working through legal issues with the best possible outcome

Is A Rear Dash Cam Worth It?

Dash cams, those cameras that sit on your windshield or dashboard and record everything going on in front of your car, have become very popular around the world. The footage from these cameras has been used to fight tickets and stop scams in their tracks, as well as provide footage of other events that unexpectedly occurred. So, it's only natural to want to have one, but once you start looking at them, you find you have to make another choice: Front only or both front and rear?

What the Rear Cameras Do

The rear dash cam plugs into your car's electrical system just like the front one does, but it gives you a smaller video of what's happening behind your car. This is helpful for fighting traffic incidents and tickets in two ways. One is that you can have a second video verifying whether or not you moved and where you were in your lane; if there are accusations that your front video was doctored, and you were really weaving, for example, you can show the rear video for backup. (It's hard to doctor one video, let alone two and to make those two match up.)

The other is that you'll get footage of whatever is happening behind you, such as being boxed in by an accomplice car during a driving scam or being rear-ended by someone who appears to be on a phone. If the police think you've backed into someone because you were careless, but the person behind you sped into the spot behind you after you started backing up, the rear video can show what happened.

Can This Help in Court?

Of course, it can. Each situation is different, and each court will have its own opinions on how reliable the videos are. But if you have the video to begin with, you, the police, your lawyer, and the court can all get a better idea of what really occurred when you were accused of breaking traffic laws or causing an accident. Video has become such a common part of everyday life that it's difficult to picture a traffic court rejecting it.

Dual-cam systems aren't that much more expensive than single-cam systems, though you are much better off having your mechanic do the installation work if you have a dual-cam system. That can add to the cost. But you could make that extra money up in peace of mind should something happen that lands you in traffic court. For more information, contact a law office like Law Office of Rex M. Pietrobono.


Share