Video: Accident cameras reducing whiplash claims

In the video below a Ford Galaxy swerves violently into the path of a heavy goods vehicle. Following the collision the occupants of the Galaxy tried to blame the driver of the HGV for the accident. However the footage, recorded using a dashboard mounted accident camera, proved the HGV driver’s innocence and saved the haulage company from footing a hefty claim bill of up to £75,000.

According to the company which produced the camera, Smart Witness, there are around 550,000 whiplash claims every year, but insurance experts claim up to 60% of those are bogus – meaning ‘cash for crash’ scams are worth as much as £1 billion a year. According to the AA there has been a 60% rise in the number of personal injury claims since 2006, while in the same period the overall number of accidents in the UK has dropped by 20%.

The result of this is increased insurance premiums for everyone. However the fitment of accident cameras like the Smart Witness can reduce the cost of a policy and comes with the advantage of proving who was to blame in the case of an accident. Sales of the Smart Witness, which costs from £179.99, have risen 40% in the last year.

Speaking about the footage embedded below, Smart Witness MD Simon Marsh said "Drivers can often feel like they are on shaky ground when they go into the back of another vehicle, particularly if there is no reliable witness to explain what happened. Blame is nearly always attached to the driver who hits the vehicle from the rear.

"However, in this case, there was a reliable witness, the Smart Witness camera. It showed that the lorry driver was blameless and the occupants of the Galaxy had a real cheek blaming him for what happened."