough and establishing fault appears to ultimately mean a verbal or written admission from the other person and/or their insurer.

You can't always now assume it's the other parties fault if they hit the back of your car, and insurance company's certainly like to make that known to the customer/claimant now. My insurer is a major one and they suspended my excess and no claims etc and spent plenty of time explaining how I'd suffer if they couldn't establish fault elsewhere. In my case getting that admission out of the numpty who hit me and his insurer wasn't straight forward. I ended up doing most of the leg work over four months after the incident and even the Police got involved. However, the footage and information from the camera, photo's, diagrams and notes I wrote down after I believe saved the whole thing going pear shaped. The camera is just one part of it that certainly helped.

However, I would also say don't assume. Take a view that you need to build a case and evidence strong enough to argue it soundly regardless of type of incident and don't assume it'll all be settle quickly and without issue Don't leave you insurer entirely to their own devices, keep tabs on the claim/process.

Another example or two - One of my colleagues was rear ended this year in his Mini and after what appeared to be a clear cut case the other party decided that no, they weren't actually present. Not a clever move as my colleague submitted video and stills footage that was geotagged, date and time stamped along with his claim. It's conclusive and my colleagues insurer agrees. However they never bothered to keep my colleague posted on the latest twist and he only found out by chance after I prompted him to keep tabs on his claim, at which things were starting to get out of control.

Likewise my father had a minor incident recently. It turns out incidents where both parties are reversing are almost always assumed to be 50/50 blame. In my father's case a careless neighbour reversed into the side of his car. Both were reversing but my father was not at fault and had nowhere to go or means of avoiding it. The neighbour held his hands up and said my fault too. A camera may well have helped but it took more effort to convince my father's insurer to look over it again properly, at which point they agreed and went for a 100% claim against the neighbour. Again, if it wasn't for keeping tabs on the process the whole thing would have been unfairly viewed as 50/50 or gone south even further.

The camera I fitted is one of the best buy I've made this year. It's peace of mind and in some cases those I might film around me - my own little extra insurance policy. I'm a sensible'ish chap in my 30's, never had any points or brushes with the law and love my cars and Fes. Folks can crash into me (I'd prefer not), drive and behave in a dangerous or threatening manner. It's up to them, I don't mind as much now as it's on camera. Recommended addition to any car. I also read recently one or two insurers are now offering discounts if you have a camera. Perhaps all cars should be fitted with them but that's a duscission for another day.