New Delhi: The whole lot is calm as you drive late at night time on a quiet Delhi avenue — till a scooter all of a sudden cuts throughout your automotive. You slam the brakes, your coronary heart racing. For a second, you image the worst. What if the rider is injured? What if somebody blamed you? What if it grew to become your phrase towards everybody else’s?
For Rejimon CK, founding father of Dwarka Discussion board and resident of Sector 22, this was an actual situation in Dec when his automotive collided with a two-wheeler. The riders bought aggressive and blamed him. However Rejimon had a dashcam recording and the footage confirmed precisely what occurred. “I used it to file a police criticism,” he mentioned.
Although he has been utilizing a recording machine positioned on his automotive dashboard for less than two years, he had additionally rigged up his outdated cellphone as a dashcam for 5 years. “In an accident, it’s vital to have proof. I now use each entrance and rear cams. As soon as a automotive hit me from behind, and once more the dashcam proved I wasn’t at fault. It additionally rids you of guilt when you already know you’re proper,” he mentioned.
Rejimon’s expertise highlights a actuality on metropolis roads. This yr, there was a every day common of 15 accidents, some deadly, others inflicting accidents. 4-wheelers could also be at fault extra typically, however not each crash is so clear. That’s the place a dashcam can change the narrative.
However the query is: ought to each automotive have a dashcam? “These units will be very helpful in forensics if the footage survives a crash as a result of it may possibly assist set up the reason for accidents and is admissible as digital proof in court docket. Individuals ought to use dashcams,” advised professor Triveni Singh, an ex-IPS officer.
Cyberlaw knowledgeable Dr Karnnika A Seth, a Supreme Courtroom advocate, confirmed that dashcam footage was admissible in court docket beneath Part 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which recognises digital data as paperwork if sure circumstances are met. “The machine should be dependable, the recording untampered. A certificates explaining how the footage was created and saved is required,” she defined, including {that a} forensic knowledgeable’s affidavit, together with the person’s affidavit, is important. In response to her, if these circumstances are glad, such footage can function robust proof in accident and insurance coverage disputes.
However, Singh added, “Low-quality units are dangerous because the information might not be retrievable or verifiable, rendering it inadmissible. I’ve seen instances the place clear footage proved the opposite occasion’s fault, displaying their worth. Extra individuals ought to use dashcams, however solely good-quality ones, ideally with automated cloud backup to keep away from information loss.”
A dashcam is an thought nonetheless catching up however there are a lot of who testify to its usefulness. Rajeev Kakaria of Larger Kailash I mentioned, “I’ve been utilizing a dashcam for years. Within the metropolis, it protects me from street rage or visitors disputes, and within the mountains, I take advantage of it to seize scenic drives. As soon as a cop flagged me down after the sunshine turned pink mid-way. The second I confirmed him my dashcam footage, he needed to let me go.”
Dashcams have additionally captured incidents that went viral on-line. Successful-and-run on the Defence Colony-Lajpat Nagar flyover sparked outrage after a reckless Swift driver crashed into an auto and almost hit a scooter earlier than rushing away. One other motorist shared his dashcam footage on Reddit, bringing public consideration to the reckless driving. As a visitors officer admitted, “In some instances, motorists do share dashcam footage. Any type of surveillance assists and provides worth to the investigation.”
Dashcams are neutral — they file all the things. If the driving force is at fault, the footage can be utilized towards them. They file rushing past the restrict, rash driving, sign jumps and distracted driving. Anil Chikara, a transport knowledgeable, mentioned, “These units don’t simply assist examine the behaviour of different drivers, but in addition encourage self-discipline because the driver is aware of she or he will be held accountable for a mistake.”
With GPS options, they log precise velocity and placement, offering readability in disputes. Dashcams shield the harmless and expose violators alike. Nevertheless, there’s a catch: most dashcams robotically overwrite outdated footage after just a few days, relying on the put in reminiscence card’s storage capability. Drivers who wish to protect proof longer have to obtain the recordings or again them up externally on a pc, reminiscence card or cloud storage.
There are various kinds of dashcams. Some file solely the entrance view, whereas others seize each the entrance and rear, which many drivers want for its wider protection. Sellers say consciousness is rising, however the development is uneven. Mid-range fashions price ₹8,000-₹9,000 and supply options like high-quality video and GPS monitoring. Many automotive manufacturers, together with Hyundai and Toyota, now supply dashcams as equipment. These with superior sensors can file clearly even in low gentle.
A vendor added, “Dashcams do greater than seize video of accidents. They assist with insurance coverage claims, shield parked vehicles, settle street rage or visitors disputes and encourage safer driving.”
Because the development catches on, business is racing to maintain up, turning what was as soon as a distinct segment accent right into a booming enterprise. As per an Financial Occasions report, the enterprise, valued at simply over ₹887 crore in 2023, is projected to cross ₹3,106 crore by 2032, rising at an annual fee of 15-18 per cent . Adoption might attain 5 per cent of automotive house owners throughout the subsequent two to a few years.
