Dashcams are proving to be one of the most practical devices out of all the new technologies that are being developed for us to utilize in our cars. These devices, which may record anything that occurs on the road, are swiftly emerging as essential tools for assisting drivers, law enforcement, and other parties in enhancing road safety.
Drivers get dashcams to protect themselves from dangerous drivers by recording what happens in the case of an accident or law breaking. But the dash cam also records what its owner is doing and could end up costing them a fortune – with police able to seize the camera’s memory card and use the footage as proof of dangerous driving.
However, the Australian police are ready to take action against motorists who install the common device in their cars. Regardless of the fact that drivers install dashboard cameras to help keep them safe while driving and to protect themselves from criminals who could try to get away with a crime, but for anyone who has a dash camera without the required authorization from a legal entity, Police are now ready to issue fines to anyone.
As one young Sydney motorcyclist has found this out the hard way – racking up fines totaling more than $75,000 after his helmet camera was seized by the police.
A 23-year-old male rider was charged in September when the new rule began to go into effect, for “driving at a pace dangerous to the public” and for going more than 45 km/h over the posted speed limit by NSW Police officers assigned to the North Sydney highway patrol.
When the police took the driver’s camera, they discovered footage showing him speeding repeatedly, which they might use to him as evidence.
“At the time of the incident, police observed that the rider was wearing a video camera and was filming his riding. Due to the seriousness of the offense, police seized the memory card from the camera as evidence,” said a post on the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol Facebook page.
The Australian police are now prepared to confiscate further dashboard cameras, according to Peter Khoury of the NRMA. They might even be able to utilize them to gather proof against law-breaking drivers.
“I think the likelihood is that it’s going to continue. It will be used increasingly. The important point is just assumed there are eyes on you all the time. What we’re seeing here now is not just other people’s dash cams being used to crack down on bad behavior, but also your own [camera],” he told Daily Mail Australia. Police can legally grab dashboard cameras as Khoury said. He also warned drivers who have one installed to take caution.
He said, “The message to the public has to be, be careful. It would appear [the police] are using it for the most extreme forms of dangerous behavior, and I don’t think the public would have a problem with that.”
A recent poll by the NRMA of more than 2,000 drivers revealed that 13% of them have some kind of dashboard camera. Khoury said, “That demonstrates there are more and more sets of eyes on people as they’re driving, so it’s really important that you do the safe thing and the right thing.”
Sources: AWM, DailyMail, Yahoo
