You might think that dash cams are just for truckers or rideshare drivers, but buying one for your vehicle could be the best $50 you ever spend.
Ken Denos, Attorney with Acadia Law Group, says in most crashes, fault comes down to two people telling different stories.
Sometimes it is he said/she said situation, and you just hope you have good evidence and the evidence is on your side.
While a police report is the most common reference to figure out what occurred in a crash, a dash cam takes any guesswork away.
Utah is a modified comparative fault state. That means if an insurance company can pin even part of the blame on you, they can cut your payout by that percentage.
Without video, it's your word against theirs, and adjusters are trained to find any angle that shifts liability.
That's the real value: it's not about proving you're a good driver, it's about removing the insurance company's ability to manufacture doubt.
Side-swipe accidents are some of the hardest claims to prove, because it almost always comes down to who drifted into whose lane — and both drivers usually swear it was the other guy.
Ken says, "We've had cases where, without a dash cam, there would have been absolutely no way to establish who crossed the line. The footage settled it in minutes."
There's also a rising problem with staged "swoop and squat" scams, where a driver slams on their brakes in front of you to force a rear-end collision, then claims injury. A front-facing camera is often the only thing that proves it was engineered.
A few practical notes: get front-and-rear coverage if you can, since plenty of disputes happen from behind, not just ahead.
Look for loop recording with impact-triggered saving, so footage from the moment of a collision doesn't get overwritten.
And right after any crash — before you even deal with the other driver — pull the memory card or back it up to your phone.
A dash cam costs less than a tank of gas. What it buys you is something adjusters can't take away: proof. If it's ever your word against theirs, wouldn't you rather have the whole thing on tape?
You can contact Acadia Law 24/7 at 801-816-2525 or by visiting acadialawgroup.com.
