Dash cameras: good idea or paranoia

[ScottyB]

i'm really curious what you guys think of these, especially with the majority of you living in the high-traffic DC area.

(this is in Russia, where people crash just getting their mail, but still)
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or fine citizens such as this:
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apparently with people becoming more desperate for cash these days coupled with the fact that your average person is a shithead, i'm hearing of a number of instances where the ol' "swoop and squat" scam driving techniques are becoming more popular. this involves someone either diving down on you from another lane and then slamming on the brakes so you rear end them, or even simply backing into you when you're at a stop and claiming you rear-ended them. in many cases these are done in situations devoid of witnesses (or witnesses who don't give a crap) so its your word against theirs. insurance pays out, or it goes to court for a settlement, asshole reaps profits.

couple this with being able to sue the hell out of someone for nearly any reason no matter how superfluous, and you have this sort of thing becoming even more popular to bring down on unsuspecting innocent motorists. i've read that in NJ this is starting to get pretty bad. in eastern Europe nearly every car has one of these.

anyone consider a dash cam? hell, even using a GoPro to do the job? they're coming down in price (<$100, even less on ebay) and have the potential to really be useful. i've never had this happen to me, but i wouldn't be surprised at all if it did considering how many time's i've been run into in the past. as a bonus, could you not use a dashcam to make an in-car driving video on the cheap if the sound was decent enough?

here's one. they can go right onto the windshield with suction cups as well.


you can even get an app for your Android, free! that's very cool.

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i dunno. with people having cameras in their phones now for any occasion, is this the next step? if anyone has any stories i wanna hear 'em.