Dash cam: why is it worth buying and how to choose the best one?
Dash cam should be an essential gadget of every driver. It positively affects the behaviour of the driver, and can provide a useful proof in the event of a road accident. Do not hesitate to buy such a device; it is bound to help you one day. Please just bear in mind that you will need to purchase one that meets your expectations.
Why is it worth buying a das cam?
A dashboard camera has been becoming more and more popular among drivers. No wonder: it’s relatively cheap and extremely useful.
The roads are full of drivers who do not deal well with obeying traffic regulations, or even deliberately ignore them. The more people use dashcams, the greater the chance that the exploits of irresponsible road users will be recorded, and the videos sent to the police, who’ll punish the dangerous drivers accordingly.
The awareness of the fact that more and more drivers use dashboard cameras may, over time, positively affect the roadhogs’ behaviour. You can slow down just for a speed camera, and moments later speed up. However, if other drivers, both the ones coming from the opposite direction and those behind you had a dashcam installed, the chance of recording illegal behaviour would increase. Possibly it’ll make some people think, especially since video recordings often go online.
The dashcam also helps its owner drive more responsibly. If you know you’re being monitored, you will most likely act in a more rational manner; people are afraid of shame. It would be embarrassing to show a video from a holiday trip with shots from the dashcam to some friends and become a mockery because you can’t drive a car properly.
Watching recordings from the dashcam can also help to improve our driving techniques. Sometimes, we don’t even know that we make mistakes behind the wheel; the camera will expose them mercilessly.
The dashboard cam is useful not only when it comes to preventing accidents and collisions; it’ll also help us if they actually happen. If we were driving in accordance with the regulations, we’ll have proof of our innocence. The recording will be helpful in contact with the police; it’ll also help us keep the offender from blaming us, and solve any problems with our insurer. In some countries, a dashboard cam can be a reason to lower the driver’s insurance quote. In time, Poland can become one of these countries.
A dashcam can also provide us with memories for years. We often spend holidays in amazing places and would love to keep the beautiful views we’ve seen while driving in our memory for as long as possible. Especially that we can’t afford to admire the landscape while driving; we have to be focused on the road. A dashcam will give us a possibility to revisit the most beautiful places and enjoy them to the fullest.
Do dashcams have any disadvantages? Hardly. Dashcam is an additional source of power consumption. However, in order to cause problems with the electrical installation, it must be in a really bad shape. Let’s not forget the necessity of removing the dashcam when we leave the car parked on the street and putting it back on when we want to drive again. Leaving the electronics in the open invites the thief to break the window and a steal the gadget. Fixing the camera can be a nuisance if we often drive short distances. Still, we can just as well decide to only use the dashcam for longer travels; it’s better than nothing.
Dashboard camera: how to choose one?
A lot of different dashcams are available on the market, with prices starting from several dozen PLN. Let’s try and define what to look out for.
Recording resolution
The minimum acceptable resolution is 1280 x 720 px (the so-called 720p or HD). Realistically, though, we should be looking for devices recording in Full HD: 1920 x 1080 px. If we use a low resolution dashcam, recordings are of low quality: we can neither read the registration number of the vehicle behind us, nor admire beautiful views in detail. If so, why buy a camera in the first place?
Angle of view
120 degrees is the minimum acceptable angle of view, although a device with an angle of 150 degrees should be preferred. The higher the angle, the more area you can record.
GPS
By installing a GPS module in our device, we will be able to record not only the situation on the road but also our coordinates and speed. This can be very useful in many situations: you can use it to prove that at a given moment we weren’t exceeding the speed limit, and to determine where you were at a particularly memorable moment of your journey.
Sound recording
A good dashboard camera allows you to record not only the video but also the sound. This can be a very useful function in disputable situations.
Finally, remember that dashcams save recordings on memory cards. This is very convenient; you don’t have to remove the device to copy the videos to your computer. The memory card for the dashcam should have a high capacity and speed. Both the parameters are required for high resolution recordings.
Did you like this article? Anything you’d like to ask in your comment? Feel free to share your feedback and comment at the bottom of the article. And remember – always before buying a car, motorcycle or even a trailer – check vehicle history and free VIN lookup with autoDNA based on the VIN number. VIN check is one of the most important things to do before deciding to buy a used vehicle. Thanks to this, autoDNA helps you make an informed decision.
