Dash Cams Should Be An Integral Part Of Urban Driving In Pakistan
Pakistan Bureau of Statistic reports that annually more than 9000 accidents occur on the roads of Pakistan, causing a death toll of around 4500. Well this is alarming, as there are numerous more which remain un-accounted due to sluggish reporting. This number projects that almost 25 vehicles a day are subjected to crash across the country, and any one of us may be the next victim.
Frequency of accidents depends upon multiple factors; from reckless drivers to unbothered pedestrians, all summate in making this number extremely high. Good drivers do take all the measures they can to ensure a safe journey, but it’s not always you who may get you and your loved ones caught in a wreckage. Speaking in a broader term, no satisfactory system exists in our country, which is able to identify the true culprit of a resulted accident, virtually making no one responsible for the act. Furthermore, there are reported cases in which one is apparently made responsible for a wreckage due to lack of legal proof, making him pay for someone else’s negligence.
For years, Dashboard Cameras have gained popularity in US, in several parts of Europe and especially in Russia, to prevent drivers from situations like these. You must have seen a bunch of accident videos from Russia by now. Dashboard Cameras or dash cams for short are commonly mounted on windscreens or sun visors to record all the activity on the roads while the vehicle has elapsed travel. Few car manufacturers also offer a built-in vehicle surround activity cam as an additional feature to aid the drivers.
These cams are a reliable source of video evidence if a vehicle or the driver is subjected to a mishap on the road. They can be used to identify the real source of an accident, making the authorities charge the right personal. Some Dash Cams come with the facility of Internet based recoding, meaning if your car is parked in a parking lot, you can view what your Dash Cam has in front of its eye from your laptop/phone in your workplace. This can be used as a safety feature in case of theft in your own, or someone else’s car in the proximity of your Dash Cam.
In Pakistan, Dash Cam have been available for quite some time now, but have not gained popularity in the general public. That may be due to the ignorant nature of the local motorists. I personally believe that this little investment will not go unworthy in the present road conditions of our country. Garmin is selling good products in Pakistan now and you may get a basic Dash Cam model for 15 grand. Also if you want to buy some cheap, something Chinese, there are cams available in market that will not cost you more than 7000 PKR. Latest Navigation Modules for automobiles also have the Dash Cam recording options available in them. There are models with more added features like monitoring performance figures like acceleration, braking and also lateral G-force measurement when the car corners. The rear-view mirror replacement type model is gaining popularity which is mounted in place of the OEM rear view mirror. It has a recording camera facing the road side and the screen which when turned off acts as a mirror. The trunk camera for reverse can also be connected with this module which then records the whole front and rear ends of the vehicle.
I reckon that more options will be made available in the near future if motorists recognize the added security benefits of this system in their vehicles. This little gadget can make a meaningful difference if you get caught in a dreadful situation.
The question is…will they (police) give any consideration to the dash cam video evidence?
Is it admissible in court?
1. There is no framework to made video footage acceptable in court proceeding.
2. Who goes to courts in the first place? The court will take ~25 years while the plaintiff, defendant, lawyers and judge, everybody would die of old age.
3. Everything gets stolen. Even pre worth 1500 Rs. gets stolen, who would leave a dashcam? There is no security benefit, rather having gadgets in your car is a security threat as it attracts more attention towards you.
Our society works with ‘Might is right’ policy.. Your vehicle kisses to the one owned by some ‘resource ful’, regardless whose fault it was, they ll ‘teach you a Good lesson’ right away. Who cares that whose fault it was. Rules are for humans not ‘animals’ and our road are crowded with human shaped animals driving vehicles with only one thing on the top of their head ‘i am resourceful and i have every right’.
Having said, using such gadgets can be a value add!!
I do use a small dashcam in my car in KHI but so far I only use it for recording the mishaps one makes, or some funny scenes that happen while driving and then I simply post it online …
I do not think that whenever an accident will happen then people around will be calm enough to see the video evidence that I record unless they are from a good class of citizens and well mannered enough to talk about who was responsible in a sensible way. Else we all know it’s going be to smashed by the other party 😛
I think most of the accidents happen because of two wheelers. They should be banned on main roads. They do not even know what has happened behind them and just because of them.
I had seen many accidents and thousands of near misses when bikers change lanes all of sudden and poor car drivers had to apply emergency brakes or do abrupt maneuvering which cost them huge amount of money or quarrels on roads or even total damage just to save these silly biker simply from death..
One can find these bikers every where on the roads and they confidently ride in top lane with only one thing in mind that their two wheeler is also a “gari” and they have every right to go anywhere on the road.
We or Pak Wheels must do some program on “safe motorcycling” and create awareness that these bikers are actually riding on a dangerous machine with their families waiting at home. One kiss of car bumper and they are finished. May Allah save all bikers… but they must be educated …
Totally agree and for highways, please add lorries to the list of nuisance makers.
I agree so much with this. People using bikes and carrying their whole family on them just because they are “cheap” have absolutely no idea what kind of danger they’re putting their loved ones through. Not only THEIR loved ones but all the other drivers on the road that have to make sudden adjustments due to their erratic turns.
I don’t understand why used cars in Pakistan are so damn expensive. Cars 20-30 years old are still selling for a lot, and because of that people are choosing bikes..
Even bikers drive at 80-100 Km/h at night on Shara-e-Faisal, without even a headlight. Risking lives for 30-50 rupees, foolish…
I am interested in buying the Garmin Dash Camera..can you give the contact info from where in Pakistan i can buy this Camera. Thanks..