Car accidents happen every day and if you have been driving long enough, you probably have already witnessed accidents several times. If you are involved in a car accident, there are three basic things that you have to do: stop, exchange information and call insurance companies as we have discussed in the previous blog, what to do after a car accident in the United States? More and more people nowadays have installed dash cams in their vehicles in case of a car accident, as dash cam footage can provide critical evidence in car accident claims. Sometimes, you are not involved in the car accident but you witness the car accident and your dash cam captures the accident. In this case are you required to stop and provide your footage? The answer varies in different scenarios.
- Minor accident
If you just witnessed a minor accident, such as a ding at the parking lot or a minor tailgate accident where nobody is hurt and no hit and run happens, just drive away. There’s no need to waste your time.
- A tricky accident
If you have witnessed a tricky accident that is hard to tell which party is at fault, such as a merging accident, or lane-changing accident, if you think that your footage can help solve the argument, then it is a good manner to stop and provide your evidence.
- A hit and run accident
If you have witnessed a hit and run accident, call the police immediately, the police officer can help you get the medical support if anyone is injured. Provide your dash cam footage to the police. Note: even if your dash cam didn’t catch a license plate, dash cam can still provide substantial information such as time, location, car model, and how things happened. So if you captured a hit and run accident, please don’t hesitate to share your information with the police.
- A ‘crash for cash’ scam
You might also witness staged accidents on the road where one or two perpetrators fake the accidents to get insurance compensations. Well-maintained vehicles with vanity plates are more likely to become their targets because these types of vehicles are usually fully insured which makes the insurance claim much easier. The most common staged accident is the vehicle in front of you suddenly back into your vehicle. In most tailgating accidents, the vehicle in the back usually takes full responsibility for the accident. This will be very prejudicial to the driver of the car in the back if no witness is at present. In this situation, if you witnessed how it happened or your dash cam happened to capture the accident, please step out and help the innocent driver.
How to capture the accident?
The control over the Acumen digital rearview mirror is very user-friendly. If your vehicle is involved in the accident, you don’t have to do anything, because the dash cam itself will automatically lock the footage and save it in a separate file. If you witness an accident and would like to lock it, you may use the digital touch screen to lock the footage and protect it from being overwritten by loop recording.
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