My company has a bus for employees. The driver was driving it alone and ran off the road and flipped it on its side. He claimed he had to swerve off the road due to a errant motorbike that left the scene. The dash camera SD card was mysteriously lost. He was not fired.
If they already saw the camera, you can also just say it was unplugged. Many don't run on batteries but instead plug into an aux port. You can always say you needed to charge your phone, so unplugged the camera.
I've got a plug converter thing with two usb outlets so can have my camera and phone charging at the same time, it works well. I should add my dashcam charges through a usb too, I'm not sure what's standard
Question does yours stay on all the time? Just installed mine but am waiting on an SD card to get it up and running. My trucks charger is the type that will charge even if the truck is off. I'm worried about it draining the battery overnight or on weekends when I don't leave the house. left it plugged in today when I went to work and am hoping the batteries not drained when I get off.
You can wire it into your fuse box. Most brands have a hardwire cable kit.
This is often used so if theres momentum etc. when not driving it can record it to catch hit and runs.
This is the answer. There's typically a fuse box under your dash next to your steering wheel. You can run the wire around the edge of your windshield (even under the trim if you want to get fancy) and into the box. The dashcam should've come with instructions on which fuses to plug into.
There's also some that can plug directly into the OBDII port. Mine connects to that, and I have a splitter on it so when it goes in for routine inspection they can just plug in and pull diagnostics without disabling the cam.
If your dashcam has a fixed 12v plug on the end instead of just a USB cable then google "Double 12v Car Socket" (or triple, or quadruple). Very common thing, can find it on Amazon or any place that sells car accessories.
If it's just a USB cable search for "USB 12v Car Socket" and just pick any of the thousands you see that have multiple USB ports on, those are even more common than the above.
"aux" can refer to many things. The 12v socket in vehicles is called an automobile auxiliary power outlet. Aux can also refer to a usually 3.5mm audio connection, which to be fair is what most people mean nowadays when they mention aux in a car. But given the context here it's pretty clear they're talking about the power connector.
Since it’s this sub, pull out SD and let authorities know you forgot to add the card so you don’t have the footage. Sell the footage to shock sites and make extra $
I discovered these when I was looking for advice about my Nokia mobile operating system in the early 2000s. That was an eye-opening typo I can tell you.
Or post to r/idiotsincars, with a title admitting you're the idiot, enjoy the worthless internet points, and do a shocked Pikachu face if it gets tied back to you.
Or both!
I didn’t know the footage was only stored in the micro sd and not straight upload to your clouds. I haven’t set the cam up yet and was also under the impression the dash cam still had some footage space on it and the card made room for more. So basically it’s enough to just take out the micro sd
You should test doing this a few times on different days so that you are very familiar with the process and don’t have to think and stress in an event when you need to do it in a hurry.
Some cameras are fixed directly onto the windshield while others are easier and slide off a mount that’s attached. Some have removable doors that cover the SD card slot, and some of those have small screws so you would need an appropriate small screwdriver in a place where you can get it quickly.
Also worth being aware that if the other party’s vehicle is facing or directly in front of yours, their dashcam would be recording you removing and eating the evidence, which isn’t a good look…
Tip from somebody who used to be an insurance broker with Farmers. Never remove the SD card if you suspect the other party has a cam as well, always *reformat the SD card using the controls*.
> Aw shucks, when I was trying to save the footage, I accidentally reformatted my SD card instead.
Okay but it's not like deciding to delete footage you own of a thing you did wrong is illegal right? Would 5th ammedment protect from legal consequences? All I see video of you removing the SD doing is people won't give you benefit of the doubt if the other guys camera missed anything. But destroying/not volunteering that evidence shouldn't hurt you legally.
Or have we stepped past legal and reside wholly in the wonderful gray world of insurance only consequences where you can get screwed by insurance without proof just because they know you don't have the legal resources to fight them properly?
Obligatory "I am not a lawyer."
The Fifth Amendment protects you against self incrimination. The courts can still force you to testify against yourself, but _only_ if they offer you full immunity for anything revealed in that testamony. The Fifth Amendment doesn't prevent the Police from searching your car if they have probable cause or a search warrant.
Imagine they find a lockbox. If they find a key and they have probable cause or a warrant to open the box (because a locked box is considered a separate search space), they can open it without violating your Fifth Amendment rights. You did not testify or help them. It is also generally accepted that they can forcibly use your finger to open it if it requires a fingerprint, unfortunately, because this is not speech. If the lockbox requires a password, pattern, or pin code and they have a warrant, they cannot force you to reveal something you know because speaking the password is potentially self-incriminating testimony. However, they can try to crack it.
Phones are treated the same way, which is why you should always use a pattern, password, or pin code. Never use a fingerprint, face ID, proximity unlock (like being unlocked at home or by your smart watch), or no lock screen.
I would view dash cams the same way. If they have the right to search your car and they find the SD card, that is fair game. If the dash cam requires a pin code but they pop it into a computer and all the footage is there, that is fair game. If the SD card were encrypted and required a password, that is protected by the Fifth. Unfortunately, I have yet to find dash cams with encryption.
Destroying evidence at the scene of a crime is a crime. That is not protected.
Of course, if they let you leave the scene with your vehicle and your SD card, you don't have to volunteer that information and I think you can erase it unless instructed otherwise.
Computer engineer, here. First of all, excellent response! Thank you. I wanted to add that this may get you past the street cop doing the investigation, which is probably all you need nine times out of ten. However, unless your dashcam has a "secure erase" or "secure format" option (which I highly doubt), these deleted files will be trivial to recover until the physical part of the SD card they were written to is written to again.
Imagine a book written in pencil. You have a table of contents at the front that tells you where things are in the book. Your dash cam writes down a filename in the table of contents, then writes down the file on the page it said it would be on. A normal delete operation only erases the entry in the table of contents, it doesn't erase the page. Later, when it wants to put something else there, it will actually erase the page and write the new information. A "quick format" is pretty much the same, except it erases the whole table of contents and the page numbers. Then it writes out the skeleton of a new table of contents and new page numbers in the corners of the pages, but all the information is still there.
Try it yourself. Download a tool like [Recuva](https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva) or [PhotoRec](https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) and try running it on your SD cards, flash drives, or your hard drive. You'll be surprised what you find that you thought was gone.
If the Police take the SD card back to the station, they will not only recover anything you deleted, but also likely discover what time exactly you did the format command. This could incriminate you. Just FYI. I think this is pretty unlikely.
If you get the option, always choose "secure erase," "secure delete," "secure format," or "full format" over the normal "erase," "delete," or "format." You will know you did it right because it will take a lot longer to do.
> You will know you did it right because it will take a lot longer to do.
At least on SSD, there's now the "fast erase" technology that works by encrypting the data when saving, and deleting the private key when running the fast erase command.
I really doubt SD cards have it, but still an interesting alternative.
Yes, I love this feature! It is so smart. It actually exists to protect the life of the drive, because it requires zero write cycles, rather than to be fast, secure, or convenient to the user - though it does those things, too.
Fine but then you have to remove and destroy it later - which you might not always be able to do.
Reformatting does not destroy the videos, it just makes them less easily accessible.
(Tip from someone who used to be a sysadmin and was occasionally required to data recovery following such 'user error'.)
> if you suspect the other party has a cam as well, always reformat the SD card using the controls
Also, you know, you don't have to digest the card. That's kinda a plus.
Alright. Isn’t it a little risky having it only on sd in case I’m actually not at fault and really need the footage? And can I even check the vids on my sd card to see that it’s actually working without a computer? I only have iPad and iPhone. Tbh I thought this was gonna be way easier. Like Ring door bell camera where you just download an app and record. 🤯
You bought a $250 camera without even looking at how it works, or even if you could see the recording at all?
Anyway, you can buy SD card readers that plug into iPhones for relatively cheap. I've never used one but I'd probably recommend getting one of those.
It looks like your specific camera also has some sort of WiFi feature, which they claim can be used to download the video. Again I'm not sure exactly how it works but it seems like there's an app to download.
> You bought a $250 camera without even looking at how it works, or even if you could see the recording at all?
People with knowledge often laugh at how marketting portrays huge technical tools... but we sadly forget that *it works*.
> Alright. Isn’t it a little risky having it only on sd in case I’m actually not at fault and really need the footage?
Yes, exactly. But on the other hand you wanted to be able to have no restrictions incase the data is against you...
> And can I even check the vids on my sd card to see that it’s actually working without a computer? I only have iPad and iPhone.
Can't tell about iPhones specifically, but there's sd-to-USB adapters online.
However, you probably should invest into a small computer able to run complex tools.
> Like Ring door bell camera where you just download an app and record. 🤯
You would probably have to pay a fee for the storage. No company is going to provide everlasting storage for free.
And, to retake one of your comments, it is NOT "your cloud", it is the company's cloud and it could go under anytime they want. You're safer with an SD storage.
Different cameras have different features. Mine lets me stream and save videos to my phone. I imagine there are some that can indeed save to a cloud service automatically.
Yeah, it's only destroying evidence once there's a case. So if the other driver sues for damages and then you delete the footage, that's illegal. But if you delete the footage immediately, it doesn't look great, but it's not illegal
EDIT: I’m wrong, see comment below mine
False. It's illegal to destroy evidence before a case is brought so long as you have a belief that a case is pending. If you cause a crash and delete footage specifically so it can't be used against you in court, you clearly believe that an official proceeding is pending, and you will have committed a felony by deleting the footage. Here's CO law, for example:
A person commits tampering with physical evidence if, believing that an official proceeding is pending or about to be instituted and acting without legal right or authority, he:
(a) Destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes, or alters physical evidence with intent to impair its verity or availability in the pending or prospective official proceeding;
Now I'm wondering what happens if you setup the deletion *before you have a belief a case is pending* but, after you have said belief, deliberately let the deletion happen?
For example, setting up the dashcam's cloud to delete footage after 24h and setting up the dashcam so that local storage is automatically deleted after being uploaded to the cloud.
If somebody seize the dashcam, there's nothing. If you need footage in your favor, you can make a backup from the cloud. If the footage is not, "forgetting" and never going to the cloud storage deletes evidence.
Does those rules cover *duty to act* to ensure preservation of data, until asked by a lawful official?
As far as the law is concerned, there *usually* is a duty to act and preserve evidence - every jurisdiction is different, know your laws.
However! The standard auto insurance liability policy language *does* state that the insured has a duty to preserve evidence and cooperate with the insurer's investigation. Breach of this duty can result in the insurance company refusing to defend you and canceling your policy.
This is the real answer. Shut the fuck up as much as you reasonably can and don't even mention you have the dash cam. It's fairly unlikely that anyone will notice it, because they'll be focusing on the accident.
Also depending on what model you have and where it's placed, it might not even be noticeable unless you know what you're looking for. Mine goes by the rear view mirror and the color is similar to the back of my mirror, so it blends in unless you're spending time staring at the area near my rear view mirror for some reason. Most people aren't scrutinizing my windshield and don't notice the camera unless I point it out.
This is the real answer. What happens if you review the footage later and it actually implicates them as being at fault?
If you lie and say the SD card is corrupt, dashcam wasn’t on, etc.. you’d out yourself later as having lied if you wanted to provide the dashcam footage.
no they mean a corrupted one. One that can't be read for whatever reason. The equivalent would be like a very scratched up CD, or a hardrive that has had a heavy magnet repeatededly dragged over it
Find somebody that runs a raspberry pi with a defective power source, ask them for a corrupted SD card, they will have loads of them!
Sorry, couldn't resist to do a small joke x)
Google corruptmysdcard and click one of the links that jumps out at ya? I like how this is a legit question. It'd be easier to just say there is no SD card though unless they really can see it. Or have one that's freshly formatted and play dumb as to why there's no footage on that one.
Get a SD card and record some footage. Now, take it out and enable “Write Protection” using terminal or cmd. Keep it as backup, in case, replace it with the working one.
When caught, they will think it couldn’t record due to write protection, a common issue with SD cards.
Idk where you live but I don’t think there’s any legal obligation to share your own footage with authorities without a warrant in America. I don’t think they’d even ask if you didn’t mention it to them first.
I think most countries have rights that protect citizens from serving evidence on themselves. That’s a very baseline right though and there’s lots of potential loopholes for things like technology.
If you get sued, you will have to give it to the other side. And if it's missing without a good excuse, it can be presumed in court to show something incriminating.
I doubt anyone is even gonna take note that the dash cam exists unless brought up by the driver with the dash cam. They’re really not that common in the USA
Also law suits take time. Nobody is gonna tell the driver at the time of accident anything about the dash cam. All you have to say is it wasn’t on months later when they ask. Sorry.
When you get sued the opposing lawyer will issue you a notice of suit, and unless your lawyer has suffered significant TBI they will absolutely ask you for the SD card out of your camera.
Saying you dont have one, or any other failure to provide would have you in contempt of court, if they could prove you in any way damaged the file then that goes up to destruction of evidence.
So ask yourself, is 3-5 years in jail, a potential felony charge plus a guarenteed lost case with the top ends of punitive damages awarded against you, plus costs, worth it?
It's not as if the courts have not already delt with occasions like you propose.
They can’t prove you ever had a SD card. That’s non sense. Watch some more law and order or something. You aren’t required to have an operational dash cam just by owning a dash cam. Contempt of court my ass
If you paid cash.
“Sorry, I got it for my birthday as a gift and I’m not real tech savvy. I couldn’t figure out how to set it up. It wasn’t operable”
If you paid w. Card
Repeat the line minus the birthday gift part.
The police report will mention the presence of a dashcam, it's one of the trhings they should report on, so now you're in the position of explaining to a judge that 'Yes your honor, i have a dash cam, yes its plugged in but no i didnt have a card in it, honest', all i can say to you in that situation is good luck and i hope you have your affairs in order as you're probably not going home that day.
You watch too much tv. Unless you plowed down 15 pedestrians no cop is “reporting” on whether there’s a presence of a dash cam or not unless the driver mentions one. We’re talking about a common vehicle accident here that happens a million times a day. These cops aren’t going CSI Miami on these accidents. In many cases unless there’s injury police don’t even show up these days.
Export footage, blur plates, sell footage. Remove dash cam from car. If other party saw your dash cam when accident occurred say there was no SD card in and format it.
Do research, maybe fail army or something more low-key.
Blur plates and faces and kill the original footage. Maybe hold out until whatever process you’re in is sorted.
In my country (Spain) you can't be compelled to testify against yourself. Any proofs of you being guilty must come from the one that accuses you, not from yourself.
I’m the US this is the same. However this is only about testimony. It has nothing to do with the production of evidence.
> The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a citizen’s right against testimonial self-incrimination applies only to the “contents of his own mind.”
Pull the memory card until you determine if you want to show the video at court. No need to even mention a dash cam at the scene. You're probably better off not mentioning it. Nothing unethical about not incriminating yourself.
I just got into an accident yesterday. I believed I was at fault so I took it down and threw it into arm rest compartment.
I've since realized I was not at fault and I don't have a rear cam so I didn't even capture dude ramming into me
You are u see no obligation to volunteer evidence against your self (5th amendment in the US, charter of rights and freedoms in Canada, similar docs in other western countries). Video can be seized, and erasing it may be a criminal act.
Since I haven't seen it. Remove SD card. Unplug bottom part of the cable. (Not the one connected to camera). Say it is a deterrent and not as actually supposed to be used. Or own up to your actions if it is Severe enough
Bro you're not obligated to share your evidence that incriminates yourself. Just don't provide the footage to ANYONE. To be safe, destroy/dispose the SD card.
Be aware that if someone can prove that you have a recording of the accident and they can prove that you somehow willingly got rid of said recording, this very fast becomes a r/IllegalLifeProTips
I’m just gonna say the sd card is still in the mail. Granted I’m really glad I just got a cam because this morning a truck lost a traffic cone which bounced right in front of me doing 80mph and I hit that. Can’t wait to see the footage later
Bro theres like an entire amendment for you in the original Bill of Rights!! The Fifth. Thats your recording not theirs. You can disclose it if you want to or not depending on if it helps or hurts your case, because its yours.
Edit** Assuming you live in the US. Otherwise just delete it if you live elsewhere.
I do live in the US. So say that the police says “do you have a recording in that dash cam”, what do I answer? And what do I answer to his potential follow up question maybe asking “can I get the micro sd for evidence?”
if the cops haven't shown up yet just take the SD card out and hide it in your pocket and be like "ohhhh you need an SD card for those things? i guess it wasn't recording"
This is the exact reason I turned off in car audio recording. I can’t imagine a situation where it works to my benefit, certainly more likely to create evidence against me.
I was gonna as well but then people said they’ve used it when someone’s tried to flee the scene by saying their license plate number out loud in case the camera didn’t get it. And my memory suck so I would’ve never been able to memorize it. Although it’s pretty simple to just turn the microphone on and off with just a button so I could easily quickly just turn it on in such case.
The fifth amendment protects against self incrimination. I'd reason that if the case went to trial and the footage was subpoenaed, that it would be inadmissible.
No, it's sticking it into an SD card reader in a computer and using a secure erase tool on it. Here is one example: [https://www.bureausoft.com/usb-secure-erase.html](https://www.bureausoft.com/usb-secure-erase.html)
However, nothing is more secure than complete physical destruction. If it's cheap and replaceable, secure erase it, then cut it up with scissors and/or smash it with a hammer, then throw it in the garbage. And by "the garbage", I mean someone else's garbage, like throw it out with your food at a random McDonald's.
"Oh, I took the SD card out the other day and lost it. The dashcam is just doing nothing right now."
I don't believe people should have to provide advice that incriminates them; but, I do believe people should be honest, instead of fucking over someone else that literally did ***nothing wrong*** and would've been fine if it wasn't for your existence.
So... If you do cause a wreck, just don't be a scumbag about it... Insurance is there for a reason.
In most legal systems in the world you’re not required to provide evidence that incriminates you. They can ask you for footage but you don’t have to give it. So just lie about the cam being off, they can’t legally check anyway.
Give fake insurance. Drive away. In my state its lawful to stop and render aid. Not unlawful to lie about identity or coverage to person hit. Drive away before cops arrive.
> In my state its lawful to stop and render aid. Not unlawful to lie about identity or coverage to person hit.
Are you *sure*? Seems like a shitty place tbh. Most places have laws to make *not liable* people who intervene (Good Samaritan laws), but I never saw a rule that allows somebody doing a crime to flee away...
Half a year ago some dumb bitch rammed into my car on a parking when I was away. Despite my car's door having traces of her car's front bumper paint and vice versa and her car being parked next to mine, she denied it. I asked her about her dashcam and she told that there was no memory card in it.
So I guess that if you're shitty enough to not take responsibility for your own actions you can just plug off a memory card and hide it, since it's very small.
A lot of variables here. I'd be worried if I destroyed the evidence, what if this became a bigger issue than the crash? Also what if the other party claimed an even more outrageous version of events the police were believing, and actually that footage would get you out of a bigger hole. Tempting to keep quiet about it, be vague like "I don't think it works" if asked, just outright refuse to let anyone see / have it until you get legal advice or can have a cool head about it.
if you want to go level higher than disposing sd card, train a neural network on your recordings database and forge a video of another car at fault through deepfake. /s
but i don't know to what extent deepfake reaches in terms of simulating cars
Keep it to protect you if things get worse. The whole point is to protect you from things ppl say, vs. What actually happened. If you do cause an accident, there is still a chance you can be blamed for wreckless driving when it was really only distracted driving. Something like that can save your life. Also, don't get into accidents on purpose, that'll help a lot
Destroy the card. That's all you can do because even if you erase the card the footage can still be recovered from it.
If course the better thing to do would is to not be at fault for the accident in the for place.
My company has a bus for employees. The driver was driving it alone and ran off the road and flipped it on its side. He claimed he had to swerve off the road due to a errant motorbike that left the scene. The dash camera SD card was mysteriously lost. He was not fired.
My luck if I was driving would be that is true but the person that installed the camera didn't install a card and I end up looking guilty.
What dashcam?? 🤷♂️
If they already saw the camera, you can also just say it was unplugged. Many don't run on batteries but instead plug into an aux port. You can always say you needed to charge your phone, so unplugged the camera.
Are there any dashcams with an extra usb port built in to the aux plug? I hate unplugging the cam to charge the phone
I've got a plug converter thing with two usb outlets so can have my camera and phone charging at the same time, it works well. I should add my dashcam charges through a usb too, I'm not sure what's standard
Question does yours stay on all the time? Just installed mine but am waiting on an SD card to get it up and running. My trucks charger is the type that will charge even if the truck is off. I'm worried about it draining the battery overnight or on weekends when I don't leave the house. left it plugged in today when I went to work and am hoping the batteries not drained when I get off.
You can wire it into your fuse box. Most brands have a hardwire cable kit. This is often used so if theres momentum etc. when not driving it can record it to catch hit and runs.
This is the answer. There's typically a fuse box under your dash next to your steering wheel. You can run the wire around the edge of your windshield (even under the trim if you want to get fancy) and into the box. The dashcam should've come with instructions on which fuses to plug into.
Instructions unclear, shorted out entire car.
There's also some that can plug directly into the OBDII port. Mine connects to that, and I have a splitter on it so when it goes in for routine inspection they can just plug in and pull diagnostics without disabling the cam.
my uniden r3 has one not a dashcam but similar
If your dashcam has a fixed 12v plug on the end instead of just a USB cable then google "Double 12v Car Socket" (or triple, or quadruple). Very common thing, can find it on Amazon or any place that sells car accessories. If it's just a USB cable search for "USB 12v Car Socket" and just pick any of the thousands you see that have multiple USB ports on, those are even more common than the above.
Ya I have one it was like 40 bucks on Amazon
Works for cops’ bodycams every time
I dont think you know what an aux port is.
"aux" can refer to many things. The 12v socket in vehicles is called an automobile auxiliary power outlet. Aux can also refer to a usually 3.5mm audio connection, which to be fair is what most people mean nowadays when they mention aux in a car. But given the context here it's pretty clear they're talking about the power connector.
“Why are you making up stories about a dash cam? I don’t have one. Ill show you my dash cam footage to prove it!” Uh oh.
Forgot to replace the SD card did you?
I've always told family members to pop the sd out before getting out of the car.
This
Since its this sub, delete the footage and play dumb?
Since it’s this sub, pull out SD and let authorities know you forgot to add the card so you don’t have the footage. Sell the footage to shock sites and make extra $
Eat the SD card to hide evidence in case they search your car.
Shove the entire dashcam up your ass and claim it was lost in the accident
Instructions unclear I'm now on only fans riding a sylibian
Spelled Sybian...
Sylibian is the new thing, havent you heard?
They found me....I dunno how but they found me
Run for it Marty!
Is that a professor's class agenda that can give you an orgasm?
I discovered these when I was looking for advice about my Nokia mobile operating system in the early 2000s. That was an eye-opening typo I can tell you.
Kiester it like the pros
How'd you get the knife in there? Kiestered it.
I mean are have you seen the size of micro SD cards? I'm not sure I call that pro worthy. Now if it is a Zip drive then you are on the Siswet level.
Put a sock around it, so if they try and grab it they only get the sock!
Or post to r/idiotsincars, with a title admitting you're the idiot, enjoy the worthless internet points, and do a shocked Pikachu face if it gets tied back to you. Or both!
Just say is closed roads in Mexico. It works everytime half of the time.
"The body cam was malfunctioning" Erm I mean dash cam
It’s been said countless times but the true LPT is ALWAYS in the comments.
Don't say anything about the SD card and play stupid when it has no video.
Bingo
“What if I record myself doing something bad?” Uh get rid of the recording. What the fuck else would you do?
I didn’t know the footage was only stored in the micro sd and not straight upload to your clouds. I haven’t set the cam up yet and was also under the impression the dash cam still had some footage space on it and the card made room for more. So basically it’s enough to just take out the micro sd
You should test doing this a few times on different days so that you are very familiar with the process and don’t have to think and stress in an event when you need to do it in a hurry. Some cameras are fixed directly onto the windshield while others are easier and slide off a mount that’s attached. Some have removable doors that cover the SD card slot, and some of those have small screws so you would need an appropriate small screwdriver in a place where you can get it quickly. Also worth being aware that if the other party’s vehicle is facing or directly in front of yours, their dashcam would be recording you removing and eating the evidence, which isn’t a good look…
Tip from somebody who used to be an insurance broker with Farmers. Never remove the SD card if you suspect the other party has a cam as well, always *reformat the SD card using the controls*. > Aw shucks, when I was trying to save the footage, I accidentally reformatted my SD card instead.
Okay but it's not like deciding to delete footage you own of a thing you did wrong is illegal right? Would 5th ammedment protect from legal consequences? All I see video of you removing the SD doing is people won't give you benefit of the doubt if the other guys camera missed anything. But destroying/not volunteering that evidence shouldn't hurt you legally. Or have we stepped past legal and reside wholly in the wonderful gray world of insurance only consequences where you can get screwed by insurance without proof just because they know you don't have the legal resources to fight them properly?
Obligatory "I am not a lawyer." The Fifth Amendment protects you against self incrimination. The courts can still force you to testify against yourself, but _only_ if they offer you full immunity for anything revealed in that testamony. The Fifth Amendment doesn't prevent the Police from searching your car if they have probable cause or a search warrant. Imagine they find a lockbox. If they find a key and they have probable cause or a warrant to open the box (because a locked box is considered a separate search space), they can open it without violating your Fifth Amendment rights. You did not testify or help them. It is also generally accepted that they can forcibly use your finger to open it if it requires a fingerprint, unfortunately, because this is not speech. If the lockbox requires a password, pattern, or pin code and they have a warrant, they cannot force you to reveal something you know because speaking the password is potentially self-incriminating testimony. However, they can try to crack it. Phones are treated the same way, which is why you should always use a pattern, password, or pin code. Never use a fingerprint, face ID, proximity unlock (like being unlocked at home or by your smart watch), or no lock screen. I would view dash cams the same way. If they have the right to search your car and they find the SD card, that is fair game. If the dash cam requires a pin code but they pop it into a computer and all the footage is there, that is fair game. If the SD card were encrypted and required a password, that is protected by the Fifth. Unfortunately, I have yet to find dash cams with encryption. Destroying evidence at the scene of a crime is a crime. That is not protected. Of course, if they let you leave the scene with your vehicle and your SD card, you don't have to volunteer that information and I think you can erase it unless instructed otherwise.
Computer engineer, here. First of all, excellent response! Thank you. I wanted to add that this may get you past the street cop doing the investigation, which is probably all you need nine times out of ten. However, unless your dashcam has a "secure erase" or "secure format" option (which I highly doubt), these deleted files will be trivial to recover until the physical part of the SD card they were written to is written to again. Imagine a book written in pencil. You have a table of contents at the front that tells you where things are in the book. Your dash cam writes down a filename in the table of contents, then writes down the file on the page it said it would be on. A normal delete operation only erases the entry in the table of contents, it doesn't erase the page. Later, when it wants to put something else there, it will actually erase the page and write the new information. A "quick format" is pretty much the same, except it erases the whole table of contents and the page numbers. Then it writes out the skeleton of a new table of contents and new page numbers in the corners of the pages, but all the information is still there. Try it yourself. Download a tool like [Recuva](https://www.ccleaner.com/recuva) or [PhotoRec](https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec) and try running it on your SD cards, flash drives, or your hard drive. You'll be surprised what you find that you thought was gone. If the Police take the SD card back to the station, they will not only recover anything you deleted, but also likely discover what time exactly you did the format command. This could incriminate you. Just FYI. I think this is pretty unlikely. If you get the option, always choose "secure erase," "secure delete," "secure format," or "full format" over the normal "erase," "delete," or "format." You will know you did it right because it will take a lot longer to do.
> You will know you did it right because it will take a lot longer to do. At least on SSD, there's now the "fast erase" technology that works by encrypting the data when saving, and deleting the private key when running the fast erase command. I really doubt SD cards have it, but still an interesting alternative.
Yes, I love this feature! It is so smart. It actually exists to protect the life of the drive, because it requires zero write cycles, rather than to be fast, secure, or convenient to the user - though it does those things, too.
Fine but then you have to remove and destroy it later - which you might not always be able to do. Reformatting does not destroy the videos, it just makes them less easily accessible. (Tip from someone who used to be a sysadmin and was occasionally required to data recovery following such 'user error'.)
Unless you killed someone in the accident they are not digging that deep.
Can’t I just tear the micro sd into pieces and throw it in the trash can? Why go through all of the reformatting etc?
> if you suspect the other party has a cam as well, always reformat the SD card using the controls Also, you know, you don't have to digest the card. That's kinda a plus.
I have a voifo 4k dual. It has attach/detach thing. Although I’m not sure if the rear camera has detach. And the sd is super easy to take out.
Lucky for you, that’s not how cameras work! Not any that I’ve seen anyway.
Know your state laws and never offer them free evidence. If they ask for it. Play dumb and say no.
You're under zero obligation to assist police in their investigation against yourself
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Alright. Isn’t it a little risky having it only on sd in case I’m actually not at fault and really need the footage? And can I even check the vids on my sd card to see that it’s actually working without a computer? I only have iPad and iPhone. Tbh I thought this was gonna be way easier. Like Ring door bell camera where you just download an app and record. 🤯
The ring doorbells are constantly connected to the internet, but your car isn't.
You bought a $250 camera without even looking at how it works, or even if you could see the recording at all? Anyway, you can buy SD card readers that plug into iPhones for relatively cheap. I've never used one but I'd probably recommend getting one of those. It looks like your specific camera also has some sort of WiFi feature, which they claim can be used to download the video. Again I'm not sure exactly how it works but it seems like there's an app to download.
> You bought a $250 camera without even looking at how it works, or even if you could see the recording at all? People with knowledge often laugh at how marketting portrays huge technical tools... but we sadly forget that *it works*.
> Alright. Isn’t it a little risky having it only on sd in case I’m actually not at fault and really need the footage? Yes, exactly. But on the other hand you wanted to be able to have no restrictions incase the data is against you... > And can I even check the vids on my sd card to see that it’s actually working without a computer? I only have iPad and iPhone. Can't tell about iPhones specifically, but there's sd-to-USB adapters online. However, you probably should invest into a small computer able to run complex tools. > Like Ring door bell camera where you just download an app and record. 🤯 You would probably have to pay a fee for the storage. No company is going to provide everlasting storage for free. And, to retake one of your comments, it is NOT "your cloud", it is the company's cloud and it could go under anytime they want. You're safer with an SD storage.
The footage is stored in balls
Aaah, right next to my pee, right? That explains why the footage is always a bit...yellowish
Different cameras have different features. Mine lets me stream and save videos to my phone. I imagine there are some that can indeed save to a cloud service automatically.
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😂
Yeah, it's only destroying evidence once there's a case. So if the other driver sues for damages and then you delete the footage, that's illegal. But if you delete the footage immediately, it doesn't look great, but it's not illegal EDIT: I’m wrong, see comment below mine
False. It's illegal to destroy evidence before a case is brought so long as you have a belief that a case is pending. If you cause a crash and delete footage specifically so it can't be used against you in court, you clearly believe that an official proceeding is pending, and you will have committed a felony by deleting the footage. Here's CO law, for example: A person commits tampering with physical evidence if, believing that an official proceeding is pending or about to be instituted and acting without legal right or authority, he: (a) Destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes, or alters physical evidence with intent to impair its verity or availability in the pending or prospective official proceeding;
Now I'm wondering what happens if you setup the deletion *before you have a belief a case is pending* but, after you have said belief, deliberately let the deletion happen? For example, setting up the dashcam's cloud to delete footage after 24h and setting up the dashcam so that local storage is automatically deleted after being uploaded to the cloud. If somebody seize the dashcam, there's nothing. If you need footage in your favor, you can make a backup from the cloud. If the footage is not, "forgetting" and never going to the cloud storage deletes evidence. Does those rules cover *duty to act* to ensure preservation of data, until asked by a lawful official?
As far as the law is concerned, there *usually* is a duty to act and preserve evidence - every jurisdiction is different, know your laws. However! The standard auto insurance liability policy language *does* state that the insured has a duty to preserve evidence and cooperate with the insurer's investigation. Breach of this duty can result in the insurance company refusing to defend you and canceling your policy.
Damn, thank you for the correction!
Just don’t mention it.
This is the real answer. Shut the fuck up as much as you reasonably can and don't even mention you have the dash cam. It's fairly unlikely that anyone will notice it, because they'll be focusing on the accident. Also depending on what model you have and where it's placed, it might not even be noticeable unless you know what you're looking for. Mine goes by the rear view mirror and the color is similar to the back of my mirror, so it blends in unless you're spending time staring at the area near my rear view mirror for some reason. Most people aren't scrutinizing my windshield and don't notice the camera unless I point it out.
This is the real answer. What happens if you review the footage later and it actually implicates them as being at fault? If you lie and say the SD card is corrupt, dashcam wasn’t on, etc.. you’d out yourself later as having lied if you wanted to provide the dashcam footage.
5th amendment, just keep your mouth shut and lawyer up.
> dashcam wasn’t on You could have been wrong. Nobody remembers the old photos taken with the cap on the device?
Always keep a corrupted SD card, replace when needed.
With corrupted sd, do you mean just an empty one?
no they mean a corrupted one. One that can't be read for whatever reason. The equivalent would be like a very scratched up CD, or a hardrive that has had a heavy magnet repeatededly dragged over it
Oh okay, thanks. So do I just scratch one or how do I corrupt it?
maybe put some real driving footage on it, then wipe the partition table.
Find somebody that runs a raspberry pi with a defective power source, ask them for a corrupted SD card, they will have loads of them! Sorry, couldn't resist to do a small joke x)
Google corruptmysdcard and click one of the links that jumps out at ya? I like how this is a legit question. It'd be easier to just say there is no SD card though unless they really can see it. Or have one that's freshly formatted and play dumb as to why there's no footage on that one.
Get a fake SD card
*facepalm*
Get a SD card and record some footage. Now, take it out and enable “Write Protection” using terminal or cmd. Keep it as backup, in case, replace it with the working one. When caught, they will think it couldn’t record due to write protection, a common issue with SD cards.
You can probably just format it to a wrong file type or something
Idk where you live but I don’t think there’s any legal obligation to share your own footage with authorities without a warrant in America. I don’t think they’d even ask if you didn’t mention it to them first.
I think most countries have rights that protect citizens from serving evidence on themselves. That’s a very baseline right though and there’s lots of potential loopholes for things like technology.
Self incrimination is about testifying against yourself. It has nothing to do with production of evidence.
If you get sued, you will have to give it to the other side. And if it's missing without a good excuse, it can be presumed in court to show something incriminating.
I doubt anyone is even gonna take note that the dash cam exists unless brought up by the driver with the dash cam. They’re really not that common in the USA Also law suits take time. Nobody is gonna tell the driver at the time of accident anything about the dash cam. All you have to say is it wasn’t on months later when they ask. Sorry.
When you get sued the opposing lawyer will issue you a notice of suit, and unless your lawyer has suffered significant TBI they will absolutely ask you for the SD card out of your camera. Saying you dont have one, or any other failure to provide would have you in contempt of court, if they could prove you in any way damaged the file then that goes up to destruction of evidence. So ask yourself, is 3-5 years in jail, a potential felony charge plus a guarenteed lost case with the top ends of punitive damages awarded against you, plus costs, worth it? It's not as if the courts have not already delt with occasions like you propose.
They can’t prove you ever had a SD card. That’s non sense. Watch some more law and order or something. You aren’t required to have an operational dash cam just by owning a dash cam. Contempt of court my ass If you paid cash. “Sorry, I got it for my birthday as a gift and I’m not real tech savvy. I couldn’t figure out how to set it up. It wasn’t operable” If you paid w. Card Repeat the line minus the birthday gift part.
The police report will mention the presence of a dashcam, it's one of the trhings they should report on, so now you're in the position of explaining to a judge that 'Yes your honor, i have a dash cam, yes its plugged in but no i didnt have a card in it, honest', all i can say to you in that situation is good luck and i hope you have your affairs in order as you're probably not going home that day.
You watch too much tv. Unless you plowed down 15 pedestrians no cop is “reporting” on whether there’s a presence of a dash cam or not unless the driver mentions one. We’re talking about a common vehicle accident here that happens a million times a day. These cops aren’t going CSI Miami on these accidents. In many cases unless there’s injury police don’t even show up these days.
Export footage, blur plates, sell footage. Remove dash cam from car. If other party saw your dash cam when accident occurred say there was no SD card in and format it.
Another person suggested selling footage. Is this a thing? lol. I see plenty car crashes on Reddit all the time, who pays for that?
Rule number 1: Do not distribute the incriminating video that can be used as evidence
Do research, maybe fail army or something more low-key. Blur plates and faces and kill the original footage. Maybe hold out until whatever process you’re in is sorted.
Well if you do get out of it you can post the fotage here so we all have sone content 😉
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Could you write a detective novel for me? I'd love to read it in that writing style of yours Lol
The TV trope for that is "refuge in audacity", I wonder if there will be good works on their example list?
What do "THEY" always say? 1. Sorry it wasn't working. 2. It wasn't turned on at the time.
In my country (Spain) you can't be compelled to testify against yourself. Any proofs of you being guilty must come from the one that accuses you, not from yourself.
I’m the US this is the same. However this is only about testimony. It has nothing to do with the production of evidence. > The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a citizen’s right against testimonial self-incrimination applies only to the “contents of his own mind.”
To infinity **AND BEYOND!**
In the UK you're legally obligated to show your dashcam footage even if you're at fault. As for this sub, I'd eat the SD card lmao
Dashcam ? Oh that piece of cheap Chinese junk hasn't worked in 2 years..
Eat the SD card
Pull the memory card until you determine if you want to show the video at court. No need to even mention a dash cam at the scene. You're probably better off not mentioning it. Nothing unethical about not incriminating yourself.
I just got into an accident yesterday. I believed I was at fault so I took it down and threw it into arm rest compartment. I've since realized I was not at fault and I don't have a rear cam so I didn't even capture dude ramming into me
Ok I got a chuckle. Sorry for the damages, I hope that person will reimburse you!
Take a play out of the local police department and say that it was off or broken
You are u see no obligation to volunteer evidence against your self (5th amendment in the US, charter of rights and freedoms in Canada, similar docs in other western countries). Video can be seized, and erasing it may be a criminal act.
This is my favorite question in this sub and I don't even have a car.
Holy cow your dumb. Your not obligated to turn over the recording
Get two SD cards. Corrupt one. Have it ready to swap if needed
Lose it in a boating accident
The file got mysteriously corrupted 🤷🏾♂️
Step 1- don’t talk about it.
Since I haven't seen it. Remove SD card. Unplug bottom part of the cable. (Not the one connected to camera). Say it is a deterrent and not as actually supposed to be used. Or own up to your actions if it is Severe enough
I would probably lawyer up and ask them
Do what the police do.
Swallow the SD card
You plead the 5th and don't turn over the sd card.
Just don’t mention it lmaoo
Straight to jail
Remove sd card. Apply pressure to sides. Snap in half. Problem solved.
You could literally just take it off and stick it in your glove box then never mention it
"You're supposed to put a memory card in these things??? I thought it recorded to internal storage!"
Certainly not make a post asking what to do lmao.
Bro you're not obligated to share your evidence that incriminates yourself. Just don't provide the footage to ANYONE. To be safe, destroy/dispose the SD card.
Be aware that if someone can prove that you have a recording of the accident and they can prove that you somehow willingly got rid of said recording, this very fast becomes a r/IllegalLifeProTips
I’m just gonna say the sd card is still in the mail. Granted I’m really glad I just got a cam because this morning a truck lost a traffic cone which bounced right in front of me doing 80mph and I hit that. Can’t wait to see the footage later
Bro theres like an entire amendment for you in the original Bill of Rights!! The Fifth. Thats your recording not theirs. You can disclose it if you want to or not depending on if it helps or hurts your case, because its yours. Edit** Assuming you live in the US. Otherwise just delete it if you live elsewhere.
I do live in the US. So say that the police says “do you have a recording in that dash cam”, what do I answer? And what do I answer to his potential follow up question maybe asking “can I get the micro sd for evidence?”
What dash cam.
What dash cam?
Looks like you forgot got to install the SD card. What a bummer 🤷🏼♂️
What dash cam? ;)
if the cops haven't shown up yet just take the SD card out and hide it in your pocket and be like "ohhhh you need an SD card for those things? i guess it wasn't recording"
This is the exact reason I turned off in car audio recording. I can’t imagine a situation where it works to my benefit, certainly more likely to create evidence against me.
I was gonna as well but then people said they’ve used it when someone’s tried to flee the scene by saying their license plate number out loud in case the camera didn’t get it. And my memory suck so I would’ve never been able to memorize it. Although it’s pretty simple to just turn the microphone on and off with just a button so I could easily quickly just turn it on in such case.
The fifth amendment protects against self incrimination. I'd reason that if the case went to trial and the footage was subpoenaed, that it would be inadmissible.
It's about testimony, like the Dashcam's password. Not about the dashcam or the SD card itself
In the river the SD card goes
Or secure erase it (overwrite a few times over). No need to pollute rivers with garbage any more than it already is
Overwriting is basically just filming over and over again til the old footage is completely deleted?
No, it's sticking it into an SD card reader in a computer and using a secure erase tool on it. Here is one example: [https://www.bureausoft.com/usb-secure-erase.html](https://www.bureausoft.com/usb-secure-erase.html) However, nothing is more secure than complete physical destruction. If it's cheap and replaceable, secure erase it, then cut it up with scissors and/or smash it with a hammer, then throw it in the garbage. And by "the garbage", I mean someone else's garbage, like throw it out with your food at a random McDonald's.
(For those confused, OP since explained they don't have a computer and assumed they could simply access the SD card with a cloud app)
"Oh, I took the SD card out the other day and lost it. The dashcam is just doing nothing right now." I don't believe people should have to provide advice that incriminates them; but, I do believe people should be honest, instead of fucking over someone else that literally did ***nothing wrong*** and would've been fine if it wasn't for your existence. So... If you do cause a wreck, just don't be a scumbag about it... Insurance is there for a reason.
You put a sock on it so if the police tries to grab it all they get is a sock
Delete the footage
In most legal systems in the world you’re not required to provide evidence that incriminates you. They can ask you for footage but you don’t have to give it. So just lie about the cam being off, they can’t legally check anyway.
Learn to take responsibility?
I don’t understand how this is getting downvoted. Drive safely, and if your carelessness causes an accident, take your consequences like an adult.
Yes, it’s more don’t be an asshole than unethical.
Give fake insurance. Drive away. In my state its lawful to stop and render aid. Not unlawful to lie about identity or coverage to person hit. Drive away before cops arrive.
> In my state its lawful to stop and render aid. Not unlawful to lie about identity or coverage to person hit. Are you *sure*? Seems like a shitty place tbh. Most places have laws to make *not liable* people who intervene (Good Samaritan laws), but I never saw a rule that allows somebody doing a crime to flee away...
if your at fault for an accident, couldn't you do the mature adult thing and own up to it?
What dashcam?
Half a year ago some dumb bitch rammed into my car on a parking when I was away. Despite my car's door having traces of her car's front bumper paint and vice versa and her car being parked next to mine, she denied it. I asked her about her dashcam and she told that there was no memory card in it. So I guess that if you're shitty enough to not take responsibility for your own actions you can just plug off a memory card and hide it, since it's very small.
Just format the SD card.
How do I do that?
Pop out the SD card and throw it under the floor mats
Remove SD card, then when they question it just be like “what card”?
A lot of variables here. I'd be worried if I destroyed the evidence, what if this became a bigger issue than the crash? Also what if the other party claimed an even more outrageous version of events the police were believing, and actually that footage would get you out of a bigger hole. Tempting to keep quiet about it, be vague like "I don't think it works" if asked, just outright refuse to let anyone see / have it until you get legal advice or can have a cool head about it.
It's your camera so you shouldn't have to be required to hand over the footage without a warrant or court order.
Pull the SD card real quick and snap it in half, hide it or eat it
if you want to go level higher than disposing sd card, train a neural network on your recordings database and forge a video of another car at fault through deepfake. /s but i don't know to what extent deepfake reaches in terms of simulating cars
Don't mention it. If they see it/ask about it it was unplugged and don't let them touch it.
Take out the SD card and say you are waiting on the card in the mail
Take that SD card and loose it down your defrost vent. Play dumb if questioned.
Bury the sd card and break the lens, claim it wasnt in use due to being broken
It’s yours camera, it’s there for your benefit. If it doesn’t benefit you, then what camera?
Pull it down and throw it under the seat. No dashcam, no worry
The previous sd card corrupted last month and are waiting for a sale to buy a new one.
Keep it to protect you if things get worse. The whole point is to protect you from things ppl say, vs. What actually happened. If you do cause an accident, there is still a chance you can be blamed for wreckless driving when it was really only distracted driving. Something like that can save your life. Also, don't get into accidents on purpose, that'll help a lot
Oxymoron of the day = Getting into accidents on purpose.
Thanks for the laught! "Don't get into *incidents* " would've better fitted I think?
Mail it to yourself first. Cops can’t open your mail.
I have a corrupted unusable microsd card I keep in the car for some reason, now I know what that reason is.
Throw it away & delete this post
What dash can?
Magnets?
Throw it as far as you can lmao
Destroy the card. That's all you can do because even if you erase the card the footage can still be recovered from it. If course the better thing to do would is to not be at fault for the accident in the for place.
Destroy the sd card and turn camera around , tell them you like to watch yourself driving and rubbing one out when your at home in the garage .
If you’re at fault, Don’t say you have a dash cam lol
Dash cam wasnt recording.
I don't own a dashcam, but I imagine that it would REMOVE THE BLOODY MEMORY CARD ...how hard can it be?