While there are a ton of pros in regards to having a car video cam on your dashboard or your windshield, there are a few cons, and these cons should be considered before making an investment into the car video cam of your choice. Of course, the stealthy and user friendly models of today help to alleviate many of these risks, but they’re still important to consider if you’re considering if a car video cam is right for you.
The Pros
Before getting into the risks of having a car video cam, let’s first consider the pros. A few pros associated with a car video cam include:
1. Helpful in determining accident liability and instances of fraud
A car video cam and its footage can be your best friend in an accident or fraud case, as it provides you exact evidence of what happened in the accident and the circumstances surrounding it. If you’ve been a victim of a “swoop and squat” fraudulent accident, footage of the other driver pulling in front of you and coming to an abrupt stop can potentially save you from paying damages and making good on their insurance fraud attempt. If you’ve been in an accident caused by another’s accidental negligent driving, this can also be proven.
2. Monitor driving
For teens and new drivers, a car video cam can help to monitor driving and ensure that drivers are being safe and responsible with their newfound privilege of freedom. For teens especially, the presence of a car video cam can help them to remain accountable for their actions taken while on the road. If a friend or family member borrows your vehicle, the cam footage can help to ensure that they are being safe and responsible with your property.
3. Monitor for theft or vandalism
Some car video cams even monitor while you’re parked, giving you a way to keep your car watched in case of theft or vandalism. The Falcon Zero Touch Pro HD car video cam uses Intelli-Batt technology to keep the unit running and protecting your vehicle even when you’re parked overnight.
4. Making memories
A car video cam isn’t just for protection and accountability, it can also be used for the fun stuff, too. If you’re taking a road trip and want to record a part of your journey that often gets lost from the photos and memories, a car video cam with a high memory capacity is just the thing. It can take those moments on the road and turn them into bits of photo and video you can revisit to make your journey last forever. One such car video cam that is perfect for this use is the Vicovation Vico-Opia2 car video cam with a 32GB micro SD card included.
The Cons
With the pros also come a few cons, and many of these can be off-set by the vast array of different technologies available in car video cams today. The list of car video cam cons includes:
1. Theft potential
Having a shiny tech object hanging from your windshield or sitting on your dash can be something of a beacon to those who are looking to harvest valuable from vehicles that aren’t theirs, but new technologies can help in this regard. Opting for a stealthy car video cam like the HiCool P3 dash cam can help to keep the camera hidden from even the savviest of eyes when parked, and one that offers parking surveillance like the aforementioned Falcon Touch Pro HD can up your parked car safety to a whole other level.
2. Check the legality
In some states or areas, public recording may have its own set of laws that drivers and others need to adhere by. This means that before you invest in a car video cam, it can pay to first check the laws within your area to ensure that the footage is being recorded lawfully and won’t come back to bite you for going against local laws. A car video cam should be used to increase safety, and not put you at risk for legal consequences.
3. It can be distracting
Some of the new models of car video cam available today have bright and vivid LCD screens that can pose a distraction while on the road. When mounted to your dash or windshield, these screens can be in line with your peripheral vision and distract you from driving even without you fully realizing it. Opting for a small and stealthy model like the Pruveeo F5, however, can limit this distraction and keep your eyes ahead just where they are supposed to be.
4. It can record your own mistakes
Just as a car video cam can record the mistakes of other drivers out on the road, it can record your own mistakes as well. This con can be turned into a pro, however, when one considers how this may affect how a driver approaches the road knowing that their own driving infractions will be recorded.
Should I Or Shouldn’t I?
While there are a few risks associated with having a car video cam installed in your vehicle, the pros greatly outweigh them. Most of the risks associated with having a car video cam can be remedied using modern car video cam technologies available today, like the distraction risk or the risk of theft, and the protection the car video cam provides is far greater than the risks that can sometimes be associated with it.
The one risk that should be taken into consideration, however, is that of legality, and before you choose a car video cam to invest in, you should first check with your state and local ordinances to make sure that you won’t be breaking any laws by installing the car video cam into your vehicle. While these areas are few and far between, they do exist, and you could wind up finding yourself on the wrong side of the law while trying to protect yourself out on the road.