When you have a young driver on the road with a brand-new license as a parent, you go through a wave of emotions, both excited and terrified. While you know your teenager understands the rules of the road with an adult in the car, what will it be like when they go out on the road alone? Or even with friends in the car. You may not be able to be in the car with them as they go out on the road independently, but you can find a way to ensure that they are protected and accounted for. As you are considering different options, the choice to buy your teen a dashcam is an option that provides a range of helpful features.
Understanding Dashcams
While most people in North America don’t use dashcams, they are essentially a video camera installed onto the windshield of the car that can record and monitor the vehicles in front of the car, back of the car or the driver. You choose to either have one channel, which means one camera, or two channels, which means two cameras. You can choose to point one at the front of the car and the rear of the car to get a good view of the vehicle’s surroundings.
Like all cameras, the dashcam comes with a memory stick that, once it is full, the camera will begin to overwrite the content. The two-channel dashcam is the most popular one for parents who are using them with their teenagers. This is mainly because both you and your teenager get a better picture of events when accidents happen from the car’s front, rear, and interior.
Why Use a Dashcam?
Say your teen experiences an accident, and it isn’t evident which driver was liable; you can look at the footage of the dashcams to help determine who made a mistake. This can be especially helpful for young drivers who are still trying to understand how to utilize the guidelines of driving in practice without reminding them. Understandably, they may experience a few hiccups as they get used to driving on the road without someone to make suggestions when they may be doing something incorrectly.
Looking over the footage with your teen can also be a helpful way for them to understand what they need to work on when it comes to their driving. Like athletes and actors, it can be beneficial for drivers to look over how they were driving in different situations when they are starting to move on their own. Dashcams provide the ability to reflect on specific rules that need to be remembered more regularly. All great reasons on why to buy your teen a dashcam.
Dashcam Protection
Including the ability to protect from accidents while your teen is operating, the dashcam can also provide security if anything happens to the car while your teen is away from the vehicle. There can be situations where the car might have been broken into, and you didn’t have a dashcam to catch the suspect in action. There are also situations where your teen’s car might have been dented or scratched while they were away. With a dashcam, you’ll be able to have proof of the incident to ensure that if anything goes wrong, your insurance will be able to cover it.
There are also different models of dashcams that allow you to monitor the car’s speed as your teen is driving to make sure that they are respecting the speed limit. You can also find dashcams that will tell you the location of the car* (hotspot/sim card required). This can be helpful in a range of circumstances, for if the car ever gets stolen or when you want to know the location of where your teen may be located and you can even be notified if your teen breached a set area. With the dashcam, you can even see who is in the car with your teen.
In Conclusion
Your teenager getting their very own driver’s license and car are one of the many steps to get ready for your teen leaving the nest and gain more autonomy over their choices. A dashcam gives you the peace of mind to know that your teen is safe as they get used to the responsibilities of driving on their own and having a car in their possession. With so many models to choose from, it can be hard to determine which dashcam would be able to fit your needs. This is why it’s essential to reach out to Safe Drive Solutions, where you can get a quote on a dashcam that suits you and your teen’s needs for driving safely.
Contact Us if you have any questions or Get a Free Quote on why to buy your teen a dashcam.
There’s an old saying that stands the test of time: accidents happen. And if you’ve been driving for many years, there’s a chance you’ve at least been in a fender bender. If you’ve never been in an accident, we’re going to layout and unfortunate, but all too common scenario:
You’re driving along on a sunny sunday afternoon. The same route you always take. Today though, there’s a driver that doesn’t stop at a 4 way stop intersection and t-bones you. Thankfully (and hopefully) everyone is uninjured. You get out of the car to assess the damage and to ensure everyone is ok. Then, you walk up to the vehicle of the person who ran the stop sign and blindsided your vehicle. You ask them if they would like to exchange insurance information. They immediately become hostile and defensive, claiming that you were the one who ran the stop sign and darted out in front of his vehicle.
When there are no witnesses to an accident, it’s one person’s word against another’s. Then, once the insurance companies become involved—each party will attempt to minimize their costs by investigating the incident with biased investigations. This can lead to a long, drawn-out legal or claims process that can result in an unfair outcome. Dashcams protect you.
DASHCAMS ARE A GAME CHANGER
Here’s where a dashcam could have prevented the unfortunate fallout of the Sunday afternoon incident:
Same sunday, same cars. Although this time, you’ve got a dashcam on board your vehicle. It’s monitoring a wide field of view in full 4k, ensuring nothing slips past it. Your dashcam captures you making a complete stop, and from the periphery is able to catch the vehicle that eventually hits your car. No one is injured, and you approach the vehicle to exchange insurance information. The person is denying any fault, but frankly, that doesn’t matter at this point. The dashcam footage you’ve captured is recorded and stored.
Many dashcams can also pinpoint your location on GPS, and can monitor your speed. So not only do you have proof of no fault, you also have proof that you were doing the speed limit or under. This is all valuable information for the police, or when making an insurance claim.
WHAT NOW?
If there is real vehicle damage, you’ll likely be contacting your insurance company in order to make a claim. They’ll ask you questions about the incident, a description of the damage, and other particulars before sending someone to make an assessment.
This is where your dashcam footage is going to become extremely valuable. By providing your insurance company with the dash cam video, you have protected yourself from potentially unfair penalties. Also, if the police are involved and you have given a police report that contradicts the other driver’s, a dashcam video proving your side of the story will allow you to avoid any possible lawsuits, and will enable you to contact a lawyer and prove your case.
There is no better way to get peace of mind, protect yourself from fraud or vandalism, or save yourself from vehicle repair costs than with a high-quality dashcam.
Dashcam footage is stored safely on the SD Card, and records only when you need it. There are no worries about storage space, because unused footage is automatically discarded after a certain amount of time.
DOES A DASHCAM WORK EVEN WITH TINTED WINDOWS?
Tinted windows are a great way to protect yourself and the interior of your vehicle from the hot sun. They also offer a layer of privacy that some drivers enjoy. The question often arises though: do dashcams still work with tinted windows? In short, the answer is YES. As long as your eyes can see out of tinted windows, so can your dashcam. There may be a slight degradation of video quality at night, but a dashcam facing a tinted window is still able to capture vivid detail of the outside world—and most importantly will still offer you the protection and peace of mind you need.
We at Safe Drive Solutions know how it feels when you are new to the dash cam market and are looking for your first dash camera. For this very reason, we have gathered some of the most crucial aspects you should pay attention to when choosing your dash cam.
We want our customers to be well-informed before buying their first dash cam to finding a replacement camera. The today’s market offers hundreds of dash camera models to choose from. While some of them can be a great choice, others might not meet your needs or serve their main purpose – to keep you safe on the road.
The first thing you should do when choosing your dash cam is to clarify your needs and prioritize them. For instance, do you often drive at night, and therefore need high-resolution nighttime video? Will you need a large SD card capacity? Is it required to have the best parking mode recording?
After making a list of what you are expecting from your future dash cam, you can jump straight into dash cam specs. Some technical terms might make you scratch your head, and this is when Safe Drive Solution buyers’ guide comes into play. Let’s go into more detail!
Single Channel vs Dual Channel
Although these terms might sound complicated at first, their meaning is simple – single channel stands for footage out the front, and dual channel – from both ends of the car.
Front recording, also called single channel or 1-CH, captures the front windscreen only, and is nowadays a more popular option as it can be easily installed. Dual channel, or 2-CH dash cams require some more effort, as there is a power cord connecting the front camera with the back one. Nevertheless, dual cams allow to record a fuller image in case you are hit from behind or get suspicious tailgaters.
If you are looking for an all-encompassing solution providing maximum level of security, then a dual dash cam might work best for you. Nevertheless, check out all options and consult a specialist before making a final decision.
Video Quality
When it comes to video quality, we recommend aiming at 1080P FULL HD or higher. If you decide to go for a less expensive option offering poorer video quality, you risk lowering your ability to recognize details such as a license plate and getting blurry pixelated images. However, resolution is not the only aspect to consider. Pay attention to:
Lens apertures. The larger the aperture is, the higher the video quality will be.
ISO values. High ISO value results in clearer image at night.
Frame rate. Higher frame rates, such as 60FPS significantly improve video recording by smoothing out motion blur.
Bit rate. The higher the rate is, the sharper and clearer images your dash camera will take.
Dash Cam Appearance
When we talk about dash cam appearance, we mean not only how well it suits your car interior, but also how safe it will be for you to drive with it. Generally, the smaller the dash cam is, the less distracting it will be when driving. Moreover, smaller dash cameras are less noticeable from outside the vehicle, which will prevent any break-ins.
As for the color, we would advise to opt for darker colors with matt finish. Shiny details and bright colors can reflect the light off your windscreen, which will inevitably create greater driving distractions and obstruction in the recording. Black matt dash cameras will not only provide a safer driving experience, but also look more discreet from the outside.
Still Hesitating?
If you are not sure what dash camera to choose, Safe Drive Solutions team is here to help you out. Contact us now at [email protected], or browse our catalogue to choose the best dash cam among the models we offer! Or get a free Quote.
