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Dash Cam Buyer's Guide
Whether you are driving for business or leisure there are always incidents on your journey. Often you would benefit from being able to video the events in the road ahead or even behind you.
This is when a in-car camera becomes the ultimate in car accessory (also known as a Vehicle Driving Recorder). The latest dashboard cameras will help you provide evidence for insurance purposes or even as evidence at the scene of a accident - as many devices also feature a LCD screen for video playback. This video-proof can help protect your driving licence and even reduce your insurance premiums.
We sell a range of accident cameras here at SpeedCamerasUK.com. Please click here to buy your dash cam.
Dashcams can capture bad drivers
Dashboard or windscreen mounted car video cameras can accurately record cases of bad driving that result in a collision - whether that collision was a mere accident or was staged.
Without the need for third party witnesses you can now continuously record the road ahead and/or the rear view from your vehicle. Many in-car cameras can also start recording at the push of a button or using a built-in 3-axis G-force sensor when an impact is detected, the seconds before are all recorded and saved to the device.
Parking mode is standard on the majority of dash cameras too, so you can document evidence of events whilst away from your car too - this works via motion detection to start recording so you do not need to waste video recording time.
Video evidence caught on a dash cam can be used in a court of law.
Crash for Cash Scams
"Crash for Cash" or "induced accidents" is the name given to the illegal activity of purposely crashing a car or other vehicle into another to claim an insurance payout.
In the UK Crash for Cash is estimated to be costing car insurance policyholders nearly £400million a year. Leading UK car insurance company Aviva, which insures one in ten of the cars in the UK, detected about 820 "induced accidents" in 2013 up 51% on the previous year. Read more here.
Organised gangs operate this criminal activity throughout the United Kingdom. However there are some UK hot spots, these areas include; Bradford, Birmingham, Liverpool and London. To view a poster of UK hotspot post codes click here or on the image to the right.
By driving with a driver vehicle recording device, you can accurately record any motoring incident involving your vehicle - giving you peace of mind.
The video above by the UK's Insurance Fraud Bureau explains what a Crash for Crash - Induced Accident is.
Cheaper car insurance when you install a dashcam video recording device
Some car insurers offer discount for drivers who use a dash camera in their vehicle of between 10-15% off car insurance premiums.
Installing an in-car camera will also protect your driving licence and vehicle insurance costs because you will be able to prove who was at fault at an incident.
Some individuals and criminal gangs have recently been attempting to purposely cause accidents so that they can claim and get a payout on their insurance this is known as 'Crash for Cash' (more details here). If you have the means to document such attempts you can use it as evidence for the Police to view. This will likely save your driving licence premium costs from rising too. Without dash camera evidence you could face an increase in car insurance costs.
Mounting and Installing an In-Car Cameras
There are two types of dashboard cameras - those that appear cylindrical, like the Snooper DVR-1HD mini (pictured right) and those that are larger and include a colour screen like the Mio Mivue car camera pictured below.
When it comes to mounting either device the best place to position the DVR system is behind or close to the rear-view mirror. There are small dash cams such as the Garmin Dash Cam 30 that will allow for a discrete installation. Also the slightly larger Garmin Dash Cam 35 is also a great device for a discrete installation which also features GPS speed camera warnings and records GPS location and speed information.
However with some dash cams e.g. the Mio Mivue range and Snooper DVR-5HD that include a colour display you may wish to mount these in the same position 
you might expect to find a sat nav. Especially as many of these in-car cameras also include speed camera warnings via the colour screen.
Some vehicle drive recorders also include two cameras - one camera to film the view from the front of your car and a second camera to film a rear facing view. In-car cameras with two or twin cameras include the BlackVue DR750LW and BlackVue DR650GW.
When installing Driver Vehicle Recorders (DVR) with two cameras you will need to install (and if you choose hide) the cabling running from the front of the vehicle to the rear windscreen.
You may also choose to have this type of DVR system hardwired into your cars electrical supply, so the device is fully integrated into your vehicle. For this type of installation, you may need to seek the services of a qualified auto electrician.
SpeedCamerasUK.com Recommendations
There is an increasing number of in-car cameras available to buy. Some devices, like the BlackVue DR650GW (pictured right) offer both front and rear video cameras for recording events in front and behind your vehicle. Other features include a built-in screen, speed camera database, full HD recording and GPS capabilities - to record speed, time and location.
The Garmin Dash Cam 35 is a great dash cam with a 3-inch screen and it is a discrete, windscreen mounted device. The Garmin Dash Cam 35 also features GPS technology providing speed camera database and records GPS location and speed information.
The dash cam comparison table below looks at six of current 2017 range of in-car cameras. The first three devices all include a colour display, while the latter three devices don't feature a screen.
| Product/ Features | Snooper DVR-5HD | BlackVue DR750LW | Mio MiVue 568 | BlackVue DR650GW | Garmin Dash Cam 35 |
| Screen | 3-inch | 4-inch | 2.5-inch | None | 3.0-inch |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Recording | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD | 1080P HD |
| Front camera | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rear camera | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Speed cameras | Optional | No | Optional | No | Optional |
| GPS | Yes | Optional | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Dash Cam Question and Answers
Question: Can you explain how a speed camera is detected by the dash cam?
Answer: Not all dash cams can detect speed cameras. It will need to be a dash cam with a screen and the ability to add speed camera locations via a PC. The dash cam we sell with speed cameras is the Snooper DVR-5HD.
Last updated: 1st August 2024
