DALLAS — You've seen them before. Viral videos of wild things happening on the roads fill a lot of social platforms.
But, you might not know most of those moments are caught on a dash cam.
If you're unfamiliar, it's a travel-size digital camera that sits on either your car windshield or dashboard. And while they're great for a viral internet moment, personal injury attorney Amy Witherite says they serve a higher purpose these days.
They're useful for when you get into wrecks because "you can see clearly that someone else has run the red light, or you can see clearly that a car has come out or a truck has come out when they're not supposed to," she said.
Something that has been useful for her clients on North Texas roads.
A good quality dash cam will run you anywhere from $100 to $400, but Witherite says getting the story straight will save you a lot of money when it comes to insurance.
It's important to see exactly what happened because "it eliminates so much of the insurance company's delaying," she said. Once they have the video, they can't say it was your fault and you jump through that first hoop of filing a claim.
Witherite also says you shouldn't worry about it being a distraction while you're driving. Once you set it up, most dash cams can be left alone until you want to see something on it.
"You just forget about it and the dash cam will re-write over itself. So, then you're only paying attention when something significant happens," she said.
So, if you have one or are planning to get one now -- we hope you never need to use it, but if you do, you'll be glad you had it!
As always, if you have a traffic concern in your area, you can email us here.
Editor's Note: The following video was uploaded in 2021