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5 Times You’ll Wish You Had a Dash Cam

with

Andy McGowan

5 Times You’ll Wish You Had a Dash Cam

with

Andy McGowan

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Dash cams record your driving journey from start to finish, and can provide you with valuable footage if you ever need to submit an insurance claim after an accident that wasn’t your fault. If you’re wondering whether or not a dash cam is worth the investment, consider these five scenarios where you’ll wish you had one.

  1. Your car is damaged in a freak accident. Imagine this: you’re driving down the road when a lamp post suddenly falls over and crashes through the windshield of your car. Scary stuff, right? Well that’s exactly what happened to an Edmonton man, and luckily for him, the whole thing was caught on camera. In a case like this where you need to make a claim to your auto insurance provider, dash cam footage can support your version of events.
  2. Someone hits you from behind. While most dash cams record through your windshield, anybody who has been hit from behind knows that not all the action happens in front of the car. In fact, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has reported that some of its largest payouts come from rear-enders. In order to capture footage if you’re rear-ended, you’ll need a rearview-mirror cam to complement your dash cam.
  3. Someone vandalizes your parked car. If you often leave your car in a busy parking lot, or live in a neighborhood with lots of break-ins, you might want to consider a dash cam that records when your car is parked. Since that would be a lot of footage to manage, some dash cams come with a buffered parking mode, meaning they continually record video while your vehicle is parked, but only save the footage if an impact is detected.
  4. Another driver leaves the scene of an accident. Leaving the scene of an accident is a serious traffic offense, yet it still happens. If you’re a victim of a hit and run, it might be tempting to chase down the other driver, either to capture their information or for retaliation. In both cases, it’s a bad idea, and it increases your odds of getting in another accident as a result of reckless driving. If you have a dash cam, you are more likely to capture information such as the make, model and license plate of the vehicle that hit you, making it it’s easier than ever for police officers to track down fleeing drivers.
  5. You capture a once in a lifetime event. Okay, this might not help you make an insurance claim or capture a criminal, but it’s still pretty cool! More than ever, dash cams are capturing jaw-dropping footage that turns into viral videos, like this meteor in Alberta, or this cougar sneaking past a traffic stop. 

Sure, some of these incidents were only captured because of another vehicle’s dash cam, but the more people who install these devices, the more likely your freak accident will be captured on camera. Just remember that your dash cam is unbiased, and will also capture footage that proves you are at fault if you’ve been breaking the rules!

Andy McGowan
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