Dashcams - who uses what?

[Iceni John]

With Richard's recent accident fresh in our minds, who uses what make and model of dashcam in their buses, and how do you like it?   I've been thinking for several years to buy one, but there are so many to choose from that I still haven't decided.   Ideally I want one that can be easily moved between my car and my bus.   I've heard of people mounting them behind the driver so they also show the gauges, i.e. your speed and whether you're braking  -  does anyone here do this?

John

[somewhereinusa]

I too would like to know. I think one with gps will tell speed but not braking. I would think that mounting behind driver would limit what you can see out the front too much.

[sledhead]

I posted this the other day on another board


hi guys I was looking to up grade my back up camera and dash cam at the same time

has any one used a system like this ? for both

5 cameras all 170 angle ( 1 back up , 1 for the trailer hitch , 1 on each side mirror ( so I can see the front wheel and side view at the same time ) and 1 front view
10.5 " split screen x 4
with a 2 day recording time

https://www.tadibrothers.com/products/7-ultimate-horse-trailer-backup-camera-system-ultimate-horse-trailer-backup-camera-system

thanks dave

[richard5933]

The video I posted was recorded with this:

Z-Edge Z3 3-Inch 2K Ultra Full HD1296P 2560x1080 Car Dash Cam with 32GB Card & Parking Monitor

Purchased from Amazon a few years ago to keep in my car, it was a last minute decision to put it in the bus for this trip. In fact we only got the cord for it the night before the accident.

I chose to not get one with rear-facing camera to avoid any problem with people in the vehicle getting recorded. My concern was what is going on in front of me. If rear facing camera was necessary, I'd opt to get another one and mount it in the rear window.

Regarding mounting...I found the best position is on the windshield or very near it. Further back and you can have glare issues.

The speedometer that was in our bus is a GPS speedo from Speed Hut. It has a analog needle with a buffer. The buffer allows the needle to maintain position during momentary lapses of reception. The thing I didn't know about the speedo, is that when you suddenly cut power to it during a collision (at least in this particular situation) it maintains the last needle position. In our case, 53 mph. You might want to confirm this with Speed Hut to see if it was a planned feature or an oddity that happened this one time for us.

Obviously I'll keep a dash cam in whatever vehicle I drive moving forward.

Richard

[chessie4905]

I've used products from this company, in my truck for backing up. Had it for 5+ years. Quality made materials including wiring and connections. They  sell dash cams and recorders from several companies also.

https://www.rearviewsafety.com/safety-solutions/dash-cameras.html

[TomC]

I'm interested in hearing about the 360 view-where you get a birds eye view compiled from multiple cameras around the vehicle.

[eagle19952]

https://smile.amazon.com/Z-Edge-HD1296P-2560x1080-Parking-Monitor/dp/B018YRBQSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506951905&sr=8-1&keywords=Z-Edge+Z3+3-Inch+2K+Ultra+Full+HD1296P+2560x1080+Car+Dash+Cam

[muldoonman]

 I'm getting one myself after this bad accident. Friend of mine has 3 in his vehicles (cars) and has run this type for years. Works off a loop. Cheap and he says no problems. Just ordered 3 off Amazon.

Old Shark 1080p Dash Cam

[lostagain]

Tom C et all: the J4500s I drive for TCS have the bird's eye view 4 camera system. I like it, and I don't like it. It is useful when not moving. You can see what is around you before you start driving. So it can prevent hitting something. The monitor turns off once you get to a certain speed. Maybe you can set it up to stay on all the time, I haven't tried. You can tell the monitor to show only one camera of your choice. What I don't like is that once you start driving, the monitor, which is quite big, is just annoying. And is a real nuisance at night because it is too bright. Again, it could probably be turned off. When I drive a Prevost without it, or my conversion, or a truck, I don't miss it, because I am used to driving without all the high tech gadgets.

JC

[Iceni John]

The video I posted was recorded with this:

Z-Edge Z3 3-Inch 2K Ultra Full HD1296P 2560x1080 Car Dash Cam with 32GB Card & Parking Monitor

Purchased from Amazon a few years ago to keep in my car, it was a last minute decision to put it in the bus for this trip. In fact we only got the cord for it the night before the accident.

I chose to not get one with rear-facing camera to avoid any problem with people in the vehicle getting recorded. My concern was what is going on in front of me. If rear facing camera was necessary, I'd opt to get another one and mount it in the rear window.

Regarding mounting...I found the best position is on the windshield or very near it. Further back and you can have glare issues.

The speedometer that was in our bus is a GPS speedo from Speed Hut. It has a analog needle with a buffer. The buffer allows the needle to maintain position during momentary lapses of reception. The thing I didn't know about the speedo, is that when you suddenly cut power to it during a collision (at least in this particular situation) it maintains the last needle position. In our case, 53 mph. You might want to confirm this with Speed Hut to see if it was a planned feature or an oddity that happened this one time for us.

Obviously I'll keep a dash cam in whatever vehicle I drive moving forward.

Richard

For only $100 that looks good.   At that price I can get one for the car and another for the bus, easier than swapping it around.   My bus has big flat almost-vertical windshields, so mounting a dashcam back from the glass would almost certainly cause glare and reflections.   Maybe I can get my tachograph working again, then I'll have a physical record of speed/revs/braking/etc.

I have three Speedhut gauges now, and they all use stepper motors that hold the last reading when power is shut off.   Curiously my original Teleflex tach also holds its reading, but I don't think it uses a stepper motor.

Thanks, John

[akroyaleagle]

When I operated tour buses in Alaska, We had windshield cameras in all our H3, and J45s.

They were connected to all the tv monitors and afforded all passengers a view out the windshield. The driver could not see them.

I bought a camera last year and became frustrated trying to work it. I returned it, but after seeing the first video, I will buy another portable unit and learn to operate it.

[windtrader]

Double edge sword?

Is anyone concerned if were by chance to capture yourself being at fault? I'll admit I do my very best to drive safely and legally but I also admit a lapse here or there occurs.

[Scott & Heather]

If it's my
Fault I take blame. Even if it means a ticket. If the camera captures that I'm man enough to accept the consequences.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[buswarrior]

I use a Transcend DrivePro 520, both for personal and professional use.

https://www.transcend-info.com/Products/No-705

The rear facing lens can be twisted right around to face forward, so you can choose to angle the main camera a little that way, and the other a little this way, to widen the coverage even further. Or, keep it aimed backwards for the coach interior, or for a glimpse out the back window of an auto, depending on your situation and desires.

GPS data for speed and location embedded.

Neat button on it to "save" the recent footage when pushed. Good for training film or youtube content?

As for my screw ups? As Scott said, I will stand tall, I'm not afraid of the truth, and even still, you limit your liability by having clear evidence. The lying still happens even when fault is obvious. Been there, done that, investigating for many years in Big Transit. Never needed a camera to find fault, needed the camera to defend against liars, really wished we had 'em years ago...

Driving in America? I would hesitate to do it without a camera now.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[luvrbus]

Here in the US you just don't throw out a camera for evidence a judge may or may not allow it to be entered as evidence in a court case, all depends if he having a bad day or a good day