How to save your dashcam video after a crash
Tips from a digital evidence examiner
Many dashcams record on a loop. As you keep driving, new footage can record over the clip you need. Once everyone is safe, check whether the camera saved the crash on its own. Don’t assume it did. Avoid recording more video on that card until the files that matter are secure. [1]
Keep the full clip, start to finish
Save the original file. Keep enough time before and after the impact to show what led up to it and what followed. Copy the file to a second secure place. Don’t edit it, crop it or change its format. [1, 2]
Write down the camera make, the date, the time and the time zone. Note whether the camera’s clock was off. The card may be damaged, or the car may be unsafe to enter. If so, tell the investigator instead of forcing your way in. [1, 2]
Track who handled the footage
Write down when you took out the card, who made each copy and where the original is kept. A serious injury or a dispute over the crash may call for a technical review. In those cases, keep the camera and the card. A phone video of the clip playing on a screen is less useful than the original digital file. Before you post the footage, think about privacy and any investigation. [2, 3]
Send it to the right people the right way
Check these before you hit send
- Does the file show the full approach and what happened after?
- Is the camera’s clock correct?
- Who should get the original file or a copy?
Stop the loop first
As soon as it’s safe, stop the camera from recording over itself. Then save a copy that hasn’t been edited. [1]
Sources and further reading
- 1Staffordshire Police, dashcam recording and overwriting
- 2UK government, digital image preservation guidance
- 3Hertfordshire Constabulary, collision video evidence
Treat this as general education from a digital evidence examiner’s point of view. Recording systems and local evidence rules differ. If police or a legal adviser tell you how to handle the original device and file, follow their lead.
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