Daily congestion and traffic can make driving feel more like a battleground than an easy trip from A to B. As a result, more drivers are fitting in-car video cameras, or dash cams, to their vehicles.
Why do I need a dash cam?
Having a dash cam is like always having a witness with you. If you’re in an accident, it can provide an impartial view of events to help assign blame and speed up your car insurance claim.
This evidence can be especially useful if you're the victim of incidents like ‘crash for cash’ scams, where fraudsters deliberately cause crashes to claim off the innocent drivers’ insurance. A dash cam can help catch those crooks.
And what about all the times you leave your car unattended? Whether you park up to nip in the shops or leave your car in one of those ridiculously small parking spaces, it’s impossible to have eyes on your vehicle 24/7.
Using a dash cam with an active parking mode monitors your car even when you’re fast asleep in bed, although most dash cams need to be hardwired to use this function.
Are dash cams legal?
Yes. In the UK, dash cams for private use are completely legal.
As long as your camera does not block your view of the road (defined as not intruding any more than 40mm into the area covered by your windscreen wiper blades, or more than 20mm into the driver’s direct line of sight), it’s legal to have it in your car.
It’s important to remember privacy laws when considering how you use any footage you’ve captured. For example, sharing a video on social media that features other members of the public or even a car number plate may breach privacy and data protection laws.
Only share dash cam footage with your insurer or the police as evidence of what happened and how the accident occurred.
And remember, if your dash cam is set up to record audio or video of anyone inside your car, you must let them know first.
Fitting a dash cam
There are two main ways to fit a dash cam:
- Plug in - this tends to be the easiest way to fit a dash cam using a self-adhesive mounting bracket and the old 12-volt cigarette lighter for power.
- Hardwiring - this powers the dash cam from your car’s fuse box. Hardwiring is often considered the best way to install a dash cam, as it lets you take full advantage of additional security features, like parking mode, that may not work with a plug-in.
When fitting a dash cam, you also need to think carefully about positioning. A dash cam that obstructs your view is illegal and can lead to a fine or a failed MOT.
The government has key rules and guidelines on positioning that you must follow when installing your dash cam.
Using your dash cam
Typically, dash cams offer different sound and video quality options, so it’s a good idea to set the device to record at the highest possible video quality.
Modern dash cams offer up to 4K video resolution, along with features such as GPS tracking, speed logging and impact-triggered parking modes.
Most dash cams record on a loop, recording over old footage when the internal storage or SD card fills up; others may use Wi-Fi to transfer footage or offer cloud-based options.
If your footage is needed to help settle a claim, it’s likely you’ll only be asked to provide a few minutes’ worth of content, where the tiny details of a high-definition recording might prove invaluable.
Capturing evidence using a dash cam
If you’re in an accident, footage from a dash cam can help support your claim, providing a quicker resolution and an accurate outcome.
Dash cam footage can also help with court cases. It’s important to note that, if the police do ask you to submit your dash cam footage following an incident, then you’re obliged to hand it over, and any attempt to delete it could be classed as tampering with evidence.
Perhaps most importantly, dash cams are there to record the truth – the footage they capture can be useful to support your version of events in the case of an insurance or legal dispute, and it can also be used to prove that you were in the wrong, too.
So, always drive safely and sensibly and follow the Highway Code.
