Recently we shared an article on how to act when you are a witness to a car collision. In it, we outlined a few simple steps you can take to make a horrible (and often terrifying) situation better.
One of the steps was having a dashcam in your car and providing the footage of the accident when needed. Because having a dashcam doesn’t always mean protecting just yourself – we can also help others.
BlackVue user BadDrivers_RI (pseudonym) is a real life example of this.
He shared his story and video of a situation he found himself in earlier this year where he was a witness to an accident. As an Uber/Lyft driver, he was driving one night through Providence, Rhode Island, with his passenger when he noticed unusual behavior of a car ahead of them.
A maroon Nissan Altima was slowly swerving more and more into the wrong side of the road, ultimately crashing hard into a telephone pole. Immediately, the BlackVue user pulled over and checked on the other driver.
Thankfully, although the crash looked serious, the other man was conscious and said he was okay. It turned out that he fell asleep behind the wheel, which caused him to collide with the pole. 
Interestingly enough, someone in the vicinity of the accident saw what happened and claimed that the Nissan driver hit their parked car before crashing into the pole. The BlackVue user provided the footage from his BlackVue DR750S-2CH IR and proved that it didn’t happen. The wrongful accuser ended up being charged with filing a false police report, and the BlackVue video saved the Nissan driver a lot of trouble and an additional headache dealing with an insurance scam attempt.

The BlackVue user did all the right things when he witnessed this accident, and he gracefully shared a few tips with us.

Make sure it’s safe to stop

Sometimes there might be some electric wires lying around, or there is fuel spilled, which makes the situation more dangerous. If you’re on a highway, make sure to check if it’s safe to pull over nearby.

Have a flashlight within reach

Especially at night, having a flashlight within your arm’s reach will ensure you can move quickly and help someone in need. Besides, it helps making out things inside of the car in case a lot of airbag dust is released upon impact.

Take the scene in

Approaching the accident scene with caution is important. In the video provided by the BlackVue user you can see him approaching slowly, looking out for such dangers like the battery arching against the hood of the car or any metals, smelling for any type of accelerants like fuel, and making sure before touching that car or approaching it that there isn’t a street light dangling that could potentially fall, or any power wires. Then you can see if the victim of the accident is alright.

Provide your BlackVue dashcam footage

Providing the dashcam footage may prove crucial in determining what actually happened, even if you are just a witness. In collisions involving more than one driver, a dashcam video can help in proving who was at fault.
This is why having a dashcam in your car is a must – you are protecting yourself, your loved ones, and it can save you a lot of money. But that’s not all – as this BlackVue user’s story shows, you can help other people as well.
Finally, a few words from the hero of the day:
“I think this is a very important video to share with people. Thank y’all for these amazing cameras. I’m going to be grabbing another one for my other car.”