The Economist predicts dash-cams may become factory option

[froggie]

http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21662646-dash-cams-small-video-cameras-film-road-ahead-are-being-used-motorists?fsrc=scn/tw/te/pe/ed/drivingoncamera

The Economist suggest that dash-cams may become factory options or possibly even standard equipment on new vehicles in the not-too-distant future.

[andy]

Interesting.  Also not surprising.
I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

[Brian556]

If this happens, we would need laws concerning when police can view the footage.

I would like the law to state that the police are allowed to view after an accident.
It would significantly cut down on people causing accidents and getting away with it because the police there is no real evidence of their wrongdoing.
There are probably lots of instances where the person who caused the accident gets away with it, and the victim gets cited when it's not their fault.

I'm kinda surprised this hasn't already happened, since our little phones have cameras.

[AlexandriaVA]

Interesting.  Also not surprising.
I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

No different than they typically do - with prominent warnings and notices. Factories would have civil remedies, and government installations would have more legal sway. You might have to prove that your camera is off, or they come with an indicator light showing if it is off or on.

Or little removable sleeves for the lens.

[iBallasticwolf2]

Interesting.  Also not surprising.
I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

No different than they typically do - with prominent warnings and notices. Factories would have civil remedies, and government installations would have more legal sway. You might have to prove that your camera is off, or they come with an indicator light showing if it is off or on.

Or little removable sleeves for the lens.

Like a way for the camera to be turned off? If so then drivers may turn off the camera so they can get away with things? I do like the idea of dashcams being standard.

[AlexandriaVA]

Interesting.  Also not surprising.
I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

No different than they typically do - with prominent warnings and notices. Factories would have civil remedies, and government installations would have more legal sway. You might have to prove that your camera is off, or they come with an indicator light showing if it is off or on.

Or little removable sleeves for the lens.

Like a way for the camera to be turned off? If so then drivers may turn off the camera so they can get away with things? I do like the idea of dashcams being standard.

Don't see why they wouldn't be able to turn off the camera. I know I wouldn't buy a car with a built-in dashcam without an "off" feature.

Edit: Although I can foresee insurance subsides from your auto insurance carrier to create incentive for you to keep it on.

[jeffandnicole]

I wouldn't mind cameras that look at the side of your vehicle, for the assholes that rub against your car in parking lots and key your car.  Yes the cameras would need to be on at all times. But between a power source and a rewritable memory card in the vehicle, it can be done without too much of a problem.

[Rothman]

I'm not sure how much benefit there would be to a dash-cam that only looks forwards.  If I don't ram someone, then it wouldn't show much.  Wouldn't show anything from police talking to me through a side window.

If positioned correctly, hopefully it would show my speed.  There was one time I was given a speeding ticket when it was clearly another vehicle speeding past me.  Would have been handy to have evidence to prove the cop wrong.

[triplemultiplex]

If one wants all different angles from a car, then you basically become Streetview.

I would want assurances that the video collected by the camera is MY property and is not being streamed via that brand-new in-vehicle wifi they are putting in these days.  Anyone else, including the car and insurance companies, should need a warrant or a subpoena to get their digital hands on it.

I wouldn't mind having the evidence in the event of a wreck.  I drive for a living and see dumb driving almost every day and sometimes I think it's a minor miracle I have avoided a collision thus far.

But this option needs to remain in the hands of the consumer in perpetuity.  I should be able to disconnect it if I want if I happen to purchase a used car with this feature.  In fact there should be a law stating as much.

Now if the dash cam helps the vehicle drive itself, well that's entirely different.

[UCFKnights]

Car companies tend to be really bad at software. I wouldn't be so sure, and I don't care too much if it becomes standard as I imagine it will be more for governmental use and hard for the driver to use and control. Navigation is still far from standard, and even in vehicles that have it, I still see tons of people using the navigation on there phones instead of the one built into their car (myself included)

That said, BMW's surround view camera system is pretty cool
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/i/i8/2014/showroom/safety.html

[Mr. Matté]

I would like the law to state that the police are allowed to view after an accident.
...
I'm kinda surprised this hasn't already happened, since our little phones have cameras.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

[Joe The Dragon]

Interesting.  Also not surprising.
I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

No different than they typically do - with prominent warnings and notices. Factories would have civil remedies, and government installations would have more legal sway. You might have to prove that your camera is off, or they come with an indicator light showing if it is off or on.

Or little removable sleeves for the lens.

Like a way for the camera to be turned off? If so then drivers may turn off the camera so they can get away with things? I do like the idea of dashcams being standard.

Don't see why they wouldn't be able to turn off the camera. I know I wouldn't buy a car with a built-in dashcam without an "off" feature.

Edit: Although I can foresee insurance subsides from your auto insurance carrier to create incentive for you to keep it on.

But when it does live steaming and say your roaming how long will it take at $15 a meg to run up the data bill well over the price of a new car?

[Duke87]

I wonder how facilities which prohibit recordings (military, some industries) will deal with this.  Wasn't long ago, the US military was requiring camera free phones (when allowed at all) and still generally removes camera from computers.

Sensitive areas in government facilities generally prohibit you to even be in possession of a cellphone at all when entering. You turn it off and put it in a locker before you enter.

If a sensitive area is big enough to have a vehicle driven into it there may simply need to be a requirement that you park your car outside of it and enter by other means.

This level of security does not include entire military bases, where they are generally skiddish about photography but it is not explicitly banned across the board. Indeed, I've taken pictures of innocuous things on military bases without incident. But yes, they would likely want your dash cam to be off upon entering the base and if that is not possible it might be a problem.