Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Wed 28 Jul 2021 14:22
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - Tony Houghton

I have to park my car in the road outside my house and it keeps getting damaged by hit & run drivers. This year I've already had a window smashed by a van (witnessed and number plate taken, but the police weren't interested) and now my mirror's been damaged even though it was folded in - they came so close they even scuffed the front wing.

Is there any sort of security system available that can record these events, like a contnuously-running dashcam, but something that can see the outside of the car and get a clear view of number plates of cars that come close? Preferably on both sides so I don't always have to park the same way round, but if it can easily be swapped from one side to the other, that would do. I don't drive regularly, so it needs to be able to be left running for several days without draining the battery, maybe by using a pair of hot-swappable batteries so I can bring one inside to charge when I'm not driving.

I could probably cobble something together based on a Raspberry Pi, but does anyone know of any kits etc that would be especially well suited to this?

Edited by Tony Houghton on 28/07/2021 at 14:22

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Jul 2021 14:36
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - Heidfirst

I think that your best bet is a front & rear dashcam with a good parking mode either hardwired into the car with a battery protection device (to avoid flattening the car's battery) or as you mentioned connected to some form of battery powerpack if you need more than just a couple of days of parking.

I have a Thinkware F800 Pro front+rear which was probably the best (certainly not the cheapest) at the time when I had it installed 4 years ago. At that time Thinkware were reckoned to have the best parking mode protection but I'll leave you to do your own Googling for what is current & suits your needs.

dashcamtalk.com/forum/ could be useful for you.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Jul 2021 15:21
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - Tony Houghton

Thanks. I'm not sure if the parking mode in that model is well-suited to catching side-swipers, but maybe someone in the dashcam forum will know of something that's ideal for my situation, so I'll ask there.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Jul 2021 16:47
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - bathtub tom

Door bell camera and co-operation with a near neighbour who also has one? I understand plod depend on them for lots of incidents.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 28 Jul 2021 18:53
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - Rerepo

The problem is what you do with the images? In 2019 I had some thieves break open metal security gates and attempt to steal the Focus ST I had at the time. I'd disabled the car so they didn't get away with it. This was all captured on colour HD CCTV, including the registration plate of the old 5-series they used to break open the gates with. Police showed absolutely no interest in viewing the footage or even taken any details, I was just given a crime number. Insurance company would have listed it as a 'claim' so I paid for replacement of some glass and trim - fitted it myself.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 29 Jul 2021 07:41
Honda Civic - Camera to catch hit & run drivers - edlithgow

Perhaps not really an issue here in Taiwan, since there isn't much theft, but if I'd fitted something like that in the UK it would just have provided something worth stealing.

As it was I got several break-ins, presumably either incurable optimists or seriously addled junkies.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From economical vans to those that have the largest payloads, we have a shortlist for everyone - click to find out which will suit your needs.

Undecided on which van to buy? Our Top 10 shortlists can help...