How Dashcam Footage Can Make or Break Your Car Accident Claim

If you drive Utah’s highways after dark, you know the feeling: long stretches of headlights and taillights, a little fatigue setting in, and the occasional driver who treats the lane lines like suggestions. In that twilight world, memories blur and stories diverge. That’s where a small, unassuming device can carry a whole lot of weight. I’m talking about the dashcam—your quiet witness who doesn’t get nervous, doesn’t look away, and doesn’t forget.

Over the years I’ve seen dashcam video save good folks from being blamed for something they didn’t do, and I’ve watched it complicate cases where the truth had a few more rough edges than anyone hoped. Used correctly, dashcam footage can take a car accident claim from muddy to clear in a hurry. Used carelessly, it can hand the other side a stick to hit you with. My goal here is to show you how and why dashcam video matters, what pitfalls to avoid, and what to do when you’ve got it.

And because clients often ask for a “real world” example, I’ll share a recent case that stuck with me—one that started on a black night with a commercial driver’s bad decision and ended with a dashcam telling the story no one could ignore.

A night run, a hard shove, and a story that didn’t add up

My client was driving north on I‑15 just past midnight, steady and sober, cruise control a tick under the limit. It was one of those clear nights when the stars feel close and the highway feels lonelier than it is. Up ahead, a box truck from a regional delivery company merged in a little too hot and settled into the middle lane. No big deal—happens every day.

But a mile later, traffic tightened. The box truck signaled left, drifted right, then drifted left again. My client did what defensive drivers do: eased off the accelerator and gave space. Right about then, the truck slid halfway into my client’s lane, no signal, and hung there. My client tapped the horn. Instead of correcting, the truck kept bleeding over. My client had two choices: move onto the shoulder or get sideswiped. He chose the shoulder. It was narrow, uneven, and scattered with winter grit. The car wobbled, clipped a reflector post, and came to a shuddering stop.

The truck didn’t. It carried on another quarter mile, then stopped in the gore point by an off‑ramp. By the time troopers arrived, the driver’s story had blossomed: my client, he said, had been “weaving,” “accelerating aggressively,” and “trying to pass on the right.” He claimed my client forced himself onto the shoulder. The driver even tossed in the old chestnut that he “never saw” my client until “they were suddenly there.”

I’ve heard variations on that tale more times than I can count. At night, with few independent witnesses and headlights washing everything flat, these cases can turn into a stalemate. One person’s word against another’s. Except this time, my client had a dashcam.

We pulled the microSD card, made three copies, and locked the original away. The footage showed exactly what happened: steady speed, centered in lane, horn tap, then the truck’s rear end sliding across the line and hovering there. Frame by frame, you could see the lane marker disappearing under the truck’s left tires. You could also hear the gravel spit when my client’s tires hit the shoulder. No hard acceleration. No weaving. Just a careful driver forced into a bad patch of pavement by a bigger vehicle whose operator wasn’t minding his space.

When the insurance adjuster for the trucking company watched that video, the tone of the conversation changed—fast. We paired the dashcam with the truck’s telematics (which we preserved through a letter the very next morning), and the puzzle snapped into place. The truck had made a late‑night delivery, was running behind, and the driver’s lane deviation happened right after a ping from his on‑board messaging device. He’d looked down. That two‑second glance might as well have been a mile.

It was a difficult case at the start because the company wanted to pin blame on the “little guy.” Fortunately, we were able to capture, authenticate, and present the video alongside vehicle data that told the same story. We resolved the claim for my client’s medical bills, lost time from work, and the hassle and heartache that followed. As my granddad used to say, sometimes you don’t need to shout—just shine the right light and let folks see.

Why dashcam footage carries so much weight

I often call dashcams “the honest witness.” They don’t cover everything, and they aren’t perfect, but they capture details our brains simply can’t hold onto under stress. In a car accident claim, especially one where liability is in dispute, video can:

• Show lane position and drift, second by second

• Reveal relative speed and spacing (even if the video doesn’t show exact mph, we can correlate with GPS and timestamps)

• Capture turn signals, brake lights, headlight status, and road markings

• Preserve the timing of key events—horns, braking, impact—down to the frame

• Record weather, lighting, and traffic conditions as they actually were, not as we remember them

In Utah, we often deal with comparative fault—each side’s share of responsibility matters. Video that clarifies who encroached, who yielded, and how much reaction time either driver reasonably had can swing a case by twenty or thirty percentage points. That isn’t academic. A swing like that can mean the difference between a modest settlement and full compensation.

How courts treat dashcam video (and why “how” you handle it matters)

Most judges treat dashcam footage as real evidence—like a photograph—so long as it’s authenticated. That’s a fancy way of saying we have to be able to show it’s the original (or an accurate copy), taken from a device present at the scene, and it fairly and accurately depicts what it purports to show.

That’s not hard if you act promptly and carefully:

1. Stop overwriting. Many dashcams loop after a set time. Lock the file so it can’t be recorded over.

2. Make exact copies. Don’t “export a highlight reel.” Copy the full files, including the minutes before and after.

3. Preserve metadata. Timestamps, GPS tags, and file hashes help show authenticity. Don’t rename or alter the raw files.

4. Keep a chain of custody. Note who handled the card and when. We keep a simple log; it impresses courts more than you’d think.

5. Avoid editing. If we need to zoom or brighten, we’ll do that on a copy and keep the original pristine.

Handled this way, dashcam video usually comes in without a fuss. Treated carelessly, it gives the other side ammo to argue the video is incomplete, altered, or unreliable. No sense sawing off the limb you’re sitting on.

When a dashcam can hurt you (and what to do about it)

I won’t sugarcoat it: dashcams are impartial. If you were glancing at your GPS, following too closely, or creeping five miles over, the camera may catch it. That doesn’t mean your claim is sunk. Utah’s system allows for degrees of responsibility. If the other driver still made the dangerous move that caused the collision, your small misstep may reduce the claim, but it rarely erases it.

What we do is put the footage in context. Wide‑angle lenses make objects look farther apart. Nighttime glare can exaggerate brightness. Frame drops on cheaper cameras can make speed changes look jerky. We bring in the right experts—sometimes all it takes is a careful frame‑rate analysis and a test run on the same stretch of road to set the record straight.

The worst move is sending raw video to an insurance adjuster before you know what’s on it and how it will be read. Think of it like giving your opponent your playbook. Sit down with counsel, review it together, then decide how and when to disclose.

Special considerations in commercial vehicle crashes

Any time a crash involves a company car, delivery van, box truck, or semi, the stakes go up. There’s more evidence to preserve and more ways to lose it if you don’t move quickly. Alongside your dashcam footage, we’ll secure:

• The truck’s electronic logging device (ELD) and telematics

• Dispatch messages and routing data

• On‑board camera footage (many fleets run inward‑ and outward‑facing cams)

• Pre‑trip inspection reports and maintenance logs

• Driver qualification file, hours‑of‑service history, and any prior safety violations

In my client’s night‑run case, the fleet’s message ping lined up within seconds of the lane drift on our video. That single correlation took the story from “maybe” to “there it is.”

Time matters. Some telematics systems purge data in days or weeks. We send a preservation letter immediately so no one can “accidentally” delete evidence. If need be, we ask a court for an order to keep everything intact. It’s not about being dramatic; it’s about making sure the truth doesn’t get overwritten by a computer’s housekeeping setting.

“Can I even use a dashcam? What about privacy?”

I hear this a lot. In Utah you can record video of what’s plainly visible from the roadway. Audio recording generally requires at least one party’s consent, and most of the time it’s the video—not the audio—that matters for a crash. If you’re worried about privacy, turn audio off and let the lens do the work. Keep your camera mounted so it doesn’t obstruct your view; a tidy setup is safer and less likely to cause a fuss if an officer looks inside your vehicle after a collision.

What to do right after a crash if you have a dashcam

Once everyone is safe and medical issues are addressed, do these five things:

1. Lock the clip. Most cameras have an “event” button or automatically lock after a jolt. Make sure it’s saved.

2. Power down before the card loops. If the battery is failing or the unit keeps recording, pull the power carefully.

3. Photograph the scene. Video is great, but still photos of resting positions, debris, and scar marks on the pavement are worth their weight in gold.

4. Get names and numbers. Witnesses disappear faster than summer snow.

5. Call counsel early. We’ll make the backups, send the preservation letters, and keep you from stepping in it with an overeager adjuster.

One more small tip from the school of hard knocks: keep a spare microSD card in your glove box. If your camera uses one, swapping it lets you retain the original and get back on the road without risking an overwrite.

Choosing and setting up a dashcam that helps more than it hurts

I’m a lawyer, not a gear reviewer, but I’ve seen enough footage to have opinions:

• Look for good low‑light performance. Night crashes are common, and grainy video starts fights you don’t need.

• Dual‑channel (front and rear) coverage is worth it. Rear‑end disputes get simpler with eyes in both directions.

• Capacitor‑based units tolerate Utah’s heat and cold better than battery‑based ones.

• GPS time and speed tagging help us sync with 911 calls, telematics, and other data.

• A G‑sensor that locks clips on impact is handy—but don’t rely on it alone. Manually lock important moments.

Mount it high and centered, keep the windshield clean, and check your timestamp every month. Nothing drives me battier like a good video labeled “January 2046.”

The quiet power of an honest record

The human mind is a terrific storyteller. Under stress, it also becomes a lousy stenographer. We fill gaps, we minimize our own errors, and sometimes we cling to a version that protects us from blame. I don’t say that as an insult—it’s simply how we’re wired.

Dashcams cut through that fog. They don’t care who hired whom or who’s wearing what logo on their shirt. In my client’s case, the footage didn’t just nudge the needle; it flipped the script. It showed a commercial driver drifting when he shouldn’t, at a moment when he wasn’t giving the road his full attention, and it proved our driver’s choices were the reasonable ones under pressure. When we added the company’s own data to the mix, the truth stopped being negotiable.

That’s what you want in a claim: not a shouting match, but a measured record. Something solid enough that even the folks on the other side can nod and say, “Alright, we see it.”

Final thoughts (and what to do next)

If you’ve got dashcam footage from a crash—especially one involving a commercial vehicle—don’t go it alone and don’t rush to hand it over without a plan. Treat that video like a good fencepost: set it straight, brace it properly, and it’ll hold the line for you. We’ll help you preserve the file, authenticate it, gather the truck and telematics data that dovetails with it, and present the whole package in a way that adjusters and juries respect.

If you were run off the road at night, sideswiped, or blamed for something that doesn’t square with your memory, bring us the card and the story. We’ll take it from there. Call The Legal Beagle for a free consultation, or visit mylegalbeagle.com to set up a review. A few honest minutes of video may be all it takes to turn the lights on in your case—let’s make sure they shine in the right direction.