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Dash Cam legal question?

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zedwheels
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by zedwheels » Sat Dec 16, 2017 9:02 pm

Hi all.
My last dash cam was a basic nextbase that never gave me any problems but when I sold my Alpina I left it with the car as it was fitted in by Halfords.

I have been looking at nextbase again and thought about getting one with GPS this time. But I have this issue in my mind that just may be stupid! The cams with GPS also record your speed, now lets suppose I am traveling along on a 60mph road and I am being a bit naughty and doing say 66mph for instance. I go round a slow bend and then a vehicle comes out of a side road not looking and we collide, the law gets involved and wants to see what is on my cam!
Would I be obliged to say yes?
Would I then be the offending driver because they could say the collision may have been my fault being over the limit?

Just my thoughts before I opt for one with GPS or go with a basic cam instead.

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RickRob
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by RickRob » Sat Dec 16, 2017 9:16 pm

I have no knowledge of the law here, but this has to be a risk, especially when the dash dam is hard wired in. At least with the one plugged into the cigarette lighter you could pull it all off/out.
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TitanTim
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by TitanTim » Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:05 pm

Can't you just remove the SD card whether the cam is hardwired or not? and accidently lose it. I would imagine you would need to hand over any footage if requested to do so otherwise it would be obstruction?

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bladeowner
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by bladeowner » Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:17 pm

I would guess if it is a serious enough accident the police would want to / be able to calculate the speed by measuring distance captured on the camera over time even if it hasn't got gps.
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Ducklakeview
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by Ducklakeview » Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:27 pm

I have GPS logging turned off on the one in my other car for exactly the same reason. I could have just turned off the "overlay time, date and speed" option instead. But the data would still be stored on the micro sd card.

For the same reason, I also specifically went for non GPS cameras for the zed and van, at the end of the day the footage should identify where you actually are, and the timestamp of the video file will give a time +/- 3 mins anyway.

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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by srhutch » Sat Dec 16, 2017 11:31 pm

bladeowner wrote: Sat Dec 16, 2017 10:17 pm I would guess if it is a serious enough accident the police would want to / be able to calculate the speed by measuring distance captured on the camera over time even if it hasn't got gps.
This

Having gps will make no difference. They will measure the distance and calculate if the need to.
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Greg 01
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by Greg 01 » Sun Dec 17, 2017 7:28 am

Hi guys .
I bought and hard wired my dashcam so I don't have to mess with it every time I go in the car . often wondered if I should unplug the thing at playtime .
The dashcam in my truck has telematics built in and records harsh braking, harsh acceleration , over revving ,coasting etc even analysis of my driving :o .
The technology in these things are scary these days .
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by jampudding » Sun Dec 17, 2017 10:23 am

There is a clip of a motorbike doing around 90mph in a 50mph zone. The rider has a helmet cam which captures his speed and his narration. As he comes over a hill an old man pulls out to turn right, and the motorbike slams into the car and the rider dies - just prior to the impact you can hear him saying "no, no, no..". Anyway despite the riders speed the car driver was prosecuted for not driving with due care and attention. I will try and find the clip.

Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZCadhDW_i0
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by cj10jeeper » Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:02 am

I think you need to take a pragmatic view that a dash cam supports in situations where you are in the right and the opposite when in the wrong. Police will instinctively look for and see cameras and if a serious accident demand or seize it,as evidence.
Realistically you won’t remove the chip or the camera if you have an accident as there’s too much going on and if you do then it’s perverting the course of justice.

My camera has proved me not at fault once, proved a case of speeding with a valet parking company and one day may trip me up :(, but for now I’m well ahead...
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by Russ59 » Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:58 am

jampudding wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2017 10:23 am There is a clip of a motorbike doing around 90mph in a 50mph zone. The rider has a helmet cam which captures his speed and his narration. As he comes over a hill an old man pulls out to turn right, and the motorbike slams into the car and the rider dies - just prior to the impact you can hear him saying "no, no, no..". Anyway despite the riders speed the car driver was prosecuted for not driving with due care and attention. I will try and find the clip.

Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZCadhDW_i0

s**t, that made me jump on impact, one reason I have given up bike riding.
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TitanTim
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by TitanTim » Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:03 pm

Out of interest what are the advantages of having a cam hardwired into the car? Isn't it less flexible?

With mine I bought 2 power cables for both cars and swap the cam between the two, just hide the power cable behind the roof lining and trim etc to the 12 volt socket, luckily I have 2 sockets in the 1 series and Hyundai so easy to do.

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Buckz
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by Buckz » Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:42 pm

Mine is hardwired without GPS. I see no need for that.
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by TopDMC » Sun Dec 17, 2017 3:47 pm

Check the Nextbase model that you are buying, I know mine is some 3 years old and probably obsolete, however it does have an option not to show the speed, I cannot imagine that this option would have been taken off on the newer models.

Of course that doesn't stop anyone calculating speed by distance covered over time
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ronk
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by ronk » Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:06 pm

I seem to remember reading that dash cam evidence is not admissible in a court?
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pvr
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Dash Cam legal question?

Post by pvr » Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:49 pm

ronk wrote: Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:06 pm I seem to remember reading that dash cam evidence is not admissible in a court?
It is, and not just in court either. My daughter got a NIP based on dashcam footage for crossing a solid line overtaking a very slow moving vehicle (as the last in a string of cars overtaking it).

Absolute offense, so even though you can take it to court etc and ensure that the owner of the dashcam has to attend as well, you have little defense as you can only overtake an agricultural vehicle that is slow, not a car.

The worry is that if you are on a Z trip for example, anyone's recording can be used to send a NIP to you. It is the busybodies paradise at the moment.
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