The in-car camera is arguably the most useful accessory that a driver can install in his vehicle today.
An in-car camera helps prevent dishonest people from filing false or inflated insurance claims for damages or injuries. Before in-car cameras became available, honest motorists who fell victim to such practices could only hope that they had physical evidence on their cars to prove their innocence or the testimony of witnesses to back their story.
In-car cameras have also proven useful in providing authorities with a clearer picture of the circumstances that led to an accident. The recent and tragic case of a motorcyclist who was killed demonstrates this. Initially, the authorities arrested the lorry driver who ran over the biker.
But when footage from a rearward-facing camera from another vehicle emerged and showed that it was actually an SUV driver who had “nudged” the motorcyclist and caused the rider to fall, the lorry driver was exonerated.
To be fair, the SUV driver probably did not do this on purpose. No sane motorist gets into his or her car with the intention to harm other road users.
But here’s the question that I’ve been pondering: Now that the use of vehicle cameras is so widespread, has this little device actually improved driving habits? Or are they simply necessary devices?
At this point in time, I feel that it is the latter and not the former that rings true.
I’m willing to wager that within an hour’s drive, you’d come across at least five clueless and/or reckless motorists. From drivers who forget to switch on their headlights at night (which is becoming scarily common) to the aggressive ones who speed up when you indicate your intention to switch lanes, there seems to be no end to the idiocy of some motorists.
Luckily, you can always have an “unbiased electronic witness” who sits on your windscreen. This witness is silent, but the “memories” it holds can speak loud and clear.
