This is Dash Cam Review 2.
I replaced my first dash cam, which if you read Dash Cam Review 1, you know that I was let-down by that product. This new dash cam I got now is the Carway F30 driving recorder.
I like this gadget as it records all of my driving, even though it breaks up the recordings into four minute segments. This cam has both a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens and you have display that can show both cameras at the same time. What I do is turn off the wide lens and use the telephoto lens facing forward for the best quality. However I am still playing around with the settings to see what I like the best. My intention is to be able to have a recording of my car accident if I am in one in order to prove the other person is at fault if there is a liability dispute.
There is a SOS button on the dash cam that you can press when you are in your accident in order to keep that footage from being recorded over so you can have it if you need it. This dash cam works with a micro SD card and I am using an 8gb card in mine. It’s small enough to stay out of your line of sight so it is not blocking your view ahead. I haven’t tried it at night yet, but this cam has 8 LED infrared night vision. I do think the video quality could be better. The video resolution is either 1280 * 480 or 640*240 depending on what lens you are using. I like it overall and I think it serves it purpose for a reasonable price which I obtain for about $55. It does have a still camera mode which is good if you need to take photographs of both vehicles at the scene of the accident. The playback sound is really bad however which I think means the microphone is not good. Although I use mine with the sound off because I tend to voice my opinions of other drivers to either the person riding with me or even myself depending on how bad I think the other person is driving at the time.
Check this dash cam out on Amazon.com by clicking this link:
*Disclaimer – I am an affiliate marketer for Amazon.com. If you purchase this product or any other product soon after clicking on the link posted above, I may receive a small commission from the sale.
This is Dash Cam Review 1 because I am reviewing the first dash cam I tried to use. It did not work out for me and since I own a website, I’m going to tell you my experience with it. I’m not going to bash it or the company that sold it, rather I’ll just tell you what happened with mine and let you decide if you want to acquire this product.
My wife who we will call her Mrs. Helper, is encouraging me to make this site into something great and helpful for anyone that wants to come to bestcarwreckinfo.com. So for Father’s Day, she got me a dash cam. I don’t know the price she paid for it, but I know she got it on E-bay. It was an Advanced Portable Car Camcorder GS8000L.
When I took it out of the box, I liked what I saw because it was small and would fit easily on my car windshield. It included a USB cord, the car charger unit and ports for a micro SD card and 4 led lights on the back that I could never get to work and by that mean I couldn’t get them to light up or record at night, which I believe is the intended function. Honestly, I had high hopes for this camera. I was recording with it right away but I could never get it to go past 9 seconds of recording before it would stop recording and then start recording again. Well, that isn’t going to work if I am trying to film a possible car accident that I may be involved in at some time. It might miss the critical part of the accident that shows who is at fault. The instructions (at least the part in English) were very vague and I tried messing with every option to get this thing to work. What I believe is that the loop function is supposed to be 2, 3 or 10 minutes, however mine was set to seconds instead of minutes for some reason.
So my wife contacted the seller on E-bay and explained what was going on and that we wanted exchange the camera for one that worked. I did not want the money back, I wanted a functional version of this camera that I thought would be great to have so I can post videos to this site. Well, first the seller wanted us to take a video of the problem, you know…because they didn’t believe us. So we did on my cell phone, which is a LG G2 and I love it! Sorry, I wanted to plug a product that actually works in this blog while telling you about another one that doesn’t. Anyways, the seller said they couldn’t open up the video and told us to ship it back to them. They did not provide any shipping material or pay for the cost, rather I had to pay the $14 to ship it from The UPS Store. They confirmed receipt of the camera and just refunded my wife the original purchase price. We asked for the shipping to be reimbursed, but they refused.
Now, I have seen two reviews on YouTube, and the reviewers seem to like this product. One of them said he bought it on Amazon.com, so I would recommend using them instead of E-bay, for this product at least. And if the people at E-bay do not like that, then they can feel free to contact the seller and get my $14 in shipping costs back to see if I might be persuaded to change my tone about this experience. If you work at E-bay and want to contact me about this, send me a post or an e-mail and I’ll be happy to share the e-mail exchanges with you.
That last sentence seems a little harsh to me as I write it, but you know what? I want to protect you, the consumer who is probably limited in your disposable income like me and you know…most of the world. I am happy I have this medium to share this knowledge with you and I have learned so much from reading other reviews like this on the Internet. So if you have a dash cam you would recommend, please post your comment or send me an e-mail so I can check it out.
Like I said though, this is what happened to me and you may have had a great experience with this camera. If you have a dash cam, send us your videos so we can get them up on the site and we can all share our comments about what we see going on the roads out there.
*Disclosure – Please take note that if you click on the links posted above or below, and then purchase anything from those websites, I will receive a small commission from that sale.
As an adjuster, I often get two versions of the car wreck. Sometimes the versions are the exact opposite of each other with one party finding the other responsible for the accident. I was not there when the accident happened and when there are no witnesses, I wish I had a way to figure out which party is telling the truth. More and more, people are driving with a dash camcorder (dash cam) in their vehicle, and the video can be used in assessing what exactly happened and how is at fault for the accident.
I think about this concept and part of me gets excited about how much easier it will get to see what happened in the accident. Part of me is worried about what this will do to the job of a claims adjuster. When both parties are arguing who is at fault, then so are their adjusters. If one adjuster gets the video that puts one party at fault and shows it to the other adjuster, then that ends the argument. Each company has to assign a representative to each party to ensure a proper investigation independent of each other takes place. However if video from a dash cam can prove who is at fault, then companies will not need to send out field staff to obtain measurements and light timing sequences to try to prove who is at fault.
I do have to say though, that if technology can help make drivers safe, then I am all for it. Red light cameras help people become more aware of the color of the light before entering the intersection and photo radar systems in cities help people pay more attention to their speedometer in order to avoid getting tickets. If people think that they will always be filmed and if they are at fault, the film can be used against them, they may stop driving distracted by their cell phones and their texting. More importantly, maybe they will stop lying about what really happened in the car wreck because they know there may be a video that puts them at fault that may surface.
Also, remember those things called GPS units? Dash cams now have GPS built-in making it a nice little mult-purpose gadget for your car. Watch out James Bond! Now you can locate where you need to go, and have a record of your journey too!
These are just my thoughts and opinions. I did get a dash cam myself and I am going to start a dash cam page on this site so we all can post videos from our dash cams. Whether you agree with me or not, please join in on the conversation and let me know what you think. I want this site and the blogs to be a place where we as drivers can offer our thoughts and feelings about driving in an effort to try to come up with practical resolutions to the problems that plague our streets. mrhelper@bestcarwreckinfo.com
$50 – $150 dash cams:
Top Dawg – Premium Night Vision DVR Dash Cam – Black – Black
Thinkware – Rear-view Camera For X300 Dash Cams – Black
I am excited to announce the Best Car Wreck Info pages which are now on Facebook and Google Plus.
Facebook and Google Plus are both great forums where you can share your ideas about the car accident claim process. Please remember to visit the links on bestcarwreckinfo.com to get more information about the different components of the auto claim process.
I am hoping that by sharing my knowledge and experiences as a claims adjuster with you on Facebook and Google Plus, and by having the discussions posted from other people who may or may not be experts, that we all shed some light on what many people believe to be a difficult process. If you have just experienced your first car accident, then you probably have are feeling left in the dark especially if you are having trouble communicating with the insurance company that insures the responsible party, or even your own insurance company. I think the more knowledge you have about something, the more confidence you can have in handling a particular process which usually makes the process run more smoothly. Bestcarwreckinfo.com is a free website that you can navigate and read about definitions of coverage in your auto policy, and what to do after a car accident. There is also information about what makes a vehicle a total loss and what may happen when you pursue a bodily injury claim. Everyone is welcome to post their questions and their experiences regarding the auto claims process. I have learned a lot from the internet over the years, and most of that knowledge was given to me for free. I hear all the time that people are scared and frustrated about the auto claims process because they lack the knowledge and experience to make them feel comfortable in trusting what is being told to them about the process. Let’s end that now by sharing all the information we can about this difficult process on Facebook and Google Plus as well as bestcarwreckinfo.com.
*I am not an attorney. The information on this site is not legal advice and should not be taken as such by the reader. What I post on here are my opinions based on my experience as an auto claims adjuster.
We purchased a 2009 Toyota Highlander for my family. While it is a five year old vehicle, it’s still new to us. My wife and I have never owned a Toyota. We like it and we hear it should last us another 200,000 miles as long as we maintain it properly.
I wanted to tell you all that we went through an auto buying service through one of the member companies to which we belong. I do not want to say the name right now for two reasons. One, I’m a superstitious person. So I don’t want to recommend the company to you, and then all of a sudden the vehicle which I just bought breaks-down. I know…that’s silly. The second reason is that they are not paying me to promote them. Maybe that will happen one day, but then when they do, how can you trust that what I say about that company is purely objective?
I digress. I am telling you about the member company’s buying program because it really did take the stress out of buying the car for us. I did look at the blue book value and I believe the price we got was fair and below retail book. Also the GAP insurance was only 1.5 percent of the purchase price, so it was cheap. The person that was helping us did try to talk us out of GAP because we were buying the car below book value, but I had to remind him that both my wife and I are claims adjusters, and we have seen what happens when a person doesn’t buy GAP insurance. Usually there is an accident that happens very soon after the purchase. Remember what I mentioned earlier, I am a superstitious person. We are financing the vehicle so there is some interest that adds to our amount owed to the bank that if an accident happens, we would have to pay, so why not get GAP? We obtained a good rate on the financing though through the member buying program, 2.05 percentage points lower than what my wife’s bank wanted to give us. If you are in the market for a new or used car, you might want to see if any membership programs that you may be a part of offer this type of service. Also, see if your employer offers any discounts for purchases of new vehicles from any car manufacturers. Some companies do, but employees wouldn’t know if they don’t check their company’s benefit offerings.
Both of my cars are old and they are falling apart. It is time to buy a new car. Since this is bestcarwreckinfo.com, and the type of car you have can help you remain safe in an accident and possibly even avoid the accident, I wanted to hear from you as to what kind of vehicle you drive and would recommend to me. I have ideas on what my next car is going to be and I am probably going to get a full-size sedan, however I want to have your input on the matter. Tell me what kind of car you drive and how you think it keeps you safe while you are driving on these dangerous roads with many unpredictable drivers. Do you feel that technology in the newer cars are helping or hurting drivers? Are you still in an older car that you feel still keeps you safe? If so, it is because you have had to perform a lot of maintenance on that vehicle?
Most people will talk about the reliability of Toyotas and Honda, and the safety of Volvos, but is there a different car you were occupying in an accident that you felt kept you safe from serious injuries?
American cars have gotten a bad reputation lately, especially with GM’s recall being reported in the news. Is there a difference in the safety and reliability of foreign cars versus domestic cars in your opinion, or is that just a bunch of marketing and media hype?
I haven’t worked in our company’s total loss department before, but my friends in that department have told me that the Toyotas and Hondas usually hold their value well. I have also heard that the cars that have been recently discontinued by the manufacturer, such as Pontiacs do not command much value because they are no longer making them, so parts are harder to find and most of these vehicles are not collector’s items.
I do have some knowledge of automobiles from working in auto claims for so long. I would like to get your thoughts though and if you are planning on buying a new car, what kind are you looking at for your next purchase?
Sometimes, you cannot avoid an accident. How could you stop a person from rear-ending your vehicle while you are stopped at a red light? However, I feel that for the most part car wrecks can be avoided. If an accident is avoided, then you do not have to deal with the insurance companies, repair shops, rental car agencies or attorneys. Also, most insurance companies will raise someone’s rates if that person is deemed at fault for the wreck and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my rates to go up.
Today and throughout this week so far, there have been some inclement weather conditions causing a lot of dangerous road conditions in much of the US. I was thinking about this on my way into work this morning while I was stuck on the icy freeway in heavy traffic while in 3 degree weather. I thought today was going to be a busy day because of how bad the weather has been lately and how that usually drives up the volume of claims. The news was telling me not to go on the roads unless I have to and the schools were closed. However, I had to report to work as scheduled as the economy, while it is better than it has been in recent years, still doesn’t allow me to stroll into the office whenever I feel like it. We all have to be at work on time usually.
What can we do? This is not meant to be a lecture, but maybe we should reflect on our driving habits a little in order to lower our own probability of being involved in an accident. When we know the weather is going to be bad, maybe we should set our alarm clocks earlier the night before so we get dressed and leave our house in the morning with plenty of time to get to work. Let us remember that it’s 4-wheel drive and not 4-wheel stop, and that it is a good idea to slow down and leave more distance between the cars when the roads are wet and/or icy. If we tend to speed then let us think about how much time going 15 mph over the speed limit is really going to save us. If we get in an accident or pulled-over by a police officer, we pretty much lose any amount of time gained. Let us understand that we should not pass someone when it is not safe to do so, or that we cannot run into the back of the car in front of us. Let us make sure that we have enough time to turn left in front of a car that is coming towards us from the opposite direction and if that car hits us, let us conclude that we did not have enough time. However, if you do get into the accident, I am not saying you should admit liability, because it is not a good idea discuss fault with the other party as a lot of times it leads to confrontations. Also, liability is for the insurance adjusters and the lawyers to figure out, not the parties involved in the wreck. If you find yourself in the accident, do what you were told to do by whoever taught you how to drive or refer to my page ‘What to do right after the car accident occurs.”
Thank you for reading my post and please be safe out there on the roads!
I like this gadget as it records all of my driving, even though it breaks up the recordings into four minute segments. This cam has both a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens and you have display that can show both cameras at the same time. What I do is turn off the wide lens and use the telephoto lens facing forward for the best quality. However I am still playing around with the settings to see what I like the best. My intention is to be able to have a recording of my car accident if I am in one in order to prove the other person is at fault if there is a liability dispute.
