DO YOU NEED A DASH CAM?
You can fall down a Youtube rabbit hole discovering footage from drivers' dash cams. The biggest impetus was no doubt the remarkable images captured after a meteor struck near the Russian town of Chelyabinsk back in 2013. Most grainy, some wobbly, but all displaying the same snatched moment in time and ushering us into a new understanding of what it meant to be caught on camera.
Many thought the footage must have been faked, but Russians knew: with fraud and corruption commonplace, those dash cams, no matter how primitive, provided a witness to the planned collisions or authorities acting outside the bounds of their badges.
Today, we're more surprised when some event hasn't been captured. We frequently hear police asking for anyone with dash cam footage to come forward after a crash, which means it's becoming a part of law enforcement, too. But does that mean you should jump on the band(width) wagon?
Probably. It's not about the endless scenes of monotony you'll capture on it, it's about the one moment you need an eyewitness to something you might not even have been present to see. A dash cam is your stand-in when your car is parked, it's the thing that proves the other party ran a red and, in some cases, it's becoming an integral part of your vehicle's safety apparatus — some cameras even have a lane departure feature, handy for older cars. A clear video is often worth more than a thousand words.
You don't have to make an expensive investment; there are several great options that can get you kitted out for a couple of hundred dollars. For additional features and greater detail, the more you spend the more you get.
Jeff Chuh is the vice-president of Marketing for Next Base, a U.k.-based company that began manufacturing in-car entertainment devices in 1999 before bringing their dash cam products to North America in 2019. They're the biggest in the world. But Chuh says regardless of brand, there are some tips for making sure you make the right choice.
He recommends working with a trusted retailer, like Canadian Tire or Best Buy, for instance. The internet is a wonderful thing, but it's getting harder and harder to decipher where something is actually coming from, and if it's what it says it is. His biggest caveat is one you already know: “If it's too good to be true, walk away. You're not getting a good quality dash cam for forty bucks,” he says.
Resolution matters, but image quality matters more.
“The camera has to keep working well when its transitioning between light and dark, when the sun is moving, and when weather shifts,” says Chuh.
PARKING MODE
Any purchase you consider should have a parking mode, to babysit your vehicle when you're not around. Some will wake up if someone touches your vehicle and start recording, others, like Next Base's newest product, the IQ, has radar to deliver precognitive alerts to your phone — it's closer to a home security system. It has the price tag to go with it ($700 to $1,000 and a subscription fee depending on the level of monitoring you select), though the company has a range of dash cams that settle in at substantially lower price points and offer great protection. Garmin is noted for their tiny but effective cameras, sporting a lot of features for under 200 bucks.
A word of caution to Canadians: there are some dash cams that also act as radar detectors, which are illegal in much of Canada. Auto and tech outlets that publish their annual recommendations are good resources, but be careful where you're shopping. You'll also notice on those lists the same brands popping up; avoid the no-names that slap a sticker on a product and game the reviews.
HOW IS A DASH CAM MOUNTED?
Pay attention to the mounting system. Suction cups are popular, but they're not great. Changes in temperature can mean cameras can fall off, or even become airborne in the event of a crash.
According to Debbie Arnold, a broker with Sound Insurance, insurance companies are welcoming dash cam footage that explains what really happened.
“As more people are putting the cameras in their cars, adjusters can use that proof and it is saving deductibles, and even clearing drivers of any fault.”
For those who already own a dash cam, Chuh has important advice: keep an eye on the SD card inside it. They need to be regularly replaced to make sure they can keep the camera functioning properly, and they're easy to forget about. The more expensive your dash cam, the more features are relying on a good card.