Citroen XM Forum

Hi guys,

Do any of you use dash cams?

Having seen Car Crash Britain and similar programs on TV; I'm thinking it might be handy to have one.

Robert

Funny Rob I was just talking to someone about that the other day, the amount of near misses and just plain bad driving I encounter on a daily basis, I've been giving some consideration to a dashcam for some time now.

I was thinking of having a rear one as well, possibly building a small computer such as a Raspberry Pi to manage the storage for them, plus it could double as a media player and such as well!

I heard recently a work colleague's wife was parked outside a post office when the car in front suddenly reversed into her. The other driver admitted liability at the time but gave her a false phone number. When they finally tracked him down, he had changed his story and said that he was sitting stationary and that the woman drove into the back of him! A dash cam would have removed all doubt, and probably got the other driver a well deserved fraud charge to boot!

Ciarán

I think I recall Lez Briddon having one in his 2.1TD, although he did use that as a taxi so maybe had more of a need at the time.

Ciarán

It's a good idea a dash cam. Thought of it myself, after what happened last July. It would have come in useful to determine who was at fault. I couldn't definitively say, so a rear facing one would have been very useful indeed.

FF and RR cams a really good idea. Some of these cameras only store a minute or two of most-recent video though, which might not cover all mishaps.
Extra storage sounds a good idea.
Apparently, insurance companies can pay good money for footage which may save them thousands.
Like the idea of something which can be installed, and just left to do its stuff.

I don't know if they are compulsory in Russia, judging by the way they drive they should be. Have a look at the videos on YouTube.

Peter

Funny you should mention that Peter, I often wondered why when you search for 'crazy car crashes' and the like on Youtube, they're nearly always Russian and appear to have been captured by dashcams. Maybe they are compulsory as you say.

Ciarán

I think your both right, they almost are. The driving is sooooo bad, all insurance companies won't insure unless one is fitted.
Some of the Chinese driving habits are a little scary too.

After an accident in which a guy pulled across his bow a few years ago (in which he had to argue with the insurance company for a 50/50 settlement )
my brother has cameras fitted to front and rear, uses them on all journeys, and downloads all footage to his computer.

Seriously thinking about it myself.

It's not legally required in Russia but both insurance battles and police extortion in more remote areas of the country made it very popular.

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