Dash cams are dialling up crime detection in Bengaluru

Watchful Wheels

Bengaluru: Last month, Bengaluru resident Manoj was driving on Pipeline Road, T Dasarahalli, when a two-wheeler hit his car and escaped. Manoj couldn’t stop his car in the middle of moving traffic.

Although he was unable to track down the two-wheeler that hit him that evening, nor file a complaint, as the vehicle’s number plate was not legible in the dark, the incident was recorded by his dashcam. “Had the people on the two-wheeler fallen, they would’ve pinned the blame on me and demanded compensation. Since the incident was recorded on the dashcam, it was clear I was not at fault,” Manoj said.

Manoj is one of many residents who rely on dashcams for personal safety and security.

Sunil Thomas, a resident of Horamavu, who also regularly travels the Nagavara-Thannisandra road, said that vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road, especially on one-way streets, is a common concern. A one-minute footage from Sunil’s dash cam on Thursday shows multiple vehicles coming from the wrong side on Thanisandra Road leading up to the Nagawara junction.

Dash camera footage of road rage incidents, hit-and-run cases, and traffic violations has become all the rage on social media today. While there are no official numbers, the tendency of private vehicle owners to upload dash cam footage that quickly goes viral has increased awareness among drivers to install dash cams in their vehicles for an enhanced sense of road safety and awareness.”

Complications in quality

Ajay Singh, Director of Sales and Marketing at Advaith Hyundai on Residency Road, told DH, that there is an increased awareness among car buyers in preferring cars with in-built dash cams. “Not many cars come with an in-built dash cam. But people don’t mind investing Rs 12,00 to Rs 15,000 extra just for it,” he said. He advises buyers to ensure that the dash cam is original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-approved to avoid facing wiring problems in fixing the dash cam. “Buying cheap quality local dash cams may lead to complications in wiring,” he said.

“Not having an OEM-approved dash cam may tamper the performance of the dash cam while also affecting the warranty of the car in case of damage to the existing wiring in the car. Usually, car manufacturers do not encourage the benefits of warranty for damage caused by an external device” he added.

Ankit Acharya, co-founder and CEO of Cautio, a Bengaluru-based AI-enabled dashcam manufacturing company said, “While having a regular dash cam installed on a car allows the driver to walk free, an AI-powered dashcam has the capacity to examine the driver’s conditions – whether he is distracted or is sleepy or is on a call while driving. This feature helps the driver to be alert as well.”

How does this aid investigations?

Police officers encourage four-wheeler users to adopt dash cams, terming it crucial evidence that has made crime detection easier.

Whitefield Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shivakumar Gunare, told DH, that dash cam footage serves as “100% legitimate evidence” in road rage complaints.

“While we do not necessarily need video evidence to open a case -- any complaint filed is taken into account — this helps us build a strong case and works as evidence during the course of our investigation,” he said.

C K Baba, Bengaluru Rural SP, explained that apart from detection and investigation, dash cams also help in prevention of road incidents due to increased awareness. “Adopting these gadgets in the vehicles is a way of trying to ensure personal safety.  Dash cams and a panic alert system help in the prevention of crime, and in the case of any untoward incident, aggressive and hostile behaviour is recorded,” he said, urging people to immediately contact 112 rather than posting the footage online, which is “futile”.

Quote - Driving improvement traffic violation detection X user @DriveSmart_IN who regularly posts dashcam footage and defensive driving tips said that dashcams also serve as first-hand evidence to capture traffic violations especially because the scope of the police CCTV coverage is limited besides serving as evidence for insurance claims. “Without evidence it is difficult to determine the cause of a road rage incident or traffic crash and these cameras function like a black box in an airplane. Sometimes a short dashcam clip only shows part of a road rage scenario. In such cases it is essential for authorities to review footage from a few minutes before the actual event to understand what led to it” he told DH.  Additionally this can also help drivers improve their driving by reviewing the footage he added.

Helps public cause A senior police officer who formerly served in the traffic police hinted at two potential future uses of such widespread adoption of dash cams. “Traffic police are exploring using dash cams to book traffic violations. The BBMP is also considering using public dash cam footage to identify road conditions requiring repair works in Bengaluru” the officer said.