Dash Cam

[UGetPaid]

Does anyone have a windshield mounted video camera for their vehicle(s)? I recently bought one (using Amazon credits I’ve accumulated from various smart phone apps that pay!) and installed it in my car.  I don’t have a long daily commute for work, but I have had some close calls just driving around town.  It certainly will come in handy if I ever get into an accident that isn’t my fault.

Several years ago, I did have an accident which I didn’t consider to be my fault; however, I got cited for hitting a parked car, while the actual driver at fault left the scene. She didn’t hit anyone, so there was no evidence of her involvement and without a dash cam, I had no way to prove her liability.  It was a 4-way stop on a narrow city street with cars parked along the curbs in both directions the entire length of the block.  I was going straight approaching the stop sign and a school bus was coming from my left on the cross street ahead – turning right at her stop sign onto the block I was coming down.

Rather than allow me to proceed through to get to my stop sign (where I could have had plenty of room to pull over to the curb -- opening the lane wide open for the school bus), the bus driver just barreled right on in and would have hit me square had I not taken any action. I was trying to pull forward and around cars parked along the street to avoid getting hit by her. In the process, I clipped the front corner of the last parked car with my right rear door.

With no video or other eyewitnesses, there was no way for me to prove this. I got a ticket and fought it in court. I was able to convince the judge to dismiss the case on my citation (so no points against my license), but I still had to pay court costs and my insurance still had to cover the damages to the parked car I hit.

If only I had a dash cam at that point, I could have shown that footage to the officer who responded to my call and possibly convinced him to locate the bus driver and cite her instead of me.

I hope to avoid these situations in the future, but its good to know that I have a witness if I ever need one!
 

[bleyd]

No never thought installing a dash cam in my car.  Never thought I would need it.

[gaby_ro_2004]

I want to buy a camera but i don't know if it is compatible with my car.I have a Subaru Impreza 2016.

[countrygirl12]

Does anyone have a windshield mounted video camera for their vehicle(s)? I recently bought one (using Amazon credits I’ve accumulated from various smart phone apps that pay!) and installed it in my car.  I don’t have a long daily commute for work, but I have had some close calls just driving around town.  It certainly will come in handy if I ever get into an accident that isn’t my fault.

Several years ago, I did have an accident which I didn’t consider to be my fault; however, I got cited for hitting a parked car, while the actual driver at fault left the scene. She didn’t hit anyone, so there was no evidence of her involvement and without a dash cam, I had no way to prove her liability.  It was a 4-way stop on a narrow city street with cars parked along the curbs in both directions the entire length of the block.  I was going straight approaching the stop sign and a school bus was coming from my left on the cross street ahead – turning right at her stop sign onto the block I was coming down.

Rather than allow me to proceed through to get to my stop sign (where I could have had plenty of room to pull over to the curb -- opening the lane wide open for the school bus), the bus driver just barreled right on in and would have hit me square had I not taken any action. I was trying to pull forward and around cars parked along the street to avoid getting hit by her. In the process, I clipped the front corner of the last parked car with my right rear door.

With no video or other eyewitnesses, there was no way for me to prove this. I got a ticket and fought it in court. I was able to convince the judge to dismiss the case on my citation (so no points against my license), but I still had to pay court costs and my insurance still had to cover the damages to the parked car I hit.

If only I had a dash cam at that point, I could have shown that footage to the officer who responded to my call and possibly convinced him to locate the bus driver and cite her instead of me.

I hope to avoid these situations in the future, but its good to know that I have a witness if I ever need one!
 

So it WAS your fault.  No way around it.  It was YOUR fault.  YOU hit a parked car.

[countrygirl12]

Does anyone have a windshield mounted video camera for their vehicle(s)? I recently bought one (using Amazon credits I’ve accumulated from various smart phone apps that pay!) and installed it in my car.  I don’t have a long daily commute for work, but I have had some close calls just driving around town.  It certainly will come in handy if I ever get into an accident that isn’t my fault.

Several years ago, I did have an accident which I didn’t consider to be my fault; however, I got cited for hitting a parked car, while the actual driver at fault left the scene. She didn’t hit anyone, so there was no evidence of her involvement and without a dash cam, I had no way to prove her liability.  It was a 4-way stop on a narrow city street with cars parked along the curbs in both directions the entire length of the block.  I was going straight approaching the stop sign and a school bus was coming from my left on the cross street ahead – turning right at her stop sign onto the block I was coming down.

Rather than allow me to proceed through to get to my stop sign (where I could have had plenty of room to pull over to the curb -- opening the lane wide open for the school bus), the bus driver just barreled right on in and would have hit me square had I not taken any action. I was trying to pull forward and around cars parked along the street to avoid getting hit by her. In the process, I clipped the front corner of the last parked car with my right rear door.

With no video or other eyewitnesses, there was no way for me to prove this. I got a ticket and fought it in court. I was able to convince the judge to dismiss the case on my citation (so no points against my license), but I still had to pay court costs and my insurance still had to cover the damages to the parked car I hit.

If only I had a dash cam at that point, I could have shown that footage to the officer who responded to my call and possibly convinced him to locate the bus driver and cite her instead of me.

I hope to avoid these situations in the future, but its good to know that I have a witness if I ever need one!
 

If you saw the bus coming you should have stopped instead of insisting you get to go first.  If you had stopped and the bus had hit you on your side of the road then the bus driver would have been at fault.

The judge throwing the ticket out is not a big deal  You didn't "convince" him of anything.  99% of the time they will throw a ticket out if you go to court.  You pay the court cost so you still pay.  That is why they do not care.  Where I live almost every ticket written is thrown out by the judge if the person does not work and can go sit in court all day.  They pay court costs and the county is happy.

[UGetPaid]

If you saw the bus coming you should have stopped instead of insisting you get to go first.  If you had stopped and the bus had hit you on your side of the road then the bus driver would have been at fault.

The judge throwing the ticket out is not a big deal  You didn't "convince" him of anything.  99% of the time they will throw a ticket out if you go to court.  You pay the court cost so you still pay.  That is why they do not care.  Where I live almost every ticket written is thrown out by the judge if the person does not work and can go sit in court all day.  They pay court costs and the county is happy.

Hard to visualize I understand, but you are making a few assumptions that are inaccurate – most likely due to some inadequacies in my earlier description.  So this is going to be a LONG one, folks!

I was not “insisting I get to go first” as you put it. Far from it, I was already in the roadway [first] which the bus was trying to turn onto [second]. When the bus turned the corner, directly into my path, there was NO PLACE for me to go and no ability for me to just stop as you suggest.  It’s not like I saw the bus coming from 50 yards away and sped up to try to beat it or had plenty of time and space to stop short of it.  It was right there with no place for me to go! The bus driver was driving aggressively in making her turn directly into my right-of-way - giving me no opportunity to get out of her path. I realize that sounds self-serving, but (without the dash cam) I have no other eye-witnesses to turn to.  It happened as it happened is all I can say. 

Picture a narrow street with cars parked along both sides, thus leaving only enough room for one vehicle to travel with reasonable safety clearance, and just barely enough room for two CARS to SLOWLY pass each other going in opposite directions -- but definitely not enough room for a car and a bus to share the open space with each remaining in its own lane not encroaching across the centerline.  I was ALREADY driving down that section of street approaching the intersection which the bus had not yet entered.  I could see the bus ahead on the side street to the left.  It was stopped. I was driving toward the same 4-way stop intersection – intending to stop and continue straight.

With no or limited off street parking on that block, parked vehicles occupied roughly 90% of the curb space on both sides.  There was no space for any other cars to pull over on that block (except at the end/corner yellow curbs where the stop sign was located).

So I am approaching the intersection and the bus begins making a right turn onto (and crossing over into) my only available lane of travel.  The bus actually came across the entire open area of the street when it made its right turn (as all large trucks or buses physically cannot make tight right turns).  It did not have clearance to straighten out its turn without hitting me based on my position and where I was trying to go.

In that split second as the bus was completing its turn, I could keep going forward (and crash into the bus); I could shift my car into reverse without braking and tramp down on the gas pedal (destroying the transmission and quite likely hitting any of a number of cars parked behind me since I cannot drive backwards looking into a mirror with near the precision that I can going forward); or I could take the only evasive action available and try to avoid both the bus and the other parked cars – trying to squeeze past the left front bumper of the car I ultimately struck.  There was no place for the bus to fit otherwise!  I had just one last parked car to clear on my side before reaching the yellow curb area where there was PLENTY of space there to pull aside and let the bus barrel on through.  So contrary to your assumption: I wasn’t insisting that I get to go first – I was just trying to get the hell out of the way in one piece!

If I am reading correctly, you imply that I could have simply stopped and just let the bus hit me in order to avoid being found at fault myself.  To that I say: I was rear ended by a full garbage truck between 15 and 20 years ago (luckily at a relatively slow speed as he stood on his brakes trying to stop the truck). I was lucky that he wasn’t going full speed, but it still had enough of an impact to cause some minor injuries and a few medical bills. When it comes to the aftermath of having a collision with a vehicle much larger than mine, legal fault is the LEAST of my concerns, let me tell you! After that prior experience, I didn’t really like my odds of going up against a school bus – especially with my pre-school aged daughter in the car with me this time.  Parental instinct and self preservation take precedence over legal liability when making a snap decision.

So, sure, I could have just stopped dead and let the bus hit me knowing that I wouldn’t be at fault.  But in that moment, my primary objective was to not get hit at all!  If I could avoid getting hit (albeit with some alternate/lower impact risk, yes), why wouldn’t I at least try?  Remember also that this was a school bus carrying children – none of whom were buckled in with safety belts.  I’m sure their parents would be totally fine with me not even trying to take evasive action simply because I knew I wouldn’t be at fault if the bus carrying their unbuckled children hit me. What should I care if the kids tumbled about in the process?

Also, it was not 100% apparent at that point that I was definitely going to hit the parked car as I tried to squeeze through the only available opening – but it was 100% apparent that I was definitely going to get hit by the school bus if I didn’t try. Avoiding ANY collision was my primary objective at the time and I almost did it!  So when given the options of doing nothing to avoid an accident vs. doing something to avoid an accident –I choose to do something.

Your assessment of a judge who you don’t know and your 99% rule are both really just speculation on your part.  I’m not really sure what your point is in bringing that up, but if the judges are throwing out 99% of the contested tickets where you live, then you need to organize a political rally and elect some new judges to the bench.  I promise you that the judges here are concerned with more than just collecting court costs and that a disputed ticket is not automatically dismissed simply because a contesting defendant showed up to court and waited around rather than bothering to be a productive working member of society. If I have misinterpreted your remarks, please accept my apology.

I did not just show up and sit there waiting for my turn to get my automatic get out of jail free card (although I admit I am lucky to have a job with enough flexibility that I can sit and wait my turn to present a well reasoned and legally researched argument as to why my ticket should be dismissed). I presented an actual analysis and argument to the judge and the prosecutor, which convinced (yes convinced) the judge to dismiss my ticket.

Anyway – my point getting lost in all of this is that it would have helped tremendously back then if I’d had a dash cam – that’s all.  Given my recent decision to buy one, I just wondered if anyone else had one or had any stories of how they’ve helped out.  But I am more than happy to discuss the merits of my case further.
 

[patapon555]

I don't have a dashcam, but I really really want to get one. I keep putting it off for some reason.

[countrygirl12]

UGetPaid - LOL.  I am not organizing anything.  I could care less if the judge throws out every ticket that comes before him.  And I doubt the judges in your town are any different than where I live or any where else.  Just because you do not know it happens does not mean it doesn't.  I got a ticket in another town about 18 years ago.  I had friends that told me to go to court.  They said the cop will not show up.  Tell the judge you were not speeding and he will throw it out.  Have heard the exact same thing about other surrounding towns.  Even counties in states where I have family.  SO basically it is just like I said - go to court and contest the ticket and if it is a traffic violation and nothing else they will likely throw it out.  And no, I did not go to court.  Also did not have to pay the ticket but that is beside the point. haha

As for being concerned with the parents and the kids on the bus - I am not going to kill myself trying to get out of the way of a bus that is being driven by an idiot.  Most bus drivers are reckless.  Don't believe me - google the subject.  There are tons of news stories where bus drivers done something stupid and killed kids on the bus.  One the driver was texting and has drugs in his system and the other I think was just physco because he passed the drug test.  But told the kids they were gonna die right before he purposely wrecked the bus.

In your situation I don't know what I would have done.  But the point still remains if you hit a parked car it is your fault.  And the dash cam would not have made a difference.  The hitting the parked car would still be your fault.  All a dash cam might have proved was the bus driver was being reckless.

[bshee58]

no i don't have a dash cam

[makeblessed]

I received one as  Christmas present, but it is still sitting in the box,  we will get around to installing soon, I guess it could come in handy some day.

[metsrock69]

if you get the right ones they can be costly but they do have some cheap ones that are not as good quality

[davissy]

I brought one that included a rear view mirror.  It did not work out for me..I'm so use to the view of my car's rear view mirror, that when I install this dash cam/mirror it made me dizzy >.<

[darkxtsuna]

I always plan to buy one but never do, Hopefully I catch one on sale and buy some for my family as well since some of my Neighbors I can't really trust anymore.

[dsawan]

no dont want it stolen

[dancer139]

no I don't have one and have never even thought about getting one.  would probably drive me crazy anyway