General Discussion

jberryhill

(62,444 posts) Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:33 PM Feb 2013

Why Almost Everyone in Russia Has a Dash Cam

I was in Prague a while back, and a Russian friend of mine picked me up from the airport and drove me around the city. The weird thing was that he kept the video camera rolling on his smartphone mounted on the dashboard. He had an app that would keep a rolling record of the last 15 minutes or so of video.

"Why?"

"Just because. Everybody does this."

"But why?"

"Just because."

He couldn't explain it to me, and the question came back to me this morning with all of the dash cam videos of meteor photos...

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/02/russian-dash-cams/

How is it possible that a dozen different motorists around the Russian city of Chelyabinsk were able to capture video of a massive meteor flying through the sky? Because almost everyone in Russia has a dash-mounted video camera in their car.

7 replies

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Why Almost Everyone in Russia Has a Dash Cam (Original Post) jberryhill Feb 2013 OP

Thanks for this bit of inside info. (I have to admit, I was wondering, why so many videos?) 11 Bravo Feb 2013 #1

Right... Agschmid Feb 2013 #7

I'd picked up on that dipsydoodle Feb 2013 #2

Ah - I hadn't realised that the link answered the question, as well as asking it (nt) muriel_volestrangler Feb 2013 #3

Yep jberryhill Feb 2013 #4

They do it because of insurance fraud Sen. Walter Sobchak Feb 2013 #5

makes sense steve2470 Feb 2013 #6

11 Bravo

(23,926 posts)

1. Thanks for this bit of inside info. (I have to admit, I was wondering, why so many videos?)

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:37 PM

Feb 2013

Agschmid

(28,749 posts)

7. Right...

Reply to 11 Bravo (Reply #1)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 09:15 PM

Feb 2013

If you ever Google... "Russia learn to drive" ... there are quite a few very interesting videos!

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)

2. I'd picked up on that

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:48 PM

Feb 2013

from some of the joke videos on Youtube of car crashes over there and guessed that must be the case from earlier today.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,321 posts)

3. Ah - I hadn't realised that the link answered the question, as well as asking it (nt)

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:51 PM

Feb 2013

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)

4. Yep

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Reply #3)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 08:52 PM

Feb 2013

Sen. Walter Sobchak

(8,692 posts)

5. They do it because of insurance fraud

Reply to jberryhill (Original post)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 09:01 PM

Feb 2013

People back into you deliberately and then claim they were tail-ended and either try to extort money or claim to be injured.

steve2470

(37,457 posts)

6. makes sense

Reply to Sen. Walter Sobchak (Reply #5)

Fri Feb 15, 2013, 09:13 PM

Feb 2013

I was also thinking, to guard against police brutality, but from what I know about Putin's Russia, the dash cam would be destroyed before it would be admitted into evidence.

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