that he recommended from personal experience and impulse bought it along with a SanDisk Ultra 32 GB MicroSDHC card
that totaled to be under $70 out the door, delivered with Amazon Prime. I liked the price, the night vision recording, the auto on/auto off feature when plugged into the vehicle, and the G-shock sensor that automatically saves the recording in case of an accident. The device also records audio with a built in microphone.Set up was minimal and easy. Basically, mount the device, insert the Micro SD card, power on, set the time and date, and GO! Playback using the SD card adaptor worked flawlessly on a Windows 7 desktop and Macbook Pro. I can very easily turn it towards any angle I want to record.
Today, I was driving to work and a Cadillac veered across three lanes of traffic to make an illegal U-turn. I braked in time but can't help being thankful for clear cut, incontrovertible evidence of the other driver's wrongdoing and recklessness.
Said law enforcement buddy evaluated this incident after viewing:
Completely and utterly his fault, you are not even required by law to attempt to brake as his turn was EXTREMELY sudden, the only reason you did not hit him, in my opinion, was because you had a good distance on him (of about a car length). If you were going slightly faster and closed the distance on him, you probably wouldn't been able to get around him and more than likely destroyed him. If you did impact him, and the video or physical evidence showed absolutely zero braking or swerving and only showed the Cadillac's illegal turns/reckless driving there would almost be no investigation.
Folks, these things are cheap insurance and a no brainer. Get one for every vehicle you one. You may need it someday and it's like a gun; when you need it, you really need it.
Video below. Watch for the Cadillac coming in from the right.
That is the exact same thing I would have said.
ReplyDeleteI have been meaning to get one of those for a while. My daily commute is almost 50 miles, chances are, something will happen.
I commend you for your foresight to have a video recorder in your car, and for avoiding the idiot in the caddy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you are exibiting one of the most annoying habits I encounter on the road. You are a left lane bandit. If you are not activly passing another vehicle, you should not be in the left lane. Thanks.
Whether you know it or not, it's pretty common for folks that live along this road (like myself) to be stuck in their driveways waiting for a chance to pull out. Hence me using the left lane.
ReplyDeleteI ended up with the "X5000" because the front and rear cams appealed to me, but I mostly run it in front cam only mode anyway. The manual is full of Engrish and the interface was kind of derpy, but once I got it figured out it's worked out well. Since I park outside within view of the sidewalk, I don't even bother turning it off at night. My only complaint is the audio has a lot of clipping, but about what you'd expect from a cheap microphone. I really can't recommend it, but I'm not eager to replace it either. I'll be ordering another DVR, probably a different model, for my van ASAP.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I yield to no man in my disdain for left lane clogs (the Anti-Destination League), but an uncontrolled access divided 4-lane road with lots of right and left hand exits is a totally different animal from the interstate or autobahn. And to the author's credit I didn't see anyone having to pass him on the right!
I'm glad that you were unscathed and you sold me on the dash cam (even living outside of Russia). Thank you for sharing that.
ReplyDeletePlease take Robert's comment to heart. I understand your excuse for the highway portion, but then the road clearly converts to a limited access freeway. The only reason for being in the left lane of a freeway is to pass. And that is the (poorly enforced) law in most states as well.
http://www.motorists.org/lane-courtesy/
Besides the left lane thing, it appears to me that you are speeding as well. The guy who cut in front of you isn't the only asshole in this video.
ReplyDeleteYou might consider driving more defensively.
I was doing roughly 58 in a 55. You might cut out the insults, Walter. I suppose I could have swerved violently or something besides say, slowing down suddenly, NOT swerving, and avoiding an accident.
ReplyDelete"You might cut out the insults, Walter."
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure he can't, actually. ;)
right-lane drivers cause traffic and are complete dicks. That said, city planners are dicks for making 2/2 lane roads in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the brand and model of your cam? There are literally hundreds (most are crappy Chinese copies of name-brands; some excellent, some junk) and some lie about resolution.
Theres a forum out there but it doesnt cover many models
Personally, I haven't seen the law on using the left lane but anyway, I have no problem with anyone using the left lane so long as they get over when being overtaken by a faster vehicle.
ReplyDeleteLinks to the cam are in the post.
Don't you love back-seat drivers? ;)
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see if there is a correlation of people who have high opinions of their firearms skills and those who believe they are the very model of the modern motor vehicle operator.
Frankly, I don't care if you're doing warp 80. As long as you're using your signals and not in the left lane unnecessarily (and not doing stupid stuff like that caddy) then you're fine.
ReplyDeleteI'm a driving Nazi in a libertarian sense (don't think about that too hard, I didn't). Drive in the left lane all you want, but if someone is overtaking you, EVEN IF THEY'RE IN THE RIGHT LANE, get your slow but into the right lane.
ReplyDeleteFor all we know, there's someone 10 feet behind his rear bumper in the right-hand lane, meaning he can't cut to the right because that would be pretty screwed up.
In addition, it's very very common to stay in the left lane until you are past an on-ramp, allowing any oncoming cars the ability to merge safely.
WTF is up with all the left lane BS?
ReplyDeleteGood posting, as you said, I highly recommend it.
What are you? Some kinda law-hater? :p
DeleteCorrect, I hate the law so much so that I enforce it.
DeleteI forgot to close my [/sarc] tag, obviously. ;)
DeleteDidn't you know that's the LAW about the left lane :)
ReplyDeleteBig fan of dashcams and have one in both of our cars.
ReplyDeleteWe went with the ones that are built into "clip on" rear view mirrors (after running the other kind for the better part of a year) for a few reasons;
1. They are less obvious when my car is left in a parking lot, and it's less likely that a kid or junkie will smash my window to steal the funny looking GPS unit suction cupped to my windshield.
2. It just keeps a cleaner front window with less crap stuck to it.
You do end up with a larger rear view mirror, but the small built in LCD running in the corner of the mirror confirms you're recording, without distracting the driver. I don't even bother downloading stupid driver tricks anymore, it's just commonplace.
I paid $50 for each of the dashcams, and it's definately worth the peace of mind knowing it's an impartial witness.