Dash Cam - Has it saved you any cash?

[bucks2]

Got pulled over for turning left in a construction zone. Officer was going to ticket me until I mentioned that the construction worker had removed the sign while I was stopped at the light and that I had it on the dash camera. He then decided that since my claim was "questionable, but I looked like a good guy", he'd let me off with a warning......

Good thing for him he did. The dash cam showed the construction worker removing the sign and the officer parked where he couldn't monitor the intersection. He could only see in his mirror that cars turned left. I would have loved to contest the ticket and show the video in court. Traffic cop is a tough job, one that I'd never want. But if you take it, do it right.

[A Traveler]

I was the victim of a hit and run sideswipe accident. The trucker did not really “hit and run” because I don’t think he actually realized he had hit me. He was hauling a very heavy, oversized concrete beam for a bridge. But he drifted into my lane, hit me and kept on going.
From the HD dashcam footage I was able to get the truck number and the license number on the trailer. The state police took their info from my video, found and cited the driver for “causing an accident” and passed that info on to my insurance company. The trucking company’s insurance ultimately paid for my repairs, which were just under $10,000.

[lo-tek]

Originally Posted by A Traveler

I was the victim of a hit and run sideswipe accident. The trucker did not really “hit and run” because I don’t think he actually realized he had hit me. He was hauling a very heavy, oversized concrete beam for a bridge. But he drifted into my lane, hit me and kept on going.
From the HD dashcam footage I was able to get the truck number and the license number on the trailer. The state police took their info from my video, found and cited the driver for “causing an accident” and passed that info on to my insurance company. The trucking company’s insurance ultimately paid for my repairs, which were just under $10,000.

Attachment 262607

I'm convinced!

[Domo]

Originally Posted by wimpy

Love to know what mount you used for your phone & power supply hook-up as well as preferred app. Have you experienced over-heating or other issues?

Mount can vary by brand of phone - heck, I simply velcroed it to the back side of my dash-top Garmin Trucker GPS with a wedge to aim it! At first I simply leaned it against the windshield - that didn't work too well. I had also messed with using some old suction cups I had...wasted more time.

Power supply is standard USB 5V and I've got a cigarette lighter adapter that provides two of those... (it also continuously tells me the temperature, amps being consumed by connected devices and voltage so I can see the state of charge of the coach batteries).

No overheating no overcharging issues, it's the same as taking video with your phone or tablet. If you think overcharging could be a problem, use the charger that came with the device, or some other smart charger.

The apps I've tried all take a user-selected length of video, then loop. In case of a high-G impact they can be set to save the previous/current loop to SD card - or event to the cloud (on some). They'll include speed, GPS location, etc. etc.

[DGBPokes]

I have had an occasion in our car, and one in the RV where a driver in a junk car pulls right in front of you and squats. Hoping you will rear end him. I got lucky both times and barely avoided hitting them.
I was also involved in a minor accident in the coach after fueling at a Murphy USA. It was my fault, but it should have been less than $1K....insurance company paid $40 K. There are folks out there, who see us in our big, expensive motorhome, and think they can take advantage. A dash cam is cheap insurance

[Tha_Rooster]

My daughter in-law got pulled over and the officer said she did something. She said do you want to see my dash cam, his reply have a good day.

[MSHappyCampers]

I haven't had any incidents yet, but I think dash cams are the cheapest insurance you can buy!

[A Traveler]

The Dash Cam I have is a DOD LS460W. You can see it HERE.

It can use up to a 128 Gig SD memory card. The camera will record continuously in approximately 10 minute blocks. When the card fills up, it records over the oldest clips.

The camera also contains a GPS receiver. It stores the GPS location data in the video file it generates. The video files are high definition Quicktime files (.mov extension) and will play on anything.

You can connect the camera to your computer via USB. Using the DOD app, the video will display in one window while your position on a map displays in a second window. It is VERY nice and the HD video it produces is extraordinarily clear.

[Dutch Star Don]

I'm running a similar DOD brand camera as "A Traveler" above. I bought mine because so many people do stupid things in front of an RV. I looked for specific capabilities when I was shopping cameras. The DOD model I bought has GPS so it can identify the location and speed of an accident. Mine will record for about 8 hours and then record over the old stuff. There is also an impact sensor so if I get in an accident, it will save the information on the card during that time frame.

My DOD films in HD and can make for some great pictures when driving through areas like a National Park.

I'm sure everyone has seen the crazy driver approaching in the mirror or one that is brain dead entering the freeway. The type that realizes at the last minute that they never looked in the mirror and are now running out of onramp. When I see these things happen, I make it a habit to voice what they're doing, which also tells my wife what's going on. This way, if I'm side swiped, something that can't be seen by the camera, there is a record that is hard to dispute on tape.

[bharrisv65]

Originally Posted by DGBPokes

I have had an occasion in our car, and one in the RV where a driver in a junk car pulls right in front of you and squats. Hoping you will rear end him. I got lucky both times and barely avoided hitting them.

I have one in my MH for this exact reason and also for those "road ragers" who think it's 'cool' to brake check you for some apparent reason. I don't want to have an accident if at all possible because regardless of fault, it's just inconvenient the BS you have to go through. BUT, and I may be wrong, if some moron swerves in front of a 46,000 lb. MH and decides to slam on brakes, if you hit them and have it on video, I bet the judge or jury will find it hard to place the blame on you. Either way, having a video of whatever the episode is can only help your case unless you're the one clearly at fault. But if that's the case, you need to be responsible and do the right thing. Of course, it can still help you because it may show the facts versus how someone else "saw" it through their eyes. Cheap insurance as others have said.

[Fkrel]

I had a woman in a car jump a stop sign while I was driving my pickup and hit her in the right front fender and it went back into the pass door her front tire was sideways when I backed my truck up, I called the sheriff right away and she started with the storys how it was my fault, after a while I told the sheriff I have it all on dash camera and her face went pale he told the lady he should give her a ticket, I called the my insurance and a couple days later hers called me and wanted the story I asked him if my insurance sent him the video of it but they havnt so I sent it to him he called a couple hours later and said they would pay 100% of the damage $5700.00

[mikena]

Nothing RV related saves you money. That being said I’m not sure how my dash cam would save me a citation unless I’m operating the motorhome irresponsibly and hoping the dash cam will somehow save my bacon. They provide excellent evidence when in an accident.

[W5CI]

Dash Cams are great to have , I have had several. However I have never been able to get any software to use to be able to view my video. What do you guys use. recording isn't a problem. Viewing the video is.

[lsuarez53]

I have a dash cam primarily to help figure out what happened if God forbid we got into an accident. Having a video which could prove I was not at fault could make a major difference in insurance payouts and lawsuits. I also planned to download some panoramic shots of some of our travel, but after more than 30K miles we have never done it!