Telangana: Demand for Dash Cams in Vehicles Gains Momentum

Hyderabad: The rise in the number of deaths due to road accidents and the subsequent need to gather evidence to deliver speedy justice to the victims have increased the need to install dash cams in cars, trucks and all other heavy vehicles. This is more so as installing CCTV cameras on some roads is nearly impossible. This is where the importance of dash cams, which Vanesh Naidoo, founder and director of Safe Cams, describes as ‘CCTV for car’ emerges.

Dash cams are tiny video cameras attached to a vehicle's dashboard or windshield to record the road and surroundings while driving. They capture footage of driving and accidents.

The footage, which starts recording the moment the ignition is turned on, is stored on a SD card. As a loop recording bonus, old footage is automatically deleted to make room for the new ones.

Speaking about their utility value while investigating road mishaps, Rachakonda police commissioner Sudheer Babu said, “ We are motivating people to install dash cams in their vehicles as they are resourceful during investigations given that they capture incidents like accidents, hit-and-run instances and road rages.”

He added, “These not only give us access to footage of the incident but also of license plates, vehicle details, and driver’s behaviour. That way, it makes it easier for us to identify the persons, mob and groups during agitations,” he said.

According to Sudheer Babu, “Vehicle owners with dash cams can support their version with evidence before insurance officials. There has been a 20 per cent rise in the sale of dash cams.”

However, the facility comes with its own limitations. The CP said, “Storage and footage quality are one of the biggest issues. This could possibly hinder investigation at times.”