In a video taken through the windshield of Dung Le91裸聊视频檚 15-year-old Toyota Echo, an oncoming car breaks the monotony of a wide, nearly empty street on a quiet August morning in a sprawling residential Edmonton neighbourhood.

As it approaches, the car leaves its lane as though turning into a driveway, then straightens and aims head-on at Le91裸聊视频檚 car. There91裸聊视频檚 a crashing noise, the dashcam is jolted upward to focus on empty blue sky and a man91裸聊视频檚 voice is heard saying, 91裸聊视频淲hat happened? What happened?91裸聊视频�

Le, who is originally from Vietnam, said the footage from his dashcam made it easy when downloaded later on to show exactly what had just happened.

91裸聊视频淟ucky I had the dashcam camera when that lady went from the other side into my lane and hit my car. My car is a total writeoff,91裸聊视频� the 52-year-old man said in an interview.

91裸聊视频淢y shoulder and my neck are in pain, sore.91裸聊视频�

Dashboard cameras, commonly used in police cars and other emergency vehicles, are increasingly being installed in personal vehicles by motorists who want to bring along an impartial witness when they hit the road.

Camera sales and installations at AutoTemp91裸聊视频檚 south Calgary vehicle accessories shop are equally split these days between business vehicles and personal cars, said manager Tim Bruce.

91裸聊视频淔or a category that didn91裸聊视频檛 exist 10 years ago, it91裸聊视频檚 becoming more and more popular,91裸聊视频� he said.

WATCH:

The units sell for between $200 and $500, he said. Installation, which involves running wires to the camera for power and fixing it in place, takes two to four hours.

Generally, the more expensive units have the most options, Bruce said, including a second camera for the back window, higher resolution picture quality, larger storage cards, GPS for estimating speed and Wifi connectivity so that the video can be downloaded to a cellphone.

The cameras start operating automatically when the car starts and run continuously but some are also activated when the engine is off if they detect motion or an impact, such as when the car is struck by a vandal or another vehicle, he said.

The memory cards are overwritten as they fill, so the owner has to save a file separately if he or she wants to keep it.

Customers buy cameras for old and news cars alike but Bruce said many come in after they91裸聊视频檝e been involved in an accident or an insurance dispute where they wish they had dashcam video.

Insurance companies in Canada don91裸聊视频檛 offer premium discounts for dashcams yet, said Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations for Ontario for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, but they might in future if they find the cameras reduce the risk of having to pay out a claim.

91裸聊视频淒ashcams may, like GPS devices, be a distraction if they91裸聊视频檙e not properly used. So there91裸聊视频檚 that to be aware of and be concerned about,91裸聊视频� he pointed out.

WATCH:

91裸聊视频淥n the other side of the coin, if someone is involved in a crash or they witness something, the good thing about having dashcam video is it really is an impartial and unbiased witness to the events.91裸聊视频�

He recalled a case involving a collision on Highway 401 near Toronto where a vehicle stopped and then suddenly backed up and struck a following car. Typically, the driver of the following car would have been assumed to be at fault in what appeared to be a rear-end collision, but the dashcam video proved it was, in fact, a case of attempted fraud.

Le91裸聊视频檚 dashcam footage will make a huge difference in settling insurance and legal questions related to the case, said Edmonton personal injury lawyer Norm Assiff, who is representing Le.

Without the video, the other driver could claim Le was at fault, he said. An accident reconstruction after the fact might conclude both parties were somehow at fault and split liability.

In either case, his client could be on the hook for damages and face potential insurance rate hikes, Assiff said.

91裸聊视频淚n an injury case, which is my expertise, there are always two issues,91裸聊视频� the lawyer said.

91裸聊视频淭he first issue is liability, who91裸聊视频檚 at fault? The second issue is quantum of damages, how much is the case worth, and causation, did the accident cause the injuries?91裸聊视频�

From a legal perspective, there91裸聊视频檚 no privacy issue because the roadway is considered a public place, he said, adding courts typically consider dashcam video to be admissible as evidence.

Protection from dishonesty is the reason Dung Le bought his dashcam for about $69 from an Internet website about five years ago.

A friend of his who had been involved in an accident was confident the other party would be found liable, but a key witness then gave inaccurate testimony that led to the case going against him.

91裸聊视频淎 dashcam makes a lot more reliable witness,91裸聊视频� Le summed up.

Dan Healing, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .