Russian Dashcams: Digital Guardian Angels for Drivers

Mini video cameras - dubbed dashcams - have been growing in popularity in Russia as drivers fix them to their windshields as an insurance against erratic road users, corrupt traffic police and the arbitrary justice that is still prevalent here.

Published

2 months ago

Categories

Technology

Topics

Auto

People

Konstantin Sonin, Pavel Volkov, Alexey Dozorov, Alexei Drozdov, Sergei Zaitsev

Places

Russia, Chelyabinsk

Companies

Youtube

Transcript

SCRIPT: Images of a meteorite streaking across the sky over the Urals in Russia, went around the world last month. The incredible sight lasting only a few seconds appeared in dozens of amateur videos that hit the Internet within minutes. They all were accidentally shot by dumbfounded drivers on their daily commute... with small dashcams. SOUNDBITE 1 Sergei Zaytsev, seller at an electronics store in Moscow (Russian, 14 sec): "It's a way of keeping a peace of mind, to protect yourself from people who want to falsely accuse you of causing an accident, it happens a lot here... Or, in a case where the police doesn't, let's say, follow the rules." A year ago, Alexey's motorbike was hit by a car. A camera attached to his neck filmed everything. As the images show, Alexey crosses an intersection on a green light, but a car violates his priority and crashes into his left side. Without this proof, Alexey is sure he would have been held responsible for the crash. SOUNDBITE 2 Alexey Dozorov, user of a dashboard camera, drivers rights activist (Russian, 20 sec): "If I didn't record the accident, I'd be held responsible for it and I'd have to repair both the car and my motorbike. When I showed the recording, it was clear that I passed on green and I had priority. So the other driver was named responsible and it was his insurance that paid his car repairs" The dashcam market is booming. Priced from 30 to 200 euros, they appeared in Russia 3 years ago. 1 and a half million of the gadgets were sold here last year - 5 times more than in 2011. For this professor, the reason is clear: people don't trust the authorities. SOUNDBITE 3 Konstantin Sonin, professor of the New Economy school in Moscow (Russian, 22 sec): "People don't feel safe. They have the impression that when they get into a traffic accident, the police will not be capable of determining the responsible party, instead punishing the person with less political weight or who offers the smaller bribe" Images from the cameras aren't taken as legal evidence in trials. But experience shows that they subdue the often corrupt authorities, and a recent effort by some MPs to ban the cameras caused uproar.. As a key tool in ensuring a fair hearing from the authorities, their popularity with Russian people is likely to continue. SHOTLIST: TCHELYABINSK, RUSSIA, FEBRUARY 15, 2013 SOURCE: RUSSIAN URGENT SITUATION MINISTRY NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES -Meteorite filmed by a dashcam MOSCOW, RUSSIA, FEBRUARY 26, 2013 SOURCE: AFPTV -Sergei Zaytsev, seller at an electronics store in Moscow -CU dashboard camera SOUNDBITE 1 MOSCOW, RUSSIA, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 SOURCE: AFPTV -The road -Alexey Dozorov, user of a dashcam, drivers rights activist, driving his car -CU his dashcam -His hands on the wheel MOSCOW, RUSSIA, APRIL 29, 2012 SOURCE: ALEXEY DOZOROV NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES -Accident between Alexey Dozorov's motorbike and a car that violates his priority, filmed with a dashcam, attached to Dozorov's neck SOUNDBITE 2 MOSCOW, RUSSIA, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 SOURCE: AFPTV -VAR Alexey Dozorov watching videos shot by dashcams on his computer MOSCOW, RUSSIA, MARCH 5, 2013 SOURCE: AFPTV -VAR Konstantin Sonin, professor of the New Economy school in Moscow at his desk SOUNDBITE 3 MOSCOW, RUSSIA, JANUARY 8, 2009 SOURCE: ALEXEY DOZOROV NO RESALE FOR NON-EDITORIAL PURPOSES -Police officer performs an ID check of Alexey Dozorov who turns the camera in his direction when he approaches his window -Police officers near their car /// ----------------------------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: Russian dashcams digital guardian angels to drivers • / Moscow (Russia) • - 12 March 2013 • - AFP (Germain MOYON) • / FOCUS • / MOW • - ECO - CLJ - SCI • - 610 Words • / • Russia technology transport police corruption electronics • / PICTURE, VIDEO Videos from Russian dashcams proliferated the internet last month, letting the whole world view a bright meteor streaking across the sky over the Urals filmed from various angles by hundreds of dumbfounded drivers. But for Russians the mini cameras are primary insurance against unpredictable roads and corrupt traffic policemen, with the entertainment factor serving as a side effect that ranges from the hilarious to the bizarre. Minutes after the space rock entered the atmosphere and spectacularly struck near the city of Chelyabinsk on February 15, leaving a bright glow in the morning sky, hundreds of dashcam films made by the small cameras attached inside the car to the windshield hit YouTube. For days, millions of people amused themselves with watching the meteor disrupt morning commutes of Chelyabinsk residents who observed its passage across the sky with uncanny nonchalance. Most cursed in surprise, then kept on driving. The Urals meteor's dashcam debut uncovered an entire internet subculture of films capturing bizarre episodes from Russia's roads, from hair-raising near-misses to tanks and fighter jets that suddenly appear on the highway, to dozens of cows falling out of a truck into oncoming traffic. According to Euroset, an electronics distributor, sales of dashcams, nonexistent in Russia just a few years ago, have grown to 1.5 million in 2012, a fivefold increase since 2011. "Some people buy these cameras to get a bit of glory, since some videos get millions of views," said Pavel Volkov, head of Euroset's portable electronics department. But the main reason for dascam popularity in Russia is that people "hope to have evidence in case of a disagreement on the road," he told AFP. Russia, where poor road quality and loose abidance to traffic rules contribute to a very high accident rate, and where police are known to arbitrarily prosecute drivers with no political weight or money, the dashcams are one way to ensure a fair investigation. "It's a way of keeping a peace of mind, to protect yourself from people who want to falsely accuse you of causing an accident," explained Sergei Zaitsev, a sales manager in another electronics chain MVideo. "Or, in a case where the police doesn't, let's say, follow the rules," he continued with a smile. Moscow resident Alexei Drozdov has learned of their usefulness from experience. When his motorcycle was hit by another car on an intersection, the driver at fault accused him of running a red light. Little did he know that Drozdov had a dascam camera attached to his neck. "It was clear that I passed on green and had priority" from the video. "So the other driver was named responsible," said Drozdov, who ended up saving $1000 dollars in repair bills, all thanks to a device that costs about $100. Another time, when a traffic policeman accused Drozdov of running a red light, he proposed to look at the recorded video. The policeman left him alone instead of threatening him with a ticket, in hope of getting a cash bribe. Dashcams have also exposed some government officials of breaking road rules and abusing their right to use special blue flashing lights, known as migalkas, to force their way through traffic, outraging plebeian Russians. Recently some lawmakers caused a minor scandal by proposing to ban dashcam use. "People have the impression that when they get into a traffic accident, the police will not be capable of determining the responsible party, instead punishing the person with less political weight or who offers the smaller bribe," said Konstantin Sonin, director of New Economic School in Moscow. "It's for a reason that in Europe and the United States, people don't buy these cameras," he said.