Dash cams can be used for good and bad. Is it time to publish a code of conduct?
ONE of the most popular pieces of aftermarket kit for drivers is a dash cam. These help determine who’s to blame in an accident and can also save you up to 15 per cent on your insurance premium.
As a result, it’s no surprise to see estimates suggesting there could be as many as 4.6 million UK cars with a dash cam mounted on the windscreen. However, this brings a question of what happens to the footage recorded by those millions of motorists. A study by the AA shows that while most drivers use the camera as a tool in case of an accident, a minority (1.5 per cent) purposefully buy a dash cam to film bad behaviour on the road and upload it online for the world to see.
This creates privacy concerns, and the AA says that a code of conduct should be published to protect drivers who have had footage taken of their vehicle without their consent.
It’s not a unique stand, as other countries already have strict rules for dash cam use. German and Austrian authorities “highly discourage” their use, while Luxembourg has outlawed the devices. In Portugal and Belgium you need to ask people’s permission before uploading footage online that contains them or their car.
Laws are often put in place to protect the public from a small minority of misfits, and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see dash cams regulated in the future. Yet whatever the potential new laws will be, they must not counter the benefits that dash cams bring with them.
Protecting privacy is important, but so is having access to tech that will help prevent insurance fraud and keep premiums low.
“A minority buy a dash cam to film bad behaviour on the road and upload it online”