Often people ask me how many dash cam channels should I get? What is the difference between a 1, 2 and 3 channel? Which is the most popular setup? Why get more than 1 camera? It all comes down to your lifestyle. Let’s answer these questions.
Why get a 1 channel dash cam? Typically, these are popular with do it yourself installs and trucking industry. The main purpose is to capture video evidence from the drivers point of view. If you get into a front end collision, someone cuts you off, or maybe you witness an accident. If that is your main worry a front channel dash camera is right for you.
For Example, you are driving down the highway and another car cuts you off aggressively causing an accident you now have footage that can prove your innocence. It will show the car cut you off and did not give you enough time to stop. It also gives your insurance company video evidence. On the other hand, if an accident happens that is the drivers fault it now helps settle outside of court a lot speedier and move forward.
Meanwhile, the most popular setup continues to be 2 channel dash camera. Available in 2 different setups, one which focuses on taxi, Uber, Lyft and the other on front and rear setup.
Why would anyone get a dash cam for driving Uber, Lyft, or Taxi? The real answer is why would you not. Life of a taxi driver involves lots of driving. Whether it be in food delivery or getting someone from point A to point B you are behind the wheel driving. Accidents can happen in a split second and recalling all those details can be a challenge.
If you are driving clients while dark out most cameras will not pick up any video footage of the interior. Which in turn completely defeats the purpose of having a dash cam. During your drive the camera will pick up heat signatures of people in your vehicle so if any funny business happens you will catch it on camera.
2 Channel dash cameras have become the most used. In a 2-channel package you receive a front and rear facing camera. Install it with a parking mode cable allows you to record incidents while parked. These dash cams require some more effort, as there is a cord connecting the front camera with the back. Nevertheless, dual cams allow to record a fuller image in case you are hit from behind or get suspicious tailgaters.
Imagine backing out of your parking stall and another car speeds by and hits you. Your 50/50 collision may lean in your favour if they were driving recklessly. Or maybe while you were inside buying groceries another car backed into you. Your rear camera catches the whole incident on video. That is what makes this the most popular setup.
There are many reasons why people strive for perfection. Not only does this cater to the Uber driver, but it also caters to every lifestyle. You get the best of both worlds in 1 package. 3 Channel units have a front facing, interior infrared and rear facing camera. What more could you ask for?
Just think your kid gets their driver’s licence. You give them the keys and tell them to have fun and drive safe. The next day you feel that maybe you want to check up on their driving behaviours. Upon watching the video, you find that your teenager was playing with their phone while driving. Or maybe they were racing their friends. Better yet they drove perfectly and nothing to worry about. Either way you now have advantage to use this as an education tool.
In short, we answered some of the basic questions on dash cam channels. If you have any questions please Contact Us.
A client from Surrey BC recently contacted us to inquire about adding a dash cam to their Honda Civic. The client was looking for a way to monitor when their teenagers drive the vehicle. They recently got their new driver licence from ICBC. The client wanted to use it as a learning tool to educate their teenager and to cover them if an incident occurred.
Red Light & Speed Camera Notifications
Some new drivers tend to have a heavy foot while driving and may be prone to making a few bad decisions. The Thinkware FA200 when paired with GPS antenna will give you notifications of red light and speed camera notifications. Can you imagine driving 70km an hour and then the Thinkware dash cam says, “Red Light Camera in 500 metres, speed limit is 50km an hour.” This will prompt most drivers to look down and check how fast they are going, hopefully preventing some unwanted speeding tickets.
Records Incidents While Driving and Parked
The Thinkware FA200 dash camera separates your video recordings into file folders. They are separated into continuous, continuous incident, motion detection, parking incident, and manual recording.
Continuous- Will constantly record while driving, record over old video footage and continuously record.
Continuous Incident- This feature will record when there is an impact to the G-Sensor while driving. Hard braking, drive over a speed bump aggressively, hit a pothole, or car accidents.
Motion Detection – When this is activated it will record all movement around the vehicle.
Parking Incident – While parked the dash cam will record any impacts to the vehicle.
Manual Recording- Just hit the REC button on the dash camera to save an incident you witnessed while driving.
Download Videos Directly To Your Phone or Desktop
The Thinkware FA200 Dash Cam allows you to pair your smartphone to the unit and download videos directly to the phone. Simply download the Thinkware Dash Cam Viewer App from Play Store or App Store. Follow the instructions for Android or Apple. This makes it easy to share videos via social media, You Tube, Police, or Insurance company. Or simply take the SD card out of the unit and view on your computer.
Feel free to contact us regarding a dash cam for your Honda Civic.
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.
Looking for ways to upgrade your driving experience in 2021? Then purchasing a dash cam should be on the top of your list. Having a high-quality dash camera installed in your car makes your driving considerably safer, prevents any acts of vandalism and gives you the peace of mind you have been craving.
If this is what you are seeking, you may wonder what dash cam is the best in 2021 and how to choose the one that would be worth every cent spent. For this very reason, Safe Drive Solutions team carried out an extensive analysis of all available dash cams in 2021 and selected the one that will meet all your expectations, and even exceed them.
Meet Thinkware U1000 Dual Dash Cam – a state-of-the-art dash camera that combined all of the latest technologies in one tiny device. Ultimate video quality, cloud-based storage, improved night vision mode and smartphone integration – these are just some of its fantastic features that make this dash cam a must-have of all passionate drivers in 2021. Let’s have a closer look at this cutting-edge camera, and see what it has to offer.
Stunning Video Quality
Tired of guessing car models and plates on a low quality video? With Thinkware U1000 this will no longer be a problem for you. The dash cam offers ultimate 4K video quality that allows to see even the smallest details on the recording. Car plates, road signs, people’s faces and other objects will all be clearly visible on videos recorded by Thinkware U1000.
The camera’s special night mode allows to capture high-quality shots even in complete darkness. With Thinkware U1000, there will be no more need to worry about your night time recordings. The matrix of the camera produces nighttime videos of high resolution with impeccable sharpness and one-of-a-kind detailing.
Cloud-Based Storage System*
We all know that dash cam videos especially 4K ones take up a lot of space on a memory card. Therefore, Thinkware introduced an innovative cloud-based storage system that uploads all of your dash cam videos to your personal cloud storage. With Thinkware U1000, you will forget about carrying an extra memory card with you and worrying about storage space.
Record Only When Needed
Willing to know what is happening to your vehicle while you are away? Thinkware U1000 can do that, but in a smart and efficient way. 24/7 recording can take up a significant amount of storage space and energy. Save up your resources by recording only when the motion is detected, and Thinkware’s Radar Module will help you with that.
The radar looks after the motion, and when impact is detected, it gives a signal to the camera and saves a 20-second video – 10 seconds before the motion detected and 10 seconds after so that you can see the full picture when you are back to your car. As easy as that.
Polarized Lens for Enhanced Picture Quality
Thinkware delivers a large range of add-on accessories that can be purchased extra for their U1000 dash camera. Among them is the polarized lens that is a little yet effective accessory solving a large number of quality-related issues.
Although the camera offers ultimate 4K video quality, the picture might sometimes be overexposed because of the bright sunlight or other intensive light. To avoid that, use a polarized lens that can be purchased extra to your Thinkware U1000. Simply put it on the camera’s lens, and enjoy enhanced color quality and improved light exposure on every shot made by your dash cam.
Not sure whether Thinkware U1000 is truly the best dash cam in 2021? Contact us now and ask our dash camera experts for a consultation! We will be happy to help you make the right choice and offer our extra services.
*Note: Cloud storage will involve data usage or use of a hotspot.
