Matt Prior TESTER'S NOTES
Autocar UK|March 20, 2024
I don't use a dash-cam, despite how useful they can be to prove one's innocence following a collision. 
Matt Prior TESTER'S NOTES

That's partly because of the faff of setting one up every time I test a different car, but mostly because of who I might become.

When dashcams first appeared, I didn't anticipate how they could turn a number of us into - how to put it? - such antagonistic snitches.

A bunch of lowdown grasses. Squealers. People thriving on catching other road users making errors and then taking delight in fessing them up online. Could I be that kind of person? Perhaps. Best not find out, I think.

So popular, if that's the word, is the pastime that it's encouraged by police services, who appreciate us doing the legwork. They even later release YouTube montages.

In the past week, I've also seen videos of a motorcycle rider and a driver both prosecuted for bad behaviour. And in both cases bang to rights too: one careless, one incredibly aggressive.

Both were encouraged into it by the poor behaviour of those around them, either by failing to enter a dual carriageway safely, or by hanging around in the wrong lane until they were undertaken, but that doesn't excuse the actions.

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