How Dash Cams Can Protect You In Non-Fault Car Accidents

Get the Protection You Need: Dash Cams for Non-Fault Accidents

Around a quarter of the 33 million drivers in the UK have installed a dash cam to their vehicle for peace of mind out on the roads.

Dash cam footage could help to establish who was at fault in a car accident, and is a good first line of defence when making a non-fault claim afterwards.

What is a dash cam?

Short for dashboard cameras, dash cams are small in-vehicle cameras that are designed to record your journey in real time.

This makes them useful when it comes to gathering impartial evidence after a car accident.

Where is the best place for a dash cam?

Dash cams are most commonly mounted on your vehicle’s dashboard or windscreen to record your view of the road.

Rear window dash cams are also becoming popular due to their usefulness in capturing footage of the accident from other angles.

How dash cams work

Your dash cam works by using your vehicle’s power to record your journey. They are usually plugged into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter, or could even be hardwired directly into the fuse box. This allows them to start recording from the moment you start the ignition.

How dash cams record your journey

Dash cams are designed to record footage onto a memory card. When this card is full, the oldest footage is overwritten to make space for more.

Any footage that has been flagged as important is stored permanently and won’t be deleted.

How dash cams capture accidents

Most dash cams are fitted with G-sensors to help detect crashes. If the G-sensor detects an impact or unexpected changes in momentum, the dash cam will automatically flag up the current recording as important and save it.

Playing footage back after an accident

After a non-fault accident, you can then rewatch this footage and save it to a computer. This saved footage can be used as evidence when making a non-fault claim after the accident.

How Dash Cams Assist in Non-Fault Claims

The timestamped footage on dash cams is difficult to tamper with, and acts as an impartial evidence record that establishes the circumstances of an accident.

Determining Liability

Being wrongly labelled as the at-fault party after an accident that you didn’t cause is never fair. If you are ever falsely accused, dash cam footage can prove what really happened.

Each case is different, so capturing footage of the specific circumstances of your accident is important.

It can help you to show that the other driver was at fault, and solidify your non-fault claim.

Other Benefits of Dash Cams

While the main benefit of installing a dash cam is the evidence they can provide, there are many other reasons to consider getting one:

Speeding up the claims process

When making a non-fault claim with an accident management company, providing clear dash cam footage can speed up the claims process and get you back on the road quicker.

How does a dash cam speed up the process?

Clear dash cam footage is more likely to show who is at fault. This lowers the chance of a fault dispute or other drawn out negotiations with the at-fault insurers.

As a result, your accident management company will be able to handle your non-fault claim more efficiently.

Preventing fraudulent claims

Dash cams can also make sure that insurance scams and fraudulent claims are stopped.

Some drivers go out of their way to crash on purpose, making them look like non-fault accidents to scam money from the insurance companies.

A popular scam at the moment has scammers jumping on the bonnets of stationary cars. They pretend to have been hit and injured to make fraudulent injury claims against innocent drivers.

Installing a dash cam can help to protect you from these cons, with the footage helping to bring scam artists to justice.

Encouraging safe driving

Knowing that your driving is being recorded at all times by your dash cam will make you less likely to drive recklessly, and encourages safer driving.

Dash Cam Installation and Maintenance

Installation

It is really easy to install a dash cam in your vehicle.

1. Position the camera - Most dash cams adhere to your dashboard or windscreen with a suction cup for easy installation, repositioning and removal.
2. Connect it to power - Dash cams are usually powered by the 12v cigarette lighter in your vehicle’s dashboard. Alternatively, they can be wired directly into the fuse box.

Maintenance

Keeping your dash cam in good working order is important. You should always:

• Clean the lens regularly - this will make sure that your recordings are clear and useful as evidence if you need them.
• Check the memory card - make sure that the card is working properly and replace it when necessary.
• Manually save important footage - make sure that any footage that you need is saved somewhere safe so you don’t risk losing it.
• Update your dash cam - make sure that your dash cam is updated with the latest software so you can benefit from the latest features.

Dash Cam Features to Consider

When looking at dash cams, there are a few specific features you need to consider.

• High image resolution
  • To be worthwhile evidence, the footage needs to be clear and of decent quality. Getting a camera that records in 1080p or above would be ideal.
• Wide angle lens
  • A wide angle lens will help you capture more of the surrounding area of an accident, and this will improve the chances of every important detail being recorded.
• Low light recording capabilities
  • Being able to clearly capture evidence if you’re in an accident at night is vital.
• Parking mode
  • Depending on your camera’s settings, it will turn on and record footage if the G-sensor detects an impact while your vehicle is parked.
• G-Sensor
  • Can sense the impact of accidents and trigger the camera to automatically save the current recording.
• Loop recording
  • Records and stores footage more efficiently by overwriting old recordings.

UK Dash Cam Laws

Road laws

It is legal to drive with a dash cam in the UK, so long as it's installed correctly and not obstructing your vision while driving. Road laws may be different in regions outside the UK, so be sure to check wherever you are.

Dash cams under the Highway Code

By law, dash cams and other visual obstructions can’t be more than 40mm into the area covered by the sweeping of your windscreen wiper blades. The police could issue you with a fine if you drive with a dash cam blocking your view of the road.

Privacy laws

Under data protection laws, it’s legal to film other road users and pedestrians on public roads with a dash cam, and to share it if necessary.

However, there are other dash cam privacy rules that it is helpful to be aware of.

Filming

It is legal to film other road users on public roads and to share it if necessary.

Dash cams for business use

The Information Commissioner’s Office puts forth rules for the use of dash cams for business purposes. You need to inform anyone who uses, is a passenger in, or works around a commercial vehicle with a camera that they are being recorded and for what purpose.

It is recommended that you mute the camera audio recording to respect the privacy of workers and passengers.

Adhering to GDPR laws

To misuse this dash cam footage or not otherwise inform people that use the vehicle would be a breach of privacy according to GDPR laws.

Use of dash cam footage in court

As well as being useful for validating non-fault claims, dash cam footage can also be used as evidence to convict people of driving offences.

Consumer advice experts Which? state that your dash cam footage must be:

• Relevant
• Clear and high quality
• True and unedited

The footage must also be able to prove evidence of wrongdoing beyond doubt for it to be useful. Capturing things like number plates and

Your responsibility

If you are unsure about anything, you should seek legal advice. It’s always important to read up on rules and regulations so that you can be sure that you’re using your dash cam legally.

Make a claim with Auto Claims Assist today

If you’ve been involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, contact Auto Claims Assist today. We will handle everything on your behalf to make the claims process as easy as possible, at no cost to you.