The Night My Dash Cam Saved Me: A Cautionary Tale
Dash Cam Saved Me
9/26/20252 min read
The Calm Before the Storm
It was a chilly evening, and I remember being a little tired from a long day at work. The roads were quiet, and I was just looking forward to getting home, putting on something comfortable, and unwinding with a warm drink. I wasn’t in any rush—I kept to the speed limit, music playing softly in the background, headlights cutting through the dim streets.
Then, in an instant, everything changed.
A car in the lane next to me suddenly veered over without signaling. Before I had time to react, it sideswiped my vehicle, scraping across my front bumper and jolting me sideways. My heart jumped into my throat. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the shock of the collision had my hands trembling on the steering wheel.
When both of us pulled over, the other driver immediately stormed out of their car and began pointing fingers—at me. According to them, I had swerved into their lane, and I was at fault. In that moment, I felt cornered. It was dark, there weren’t many witnesses around, and it seemed like this was quickly going to turn into my word against theirs.
The Night My Dash Cam Saved Me
But then I remembered something that changed everything.
Just a few weeks earlier, I had installed a dash cam in my car. At the time, I thought of it as a neat gadget—something “nice to have” rather than essential. I hadn’t even given it much thought until that night.
When the police arrived, both of us explained our versions of the accident. The other driver repeated their story with such confidence, I could almost feel the tide turning against me. That’s when I pulled out my dash cam and showed the footage.
The video was crystal clear: the other car drifting into my lane without warning, clipping my vehicle exactly as I had described. The officer watched closely, then looked at the other driver, who suddenly had nothing to say. The truth was undeniable.
I can’t even begin to explain the wave of relief that washed over me. Without that dash cam, I could have been tied up in endless disputes, possibly even facing higher insurance premiums or being wrongly held liable. Instead, the entire situation was resolved on the spot.
Driving away later that night, I realized just how valuable that small device had been. It wasn’t just a piece of tech stuck to my windshield—it was my silent witness, ready to speak up when I couldn’t.
Since then, I’ve told friends, colleagues, and family: if you spend any time on the road, get a dash cam. You hope you’ll never need it, but when you do, it can make all the difference.
And...if you need one: