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Can A Dash Cam Help Your Car Accident Claim?

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Dash cam videos are pretty popular online, but few drivers actually have one. If you're ever involved in a traffic accident, having dash cam video to back your story could be the difference between whether you win or lose. Here's how.

How Fault is Determined in an Auto Accident

When a police officer is called to the scene of an auto accident, the first thing they will do is talk to the drivers. Most of the time, the drivers will adamantly blame the other, and unless the police officer catches them in an obvious lie, such as contradicting what they just said, the police officer won't know whom to believe. The same thing usually applies to any passengers, who will usually just back their driver's story.

While the police officer might try to talk to neutral witnesses, there are rarely any to be found. Even if someone stopped after the accident to see if everyone was OK, they'll usually have left before the police officer arrives, and few drivers think to get their contact information.

Many accidents come down to what kind of damage was on the car. For example, if a police officer sees front bumper damage on one car and rear bumper damage on another, they'll usually decide the car with front bumper damage is responsible for rear ending the other driver.

Why Damage Doesn't Tell the Entire Story

The problem with using vehicle damage to assign fault in a car accident is that it is only a hypothesis about what happened and doesn't tell the entire story. An apparent rear-end collision might have actually been the front car backing up without looking, perhaps in an effort to trigger the sensors to change a traffic light.

Vehicle damage also can't tell the police officer who really had the green light or who was the one that changed lanes without looking.

Why Dash Cams Win Cases

If a dash cam video of a car accident is available, it provides virtually indisputable evidence of what happened. A dash cam video is better than having a neutral witness because the camera won't forget details or be unclear when they explained what happened.

While installing a dash cam is an added expense, it is the only way — literally — to get a clear picture of what happened in an accident.

To learn more about bringing car accident claims, talk to a local car accident attorney today.


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