Nextbase Australia research has found that 1 in 4 Australians now drive with a Dash Cam installed in their car, providing better protection for them through capturing road incidents as they occur and commonly used to aid insurance claims and retain no-claim bonuses for some insurance policies.
A Nextbase Dash Cam can make all road users accountable for their actions and lead to a safer environment, with 26% of Australians saying they may change their driving behaviour when they know a Dash Cam is recording their driving. With 1 in 4 Australians using a dash cam it is most likely to be occurring without other drivers even knowing already. Further to this, 45 per cent of Australians believe that driving with a Dash Cam installed should be mandatory.
Nextbase found that dash cam use could increase to 40% of Australians if it meant they received an annual discount of $100 on their car insurance. This figure rose to nearly two in every three of the country’s motorists if they were able to receive up to $150 off their car insurance.
The majority of Australians (57 per cent) believe they don’t have bad habits behind the wheel think they are good drivers, but a startling 7 per cent still send text messages while they’re driving and nearly 1 in 4 (23 per cent) exceed the speed limit. Over the Christmas period 23 percent of Australians admitted they were willing to consume alcohol prior to driving.
When it comes to driving more safely while we are carrying precious cargo 51% of survey respondents believe they drive more safely with their children in the car, with men and women responding equally to that. In terms of driving with their partner, 39% of men and 32% of women responded that they drive more carefully.
For some time now I have been using a gifted Nextbase 522GW and from my personal perspective I can say that knowing I am being constantly recorded does make me a more careful driver. The quality of the video footage provided by the Nextbase is quite unbelievable, you can very easily make out number plates and as it is linked to GPS so records your speed accurately as well.
Touch wood, I have never had an accident while driving with the dash cam, but sometimes even if you hit a pothole hard the Nextbase ‘protects’ the footage meaning that it is not written over and remains on the memory card. So, in the case of an accident the Nextbase keeps the footage leading up to it as a record of what happened.
The Nextbase dash cams were the world’s first range of dash cams that provide Emergency SOS. This revolutionary new feature will alert the emergency services to your location in the event of an accident.
Other features of the 522GW include:
- Alexa built-in
- Voice command and control
- Inbuilt polarising lens
- Parking mode
- Auto start with vehicle
- Night vision and
- Connect to a smartphone via Wi-Fi
A 3″ HD IPS touch screen provides easy menu selection and playback. Bluetooth 4.2 and Quick Link Wi-Fi will automatically sync crash footage to your Bluetooth enabled phone. This allows for a quicker connection, so you can easily share footage using the MyNextbase Connect app (Android 5+ & IoS 12.1 or above).
I was so impressed by the Nextbase 522GW my husband purchased a second one and the optional rear view camera that can be connected to the main unit. That way we have video footage recorded from both the front and rear of the car in case of an accident.
The Nextbase 522GW Dash Cam I tested was valued at $399.99. Prices for other Nextbase Dash Cams range from just $99 to the globally multi-award winning premium 622GW 4K model, at $549.99. Nextbase’s 622GW model feature’s Nextbase’s world first Emergency SOS system, using what3words location system to alert authorities to your location, ability to record 4K quality video, digital image stabilisation which cancels out vibrations from the vehicle and bumpy roads and integrated Alexa voice control.
Nextbase Dash Cams are available from leading retailers including Repco, JB Hi-Fi and Camera House.
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.