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Dash and Helmet Cams: Can They Protect Your Rights?

Keeping a Record

Dash and helmet cams are becoming common fixtures in cars and motorcycles today. While they have long been in use in Asian countries—where traffic is hectic, and accountability is minimal—motorists in the US are now using cams to protect their rights in accidents and encounters with law enforcement.

New technologies have also fueled this trend. Action cameras—like GoPros—are making portable video recording cheaper and more accessible. Dash cams easily clip into adapters that can mount on your windshield. And new adapters can securely strap action cameras to DOT-approved helmets so that bikers can comply with helmet laws and manufacturer’s warnings about modification of the helmet shell.

This new trend not only gives us hair-raising camera footage, but it is helping claimants get the compensation they deserve from insurance companies.

How They Help

Dash cams and helmet cams can provide clues to what happened in an accident. Camera footage can illuminate issues such as traffic light color, the right of way, and sequence of events. It can also show lane changes, turns, and merging, all common points of collision. Having proof of these elements can reduce the chance of the insurance company disputing liability. This is especially helpful in motorcycle accidents where visibility is often an issue. Helmet cam footage can show the line of sight between car and motorcycle, clarifying when and where the collision took place.

Is Recording Legal?

Bear in mind, laws on recording can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. While there is no law prohibiting you from recording your commute, in some cases, it is illegal to record someone without their knowledge, which could come into play if you kept recording after the accident. Also, the footage can be subpoenaed as evidence in a personal injury claim. Take care to back it up after a collision because deleting it could land you in trouble.

A dash cam alone isn’t enough to ensure you fair compensation. Insurance companies use brilliant tactics to work against everything a claimant says and the evidence they provide. They are quickly learning to challenge new technologies, such as dash and helmet cam footage. If you recorded footage of your accident, speak with a car and motorcycle accident attorney in the Arlington Heights area. An attorney can help you submit the footage to the right parties to support your claim. This will give you the best chance at full and fair compensation.

R.F. Wittmeyer

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