Dash cams have quietly gone from “internet video thing” to a practical tool a lot of normal drivers rely on. A recent nationwide survey found that about 30% of U.S. drivers (roughly 69 million people) already record trips with a dash cam, and another 36% of drivers without one say they’re likely to buy one within the next 12 months. In the same survey, 40% of dash-cam owners said they’ve captured a crash or traffic incident, and about half used that footage in an insurance claim. That’s the trend in one sentence: people want receipts.
When a crash happens, the details that decide fault often live in a few seconds. The color of the light. The timing of the lane change. Whether traffic was already stopped. Whether someone took off. Dash cam footage can preserve those details before memories fade and stories drift. Even major insurers describe dash cam video as direct evidence that can help determine what caused an accident, rather than relying only on eyewitness accounts.
AAA makes the same point from a consumer perspective, noting that dash cams can capture crucial context like traffic lights, signs, vehicle movement, and pedestrian activity, which can help investigators, insurers, and courts evaluate what happened.
Dash cams can also be helpful when something feels “off.” Staged or exaggerated claims are not just urban legend, and video makes those situations much easier to sort out. In one official case out of New York, regulators announced charges tied to allegedly staged crashes where the victim’s dash cam footage captured key details used in the investigation.
Most drivers will never deal with anything like that, but it is a good reminder that a camera can protect you in ways you don’t anticipate.
There are a couple practical Colorado notes. First, install it where it does not obstruct your view, because Colorado law requires a driver’s vision through required glass equipment to be “normal and unobstructed.”
Second, keep expectations realistic: a dash cam is best thought of as an objective witness. It can help you, but it will also show what you did, too.
On that note, once people know the camera is rolling, their driving tends to get a little more… polished. No promises, but it might even make you a more law-abiding citizen. At the very least, it makes that “creative” rolling stop feel a lot less charming.
If you were injured in a Colorado crash and fault is being disputed, or the insurance company is pushing a version of events that doesn’t match reality, The O’Sullivan Law Firm can help. Call or text 303-388-5304 for free advice.
