DashCam Advice: Can it be used against me?

[urquattroGus]

I am looking at getting my first dashcam, perhaps the F770 Thinkwave:

http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770

My question is, does having a dash cam not work both ways?

I'm a responsible driver, but I'm worried that if for example I was pulled over by plod for speeding and or something similar, that they could use my own dashcam footage against me?

Is this a moot point?

I've heard of some people saying "have two" or have it encrypted or something like that?

What do most people do?

[Bodged]

Your driving misdemeanours would be stored on the dashcam and if you were pulled potentially the officer could use it for evidence against you.

[Dan_M5]

They can't just take it off you, would need a warrant to view the data. in the mean time you format the SD Card. Or I'm sorry it wasn't recording

[sonnenschein3000]

I don't think they'll bother for speeding because the chances are that they have their own footage in their patrol car, with a calibrated speed in the corner.

However, if you're a spirited driver then you're probably trying a rope around your neck. If theres a big crash where someone's injured then i'm sure they will look at it. I read somewhere that in certain crash circumstances the police can take your car away for inspection (I presume they check stuff like general safety, is the DVD/TV unlocked, any dodgy modifications and if they're declared to the insurer, etc.) and I presume part of that could also be checking the dash cam.

[Dave Hedgehog]

Dan_M5 said:

They can't just take it off you, would need a warrant to view the data. in the mean time you format the SD Card. Or I'm sorry it wasn't recording

i thought they had the power of seizure to prevent exactly this happening, section 19 pf pace

[Dan_M5]

Dave Hedgehog said:

i thought they had the power of seizure to prevent exactly this happening, section 19 pf pace

Learn something new everyday! so they can do that. Least i can format the SD card from my phone....

[Dave Hedgehog]

Dan_M5 said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

i thought they had the power of seizure to prevent exactly this happening, section 19 pf pace

Learn something new everyday! so they can do that. Least i can format the SD card from my phone....

most formatting only wipes the 'file table' so all the data is still there and easily accessible, you need an app that secure wipes by overwriting the data

after looking at the first weeks footage of my go pro it got relocated to a draw and has lived there evermore

[Dan_M5]

Dave Hedgehog said:

most formatting only wipes the 'file table' so all the data is still there and easily accessible, you need an app that secure wipes by overwriting the data

after looking at the first weeks footage of my go pro it got relocated to a draw and has lived there evermore

Couple of formats and it should be fine.

[smarty156]

urquattroGus said:

I am looking at getting my first dashcam, perhaps the F770 Thinkwave:

http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770

My question is, does having a dash cam not work both ways?

I'm a responsible driver, but I'm worried that if for example I was pulled over by plod for speeding and or something similar, that they could use my own dashcam footage against me?

Is this a moot point?

I've heard of some people saying "have two" or have it encrypted or something like that?

What do most people do?

I bought the F770 but returned it as I couldn't fit it anywhere that wasn't in the way.
I think you'll have the same issue.

Re the speed data issue, presumably if you get one that doesn't have GPS then there won't be any speed data to worry about, so it couldn't be used against you. If you ram someone off the road or do anything equally stupid then I guess it still could be used against you though.

[Actual]

The microSD card is physically small enough these days, just swallow it

[kev b]

Data is stored in the ECU of newer cars and can be retrieved by forensics if deemed necessary.

Not sure how far they can go back now but IIRC the last five minutes of speed, revs, gears have been logged in most cars for a decade or so,

[vikingaero]

urquattroGus said:

I am looking at getting my first dashcam, perhaps the F770 Thinkwave:

http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770

My question is, does having a dash cam not work both ways?

I'm a responsible driver, but I'm worried that if for example I was pulled over by plod for speeding and or something similar, that they could use my own dashcam footage against me?

Is this a moot point?

I've heard of some people saying "have two" or have it encrypted or something like that?

What do most people do?

It would only be worth the Police seizing the contents if you did something extremely serious - causing death by dangerous driving etc,

Weird that you want the protection of a dashcam but are afraid it may be used against you? Man up and take the responsibility.

[smarty156]

urquattroGus said:

I am looking at getting my first dashcam, perhaps the F770 Thinkwave:

http://www.thinkware.com/Products/Dashcam/F770

My question is, does having a dash cam not work both ways?

I'm a responsible driver, but I'm worried that if for example I was pulled over by plod for speeding and or something similar, that they could use my own dashcam footage against me?

Is this a moot point?

I've heard of some people saying "have two" or have it encrypted or something like that?

What do most people do?

Have you tried the F770 yet?
I'm thinking of trying it with the front camera in the rear and the rear camera in the front.
Want parking mode too so looking at a Cellink B battery but not sure where it will go.

[Actual]

smarty156 said:

Want parking mode too so looking at a Cellink B battery but not sure where it will go.

It should be easy to fit an auxiliary battery in the passenger foot well under the glove compartment which was what I was going to do with a similar Li-ion battery but then I became concerned that cars are subject to extreme temperatures while parked in the sun and the Li-ion battery could fail and start a fire. It's too much risk for me so I haven't used it.

[caelite]

Dan_M5 said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

most formatting only wipes the 'file table' so all the data is still there and easily accessible, you need an app that secure wipes by overwriting the data

after looking at the first weeks footage of my go pro it got relocated to a draw and has lived there evermore

Couple of formats and it should be fine.

Nope, not how formatting works. When you delete a file from a storage disk it is essentially the equivalent of removing an entry from an index of a book, the data is still there but it just can't be seen from the surface. The data will remain there until the operating system writes something else onto that page. When you format a drive it is the equivalent of just ripping out the entire index page. The rest of the pages remain intact but they are just harder to navigate too.

To properly wipe a drive you need a program to write a bunch of garbled data into the un-indexed spaces, and due to the nature of how drives work, this data needs to be written and overwritten 2 or 3 times before the old data underneath becomes entirely unreadable. Not really something you can do easily at the side of the road, there is also the legal side of it, if the court sees that you have formatted a bunch of 'evidence' just prior to it being siezed then it can lead to all sorts of book throwing.

Police have been known to be siezing dash and helmet cams in recent years over minor speeding offences, it has led to some rather serious prosecutions, particularly among bikers.

[smarty156]

If you're worried about the embedded GPS data then Thinkware are about to launch the F100 dual cam system. GPS is an extra add on so you can buy it without. Problem solved.
Doesn't have time lapse parking mode but has the rest I believe plus the front camera is smaller.
I'm waiting to see what it's like and how much.
Launching next week I believe.

Edited by smarty156 on Friday 21st April 10:25

[urquattroGus]

Thanks for the info. Still umming and erring, but leaning towards not bothering!

[smarty156]

I'm the same as you (same car too!).
Yesterday though I had a stupid child who thought it clever to deliberately walk into the road in front of me (not while I was in the Alfa). I wasn't going fast or anything luckily but you can guarantee who would get the blame if I actually hit him. A camera would help in that scenario. But like you, not sure if it's really worth it at the moment.

[Pica-Pica]

I don’t have a dash cam, and have no current intention of getting one. They seem the latest incarnation of ‘curtain twitching’ and ‘refuse bin police’ mentality.

[DuckSauce]

Pica-Pica said:

I don’t have a dash cam, and have no current intention of getting one. They seem the latest incarnation of ‘curtain twitching’ and ‘refuse bin police’ mentality.

You resurrected a 2 year old thread to tell us that?