Tip, if in an accident, do NOT let the other driver know you have a dash cam until after they have given their side of the accident to the police. If they are going to lie about what happned, LET THEM, don't give them a warning to not lie. Let the lie get on record :)
Had a cop come up on me doing well over the limit with his brights on. I went to move over a lane and let him by. I used my blinker but he pulled me over for not signaling long enough... I requested his patrol footage and showed it in court. The judge was not happy with that cop.
Probably still didn't get him fired. If you perpetrated fraud like that in the private sector, they would can your butt in a second. Government employees are a joke.
@@p.d.smithjr.3277 Ok, possibly a little broad. There are plenty of government employees that do a fine job. There is just a lack of incentive to remove them if they don't. With cops, the incentives are completely inverted. Management likes to keep the bad ones, because they are less likely to report scumbaggery of management.
@@michaellowe3665 An excellent point. It's as if they were the Catholic Church or the Boy Scouts and were going out of their way to hire and retain child molesters. The whole point of having a police force (to the Sheriff/City Council/County Board/DA or Judge) is to raise money for the jurisdiction.
Audit the Audit had a video on exactly this. Someone got pulled over took off their seat belt and then the officer tried to get them for not wearing a seatbelt
Absolutely right, the company my brother drives for has 4 cameras in the cab, of course the dash cam, 1 pointed directly at the driver, and then 2 cams pointed at the doors. Its saved alot of there drivers. And it got my brother out of 2 speeding tickets, the dash cam is mounted right above the driver, clear visibility point of the road, and the speedometer.
In the late 1980's, I had an encounter with a bad cop. I was driving my 1969 dodge Van on a major street in a residential neighborhood. I was pulled over for not having a current registration sticker on my license plate. I did have a current registration sticker, but it was obscured by a small amount of snow. The plate was fully readable, but the sticker was obscured. I never left the drivers seat so this was on the word of the officer. The police officer told me that since he had pulled me over, I was getting a ticket not wearing a seatbelt. I lifted my coat and showed him that I was wearing my seat belt. He said, "have fun proving that one in court". I knew that the van had not been equipped with seat belts from the factory and told him that the only reason there were seat belts in the car was because I had put them in. He told me that seat belts had been required in all cars since 1964. Pissed off, I accepted the ticket. Knowing the car had not had seatbelts for the first 10 years of its life, I knew something was wrong. The seatbelt law was clear, you are only required to wear seatbelts in cars that came originally equipped with them. While some states had slightly different rules, mounting brackets for seatbelts were required on all cars in 1964. Most states including Ohio where I lived had required seatbelts in cars starting in 1968. But my van was licensed as a truck and Ohio did not require seatbelts in trucks until 1971. Remember, my vehicle was a 1969 model! My day in court went well
@@millardiii I am so glad this story ended well. I had a bad feeling until the end. New cars were required, by Federal law, to have seat belts installed in them beginning with the 1967 model year. For many years, they were only lap belts, not the three-point belts which cross the chest. Given the height of your 1969 van, it would be impossible for a cop (unless extraordinarily tall) to tell whether you had a lap belt fastened without putting his head in the window, or looking from the passenger side of the car.
When I was 18 or so, I was on an interstate and a cop rushed up fast behind me and tailgated me close. I naively thought, "Oh, this guy is a cop and needs to get somewhere, I'll get out of his way." I sped up to do that, and he pulled me over and gave me a ticket. That was the first time I started to see cops in a negative light. I didn't learn until this last year (over 20 years later) that he wasn't supposed to do that, and I could have challenged it. I just thought that it was the bottom line: I sped. The law is clear.
@Steven Seagull I should have challenged it. My mind didn't process that distinction or consider that they might be trying to entrap me, all I thought was, "This cop needs to be somewhere, I'll get out of their way." I would do the same thing if I saw one running through a crowded area. I wasn't used to thinking of cops as 'bad guys' that I needed to be cautious around, I thought of them as helpers. It changed my perspective.
@Steven Seagull I would disagree with you about that point about them being in it for the right reasons. Those people are the rare exceptions, not the rule. The police profession attracts the kinds of douchebags that get off on the power they have over people. How many good people do you know WANT to be a police officer?
@@sleazybtd The good ones are a rarity because anyone decent gets out of the service when they experience what goes on. Collusion, voilence, perjury, hiding evidence, the list goes on. In some ways, the vindictiveness is the particularly bad as they go after those who stand up to their corrupt, violent, thuggery.
I'm sorry that happened to you and you learned the hard way that unfortunately one has to be cautious about cops' motives. Something to keep in mind is that you're only obligated to get out of their way if they have their lights and siren on or they verbally command you to do so. If you have a cop bad enough to entrap like that, they're likely not above lying about whether they did one of those things, though, so a dashcam is always good to have.
There is a downside of sorts to a dash cam. While in many cases no one will argue the many ways it can and will be a powerful tool in court it should also be said that once it’s admitted as evidence and seen it can’t be unseen. So any slip on your part will also be seen. My advice would be to, with attorney consultation and guidance, review the footage before you submit it as a record of what happened. Cameras can help you but they can also hurt you too.
I had a cop AND insurance company rule against me despite witnessing dash cam footage of a motorist lying. Low level court ruled in favor of the liars. Appeals court finally saw that in order for me to do what I had been blamed for, I had to be driving in oncoming traffic and jump a concrete median. A moron passed me on the right on a 2 lane road with a concrete median in the middle. He sideswiped my truck and said I illegally changed lanes into him from the other lane.
If there is a cement divider in the road and there are two lanes moving in the same direction, you can pass on either side. The convention is to pass on the left, but many times, there is some A-hole camped out in the fast lane. It is not illegal to pass on the right. You have to give way and the passing car is burdened... so, it's risky. If the left lane camper swerves into the passing car, it's the guy who changed lanes who is at fault. Stop driving in the fast lane and get right. Please.
@@OKOKOKOKOKOKOK-zn2fydepending on the speed the slower person is going this makes sense, but if slower driver is 5 mph faster than bulk traffic and you, the faster driver, wants to drive 10+mph above bulk traffic, there is only one moron, it’s you, and I hope you get a ticket.
I have actually had this happen to me twice. Once the deputy sheriff was so close behind me at around 8pm at night that I could make out the "Stem with marble on top" shadow in the deputies' car headlights. My wife was with me, and I complained for 5 miles to her about this jerk following me too close. I was behind and 18-wheeler and we were on a two lane road, that I'd driven on hundreds of times (I'm a local) and there were no dashed center lines for passing, but I knew one passing section was coming up and I knew it was just long enough for me to get around the semi-truck and leave that jerk behind the truck. I took the advantage, used blinker to pass, flashed hi-beam so the truck driver knew and I was in the pass and I see the jerk behind me pull out to pass as well. I say to the wife, the idiots following me....so I think, I'll just slide in tight to the nose of the truck and let the jerk pass me as well and I won't have to deal with him. But oh no... the jerk slides right in behind me, and in front of the truck, then blue lights me....I say, it's a frickin' cop so I pull over and get my license, etc. ready... deputy says to me something to the effect of, He knows following those trucks up that road is difficult, but that I need to be more cautious and watch my speed...I just looked at him and said, I didn't want to pass the truck, but you were driving 2-3 cars off my bumper and I wanted to eliminate the risk of you plowing into the back end of me. Deputy starts to say No and he don't think so and my wife says to him from the passenger seat, Yes it's true officer. I also watched you in the passenger side rear view and my husbands been complaining for about you for a while. Deputy just hands me back my stuff and doesn't say a word, gets in his jeep and leaves in front of me. The time before that, I'm late at night, going thru the "Alligator River Swamp" doing the speed limit of 55 and talking to my wife on the phone. So I could see a car, way back behind me...like a mile behind me. Headlights were just a spec...a few minutes and they were right behind me...I say to the wife, WTF... this car behind me is trying to push me down the road. I put my car on cruise control at 55 and figured this clown can just pass me.. But no... 3 more times, the car drops back maybe 1,000 feet, then again comes up on me like a bat out of hell. I'm telling the wife what's going on and that I am armed and I hope nothing bad happens. Then again... that car drops way back only this time, it scoots out to pass me... I'm doing 55...on cruise control....and that car passes around me... and slows to like 58mph.... like he is going to walk around me... I got my weapon in my hand, I figured some shit was going to happen... It was a friggin' North Carolina State Cop!!! I couldn't believe it.... the wife asks if I was bull-shittin' her.... Of course not....
I also recommend a camera that you can save the video to your phone because if police somehow get a hold of your sd card they can erase the video. It doesn't happen often but it does happen.
If they wipe the SD card on the camera that’s tampering with evidence and the court would have to take your side and assume whatever you’re saying is true if you can prove that they intentionally erased the video evidence to cover their tracks
Also make sure to see how the video is downloaded to the phone, operationally. I bought a Rexing V1P and it's a WiFi thing that doesn't work and the app is dogshit and the app interface is also horrible and slow. I just gave up trying to download to my phone because it's just so damn hard. Wish I knew this before I bought.
Having a dashcam with an easy swivel/pivot feature of the main camera (or for the in-cabin facing 2nd camera) can also be invaluable in your defense against any use-of-force or dubious PC claims that an officer may "generate" during a stop. Especially after you rightfully decline to answer their questions or play their silly roadside acrobatics games. Their egos don't typically respond well to citizens upholding their individual rights...
For the few who don't understand "roadside acrobatics", it means you have _absolutely_ no obligation to perform a 'field sobriety test'. No heel-to-toe walking, no follow my finger, no stand on one foot, none of it. Those tests will never get you out of a drunk driving charge. The cop has already decided you are impaired. He just wants you to convict yourself by any slight stumble. If you pass the test and still go to court, the cop will not tell the judge you passed the test. Don't participate in roadside acrobatics. Tell the cop you want to consult an attorney before you respond to any such request.
not gonna lie to a cop when he catches me doing something on the road, but if theres no reason to pull me over, or the cop entraps me, dashcam is the way to go, ill just keep my mouth shut because of it.
I would rather use this option than an always-driver-facing camera that could be used to fish for anything you do as a driver that could be viewed as unsafe.
@@Zeakthecatagreed, but you don’t have to answer any question that could incriminate you. That is a right provided to us…. Even a good cop is going to collect evidence against you. Sir, do you know how fast you were going? If you answer that question you lose! It doesn’t matter how fast you were going. I wouldn’t lie either! Refusing to answer is not a lie, or even a lie by omission. It simple is “not talking.” And, there is NO consensual conversation during a traffic stop, no matter how convincing a cop sounds.. Simply do not talk…!
My dashcam has saved me a few times. It is amazing how many people will lie after an accident. One of my favourites was a woman who drove straight onto the roundabout and it was obvious we were going to crash. I braked and swerved a bit to try to miss her but she seems to keep aiming at me. We collided (minor touch due to me taking evasive action so much) . She then sat there in the middle of the roundabout. I drove around her and pulled over somewhere safe and she stopped behind me. We exchanged details after I explained we have to. She asked me what happened. I told her. I was on the roundabout, you entered the roundabout failing to give way and we collided. (I thought that was pretty obvious) Anyway she decided to lie to her insurance and they were kicking up a fuss not wanting to pay up. I wrote a 3 page document to them with photos / road markings / road rules. They paid up ! Now my car is loaded up with cameras to make sure I get whatever happens as people lie. When you said "Save you from the police" I thought.. Police trying to pin things on you automatically. There are quite a few police out there that do dodgy things and try to get you for things you didn't even do. They now know about all the cameras and leave me alone which is good. For a while I was getting pulled over very frequently.
The sources I have found suggest drivers do not discuss the details of the accident with one another. I would also request to have legal counsel before talking to the police regarding an accident
My Navy motorcycle safety course (in Virginia) taught me to slow down when someone is tailgating and allow them to pass. Increasing speed only gets you tail-gated at a higher speed. There are very, very few automobiles that can accelerate faster than a motorcycle, but it's a fool's game. I try to stay out of the way of impatient drivers, and when I can't, I don't increase speed. I'll even pull over if they won't go around. Same rules in my car. I taught my children the same thing.
That only works with the slightly less intelligent drivers. Had a straight dumbass tailgate from 65 all the way to 35 in 10 mph increments, for 5 minutes. The only reason she is still not there is I punched the gas.
I’m in the UK and this happens to me often so I resist the temptation to speed up , I double-check the speed limit and set the cruise control, one time the police car got so close it actually activated my parking sensors it’s a bit scary but I held my nerve and didn’t accelerate
The actual rule is: The closer someone tailgates you, the more you increase your following distance to the vehicle ahead of you. That way, if the tailgater hits you and pushes your vehicle forward, you won’t rear-end someone yourself, right? This is actually my favorite driving rule (seriously, from driving school). Because brake-checking is stressful & scary & you don’t want that on any video! Also, be like a computer, as in… every inch closer they get to your bumper, the little bit slower you go, regardless of WHAT traffic is doing around you! (They’ve all got brakes & you’re simply following the rules). The best part is, there is NOTHING that a tailgater hates more than this method of trying to stop them from tailgating. Since, their goal is to get you to speed up or get out of their way, when you just keep going slower, the slower they have to go… well, you know! …they’ll be infuriated!!! 😂😂😂 Drive Safely Everyone, Everywhere! Drive Defensively! Best Regards from Tampa Bay Florida 🍊🍊🍊
@@wisconsinfarmer4742 Same, I take a 2 lane road to and from work for about 20 miles and I get those types of shitheads behind me all the time. They clearly wanna pass but never do when the opportunity arises and it's usually some POS on their phone so I slow down to 10 below the speed limit.
Recently, some friends in Holland mentioned that in Europe, no one drives anywhere WITHOUT a dash cam installed in their car. Considering that sound advice, I decided to get one for each car that I own. Not long after one was installed in my car, someone backed out of a driveway without looking or stopping and hit me across my drivers side door. Her insurance company took one look at my dash cam footage and paid my $1000 damage claim. Without the film, it would have been more difficult to prove that it was her fault. For a dash cam, I suggest the VAVA 2k Dual Dash Cam for about $189. It will record front and rear, it will record your constant speed and with PARKING MODE, it will protect your parked car from thieves and from being hit by other cars. This I feel is an essential investment.
As a cyclist, I mount front and rear cameras to protect myself in the event of an incident. I also have a Garmin rear facing radar that records the closing velocity of vehicles approaching from behind on my computer. I feel like its worth the extra 2k in electronics to have evidence if necessary. With a bike that cost 15k, the cameras and radar are relatively cheap protection.
I was driving a b train at night and every time I would entre the same small town each early morning headlights would mysteriously appear very close to my rear trailer. They would follow for around 5 kms then disappear. The lights were so close that I could only see light underneath the trailer. After a week or two of this I decided to grab a hand full of trailer brake just to smoke up the tyres for a second. Looking back I first saw a lot of smoke, then a police car swerving dangerously and dropping back. I carried on and from that moment on the lights never came back. Ever. I think the cop had to change his underwear after that.
I was in a medium speed collision and it was recorded beautifully on my dash cam. The other driver was obviously at fault, but he being an illegal alien with no insurance still left me with a damaged vehicle and no recourse. FJB
@@covidhoax7646 I agree in spirit, but that's just bad advice. In this country, White people are second-class citizens. Shooting down a single invader would probably just land Mr. DW X in prison for 20+ years.
I have a dashcam that I bought for doing some driving for Uber. Good thing I did. The rear-facing camera came in handy within the first month. While I was stopped at a red light, another car sped up behind me, locked their brakes, and rearended me. To add to the situation, the other driver fled the scene. That footage came in handy when filing my report. If you drive - whether for a rideshare company or just on your daily commute - GET A DASHCAM!
A few key points you might have missed. I myself found out the hard way, why I need a dash cam. A few things to consider for my last 4 years of using one. My camera is 1080p 30 fps front 720 30 fps cabin. In some cases the footage is unusable. Meaning the image/video is blurry due to the slow refresh rate of the camera. And even at 1080p License plates are sometimes unreadable. depending on speed and lighting. So, Get a 4k or + resolution and at least 60 FPS min or higher. Higher rez and refresh rate means larger files and less capacity. I use NEXAR, they offer unlimited cloud storage. And the SD card is writing in a round robin. Meaning if I don't extract the video, it will eventually get written over. It just records in a loop. I have 128GB SD card. It will hold about 5-7 days' worth of video. NEXAR offers and APP to manage settings and sends alerts to your phone. It tracks your Speed and GPS data. In the event of an accident or hard braking event. It will automatically save that few minutes and send it to your phone. This has been invaluable. It keeps everyone accountable. Even me. I drive a 2020 Mustang GT. So, I get accused of shit all the time. Camera says otherwise. As well as going to a dealership. I have sticker on my DASH that says this vehicle is equipped with Audio and Video recording device. Consent is given by entering the vehicle. And Some people even gone as far as saying its illegal. My camera is not hidden. It's in plain view. I have a notice on the dash which is also in view of the camera. Had a few techs take my car out for a joy ride. They got caught red handed. It gives me piece of mind. Some techs say they don't want to be recorded. Thats fine. I don't trust you to work on my car then. It's that simple. As long as nothing eventful happens I will not view the footage.
@@mlee40738 I use a Vantrue S1 now. It records 1080p front and back. Found out my other Nexar Dashcam could only record in 720p when both cameras were active. And some of the footage was completely unusable in a dispute. So I recommend Minimum 1080p @60 fps. The higher the resolution the better. 4k is great but at slower FPS the images can still be blurry due to the camera not being able to record fast enough. They are great tools for keeping your self and others accountable. Hope this helps. A lot of it comes down to budget. Features and quality. So far I am happy with the Vantrue S1. I miss the phone app functionality. Cool feature not necessary. So, Min 1080P + Resolution, Min 30 FPS 60 rec. But 4k requires alot more space. Bigger more expensive SD cards. Make sure is a U3 SD card. So look around read reviews and good luck.
I had the same problem, the cop was sitting right on my tail, I thought it was dangerous, and I couldn't move to the right lane because of all the traffic, so I sped up to get out of his way. There is no reason a cop has to sit on your tail to pace you. Wish I had a rear view camera. In fact, I thought the cop should have convicted of dangerous driving.
When dealing with a tailgater, the rule is this: SLOW DOWN! The closer they get to your bumper, the more & more you slow down! Regardless of what ANY other traffic is doing, whether it’s heavy rush hour traffic or hardly no one else on the road, increase your following distance to the vehicle ahead of you, if any, but still, slow down, that way, you SHOULD not get a speeding ticket.🤞 Besides, if someone is tailgating you in heavy traffic because they just want to go faster than everyone else🙄, it REALLY makes them angry when the car they’re tailgating just keeps slowing down & down & down.🤣😂🤣😂
@@bmell1252 Unfortunately, some places are more dangerous to do this than it is to let them pass and just become someone else's headache... In some states, this is Impeding The Flow of Traffic, or Violation of Slow Poke Law, or Aggressive Driving as driving in a manner to increase the likelihood of an accident instead of driving defensively is an aggressive maneuver. This also opens one up to Insurance Fraud liability as well. Just because it isn't reported on every news network doesn't mean it isn't happening in traffic courts. Apparently you are blessed to live where road rage shootings have never occured. How exactly does this protect you from getting shot in the back of the head by the tailgater, instead of making it harder? How does this ensure that triggering a shooter isn't going to accidently kill someone else? It has happened 3 seperate times in my city in the last few weeks, road ragers causing other people panicking trying to get out of their way or gunfire and wreck into other vehicles or utility poles, or stray bullets accidently hitting someone traveling in oncoming direction through their windshield because some loose nut is aiming at you and missed.. Since only specificly marked vehicles are allowed to patrol the roads, What makes you justified in provoking someone else in a 3,000-7,000 missile on wheels, and creating a ticking time bomb when it can be avoided and everybody has a much higher chance of getting where they are going alive and unhurt? I bet your ego MIGHT think twice about this if it was your kids or loved ones attached to the rear bumpers of the people who follow your advice.
@@mikeunt7021 that sounds like some bullshit. I cant be held responsible for what some loser does. That sounds very similar to blaming a girl for getting raped because she was drunk, or dressed a certain way. If some loser can't handle life to the point that they go off and try to hurt other because they're upset or had a bad day, maybe they should do us all a favor and take themselves out of the equation.
I simply installed two single-channel dashcams. I just mounted the 2nd (regular) dashcam on the rear window facing backwards. I actually prefer two normal dashcams over a dual camera because each dashcam can have it's own SD card so I can have more video recording capability. Two 256 GB memory cards is less expensive than one 512 GB card and many cameras don't even work with 512 GB. I get several weeks worth of video history this way.
@@WilsonColter - In the past I've bought Garmin and various flavors of Viofo, both in single and dual-channel versions. My current favorite setup is to wait for the Viofo A119 V3 (currently on sale for $89.90 at Amazon), but buy two of them. I install one on the front and the 2nd on the rear windshield. The total cost becomes $89 x 2 = $178. I'm sometimes tempted to replace my dual-channel front/rear dashcam with this setup however I would only gain a modest amount in resolution and total storage capacity, so I have not done this. Note this particular model does not have wifi so I carry a usb card reader in the glove box if I ever wanted to play back the video on my phone to a police officer.
I have a friend who was given a ticket for distracted driving for talking on his phone while behind the wheel. He insisted that his phone was never in his hand, but it was his word against the officer's at the scene. He checked his dashcam's cabin view and it showed that when he was driving past the police officer he was scratching behind his ear, and that's what the police officer saw. Mistakes happen, and witnesses can be unreliable even when they're experienced and in authority positions. Dashcams provide a lot of protection, and generally more than pay for themselves in a single incident. In this case it prevented a ~$250 ticket.
Makes me glad for the cameras I have. I have a classic car, a 1971 Javelin. I knew a car like this would get attention, so I have front and rear facing dashcams with GPS tracking. Still looking to get a cabin camera and a battery so it will have power for parking mode. Being a real old car, I don't really want to hardwire it.
When I was a kid I used to admire that same car parked in my neighbor's driveway. After puberty hit I used to admire the lady that drove the car even more than the car.
A 71 amc would be super easy to hard mount a camera it so it could easily be removed without leaving a trace. Heck I could do it so the cameras could be unplugged from a wiring harness and hidden for car shows.
Dash cam gives you the exact amount of time between identifiable landmarks. Since the distance between them can be measured, the speed can be calculated.
The space between the poured concrete on roads, sidewalks and on some curbs is also good. They are even in length, you can always go back, measure it and take pictures of it.
Reminds me of those old math problems in high school. If Train A leaves the station at 2:30 and goes 55mph and Train B leaves the other station and goes 75mph, at what time will they pass each other :(
Totally agree - I actually have two separate cameras - one looking front, one on the rear windshield. they were inexpensive and i believe this is the way to go rather than one camera with lots of sub cameras and features. thanks for providing a recommendation.
Dash cams are great! My dash cam saved me once in a near miss that wasn't my fault. But, it has held me accountable for my shitty tendencies when I get impatient with Seattle drivers.
Yeah, I’ve driven in Seattle for a couple weeks… several years ago. They ARE brutal drivers! Lots & lots of horn honking! A lot of middle fingers seen, as well as reading the lips of angry drivers… is just like reading lips of NFL football coaches that don’t cover their mouths when they scream & yell through their microphones! They cuss like sailers, non-stop!! I was a bit stressed after driving from the airport to a Puywallup suburb at evening rush hour. Scary first Seattle drive! And I grew up in Tampa, learned to drive here, which is well known for crazy over congested major bridges & other important main thorough fares, it IS known for bad driving🙁, lots of car accidents, unfortunately, a lot of pedestrian vs. vehicle accidents, & of course, Largo, Florida’s overzealous cops!
Bought my dash cam after I was pulled over and given a ticket for running a stop sign in an intersection that I never went through. Luckily it was right in front of my job which has cameras everywhere which showed me traveling on a different road, and when I told the DA this when pleading not guilty, he dropped the ticket. The cam saved me a year or so later as well. Cop heard my turbo's blow-off valve and accused me of spinning my wheels. I explained to the cop that my dashcam footage would show that and I would be brining it to court with me. He still accused me of lying, but never wrote a ticket.
Great video and good points. What about the counter argument, and legal defense against an officer that insists on “confiscating” your dash cam or memory card as “evidence”? I’ve read nightmare stories about folks that were ticketed or arrested for reckless driving or speeding in rural areas, and their GoPro/dashcam was confiscated as evidence, only to mysteriously disappear. In that case, whatever exonerating evidence you’d have against the officer is then gone. There are cloud-connected dash cams with 4G/LTE connectivity that protect against this, but those are very expensive and not accessible to most consumers…especially with multiple cars. Understanding that you are a lawyer in VA, I’m curious what legal protections you would have against this? In my mind it boils down to a 4th/5th amendment violation, and have heard conflicting stances on the legality here in PA. Officers should have their own video recording devices, and should not need yours to build a case against you. I’d love to know your thoughts on this, or would equally enjoy a video on this subject. Thanks for your insight, and your channel!
It's probably ideal to have a separate hidden camera pointing inside the vehicle, with a view of the main dash cam, so you can have proof if an officer does try to steal it.
I'm not an attorney, but my understanding is that they can legally collect evidence in the course of an investigation (may require a search warrant if you refuse to hand it over without one). If they destroy the evidence, there should be an internal affairs investigation regarding the chain of custody of the evidence and where it went. Secondly, if you are in court defending yourself against the officer's false allegations and the officer had custody of the evidence that was destroyed (say they claim it was accidentally deleted)--the judge/ jury is supposed to assume that the whatever was on the recording was in your favor and to weigh that in deciding the case. I'm not sure if that same instruction would apply if someone other than the officer supposedly "lost" the evidence, but it would apply if it were deleted or otherwise destroyed. Evidence must have documentation of a chain of custody and if it gets "lost" then the last person with custody is responsible.
Was pulled over in my old beat up 97 Honda Civic in a 45 mph zone. Cop asks me how fast I was going? I said its on my dash cam. Cop said Oh you got one of those, OK have a nice day.
Just remember, if you have a camera it also records every mistake YOU make and cops will use anything against you to convict you. Dash cam can be a double edge sword. Use with caution
@@tybrady1935 I'm drawing a blank on the terms... but there's a way they can seize the camera without warrant. If said evidence can be destroyed and time is a factor they're able to expedite the process legally.
@@deejayyy1681 Yeah, I suppose you're right. Though it would be unethical, one could immediately remove the memory card and later say you do not answer questions.
Another thing is if you don't want the state to use the recording against you and delete the video, the judge will instruct the jury to assume the worst. Attorneys will tell you, don't erase a video.
One (technical) issue to contend with in southern states like Florida, Texas, N. Mexico, Arizona, etc… is that it gets really hot inside the vehicle in the summer. You could come out to find your dash cam a melted blob of plastic.
@@ErikLiberty That's the technical standard for violating the speed law, not the standard for being at-fault in an accident. The standard for being at-fault in an accident is the level of "contributory negligence" each driver might have been responsible for. Going 1 MPH over the limit will have little to no effect on "contributory negligence".
@@dillonyoung5502 You sound like a kid for asking such a silly question! I don't know where you live, but where I live, most people speed (including cops) and it's both unrealistic and actually LESS safe to go the speed limit when EVERYONE ELSE is speeding.
I got off before on the traffic stop because I told the officer that he kept tailgating me, so I sped up. I said "you intimidated me, so I went faster, then pulled over." He said "fair enough, drive safe"
Almost 30 years ago I was struck by a vehicle after proceeding through an intersection from a full stop. I was there for 10 to 15 minutes waiting for an opening in traffic. I had 3 vehicles waiting their turn behind me...this street direction normally has low traffic. The officer NEVER interviewed me beyond getting my license and insurance taking statements from other witnesses. He told me to go home. The next day the mailbox that obstructed my view at exactly the wrong time was gone. Some officers are smarter than others. Fortunately it was a low speed collision with no injuries. Poor vehicles...not so lucky.
I don't have a dashcam, but i am very present of mind all the time. I was t-boned in an interesction a year ago by an older man with dementia who should NEVER have been allowed to drive. 5secs after i was hit, i doubled clicked the power button on my phone to turn on camera immediately. I grabbed the phone, got out of my vehicle pointed at the green light and even said within a few second, " You know i had the green light right?" before i panned the camera to this old man getting out of his car not know where he was. For over an hour after the incident, i recorded him acting strange and even getting into MY CAR to look for his wallet that I already got from him. I recorded his wife (that showed up 45min later) admitting he had dementia and said this to the cop that finally showed up. Cop said there were traffic cams on the lights so those would be available. Fast forward 2 months, his insurance company DENIED my claim saying out "stories didn't match". Well FUCKING DUH!!!! Whoever admits fault. I checked the video i posted as unlinked here, ZERO VIEWS. So i sent them an email, stating they NEVER viewed the video i submitted seconds after teh crash and with his behavior and the admission of his dementia. I also explained, i could have EASILY fled the scene and nobody would know shit, but i stayed because it was 104degrees summer heat. I sat the old man in my car, gave him water and kept him cool (his car was smashed in front, only my front quarter panel and door were damaged so my car still worked fine). 3 days later i got an email stating they accepted responsibility. ALWAYS FILM EVERYTHING!! These insurance companies will deny every single claim at first. They're not in business to HELP US, they're here to make money. Don't trust them OR the other people driving.
My BlackVue DR750S with parking mode saved me from having to file a claim against my insurance when my car was hit while parked. A lady backed into my car and left but her license plate was captured clear as day. Not only did her insurance pay for the damage to my vehicle and rental car, I also was awarded a diminished value claim from the accident.
They're like this everywhere. Not just in the us. They think that just because they've got a badge and some christmas lights on top of their car and you don't that they automatically have power over you to do as they please. This includes going above the law and not giving two fucks about your rights.
I was given an expensive ticket for going 85 in a 70. According to my dashcam I was going 72. I hired a lawyer and he refused to used my video as evidence, saying if he showed up in court with a video saying I was going 72 I'd still get a ticket, have to pay court costs and get points on my license. He suggested I plead guilty and ask for traffic school, which on his advice, I ended up agreeing to do. On a weird flex, the state trooper got fired for some reason before my case came up and it was thrown out.
@Magic Man The lawyer made a good point, not a "crook". You'd be going to the court with footage that showed that you broke the law, incriminating yourself. Although the cop's credibility would be questioned for the 85 mph fine, so you'd probably get a smaller fine. During discovery you would obtain the cop's operator certificate and the calibration tests of the radar gun, maybe you could show that the gun was not reliable vs. your dashcam.
@@thomaskwiatkowskiesq.328 There are some situation where it would still be a good idea, if the cop's saying you're speeding is excessive, it can bump the crime up to a more serious crime with more severe penalties.
Officer too close at night happened to me when I was a teenager. The car came flying up behind me and got right on my bumper. I gradually increased speed until I got to my turn off road. Then he hit the lights. Without thinking because of anger I jumped out of my car, arms extended at my side in "Why?" gesture. Long story short, the cop let me go without a ticket, for I had not been speeding when he got behind me, I was very sober, and everything was in order. This was Spring of 1982.
I got a duel channel dash cam for my work truck that has front Facing and rear Facing camera. My memory card keeps the video for the past few days and also has GPS that I tested to be accurate exactly with my speedometer.
Even if there is no speed readout, if you know EXACTLY where the alleged incident occurred, and if the road lines are "dotted", they are usually spaced an exact amount apart and are a specific length. You can gauge speed that way, police helicopters do.
VERY good advice. I have been using dashcams for well over a decade, and my first “win” was in a disciplinary hearing, whereby footage proved I could not do as instructed. I have since had it protect me twice in collisions. Re commercial vehicle speeds, in Europe we have Tachographs, which are now digital. Any vehicle over 3.5metric tonne gross vehicle mass must be fitted with one, the driver must have a digital tachograph card specific to themself (unless hiring for personal use) AND a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (which in theory ensures drivers are suitably trained but in reality is more of a cash cow). A minimum of the last 28days driving data (without speeds is stored on the personal cards, while the vehicle unit stores a minimum of 2yrs basic data, and about 2 weeks of speed data. The speed data is literally second by second, imagine a 31 block wide grid, left hand grid time in hrs minutes & seconds (either 00s or 30s) and across the top 1-30 above the rest of the square blocks, each block containing the speed for that second. My firm successfully challenged a number of speeding fines generated by an out of calibration fixed speed camera by using this data.
Im a mechanic. You are looking at $300 to hardwire a dash cam at a dealership. It takes for than few minutes too. To pop headliner, A pillar trim etc to hide wires after routing wires and hooking to suitable circuit or adding fuse and connectors on back of fuse panel for new circuit. But then theirs the hacks. They will splice to 1st hot wire they find and yes they will be done in 5 min for $100
I told my guys at work to install dash cams in their car and they just scoff at me, saying they don't need it. I told them it's for safety and peace of mind since no one might help defend you in court and you have to defend yourself. Also, when people realize you have a dash cam installed, break check scammers and other types of scammers out there are less likely to "Engage" you.
The trick or getting on my butt to get me to speed up doesn't work on me, when someone gets on my butt I slow down.....and continue slowing until they back off or pass, and no I do not ride their butt after they pass
@@konagolden3397 I ride the right lane unless I need to pass on interstate (which is rare but does happen), in my town you get in the lane you need to be in as soon as you can......our only 4 lane is about 5 miles long
@@rugershooter5268 Kudo's to you. There are many who get in the left lane and drive slower than traffic, or drive next to another car without passing. They prevent people from passing. That slow left lane bandit creates traffic and forces people to pass on the right. The disruption in traffic flow, by forcing people to pass on the right is second highest cause of traffic accidents after being rear-ended. It's a primary reason why many states have laws about keeping right except to pass laws.
Don’t use parking mode unless you have a separate power source for it. It’s the fastest way to kill a battery. Both from being able to start your car and holding future charges.
Beware cams that record sound as some states require two party consent. It is a felony in IL (a state a lot of people drive through) to record sound of someone who doesn't know they are being recorded. So if you have a passenger or you get in an accident and the other driver talks too close to your car, you would be committing a felony if they don't know they are being recorded.
I baught a dashcam, but haven't installed it. My one hesitation is the benefit has a flipside. If you did something wrong, you just gave the court all the evidence they need.
Why would u give them evidence against ureelf - just erase or don't submit the part that has nothing to do with the current situation where ur in the right. I mean u can't be dumb enough to turn over ur entire memory card. Just copy the part where ur in the right to a new memory card n only submit that....u know like common sense of protecting ur freedom.
Install the camera. Turn off the gps speed tracking. Most cameras have a setting for turning that off. Also, you don't need to have your camera turned on all the time. And if your dash cam is too conspicuous, just buy a camera model that's more discreet.
@@1031Six its illegal to delete or edit that footage if it may be used as evidence. I mean you can't be dumb enough to think tampering with evidence isn't a crime...
@@1031Six because deleting it can be easily recovered by an IT person. I don't know how, but they do. Then, when they do, they can add distruction of evidence to the list along with other charges. If I pull the card, then that will raise a lot of questions from police. Who drives with a mounted camera thats not on or capable of recording? Telll me you, how likely is it you will remember to take care of the camera in a bad accident, if you are lucky enough to not be hauled away in the ambulance. You can be the big man a say you'll remember, but when crap hits the fan, who knows how you will really react. Try a little critical thinking before calling somone an idiot.
Back to watch this again after 2 years. Still good advice. As to parking mode, I'd be concerned as to how much drain on the car battery if sitting in a garage for two weeks.
I once used a dash cam video to get a red light ticket dropped. The video clearly showed the light was green, and the dash cam paid for itself in one stroke.
There's a few fixes for that. You can either conceal the cameras, you can have them automatically back up the footage into the cloud, or you can simply install them in such a way that they would be extremely time-consuming to remove (in this case you might want to have the battery pack in a more easily accessible but inconspicuous location so you don't have to go through the hassle every time you need to recharge the battery). Or you could do more than one of these.
What we need is a dashcam system that works more like a proper CCTV system, so the camera is stuck to the screen but the recorder is remote. With something like this you could record to a 2.5 inch SSD and have the recorder unit hidden behind the dash etc. There would also be no reason why such a system couldn't have multiple inputs.
Other Motorists. I can vouch for that benefit. Saved so much conversation when the insurance agent told the other party, " We saw the video." And he got the ticket in the first place!! Ran stop sign and tried to claim I hit the curb. He hit my right rear wheel perfectly. Hardly noticeable cosmetically, broke my shock tower.
@@gblargg If you are in the left lane and no longer passing, this is a violation. If you are on an interstate and slow down below the minimum speed limit, this is a violation. If you slow down far enough below the speed limit, and fail to activate your hazard lights, this is a violation. If you impede traffic, this is a violation. I'm not arguing with you or telling you not to do it. I am just saying that police can still cause you problems.
@@mikehill1114 Obviously if you're in the left lane on a highway you need to be passing people or pull into a right lane. It doesn't matter whether the person behind you is tailgating or not. Also true about slowing down too much. I think 20 MPH below the speed limit is the law where I am.
My dash cam has Parking Mode. I turned it off. Every time I got into the car, it would activate the parking mode recording to a protected file. Eventually the memory was full of these useless files and the regular recording could not overwrite them.
Actually had that scenario happen to me, and I told the officer (as he was yelling at me) that I thought I was dealing with a case of road rage, and that he was so close, his flashers were ABOVE my line of sight (and his high beams were blinding me) and I moved over so as to let him pass...all I could see was his blinding high beams. He calmed down. Still got a ticket, but he was decent after that. Ps..I told him I had been up for 26 hrs, and that I was going to bed, either in his car, in a jail cell, at home, or in my car right then and there. And I laid my seat back, folded my arms, closed my eyes, and waited for him to do whatever he was going to do.
Been using a front cam for 5 years and just installed a combo that has a rear camera. As a reformed speeder, lol, there is more action behind me and I realized the front camera was missing out on a lot of action. I plan on outfitting the family cars to be safe.
In the event of an accident, or incident.... can/will police 'confiscate' the memory card from a dashcam... before you have had a chance to view it, or save it to another device? (and then the that memory card disappears... leaving only the officers word, or the word of the other party)
If you are able to you could pop the tiny card out and 'lose it'. During the investigation the popo cannot use it against you. Then when you find the card and review the footage with a lawyer present you can decide how to proceed. I have a spot for the card in my car that a thorough search will not find. Remember that the cops can lie, do lie, and frequently lose or delay their own footage.
Actually practical advice! The other two lawyer channels, one likes to read news and complain, the other metasplains legal stuff -neither are this down to earth.
just so you know, speeding up is not the answer to "tailgating" the faster you go the harder that car will hit you. Simply remove your foot from the accelerator until either the driver behind you figures out they are too close and back off or get frustrated enough to go around. If they stay there still, either they are up to something or its a cop. In that case you dont want to slow enough or stop because that will give them access to your car, keep moving find a crowded, lit place to stop where there are plenty of witnesses. and in the case of it being a cop, wait for the cherries then pull over.
Had to get dash cams for our cars after my mother was in the roundabout and about to cross into the street when the person entering the roundabout did not stop and hit her, people coming from that direction seemed to think they had the right of way. the COP believed the younger driver as my mom was stressed out. We waited for the cop to get the other side of the story but he had already made up his mind. They really need to put up signs - telling upcoming drivers that the drivers already in the roundabout have the right away.
I bought a dash cam with a rear camera and installed the rear camera on the steering column so that it is aimed at the instrument cluster. It gives me continuous video on my speedometer (to rebut a speeding ticket) and both turn indicators (to rebut the police charge that I may not have signaled a turn). After all, these two are the cops' favorite charges in a traffic stop.
So don't talk to police. Don't answer your door for police. Buy a video car camera to protect yourself from lying cops. Does anybody else see the problem here?!
I was involved in an accident back in ‘08 where a person changed lanes right in front of me, thereby closing my already established safe following distance, when the vehicle in front of him stopped at some railroad tracks causing a chain reaction. He hit the vehicle at the tracks and I hit then hit him. Paramedics just happened to witness the accident and were there within 60 seconds. They had to turn around. Cop showed up 5-10 minutes later and even though I told him what happened and the guy that cut me off nodded in agreement the cop gave me a ticket for following to close. When I get the paperwork the cop wrote that he "witnessed the accident" and I was at fault. I was furious. Luckily the paramedics made a report showing when they were there which refuted the cops lie because even though he was devious enough to falsify his report he was too stupid to realize that writing his correct time of arrival, which was 5-10 minutes after the accident, would prove he was a corrupt cop. That’s cuz the paramedics had left by time he showed up so he didn’t know his lie would be so easily caught. My case was dismissed. But I swore from then on that I would never allow a cops word to be the final say in my traffic life. I bought a dashcam and have owned many since then. One thing I didn’t hear mentioned in this video but that I recommend is that you should not buy dashcams with built in batteries. Especially in hot climates. They will swell and can explode &/or catch fire. Buy cams with superconductors instead. My first cams were pretty basic but they have come a long way. Now I have multiple cameras. I use a front/rear(interior) cam with gps as well as two cams one facing left, one facing right and lastly a separate rear window dashcam. My friends thought I was going a little overboard until last year when I got pulled over for speeding. Cop said I was racing with another car and was clocked at 40 in a 30. In reality I was going 33 with cruise control set and it was a car to my rear who was overtaking me that was speeding. I told the officer I wasn’t speeding and would be more than happy to show him my footage. He dismissed my footage outright without looking at it and said it was inadmissible in court because his radar is calibrated but my camera is not. I went to court on zoom and they were offering wholesale discounts to everyone that took deals. No points, no school & reduced fines if they agreed. I was the only person that held over for trial. I compiled my footage into a short 3 minute segment and went to court. The cop testified and made no mention of the other racer. I cross examined him and pinned down his perjured statements and asked about the other driver. He changed that to say he never said what I had him on video saying during the stop. Claimed now that the other car was behind me not racing next to and with me. I told the court the officer was not being truthful and that I had a front & rear facing dashcam with gps to track speed and could prove my innocence. There was an audible gasp from the clerk of the court. That’s because she knows damn well the system is rigged, the cops lie, and it’s all a govt sanctioned road piracy program. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the recording to play for the court and they were not willing to help. Was my 2nd time on zoom, the 1st time being the preliminary hearing. The judge got impatient and reset for one month later but explicitly threatened me that if I couldn’t get the recording to play then that he would rule against me. He hadn’t even heard my side yet, just the cops side and my questions of the cop. I planned to show my footage and then make my statement. But apparently fair trials aren’t a thing here in sunny florida. Anyways I figured out that I was trying to share video instead of sharing content, they could have just told me that, but now I was ready. The best thing was that by some of the comments the cop made I was able to add footage to refute his lies. My earlier cut omitted some things that could have helped my defense. So we go back to court and it’s a different judge. But instead of just continuing where we left off it was a complete do-over. So the cop tells his story again and changes it again. This time he adds that I was overtaking other cars as I was speeding down the road. I asked him to clarify that he was saying I was weaving in and out of traffic to pass other vehicles as I went down the road and he said yes. I couldn’t believe the balls on this guy. My extended video showed me traveling 8 blocks or so from the last major intersection. I was the lead car in the right hand lane and set my car to 33mph like always. Every workday for 10 years. It shows me puttering along with no one in front of me and eventually only a couple cars behind me. One of which sped up and was in the process of overtaking me when the cop lit me up. You can even see the speeder as he slows down and turns left abruptly as the cop continues after me. So I had enough to discredit the cop and told the court that I had the video proving so and the judge started to tell me to go ahead and share it but was called by someone offscreen. You can see him talking to that person while muted and then after a minute or so he come back on and says: "looks like I have to dismiss this case, I guess. The officer didn’t properly identify you as the offender when he testified." Now I had no idea what was going on but I found out by watching several hours of traffic court afterwords. If I had an attorney they would have made that motion. But I didn’t and had no idea the cop screwed up. So for some strange reason the judge was told by some faceless person to violate his mandate as a judge and to essentially act as my attorney long enough to toss the case and keep my video from getting put into the record. I was happy I won but also miserable that my video didn’t get played. And I told the judge this. Then I thanked him and left the zoom.
I'm wondering if this was to protect the police officer. First if he changed his story, it would be easy enough to go back afterwards and get the court records to prove this. Second, the video also proves he was wrong. These two might be enough to discredit him in the future.
@@snoopdogie187 Yup, to protect the officer thereby also protecting the corrupt money making system. People should start advocating for all radar guns to have video. It’s simple and then we the people would never have to sit and watch a corrupt judge take the corrupt word of a corrupt cop at face value as if they speak the gospel. Cops are liars. They need to prove their allegations in traffic court as well as criminal court. Taking their word for anything goes against the founding principles of our democratic republic.
I so want to get one of these dash cams. Thanks to this video I now know what features to look for plus I didnt know there was one available for the rear window.
I had a car that decided at the very end of the exit ramp they were on come to almost a complete stop, then turn and pulled in front of me as if they were pulling on a normal road from a side street. There were two women in that car, and only me in my truck. They told the cop that I came from 2 lanes over and hit them. I was able to show the cop my dashcam that clearly showed that I had not changed lanes, and their idiotic attempt to reenter the highway. Sadly, their insurance refused coverage since the insurance they had was not on the vehicle that they were driving.
1st part: Happend to me multiple times! I now use my brakes very regularly and very hard when someone rides me like that. Can't wait for a cop to try it again... (Yes I have a rear facing cam)
Welp…you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. You want to ride peoples asses on the freeway to the point where you aren’t even visible in the rear view mirror, you get what you deserve!
So glad I did. The brake booster failed in my company's work truck on the freeway, a person finally let me over a bit too late and I clipped the very rear quarter of a car trying to escape the situation of dead locked traffic and while I am at fault, the driver really eyed that million dollar policy and started to claim all of his kids were in the car. No cops were called so other than my dash cam there was no proof. My boss would scoff at getting one but boy I saved the insurance some money. Glad I spent my own money in any case with the nature of my job.
I have 5 cameras in my van front, rear, on the passenger on the driver and a GoPro Session pointing out the driver’s side window, activated when stopped.
If you dont have GPS in your dashcam you can find Highway and street construction code of your state to determine exactly space between road markings. Therefore knowing distance you passed and time calculate your actual speed
In the UK and Europe trucks are fitted with a digital Tachograph, this is a ministry calibrated, sealed device that records time, motion and speed. Used for you and usually against…… 🙂
Was involved in a fender bender the other day where somebody made a left turn in front of me, I had to swerve around them and they clipped the side of my car. When the police got there, their version of what happened was different from what the camera showed. I showed the police officer the footage and he laughed and said yeah that's not what they said, you were in the right. Always run a dash cam, you never know when you'll need it!
You should have touched on whether or not it's advisable to send the cops video of an incident or crime you may record. Most truckers won't get involved if it doesn't directly affect them because they don't want a subpoena when the live a good distance away.
A couple key, related features… you need good resolution. HD barely cuts it for being able to capture license plates or identify people; 4k is worth the money. Then, get a large _high endurance_ memory card.
Great info Andrew, really great. I tell you what... I'm saving some money and next month my happy ass is getting a tripple camera dash cam. Keep the great info coming. You one of the best.
1:48 if you have a timestamp to the second of the first point and the second point with the speed at both points, you can calculate the distance between the two points and estimate the average speed between the two points. Depending on the distance, how curvy the road is, and how accurate your timestamps are, the timestamps will be off relative to each other and you can use that information to infer the average speed of the vehicle between the two points.
I worked at a bar for 20 years and did a lot of driving late at night / early mornings. I have had police falsely accuse me of running red lights. I have had police come up on me at speed in an attempt to startle me into swerving or accelerating, I have had police tailgate me to get me to react. I have had several police block me from changing lanes and one harrassed me to the point that I slammed on my breaks and screamed "WTF!" at them (at which time they took off). Police will drive 5 miles under the speed limit and dare you to pass them. I had a cop cut me off at an intersection at 2AM in a parking lot while he was driving around with his headlights off.
I've had a few cameras. They have front and rear cameras, recording all the time, while I'm not at home. The feature that I absolutely love in my current one is that it uses the rear camera as my rearview mirror, and that's 170 degree camera. It displays on the full width of the strap on display. I see everything behind me when I'm backing up. That's a big deal in my SUV, since visibility is normally poor. I mounted that rear camera on top of my 3rd brake light, on the roof. During normal driving, I can see everything behind me. At night, the camera part automatically adjusts for lighting. I can see well behind me on pitch black roads. In reverse, it electronically dips the camera down, so I can see up to a few inches from the bumper. Because of the view angle, when a car is beside me, I can see their front bumper out the side window, and their rear bumper on the rear view camera. Just a few weeks ago, I was almost hit by someone while I was backing out of a space. I reviewed the footage, and you could watch her pull from the space she was in, 3 aisles away, and came around to the lane I was backing up in. She turned and accelerated, but she was looking off to her right side. I saw her, and braked. She continued for a second, and slammed on the brakes, and started honking at me. As I was almost done backing out, I told her to move. And that's audible on the footage. I haven't bothered to upload that footage, because it's boring. But you could clearly see her face, and you could see that she wasn't looking where she was going. At least she wasn't texting too. I did post this video. ruclips.net/video/C-kF7bF0Bpw/видео.html I got the first dash cams because of her. We came out of the store, and saw her car shoved up against my POS SUV. I was concerned that she was going to report a hit and run, so I took a bunch of documenting photos from all angles. While I was finishing that, she came out and denied that she hit the truck. We had frozen groceries, and didn't want to wait for the police to show up, so I didn't do anything more. But I kept the pictures and video, just in case. That SUV has been hit a few times in parking lots. I don't really care, the SUV isn't pretty. I got it to do heavy work, and we take the cars for comfort. We don't like our nice cars getting hit in parking lots.
Driving my motorcycle a drunk driver who was buddies with the police hit the gas and crossed 6 lanes of traffic ultimately Tboning me... An officer showed up to give him a handshake, turn around and took off... Insurance claimed he blamed me claiming my car was swerving when I slammed on my breaks (no shit it's a motorcycle).. Thankfully the insurance agent wasnt falling for it and called him on his bullshit. A few months later I was driving to work, a road construction site tossed gravel in the road and I lost control of my motorcycle, it sped up uncontrollably and the cop pulled me over for speeding after seeing me almost falling off. I've had a dashcam ever sense. People are complete liars.
You can InStall a camera that records speed mounted on the windshield and a smaller dashcam that's Pointing at the speedometer ...mount it on top of the steering column...when you do go to court sync the videos together.....that way he can't say the GPS dashcam wasn't calibrated when infact you have a smaller camera pointing at your cluster the entire time...
my dash camera stopped working a few weeks ago and suddenly I got in an accident today. terrible timing. just ordered a new camera after watching your video.
Someome hit & ran me once on I95 (freeway highway). My car then hit two other vehicles (a F250 & a Fiat SUV, the Fiat flipped over) and in the process, my car (G37) managed to skipped from the furthest right lane to the furthest left lane / right into the barrier. The only thing that saved me from being put at fault for the damage / injuries to the other 2 vehicles / drivers, was my dashcam. Since then I run front & rear on any car I own. Its the first thing I buy when I buy a car, along with those fancy weather mats (cept' for my old Ford truck, she dont get no carpets, she stays dirty LOL). I highly recommend that Viofo camera he posted a pic of, thats the exact one I use. Ive got two of the dual cam setups & one single (its on a car I never drive, so Its staying as a single cam). I have parking mode on one of them, PITA to hardwire, but id say worth the effort. Ill get to it on my other ones, eventually lol.
My dash cam is wired to come on with ignition, it is pretty basic. I have found it useful on a few occasions when my car has been in the shop. Doesn't capture everything but for example after a trans rebuild, it recorded the test drive and mechanic saying it seems like it is slipping. They did absolutely nothing and told me the car was ready. From the cam I knew they never brought it back in to look at nor did another test drive.
My semis have a rear facing camera on each mirror and one on the dash. It records 24/7, saves 30 days to the cloud, instant access to replay footage. The in cabin is a big no no as far as I am concerned as a trucker. Something as harmless as a big sneeze the moment a car crosses the lane and makes slight contact with my truck or trailer can and absolutely will be used by the other persons insurance or attorney to stick me with some measure of liability.
Tip, if in an accident, do NOT let the other driver know you have a dash cam until after they have given their side of the accident to the police. If they are going to lie about what happned, LET THEM, don't give them a warning to not lie. Let the lie get on record :)
I wouldn’t tell the cops, unless specifically asked.
@@harriettedaisy2233 dont answer police questions
Great advice.
Audio recording while they don't know isn't legal in all states. Desolation of evidence if the recording is lost. Lol
@@twoelkmobilemedia4016 The dash cam isn't recording their voices.
Had a cop come up on me doing well over the limit with his brights on. I went to move over a lane and let him by. I used my blinker but he pulled me over for not signaling long enough... I requested his patrol footage and showed it in court. The judge was not happy with that cop.
Probably still didn't get him fired. If you perpetrated fraud like that in the private sector, they would can your butt in a second. Government employees are a joke.
@@michaellowe3665 It’s not government employees that’s the problem. It’s qualified immunity that’s the problem! Thank our Supreme Court for that gem.
@@p.d.smithjr.3277 Ok, possibly a little broad. There are plenty of government employees that do a fine job. There is just a lack of incentive to remove them if they don't. With cops, the incentives are completely inverted. Management likes to keep the bad ones, because they are less likely to report scumbaggery of management.
@@michaellowe3665 An excellent point. It's as if they were the Catholic Church or the Boy Scouts and were going out of their way to hire and retain child molesters. The whole point of having a police force (to the Sheriff/City Council/County Board/DA or Judge) is to raise money for the jurisdiction.
@@michaellowe3665 Similarly, there is zero incentive to take professional risk, unlike the private sector.
Cabin camera will protect you from bogus 'no seat belt' charges. It's a must have.
Audit the Audit had a video on exactly this. Someone got pulled over took off their seat belt and then the officer tried to get them for not wearing a seatbelt
Absolutely right, the company my brother drives for has 4 cameras in the cab, of course the dash cam, 1 pointed directly at the driver, and then 2 cams pointed at the doors. Its saved alot of there drivers. And it got my brother out of 2 speeding tickets, the dash cam is mounted right above the driver, clear visibility point of the road, and the speedometer.
Seatbelt is probably a favorite for cops to make up.
In the late 1980's, I had an encounter with a bad cop. I was driving my 1969 dodge Van on a major street in a residential neighborhood. I was pulled over for not having a current registration sticker on my license plate. I did have a current registration sticker, but it was obscured by a small amount of snow. The plate was fully readable, but the sticker was obscured. I never left the drivers seat so this was on the word of the officer.
The police officer told me that since he had pulled me over, I was getting a ticket not wearing a seatbelt. I lifted my coat and showed him that I was wearing my seat belt. He said, "have fun proving that one in court".
I knew that the van had not been equipped with seat belts from the factory and told him that the only reason there were seat belts in the car was because I had put them in. He told me that seat belts had been required in all cars since 1964. Pissed off, I accepted the ticket.
Knowing the car had not had seatbelts for the first 10 years of its life, I knew something was wrong. The seatbelt law was clear, you are only required to wear seatbelts in cars that came originally equipped with them. While some states had slightly different rules, mounting brackets for seatbelts were required on all cars in 1964. Most states including Ohio where I lived had required seatbelts in cars starting in 1968. But my van was licensed as a truck and Ohio did not require seatbelts in trucks until 1971. Remember, my vehicle was a 1969 model!
My day in court went well
@@millardiii I am so glad this story ended well. I had a bad feeling until the end. New cars were required, by Federal law, to have seat belts installed in them beginning with the 1967 model year. For many years, they were only lap belts, not the three-point belts which cross the chest. Given the height of your 1969 van, it would be impossible for a cop (unless extraordinarily tall) to tell whether you had a lap belt fastened without putting his head in the window, or looking from the passenger side of the car.
When I was 18 or so, I was on an interstate and a cop rushed up fast behind me and tailgated me close. I naively thought, "Oh, this guy is a cop and needs to get somewhere, I'll get out of his way." I sped up to do that, and he pulled me over and gave me a ticket. That was the first time I started to see cops in a negative light. I didn't learn until this last year (over 20 years later) that he wasn't supposed to do that, and I could have challenged it. I just thought that it was the bottom line: I sped. The law is clear.
I just start slowing down, very slowly. They get bored and go around and look for someone else to intimidate.
@Steven Seagull I should have challenged it. My mind didn't process that distinction or consider that they might be trying to entrap me, all I thought was, "This cop needs to be somewhere, I'll get out of their way." I would do the same thing if I saw one running through a crowded area. I wasn't used to thinking of cops as 'bad guys' that I needed to be cautious around, I thought of them as helpers. It changed my perspective.
@Steven Seagull I would disagree with you about that point about them being in it for the right reasons. Those people are the rare exceptions, not the rule. The police profession attracts the kinds of douchebags that get off on the power they have over people. How many good people do you know WANT to be a police officer?
@@sleazybtd The good ones are a rarity because anyone decent gets out of the service when they experience what goes on. Collusion, voilence, perjury, hiding evidence, the list goes on. In some ways, the vindictiveness is the particularly bad as they go after those who stand up to their corrupt, violent, thuggery.
I'm sorry that happened to you and you learned the hard way that unfortunately one has to be cautious about cops' motives. Something to keep in mind is that you're only obligated to get out of their way if they have their lights and siren on or they verbally command you to do so. If you have a cop bad enough to entrap like that, they're likely not above lying about whether they did one of those things, though, so a dashcam is always good to have.
There is a downside of sorts to a dash cam. While in many cases no one will argue the many ways it can and will be a powerful tool in court it should also be said that once it’s admitted as evidence and seen it can’t be unseen. So any slip on your part will also be seen. My advice would be to, with attorney consultation and guidance, review the footage before you submit it as a record of what happened. Cameras can help you but they can also hurt you too.
I had a cop AND insurance company rule against me despite witnessing dash cam footage of a motorist lying. Low level court ruled in favor of the liars. Appeals court finally saw that in order for me to do what I had been blamed for, I had to be driving in oncoming traffic and jump a concrete median.
A moron passed me on the right on a 2 lane road with a concrete median in the middle. He sideswiped my truck and said I illegally changed lanes into him from the other lane.
If there is a cement divider in the road and there are two lanes moving in the same direction, you can pass on either side.
The convention is to pass on the left, but many times, there is some A-hole camped out in the fast lane.
It is not illegal to pass on the right. You have to give way and the passing car is burdened... so, it's risky.
If the left lane camper swerves into the passing car, it's the guy who changed lanes who is at fault.
Stop driving in the fast lane and get right. Please.
he said a 2 lane road not a passing zone with two lanes in each direction and shoulder rather than right lane@@OKOKOKOKOKOKOK-zn2fy
@@OKOKOKOKOKOKOK-zn2fydepending on the speed the slower person is going this makes sense, but if slower driver is 5 mph faster than bulk traffic and you, the faster driver, wants to drive 10+mph above bulk traffic, there is only one moron, it’s you, and I hope you get a ticket.
I have actually had this happen to me twice. Once the deputy sheriff was so close behind me at around 8pm at night that I could make out the "Stem with marble on top" shadow in the deputies' car headlights. My wife was with me, and I complained for 5 miles to her about this jerk following me too close. I was behind and 18-wheeler and we were on a two lane road, that I'd driven on hundreds of times (I'm a local) and there were no dashed center lines for passing, but I knew one passing section was coming up and I knew it was just long enough for me to get around the semi-truck and leave that jerk behind the truck. I took the advantage, used blinker to pass, flashed hi-beam so the truck driver knew and I was in the pass and I see the jerk behind me pull out to pass as well. I say to the wife, the idiots following me....so I think, I'll just slide in tight to the nose of the truck and let the jerk pass me as well and I won't have to deal with him. But oh no... the jerk slides right in behind me, and in front of the truck, then blue lights me....I say, it's a frickin' cop so I pull over and get my license, etc. ready... deputy says to me something to the effect of, He knows following those trucks up that road is difficult, but that I need to be more cautious and watch my speed...I just looked at him and said, I didn't want to pass the truck, but you were driving 2-3 cars off my bumper and I wanted to eliminate the risk of you plowing into the back end of me. Deputy starts to say No and he don't think so and my wife says to him from the passenger seat, Yes it's true officer. I also watched you in the passenger side rear view and my husbands been complaining for about you for a while. Deputy just hands me back my stuff and doesn't say a word, gets in his jeep and leaves in front of me.
The time before that, I'm late at night, going thru the "Alligator River Swamp" doing the speed limit of 55 and talking to my wife on the phone. So I could see a car, way back behind me...like a mile behind me. Headlights were just a spec...a few minutes and they were right behind me...I say to the wife, WTF... this car behind me is trying to push me down the road. I put my car on cruise control at 55 and figured this clown can just pass me.. But no... 3 more times, the car drops back maybe 1,000 feet, then again comes up on me like a bat out of hell. I'm telling the wife what's going on and that I am armed and I hope nothing bad happens. Then again... that car drops way back only this time, it scoots out to pass me... I'm doing 55...on cruise control....and that car passes around me... and slows to like 58mph.... like he is going to walk around me... I got my weapon in my hand, I figured some shit was going to happen... It was a friggin' North Carolina State Cop!!! I couldn't believe it.... the wife asks if I was bull-shittin' her.... Of course not....
I also recommend a camera that you can save the video to your phone because if police somehow get a hold of your sd card they can erase the video. It doesn't happen often but it does happen.
Sure does.
If they wipe the SD card on the camera that’s tampering with evidence and the court would have to take your side and assume whatever you’re saying is true if you can prove that they intentionally erased the video evidence to cover their tracks
@@tpd1864blakelol, that’s wishful thinking.
Also make sure to see how the video is downloaded to the phone, operationally. I bought a Rexing V1P and it's a WiFi thing that doesn't work and the app is dogshit and the app interface is also horrible and slow. I just gave up trying to download to my phone because it's just so damn hard. Wish I knew this before I bought.
@@tpd1864blakeRight... and just how do you “prove” that the police intentionally erased it? Because, like, the evidence is erased!
Having a dashcam with an easy swivel/pivot feature of the main camera (or for the in-cabin facing 2nd camera) can also be invaluable in your defense against any use-of-force or dubious PC claims that an officer may "generate" during a stop. Especially after you rightfully decline to answer their questions or play their silly roadside acrobatics games.
Their egos don't typically respond well to citizens upholding their individual rights...
Better to get windowcams as well. NO swivel needed.
For the few who don't understand "roadside acrobatics", it means you have _absolutely_ no obligation to perform a 'field sobriety test'. No heel-to-toe walking, no follow my finger, no stand on one foot, none of it. Those tests will never get you out of a drunk driving charge. The cop has already decided you are impaired. He just wants you to convict yourself by any slight stumble. If you pass the test and still go to court, the cop will not tell the judge you passed the test. Don't participate in roadside acrobatics. Tell the cop you want to consult an attorney before you respond to any such request.
not gonna lie to a cop when he catches me doing something on the road, but if theres no reason to pull me over, or the cop entraps me, dashcam is the way to go, ill just keep my mouth shut because of it.
I would rather use this option than an always-driver-facing camera that could be used to fish for anything you do as a driver that could be viewed as unsafe.
@@Zeakthecatagreed, but you don’t have to answer any question that could incriminate you. That is a right provided to us…. Even a good cop is going to collect evidence against you. Sir, do you know how fast you were going? If you answer that question you lose! It doesn’t matter how fast you were going. I wouldn’t lie either! Refusing to answer is not a lie, or even a lie by omission. It simple is “not talking.” And, there is NO consensual conversation during a traffic stop, no matter how convincing a cop sounds.. Simply do not talk…!
My dashcam has saved me a few times. It is amazing how many people will lie after an accident. One of my favourites was a woman who drove straight onto the roundabout and it was obvious we were going to crash. I braked and swerved a bit to try to miss her but she seems to keep aiming at me. We collided (minor touch due to me taking evasive action so much) . She then sat there in the middle of the roundabout. I drove around her and pulled over somewhere safe and she stopped behind me. We exchanged details after I explained we have to. She asked me what happened. I told her. I was on the roundabout, you entered the roundabout failing to give way and we collided. (I thought that was pretty obvious)
Anyway she decided to lie to her insurance and they were kicking up a fuss not wanting to pay up. I wrote a 3 page document to them with photos / road markings / road rules. They paid up ! Now my car is loaded up with cameras to make sure I get whatever happens as people lie.
When you said "Save you from the police" I thought.. Police trying to pin things on you automatically. There are quite a few police out there that do dodgy things and try to get you for things you didn't even do. They now know about all the cameras and leave me alone which is good. For a while I was getting pulled over very frequently.
The sources I have found suggest drivers do not discuss the details of the accident with one another. I would also request to have legal counsel before talking to the police regarding an accident
My Navy motorcycle safety course (in Virginia) taught me to slow down when someone is tailgating and allow them to pass. Increasing speed only gets you tail-gated at a higher speed. There are very, very few automobiles that can accelerate faster than a motorcycle, but it's a fool's game. I try to stay out of the way of impatient drivers, and when I can't, I don't increase speed. I'll even pull over if they won't go around. Same rules in my car. I taught my children the same thing.
That only works with the slightly less intelligent drivers. Had a straight dumbass tailgate from 65 all the way to 35 in 10 mph increments, for 5 minutes. The only reason she is still not there is I punched the gas.
I got a ticket for 143 on Shore Drive on my way to motorcycle safety. Young Marines are dumb.
My pop taught me that somebody in Front of you can't run into...even if they are intoxicated...food for thought
I’m in the UK and this happens to me often so I resist the temptation to speed up , I double-check the speed limit and set the cruise control, one time the police car got so close it actually activated my parking sensors it’s a bit scary but I held my nerve and didn’t accelerate
The actual rule is: The closer someone tailgates you, the more you increase your following distance to the vehicle ahead of you.
That way, if the tailgater hits you and pushes your vehicle forward, you won’t rear-end someone yourself, right?
This is actually my favorite driving rule (seriously, from driving school). Because brake-checking is stressful & scary & you don’t want that on any video! Also, be like a computer, as in… every inch closer they get to your bumper, the little bit slower you go, regardless of WHAT traffic is doing around you! (They’ve all got brakes & you’re simply following the rules). The best part is, there is NOTHING that a tailgater hates more than this method of trying to stop them from tailgating. Since, their goal is to get you to speed up or get out of their way, when you just keep going slower, the slower they have to go… well, you know! …they’ll be infuriated!!! 😂😂😂
Drive Safely Everyone, Everywhere! Drive Defensively!
Best Regards from Tampa Bay Florida 🍊🍊🍊
@@bmell1252 I have to do that every week driving home after late shift. they will follow me for miles refusing to pass until I slow to 40mph.
@@wisconsinfarmer4742 lots of people simply can't drive themselves. They need someone to lead them, that's why they latch on. They're just idiots.
@@bmell1252 If someone is tailgating me I drop five on my speed. If they stay there, I drop ten.
@@wisconsinfarmer4742 Same, I take a 2 lane road to and from work for about 20 miles and I get those types of shitheads behind me all the time. They clearly wanna pass but never do when the opportunity arises and it's usually some POS on their phone so I slow down to 10 below the speed limit.
Recently, some friends in Holland mentioned that in Europe, no one drives anywhere WITHOUT a dash cam installed in their car. Considering that sound advice, I decided to get one for each car that I own. Not long after one was installed in my car, someone backed out of a driveway without looking or stopping and hit me across my drivers side door. Her insurance company took one look at my dash cam footage and paid my $1000 damage claim. Without the film, it would have been more difficult to prove that it was her fault.
For a dash cam, I suggest the VAVA 2k Dual Dash Cam for about $189. It will record front and rear, it will record your constant speed and with PARKING MODE, it will protect your parked car from thieves and from being hit by other cars. This I feel is an essential investment.
As a cyclist, I mount front and rear cameras to protect myself in the event of an incident. I also have a Garmin rear facing radar that records the closing velocity of vehicles approaching from behind on my computer. I feel like its worth the extra 2k in electronics to have evidence if necessary. With a bike that cost 15k, the cameras and radar are relatively cheap protection.
Great minds... I have the exact same setup for my road bike. I can't believe I rode for years without the Garmin Varia. That thing is amazing!
@@Andrewflusche can you do a video on the best dash and cabin cams
What type of computer device are you interfacing with your cameras? Thanks!
I was driving a b train at night and every time I would entre the same small town each early morning headlights would mysteriously appear very close to my rear trailer. They would follow for around 5 kms then disappear. The lights were so close that I could only see light underneath the trailer. After a week or two of this I decided to grab a hand full of trailer brake just to smoke up the tyres for a second. Looking back I first saw a lot of smoke, then a police car swerving dangerously and dropping back. I carried on and from that moment on the lights never came back. Ever. I think the cop had to change his underwear after that.
I was in a medium speed collision and it was recorded beautifully on my dash cam. The other driver was obviously at fault, but he being an illegal alien with no insurance still left me with a damaged vehicle and no recourse. FJB
No fault insurance was created in order to allow illegals on the road. It was always the plan. Insanely high drunk driving rates, too.
Sad circumstance, and hope you are okay! If you are able, I recommend you get collision coverage on your vehicle for cases like this.
That’s where a gun comes in handy. Make sure illegal doesn’t do it again.
@@covidhoax7646 I agree in spirit, but that's just bad advice. In this country, White people are second-class citizens. Shooting down a single invader would probably just land Mr. DW X in prison for 20+ years.
Your insurance will cover the incident nonetheless, correct?
I have a dashcam that I bought for doing some driving for Uber. Good thing I did. The rear-facing camera came in handy within the first month. While I was stopped at a red light, another car sped up behind me, locked their brakes, and rearended me. To add to the situation, the other driver fled the scene. That footage came in handy when filing my report. If you drive - whether for a rideshare company or just on your daily commute - GET A DASHCAM!
A few key points you might have missed. I myself found out the hard way, why I need a dash cam. A few things to consider for my last 4 years of using one. My camera is 1080p 30 fps front 720 30 fps cabin. In some cases the footage is unusable. Meaning the image/video is blurry due to the slow refresh rate of the camera. And even at 1080p License plates are sometimes unreadable. depending on speed and lighting. So, Get a 4k or + resolution and at least 60 FPS min or higher. Higher rez and refresh rate means larger files and less capacity. I use NEXAR, they offer unlimited cloud storage. And the SD card is writing in a round robin. Meaning if I don't extract the video, it will eventually get written over. It just records in a loop. I have 128GB SD card. It will hold about 5-7 days' worth of video. NEXAR offers and APP to manage settings and sends alerts to your phone. It tracks your Speed and GPS data. In the event of an accident or hard braking event. It will automatically save that few minutes and send it to your phone. This has been invaluable. It keeps everyone accountable. Even me. I drive a 2020 Mustang GT. So, I get accused of shit all the time. Camera says otherwise. As well as going to a dealership. I have sticker on my DASH that says this vehicle is equipped with Audio and Video recording device. Consent is given by entering the vehicle. And Some people even gone as far as saying its illegal. My camera is not hidden. It's in plain view. I have a notice on the dash which is also in view of the camera. Had a few techs take my car out for a joy ride. They got caught red handed. It gives me piece of mind. Some techs say they don't want to be recorded. Thats fine. I don't trust you to work on my car then. It's that simple. As long as nothing eventful happens I will not view the footage.
Can I ask what model you have? I'm looking to get a dashcam, but know very little about them. Trying to educate myself
@@mlee40738 I use a Vantrue S1 now. It records 1080p front and back. Found out my other Nexar Dashcam could only record in 720p when both cameras were active. And some of the footage was completely unusable in a dispute. So I recommend Minimum 1080p @60 fps. The higher the resolution the better. 4k is great but at slower FPS the images can still be blurry due to the camera not being able to record fast enough. They are great tools for keeping your self and others accountable. Hope this helps. A lot of it comes down to budget. Features and quality. So far I am happy with the Vantrue S1. I miss the phone app functionality. Cool feature not necessary. So, Min 1080P + Resolution, Min 30 FPS 60 rec. But 4k requires alot more space. Bigger more expensive SD cards. Make sure is a U3 SD card. So look around read reviews and good luck.
I had the same problem, the cop was sitting right on my tail, I thought it was dangerous, and I couldn't move to the right lane because of all the traffic, so I sped up to get out of his way. There is no reason a cop has to sit on your tail to pace you. Wish I had a rear view camera. In fact, I thought the cop should have convicted of dangerous driving.
they're not pacing you, they're pushing you. hoping you speed up and then nail you for it.
When dealing with a tailgater, the rule is this: SLOW DOWN! The closer they get to your bumper, the more & more you slow down! Regardless of what ANY other traffic is doing, whether it’s heavy rush hour traffic or hardly no one else on the road, increase your following distance to the vehicle ahead of you, if any, but still, slow down, that way, you SHOULD not get a speeding ticket.🤞
Besides, if someone is tailgating you in heavy traffic because they just want to go faster than everyone else🙄, it REALLY makes them angry when the car they’re tailgating just keeps slowing down & down & down.🤣😂🤣😂
@@bmell1252 Unfortunately, some places are more dangerous to do this than it is to let them pass and just become someone else's headache... In some states, this is Impeding The Flow of Traffic, or Violation of Slow Poke Law, or Aggressive Driving as driving in a manner to increase the likelihood of an accident instead of driving defensively is an aggressive maneuver. This also opens one up to Insurance Fraud liability as well.
Just because it isn't reported on every news network doesn't mean it isn't happening in traffic courts.
Apparently you are blessed to live where road rage shootings have never occured.
How exactly does this protect you from getting shot in the back of the head by the tailgater, instead of making it harder?
How does this ensure that triggering a shooter isn't going to accidently kill someone else?
It has happened 3 seperate times in my city in the last few weeks, road ragers causing other people panicking trying to get out of their way or gunfire and wreck into other vehicles or utility poles, or stray bullets accidently hitting someone traveling in oncoming direction through their windshield because some loose nut is aiming at you and missed..
Since only specificly marked vehicles are allowed to patrol the roads, What makes you justified in provoking someone else in a 3,000-7,000 missile on wheels, and creating a ticking time bomb when it can be avoided and everybody has a much higher chance of getting where they are going alive and unhurt? I bet your ego MIGHT think twice about this if it was your kids or loved ones attached to the rear bumpers of the people who follow your advice.
You can get the ticket dismissed for entrapment, since the cop caused you to break the law by unsafe driving.
@@mikeunt7021 that sounds like some bullshit. I cant be held responsible for what some loser does. That sounds very similar to blaming a girl for getting raped because she was drunk, or dressed a certain way.
If some loser can't handle life to the point that they go off and try to hurt other because they're upset or had a bad day, maybe they should do us all a favor and take themselves out of the equation.
I simply installed two single-channel dashcams. I just mounted the 2nd (regular) dashcam on the rear window facing backwards. I actually prefer two normal dashcams over a dual camera because each dashcam can have it's own SD card so I can have more video recording capability. Two 256 GB memory cards is less expensive than one 512 GB card and many cameras don't even work with 512 GB. I get several weeks worth of video history this way.
which dashcams (models) did you buy?
@@WilsonColter - In the past I've bought Garmin and various flavors of Viofo, both in single and dual-channel versions. My current favorite setup is to wait for the Viofo A119 V3 (currently on sale for $89.90 at Amazon), but buy two of them. I install one on the front and the 2nd on the rear windshield. The total cost becomes $89 x 2 = $178. I'm sometimes tempted to replace my dual-channel front/rear dashcam with this setup however I would only gain a modest amount in resolution and total storage capacity, so I have not done this. Note this particular model does not have wifi so I carry a usb card reader in the glove box if I ever wanted to play back the video on my phone to a police officer.
I have a friend who was given a ticket for distracted driving for talking on his phone while behind the wheel. He insisted that his phone was never in his hand, but it was his word against the officer's at the scene.
He checked his dashcam's cabin view and it showed that when he was driving past the police officer he was scratching behind his ear, and that's what the police officer saw.
Mistakes happen, and witnesses can be unreliable even when they're experienced and in authority positions.
Dashcams provide a lot of protection, and generally more than pay for themselves in a single incident. In this case it prevented a ~$250 ticket.
Makes me glad for the cameras I have. I have a classic car, a 1971 Javelin. I knew a car like this would get attention, so I have front and rear facing dashcams with GPS tracking. Still looking to get a cabin camera and a battery so it will have power for parking mode. Being a real old car, I don't really want to hardwire it.
When I was a kid I used to admire that same car parked in my neighbor's driveway. After puberty hit I used to admire the lady that drove the car even more than the car.
does it have a cigarette lighter
@@stephenmenhennett6134 In the 1970's the tobacco companies paid car companies to install cigarette lighters...
A 71 amc would be super easy to hard mount a camera it so it could easily be removed without leaving a trace. Heck I could do it so the cameras could be unplugged from a wiring harness and hidden for car shows.
Dash cam gives you the exact amount of time between identifiable landmarks. Since the distance between them can be measured, the speed can be calculated.
Using mile markers on the side of the road work very well for calculations of speed, 60 seconds to go 1 mile, means your going 60 mph.
That is why many roads have dotted lines because they are spaced exactly and a specific lenth.
That is how police copters gauge you.
The space between the poured concrete on roads, sidewalks and on some curbs is also good. They are even in length, you can always go back, measure it and take pictures of it.
@@silentvoiceinthedark5665 Exactly it can be exactly measured.
Reminds me of those old math problems in high school. If Train A leaves the station at 2:30 and goes 55mph and Train B leaves the other station and goes 75mph, at what time will they pass each other :(
Totally agree - I actually have two separate cameras - one looking front, one on the rear windshield. they were inexpensive and i believe this is the way to go rather than one camera with lots of sub cameras and features. thanks for providing a recommendation.
Dash cams are great! My dash cam saved me once in a near miss that wasn't my fault. But, it has held me accountable for my shitty tendencies when I get impatient with Seattle drivers.
Sounds like you shouldn't be driving.
Yeah, I’ve driven in Seattle for a couple weeks… several years ago. They ARE brutal drivers! Lots & lots of horn honking! A lot of middle fingers seen, as well as reading the lips of angry drivers… is just like reading lips of NFL football coaches that don’t cover their mouths when they scream & yell through their microphones! They cuss like sailers, non-stop!! I was a bit stressed after driving from the airport to a Puywallup suburb at evening rush hour. Scary first Seattle drive! And I grew up in Tampa, learned to drive here, which is well known for crazy over congested major bridges & other important main thorough fares, it IS known for bad driving🙁, lots of car accidents, unfortunately, a lot of pedestrian vs. vehicle accidents, & of course, Largo, Florida’s overzealous cops!
Bought my dash cam after I was pulled over and given a ticket for running a stop sign in an intersection that I never went through. Luckily it was right in front of my job which has cameras everywhere which showed me traveling on a different road, and when I told the DA this when pleading not guilty, he dropped the ticket. The cam saved me a year or so later as well. Cop heard my turbo's blow-off valve and accused me of spinning my wheels. I explained to the cop that my dashcam footage would show that and I would be brining it to court with me. He still accused me of lying, but never wrote a ticket.
I got arrested and charge d you keep you
@@oihilguest5902 ?
Great video and good points. What about the counter argument, and legal defense against an officer that insists on “confiscating” your dash cam or memory card as “evidence”? I’ve read nightmare stories about folks that were ticketed or arrested for reckless driving or speeding in rural areas, and their GoPro/dashcam was confiscated as evidence, only to mysteriously disappear. In that case, whatever exonerating evidence you’d have against the officer is then gone. There are cloud-connected dash cams with 4G/LTE connectivity that protect against this, but those are very expensive and not accessible to most consumers…especially with multiple cars.
Understanding that you are a lawyer in VA, I’m curious what legal protections you would have against this? In my mind it boils down to a 4th/5th amendment violation, and have heard conflicting stances on the legality here in PA. Officers should have their own video recording devices, and should not need yours to build a case against you. I’d love to know your thoughts on this, or would equally enjoy a video on this subject. Thanks for your insight, and your channel!
It's probably ideal to have a separate hidden camera pointing inside the vehicle, with a view of the main dash cam, so you can have proof if an officer does try to steal it.
The nexus dash cam records to your phone - get one of those and don’t make it obvious that’s what it does.
I'm not an attorney, but my understanding is that they can legally collect evidence in the course of an investigation (may require a search warrant if you refuse to hand it over without one). If they destroy the evidence, there should be an internal affairs investigation regarding the chain of custody of the evidence and where it went. Secondly, if you are in court defending yourself against the officer's false allegations and the officer had custody of the evidence that was destroyed (say they claim it was accidentally deleted)--the judge/ jury is supposed to assume that the whatever was on the recording was in your favor and to weigh that in deciding the case. I'm not sure if that same instruction would apply if someone other than the officer supposedly "lost" the evidence, but it would apply if it were deleted or otherwise destroyed. Evidence must have documentation of a chain of custody and if it gets "lost" then the last person with custody is responsible.
Take out the micro sd card and swallow it
@@NDcompetitiveshooter Legitimate collection of evidence does, but that's not what he was talking about.
I actually hard wired my own dash cam using a $20 harness I got off eBay. I have recordings of some weird stuff that has taken place over the years.
Which camera, which harness - details please - I need this
Was pulled over in my old beat up 97 Honda Civic in a 45 mph zone. Cop asks me how fast I was going? I said its on my dash cam. Cop said Oh you got one of those, OK have a nice day.
Always, first ask the cop what they saw, then (if you are feeling brave) file a complaint.
I once got a bogus traffic ticket and went to court. The prosecutor dismissed the case as soon as he heard me say the words "my dashcam footage"!!!
Just remember, if you have a camera it also records every mistake YOU make and cops will use anything against you to convict you. Dash cam can be a double edge sword. Use with caution
Then they’d have to get a warrant to get the video.
@@tybrady1935 I'm drawing a blank on the terms... but there's a way they can seize the camera without warrant. If said evidence can be destroyed and time is a factor they're able to expedite the process legally.
@@deejayyy1681 Yeah, I suppose you're right.
Though it would be unethical, one could immediately remove the memory card and later say you do not answer questions.
Another thing is if you don't want the state to use the recording against you and delete the video, the judge will instruct the jury to assume the worst. Attorneys will tell you, don't erase a video.
@@MrOlddave deletes video. Your honor, it wasn't on apparently that day lol
One (technical) issue to contend with in southern states like Florida, Texas, N. Mexico, Arizona, etc… is that it gets really hot inside the vehicle in the summer. You could come out to find your dash cam a melted blob of plastic.
SO TRUE! Having a cheap $30 dash cam saved my ass big time! For speeders like me, DO NOT get one that records speed data!
Exactly.
It's enough for the judge to see I am traveling the same speed as the surrounding traffic.
I think if you are going even 1 mph over the limit they will consider you at fault for an accident.
@@ErikLiberty That's the technical standard for violating the speed law, not the standard for being at-fault in an accident. The standard for being at-fault in an accident is the level of "contributory negligence" each driver might have been responsible for. Going 1 MPH over the limit will have little to no effect on "contributory negligence".
Are you a kid? Don't speed ever.
@@dillonyoung5502 You sound like a kid for asking such a silly question! I don't know where you live, but where I live, most people speed (including cops) and it's both unrealistic and actually LESS safe to go the speed limit when EVERYONE ELSE is speeding.
I got off before on the traffic stop because I told the officer that he kept tailgating me, so I sped up. I said "you intimidated me, so I went faster, then pulled over." He said "fair enough, drive safe"
Almost 30 years ago I was struck by a vehicle after proceeding through an intersection from a full stop. I was there for 10 to 15 minutes waiting for an opening in traffic. I had 3 vehicles waiting their turn behind me...this street direction normally has low traffic. The officer NEVER interviewed me beyond getting my license and insurance taking statements from other witnesses. He told me to go home. The next day the mailbox that obstructed my view at exactly the wrong time was gone. Some officers are smarter than others. Fortunately it was a low speed collision with no injuries. Poor vehicles...not so lucky.
I don't have a dashcam, but i am very present of mind all the time. I was t-boned in an interesction a year ago by an older man with dementia who should NEVER have been allowed to drive. 5secs after i was hit, i doubled clicked the power button on my phone to turn on camera immediately. I grabbed the phone, got out of my vehicle pointed at the green light and even said within a few second, " You know i had the green light right?" before i panned the camera to this old man getting out of his car not know where he was. For over an hour after the incident, i recorded him acting strange and even getting into MY CAR to look for his wallet that I already got from him. I recorded his wife (that showed up 45min later) admitting he had dementia and said this to the cop that finally showed up. Cop said there were traffic cams on the lights so those would be available.
Fast forward 2 months, his insurance company DENIED my claim saying out "stories didn't match". Well FUCKING DUH!!!! Whoever admits fault. I checked the video i posted as unlinked here, ZERO VIEWS. So i sent them an email, stating they NEVER viewed the video i submitted seconds after teh crash and with his behavior and the admission of his dementia. I also explained, i could have EASILY fled the scene and nobody would know shit, but i stayed because it was 104degrees summer heat. I sat the old man in my car, gave him water and kept him cool (his car was smashed in front, only my front quarter panel and door were damaged so my car still worked fine).
3 days later i got an email stating they accepted responsibility. ALWAYS FILM EVERYTHING!! These insurance companies will deny every single claim at first. They're not in business to HELP US, they're here to make money. Don't trust them OR the other people driving.
My BlackVue DR750S with parking mode saved me from having to file a claim against my insurance when my car was hit while parked. A lady backed into my car and left but her license plate was captured clear as day. Not only did her insurance pay for the damage to my vehicle and rental car, I also was awarded a diminished value claim from the accident.
Did anything happen to her for her hit and run?
You had your own camera in a rental car ?
Stafford co. Sheriff's deputies are real pieces of work!
They're like this everywhere. Not just in the us. They think that just because they've got a badge and some christmas lights on top of their car and you don't that they automatically have power over you to do as they please. This includes going above the law and not giving two fucks about your rights.
I was given an expensive ticket for going 85 in a 70. According to my dashcam I was going 72. I hired a lawyer and he refused to used my video as evidence, saying if he showed up in court with a video saying I was going 72 I'd still get a ticket, have to pay court costs and get points on my license. He suggested I plead guilty and ask for traffic school, which on his advice, I ended up agreeing to do. On a weird flex, the state trooper got fired for some reason before my case came up and it was thrown out.
@Magic Man The lawyer made a good point, not a "crook". You'd be going to the court with footage that showed that you broke the law, incriminating yourself. Although the cop's credibility would be questioned for the 85 mph fine, so you'd probably get a smaller fine. During discovery you would obtain the cop's operator certificate and the calibration tests of the radar gun, maybe you could show that the gun was not reliable vs. your dashcam.
@@thomaskwiatkowskiesq.328 There are some situation where it would still be a good idea, if the cop's saying you're speeding is excessive, it can bump the crime up to a more serious crime with more severe penalties.
Officer too close at night happened to me when I was a teenager. The car came flying up behind me and got right on my bumper. I gradually increased speed until I got to my turn off road. Then he hit the lights. Without thinking because of anger I jumped out of my car, arms extended at my side in "Why?" gesture. Long story short, the cop let me go without a ticket, for I had not been speeding when he got behind me, I was very sober, and everything was in order. This was Spring of 1982.
Tod powers, if that happened to you in 1982 , then your way to old to remember correctly or comment about it ....hahaha .
@@terrydavis6132 56 doesn’t seem that old to me now. 🤣
@@crkmt haha , I've got'cha beat , be 58 this month but I only feel every bit of 70 lol.
Dash cams are also very valuable for any road rage incidents.
I got a duel channel dash cam for my work truck that has front Facing and rear Facing camera. My memory card keeps the video for the past few days and also has GPS that I tested to be accurate exactly with my speedometer.
Even if there is no speed readout, if you know EXACTLY where the alleged incident occurred, and if the road lines are "dotted", they are usually spaced an exact amount apart and are a specific length.
You can gauge speed that way, police helicopters do.
Not in our crappy neck of the woods. The lines are crooked and definitely not the same lenght
Mile markers are great. Time from marker to marker. 60 seconds is 60 miles per hour. Easy enough for a judge to understand.
VERY good advice.
I have been using dashcams for well over a decade, and my first “win” was in a disciplinary hearing, whereby footage proved I could not do as instructed. I have since had it protect me twice in collisions.
Re commercial vehicle speeds, in Europe we have Tachographs, which are now digital. Any vehicle over 3.5metric tonne gross vehicle mass must be fitted with one, the driver must have a digital tachograph card specific to themself (unless hiring for personal use) AND a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (which in theory ensures drivers are suitably trained but in reality is more of a cash cow). A minimum of the last 28days driving data (without speeds is stored on the personal cards, while the vehicle unit stores a minimum of 2yrs basic data, and about 2 weeks of speed data. The speed data is literally second by second, imagine a 31 block wide grid, left hand grid time in hrs minutes & seconds (either 00s or 30s) and across the top 1-30 above the rest of the square blocks, each block containing the speed for that second.
My firm successfully challenged a number of speeding fines generated by an out of calibration fixed speed camera by using this data.
Great information, thank you.
I was just getting ready to buy a new one.
You Sir are a legal God! The Azura-Mazda of the courtroom. Thank you for all the good work you do 🙂
Sad that we've reached a point where we are as scared of the police as we are of criminals. Even when you are behaving.
Cop's are criminals, besides POS! They lie all the time. Always film cops.
Personally I'm more scared of the police than I am of criminals. I can fight back against a criminal. You can't do that if the criminal is a cop.
Im a mechanic. You are looking at $300 to hardwire a dash cam at a dealership. It takes for than few minutes too. To pop headliner, A pillar trim etc to hide wires after routing wires and hooking to suitable circuit or adding fuse and connectors on back of fuse panel for new circuit. But then theirs the hacks. They will splice to 1st hot wire they find and yes they will be done in 5 min for $100
These videos are great! Fast and to the point
I told my guys at work to install dash cams in their car and they just scoff at me, saying they don't need it. I told them it's for safety and peace of mind since no one might help defend you in court and you have to defend yourself. Also, when people realize you have a dash cam installed, break check scammers and other types of scammers out there are less likely to "Engage" you.
The trick or getting on my butt to get me to speed up doesn't work on me, when someone gets on my butt I slow down.....and continue slowing until they back off or pass, and no I do not ride their butt after they pass
Same here. I just ease off the gas and putt along until they pass me or they back off. I’m not letting anybody push me down the road.
I do the same I just let off the gas till they pass, it is their fault if they run into you as well.
Do you keep to the right or are you a Left lane bandit?
@@konagolden3397 I ride the right lane unless I need to pass on interstate (which is rare but does happen), in my town you get in the lane you need to be in as soon as you can......our only 4 lane is about 5 miles long
@@rugershooter5268 Kudo's to you. There are many who get in the left lane and drive slower than traffic, or drive next to another car without passing. They prevent people from passing. That slow left lane bandit creates traffic and forces people to pass on the right. The disruption in traffic flow, by forcing people to pass on the right is second highest cause of traffic accidents after being rear-ended. It's a primary reason why many states have laws about keeping right except to pass laws.
Don’t use parking mode unless you have a separate power source for it. It’s the fastest way to kill a battery. Both from being able to start your car and holding future charges.
Did I mention in the video that I killed my battery by attempting that? Yep. :(
Great new channel! Most appreciated.
Beware cams that record sound as some states require two party consent. It is a felony in IL (a state a lot of people drive through) to record sound of someone who doesn't know they are being recorded. So if you have a passenger or you get in an accident and the other driver talks too close to your car, you would be committing a felony if they don't know they are being recorded.
I baught a dashcam, but haven't installed it. My one hesitation is the benefit has a flipside. If you did something wrong, you just gave the court all the evidence they need.
Why would u give them evidence against ureelf - just erase or don't submit the part that has nothing to do with the current situation where ur in the right. I mean u can't be dumb enough to turn over ur entire memory card. Just copy the part where ur in the right to a new memory card n only submit that....u know like common sense of protecting ur freedom.
Install the camera. Turn off the gps speed tracking. Most cameras have a setting for turning that off. Also, you don't need to have your camera turned on all the time. And if your dash cam is too conspicuous, just buy a camera model that's more discreet.
@@1031Six its illegal to delete or edit that footage if it may be used as evidence. I mean you can't be dumb enough to think tampering with evidence isn't a crime...
@@1031Six because deleting it can be easily recovered by an IT person. I don't know how, but they do. Then, when they do, they can add distruction of evidence to the list along with other charges. If I pull the card, then that will raise a lot of questions from police. Who drives with a mounted camera thats not on or capable of recording? Telll me you, how likely is it you will remember to take care of the camera in a bad accident, if you are lucky enough to not be hauled away in the ambulance. You can be the big man a say you'll remember, but when crap hits the fan, who knows how you will really react. Try a little critical thinking before calling somone an idiot.
Back to watch this again after 2 years. Still good advice.
As to parking mode, I'd be concerned as to how much drain on the car battery if sitting in a garage for two weeks.
Officer: You were going 50 in a 40 zone. Driver: Yeah, but yesterday, I was going 40 in a 60, so you owe me 10.
Officer: "Don't you know the speed limit is 55 mph?"
You: "I wasn't going to be out that long."
@@armadillotoe Officer, the sign said "25 mph a head," and well, there were 4 of us so...
I once used a dash cam video to get a red light ticket dropped. The video clearly showed the light was green, and the dash cam paid for itself in one stroke.
But if you have a dashcam and a thief breaks in your car , He will probably take the dashcam , too.
There's a few fixes for that. You can either conceal the cameras, you can have them automatically back up the footage into the cloud, or you can simply install them in such a way that they would be extremely time-consuming to remove (in this case you might want to have the battery pack in a more easily accessible but inconspicuous location so you don't have to go through the hassle every time you need to recharge the battery). Or you could do more than one of these.
What we need is a dashcam system that works more like a proper CCTV system, so the camera is stuck to the screen but the recorder is remote. With something like this you could record to a 2.5 inch SSD and have the recorder unit hidden behind the dash etc. There would also be no reason why such a system couldn't have multiple inputs.
Other Motorists. I can vouch for that benefit. Saved so much conversation when the insurance agent told the other party, " We saw the video." And he got the ticket in the first place!! Ran stop sign and tried to claim I hit the curb. He hit my right rear wheel perfectly. Hardly noticeable cosmetically, broke my shock tower.
When someone is following close behind, I let OFF the accelerator and slow down to 40 MPH or less until they back the **** off.
Cops will get you for that as well.
@@mikehill1114 It's just making the situation safe. Person behind chooses close following, you reduce speed to where that following distance is safe.
@@gblargg If you are in the left lane and no longer passing, this is a violation.
If you are on an interstate and slow down below the minimum speed limit, this is a violation.
If you slow down far enough below the speed limit, and fail to activate your hazard lights, this is a violation.
If you impede traffic, this is a violation.
I'm not arguing with you or telling you not to do it. I am just saying that police can still cause you problems.
@@mikehill1114 Obviously if you're in the left lane on a highway you need to be passing people or pull into a right lane. It doesn't matter whether the person behind you is tailgating or not.
Also true about slowing down too much. I think 20 MPH below the speed limit is the law where I am.
Parking mode eats up your battery
My dash cam has Parking Mode. I turned it off. Every time I got into the car, it would activate the parking mode recording to a protected file. Eventually the memory was full of these useless files and the regular recording could not overwrite them.
That's an odd way for it to function. But I guess that is supposed to make sure it doesn't overwrite a parked incident that you don't know about yet.
Try reformatting your disk with the camera and see if that works
Actually had that scenario happen to me, and I told the officer (as he was yelling at me) that I thought I was dealing with a case of road rage, and that he was so close, his flashers were ABOVE my line of sight (and his high beams were blinding me) and I moved over so as to let him pass...all I could see was his blinding high beams. He calmed down. Still got a ticket, but he was decent after that. Ps..I told him I had been up for 26 hrs, and that I was going to bed, either in his car, in a jail cell, at home, or in my car right then and there. And I laid my seat back, folded my arms, closed my eyes, and waited for him to do whatever he was going to do.
Common tactic of tailgating so close to get people to speed up.
Been using a front cam for 5 years and just installed a combo that has a rear camera. As a reformed speeder, lol, there is more action behind me and I realized the front camera was missing out on a lot of action. I plan on outfitting the family cars to be safe.
In the event of an accident, or incident.... can/will police 'confiscate' the memory card from a dashcam... before you have had a chance to view it, or save it to another device? (and then the that memory card disappears... leaving only the officers word, or the word of the other party)
If you are able to you could pop the tiny card out and 'lose it'. During the investigation the popo cannot use it against you. Then when you find the card and review the footage with a lawyer present you can decide how to proceed. I have a spot for the card in my car that a thorough search will not find. Remember that the cops can lie, do lie, and frequently lose or delay their own footage.
@Magic Man I luv you man. Ordering now. Cheapest, smallest one. Maybe put a video of Rick Astley, Never Gonna Give you Up on it.
The police can't seize your video without a warrant. I would advise getting cameras that upload to the cloud automatically, just in case.
Actually practical advice! The other two lawyer channels, one likes to read news and complain, the other metasplains legal stuff -neither are this down to earth.
just so you know, speeding up is not the answer to "tailgating" the faster you go the harder that car will hit you. Simply remove your foot from the accelerator until either the driver behind you figures out they are too close and back off or get frustrated enough to go around. If they stay there still, either they are up to something or its a cop. In that case you dont want to slow enough or stop because that will give them access to your car, keep moving find a crowded, lit place to stop where there are plenty of witnesses. and in the case of it being a cop, wait for the cherries then pull over.
Had to get dash cams for our cars after my mother was in the roundabout and about to cross into the street when the person entering the roundabout did not stop and hit her, people coming from that direction seemed to think they had the right of way. the COP believed the younger driver as my mom was stressed out. We waited for the cop to get the other side of the story but he had already made up his mind. They really need to put up signs - telling upcoming drivers that the drivers already in the roundabout have the right away.
The cops are not your side
I bought a dash cam with a rear camera and installed the rear camera on the steering column so that it is aimed at the instrument cluster. It gives me continuous video on my speedometer (to rebut a speeding ticket) and both turn indicators (to rebut the police charge that I may not have signaled a turn). After all, these two are the cops' favorite charges in a traffic stop.
So don't talk to police. Don't answer your door for police. Buy a video car camera to protect yourself from lying cops. Does anybody else see the problem here?!
Yes I do. Cops are the problem.
You said what everyone else was thinking
Just found this channel. Turns out we live in the same county! Happy to support local RUclips channels haha
I was involved in an accident back in ‘08 where a person changed lanes right in front of me, thereby closing my already established safe following distance, when the vehicle in front of him stopped at some railroad tracks causing a chain reaction. He hit the vehicle at the tracks and I hit then hit him.
Paramedics just happened to witness the accident and were there within 60 seconds. They had to turn around. Cop showed up 5-10 minutes later and even though I told him what happened and the guy that cut me off nodded in agreement the cop gave me a ticket for following to close.
When I get the paperwork the cop wrote that he "witnessed the accident" and I was at fault. I was furious. Luckily the paramedics made a report showing when they were there which refuted the cops lie because even though he was devious enough to falsify his report he was too stupid to realize that writing his correct time of arrival, which was 5-10 minutes after the accident, would prove he was a corrupt cop.
That’s cuz the paramedics had left by time he showed up so he didn’t know his lie would be so easily caught. My case was dismissed.
But I swore from then on that I would never allow a cops word to be the final say in my traffic life. I bought a dashcam and have owned many since then. One thing I didn’t hear mentioned in this video but that I recommend is that you should not buy dashcams with built in batteries. Especially in hot climates. They will swell and can explode &/or catch fire. Buy cams with superconductors instead.
My first cams were pretty basic but they have come a long way. Now I have multiple cameras. I use a front/rear(interior) cam with gps as well as two cams one facing left, one facing right and lastly a separate rear window dashcam.
My friends thought I was going a little overboard until last year when I got pulled over for speeding. Cop said I was racing with another car and was clocked at 40 in a 30. In reality I was going 33 with cruise control set and it was a car to my rear who was overtaking me that was speeding. I told the officer I wasn’t speeding and would be more than happy to show him my footage. He dismissed my footage outright without looking at it and said it was inadmissible in court because his radar is calibrated but my camera is not.
I went to court on zoom and they were offering wholesale discounts to everyone that took deals. No points, no school & reduced fines if they agreed. I was the only person that held over for trial.
I compiled my footage into a short 3 minute segment and went to court. The cop testified and made no mention of the other racer.
I cross examined him and pinned down his perjured statements and asked about the other driver. He changed that to say he never said what I had him on video saying during the stop. Claimed now that the other car was behind me not racing next to and with me.
I told the court the officer was not being truthful and that I had a front & rear facing dashcam with gps to track speed and could prove my innocence. There was an audible gasp from the clerk of the court. That’s because she knows damn well the system is rigged, the cops lie, and it’s all a govt sanctioned road piracy program.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the recording to play for the court and they were not willing to help. Was my 2nd time on zoom, the 1st time being the preliminary hearing. The judge got impatient and reset for one month later but explicitly threatened me that if I couldn’t get the recording to play then that he would rule against me. He hadn’t even heard my side yet, just the cops side and my questions of the cop. I planned to show my footage and then make my statement. But apparently fair trials aren’t a thing here in sunny florida.
Anyways I figured out that I was trying to share video instead of sharing content, they could have just told me that, but now I was ready. The best thing was that by some of the comments the cop made I was able to add footage to refute his lies. My earlier cut omitted some things that could have helped my defense.
So we go back to court and it’s a different judge. But instead of just continuing where we left off it was a complete do-over. So the cop tells his story again and changes it again. This time he adds that I was overtaking other cars as I was speeding down the road. I asked him to clarify that he was saying I was weaving in and out of traffic to pass other vehicles as I went down the road and he said yes.
I couldn’t believe the balls on this guy. My extended video showed me traveling 8 blocks or so from the last major intersection. I was the lead car in the right hand lane and set my car to 33mph like always. Every workday for 10 years. It shows me puttering along with no one in front of me and eventually only a couple cars behind me. One of which sped up and was in the process of overtaking me when the cop lit me up. You can even see the speeder as he slows down and turns left abruptly as the cop continues after me.
So I had enough to discredit the cop and told the court that I had the video proving so and the judge started to tell me to go ahead and share it but was called by someone offscreen. You can see him talking to that person while muted and then after a minute or so he come back on and says: "looks like I have to dismiss this case, I guess. The officer didn’t properly identify you as the offender when he testified."
Now I had no idea what was going on but I found out by watching several hours of traffic court afterwords. If I had an attorney they would have made that motion. But I didn’t and had no idea the cop screwed up. So for some strange reason the judge was told by some faceless person to violate his mandate as a judge and to essentially act as my attorney long enough to toss the case and keep my video from getting put into the record.
I was happy I won but also miserable that my video didn’t get played. And I told the judge this. Then I thanked him and left the zoom.
I'm wondering if this was to protect the police officer. First if he changed his story, it would be easy enough to go back afterwards and get the court records to prove this. Second, the video also proves he was wrong. These two might be enough to discredit him in the future.
@@snoopdogie187 Yup, to protect the officer thereby also protecting the corrupt money making system. People should start advocating for all radar guns to have video. It’s simple and then we the people would never have to sit and watch a corrupt judge take the corrupt word of a corrupt cop at face value as if they speak the gospel. Cops are liars. They need to prove their allegations in traffic court as well as criminal court. Taking their word for anything goes against the founding principles of our democratic republic.
I so want to get one of these dash cams. Thanks to this video I now know what features to look for plus I didnt know there was one available for the rear window.
I had a car that decided at the very end of the exit ramp they were on come to almost a complete stop, then turn and pulled in front of me as if they were pulling on a normal road from a side street. There were two women in that car, and only me in my truck. They told the cop that I came from 2 lanes over and hit them. I was able to show the cop my dashcam that clearly showed that I had not changed lanes, and their idiotic attempt to reenter the highway. Sadly, their insurance refused coverage since the insurance they had was not on the vehicle that they were driving.
1st part: Happend to me multiple times! I now use my brakes very regularly and very hard when someone rides me like that.
Can't wait for a cop to try it again...
(Yes I have a rear facing cam)
That’s a charge of deliberate wreckless endangerment to brake check.
Welp…you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. You want to ride peoples asses on the freeway to the point where you aren’t even visible in the rear view mirror, you get what you deserve!
So glad I did. The brake booster failed in my company's work truck on the freeway, a person finally let me over a bit too late and I clipped the very rear quarter of a car trying to escape the situation of dead locked traffic and while I am at fault, the driver really eyed that million dollar policy and started to claim all of his kids were in the car. No cops were called so other than my dash cam there was no proof. My boss would scoff at getting one but boy I saved the insurance some money. Glad I spent my own money in any case with the nature of my job.
It probably also makes sense to have a front cam that can be swiveled to record a driver's conversations with a cop. Guess I need to upgrade my cams.
I have 5 cameras in my van front, rear, on the passenger on the driver and a GoPro Session pointing out the driver’s side window, activated when stopped.
If you dont have GPS in your dashcam you can find Highway and street construction code of your state to determine exactly space between road markings. Therefore knowing distance you passed and time calculate your actual speed
In the UK and Europe trucks are fitted with a digital Tachograph, this is a ministry calibrated, sealed device that records time, motion and speed. Used for you and usually against…… 🙂
You can also use the lines on the road to calculate your speed.
Was involved in a fender bender the other day where somebody made a left turn in front of me, I had to swerve around them and they clipped the side of my car. When the police got there, their version of what happened was different from what the camera showed. I showed the police officer the footage and he laughed and said yeah that's not what they said, you were in the right. Always run a dash cam, you never know when you'll need it!
You should have touched on whether or not it's advisable to send the cops video of an incident or crime you may record. Most truckers won't get involved if it doesn't directly affect them because they don't want a subpoena when the live a good distance away.
Great info! I've thought about a dash cam, but now will get one.
A couple key, related features… you need good resolution. HD barely cuts it for being able to capture license plates or identify people; 4k is worth the money. Then, get a large _high endurance_ memory card.
Great info Andrew, really great. I tell you what... I'm saving some money and next month my happy ass is getting a tripple camera dash cam. Keep the great info coming. You one of the best.
1:48 if you have a timestamp to the second of the first point and the second point with the speed at both points, you can calculate the distance between the two points and estimate the average speed between the two points. Depending on the distance, how curvy the road is, and how accurate your timestamps are, the timestamps will be off relative to each other and you can use that information to infer the average speed of the vehicle between the two points.
I worked at a bar for 20 years and did a lot of driving late at night / early mornings. I have had police falsely accuse me of running red lights. I have had police come up on me at speed in an attempt to startle me into swerving or accelerating, I have had police tailgate me to get me to react. I have had several police block me from changing lanes and one harrassed me to the point that I slammed on my breaks and screamed "WTF!" at them (at which time they took off). Police will drive 5 miles under the speed limit and dare you to pass them. I had a cop cut me off at an intersection at 2AM in a parking lot while he was driving around with his headlights off.
I've had a few cameras. They have front and rear cameras, recording all the time, while I'm not at home. The feature that I absolutely love in my current one is that it uses the rear camera as my rearview mirror, and that's 170 degree camera. It displays on the full width of the strap on display. I see everything behind me when I'm backing up. That's a big deal in my SUV, since visibility is normally poor. I mounted that rear camera on top of my 3rd brake light, on the roof. During normal driving, I can see everything behind me. At night, the camera part automatically adjusts for lighting. I can see well behind me on pitch black roads. In reverse, it electronically dips the camera down, so I can see up to a few inches from the bumper. Because of the view angle, when a car is beside me, I can see their front bumper out the side window, and their rear bumper on the rear view camera.
Just a few weeks ago, I was almost hit by someone while I was backing out of a space. I reviewed the footage, and you could watch her pull from the space she was in, 3 aisles away, and came around to the lane I was backing up in. She turned and accelerated, but she was looking off to her right side. I saw her, and braked. She continued for a second, and slammed on the brakes, and started honking at me. As I was almost done backing out, I told her to move. And that's audible on the footage.
I haven't bothered to upload that footage, because it's boring. But you could clearly see her face, and you could see that she wasn't looking where she was going. At least she wasn't texting too.
I did post this video.
ruclips.net/video/C-kF7bF0Bpw/видео.html
I got the first dash cams because of her. We came out of the store, and saw her car shoved up against my POS SUV. I was concerned that she was going to report a hit and run, so I took a bunch of documenting photos from all angles. While I was finishing that, she came out and denied that she hit the truck. We had frozen groceries, and didn't want to wait for the police to show up, so I didn't do anything more. But I kept the pictures and video, just in case.
That SUV has been hit a few times in parking lots. I don't really care, the SUV isn't pretty. I got it to do heavy work, and we take the cars for comfort. We don't like our nice cars getting hit in parking lots.
Driving my motorcycle a drunk driver who was buddies with the police hit the gas and crossed 6 lanes of traffic ultimately Tboning me... An officer showed up to give him a handshake, turn around and took off...
Insurance claimed he blamed me claiming my car was swerving when I slammed on my breaks (no shit it's a motorcycle)..
Thankfully the insurance agent wasnt falling for it and called him on his bullshit. A few months later I was driving to work, a road construction site tossed gravel in the road and I lost control of my motorcycle, it sped up uncontrollably and the cop pulled me over for speeding after seeing me almost falling off.
I've had a dashcam ever sense. People are complete liars.
You can InStall a camera that records speed mounted on the windshield and a smaller dashcam that's Pointing at the speedometer ...mount it on top of the steering column...when you do go to court sync the videos together.....that way he can't say the GPS dashcam wasn't calibrated when infact you have a smaller camera pointing at your cluster the entire time...
my dash camera stopped working a few weeks ago and suddenly I got in an accident today. terrible timing. just ordered a new camera after watching your video.
Love my front and rear dash cam
Someome hit & ran me once on I95 (freeway highway). My car then hit two other vehicles (a F250 & a Fiat SUV, the Fiat flipped over) and in the process, my car (G37) managed to skipped from the furthest right lane to the furthest left lane / right into the barrier. The only thing that saved me from being put at fault for the damage / injuries to the other 2 vehicles / drivers, was my dashcam.
Since then I run front & rear on any car I own. Its the first thing I buy when I buy a car, along with those fancy weather mats (cept' for my old Ford truck, she dont get no carpets, she stays dirty LOL).
I highly recommend that Viofo camera he posted a pic of, thats the exact one I use. Ive got two of the dual cam setups & one single (its on a car I never drive, so Its staying as a single cam).
I have parking mode on one of them, PITA to hardwire, but id say worth the effort. Ill get to it on my other ones, eventually lol.
Speed can be determined by the fps of the video taken and markers on the road pretty easily and very hard to dispute.
My dash cam is wired to come on with ignition, it is pretty basic. I have found it useful on a few occasions when my car has been in the shop. Doesn't capture everything but for example after a trans rebuild, it recorded the test drive and mechanic saying it seems like it is slipping. They did absolutely nothing and told me the car was ready. From the cam I knew they never brought it back in to look at nor did another test drive.
My semis have a rear facing camera on each mirror and one on the dash. It records 24/7, saves 30 days to the cloud, instant access to replay footage. The in cabin is a big no no as far as I am concerned as a trucker. Something as harmless as a big sneeze the moment a car crosses the lane and makes slight contact with my truck or trailer can and absolutely will be used by the other persons insurance or attorney to stick me with some measure of liability.