Picking the right dash cam in South Africa – Here’s what you need to know
TopAuto has previously highlighted that dash cams can be the difference between a successful or failed insurance claim in South Africa.
However, in a market with many options available, it is overwhelming to choose the correct dash cam for your needs.
Thankfully, Syntech’s WINX TRACK dash cam range makes this question an easy one to answer.
There are two excellent dash cams to choose from – the no-frills WINX TRACK Essential, and the more feature-rich WINX TRACK Pro.
Each of these dash cams is an excellent product – the one you choose simply comes down to the features you need.
Why you must have a dash cam
Insurance claims in South Africa often rely on the testimony of the drivers involved, frequently resulting in a ‘he said, she said’ situation with no concrete evidence for an insurer to examine.
There are other scenarios where the driver isn’t present in their vehicle when the incident takes place – such as when someone reverses into their parked vehicle and drives off.
Across all cases, the process for determining truth is a key part of an insurance claim and will determine what an insurer is willing to pay out.
Dash cam footage offers an objective, independent view of the accident and is therefore valuable and clear proof during the claims process.
Both the WINX TRACK Essential and WINX TRACK Pro are great options to protect yourself in the case of an insurance claim – we detail who each dash cam is targeted at, below.
WINX TRACK Essential
The WINX TRACK Essential is the no-frills dash cam for South Africans who simply want to record footage of any incidents they experience.
The Track Essential is a single-channel (front), 2K, 25 FPS dash cam with a 130-degree diagonal field of view and a built-in G-sensor.
In combination, this ensures you get all of the important dash cam features such as impact detection, parking mode, and loop recording, while also keeping your blind spots covered.
It has a fast F1.8 aperture for enhanced visibility during the night and efficient H.265 video compression, for optimised storage space without sacrificing the quality insurers look for when using video evidence.
Video evidence is automatically saved whenever an incident is detected, particularly in common ones like hit-and-runs, cash-for-crashes, and smash-and-grabs.
If you aren’t worried about quality-of-life bonus technologies, and simply want the cheapest way to ensure every accident is recorded and stored in video form, this is the dash cam for you.
At a recommended retail price of only R629, your investment will be justified many times over if it ensures a future insurance claim is approved.
WINX TRACK Pro
The WINX TRACK Pro offers a variety of additional features that make it a more comprehensive tool to protect yourself in the case of an incident.
It has all of the important video tracking tools of the Essential, as well as several additional features that offer even more functionality.
Perhaps most notably is its support for built-in GPS records, which tracks your speed and routes for additional evidence and accountability when submitting an insurance claim.
It is one thing to have footage of an incident; it is another to prove whether you were partly to blame because you were speeding.
By documenting your speed during an incident, you can prove to insurance companies that you weren’t at fault.
This is a major advantage over the Essential model – as is the integrated LED display lets you view your footage in real time.
You can also use the screen to play back recorded footage to review an incident that has already happened.
The TRACK Pro even has the added advantage of wireless app connectivity, making it easy to manage and view your footage on a larger display.
These bonuses are valuable, and even with such impressive functionality, the WINX TRACK Pro only carries a recommended retail price of R969.
Stay protected on South African roads
Whether you favour the simple recording abilities of the WINX TRACK Essential, or the more comprehensive tracking of the WINX TRACK Pro, you will feel much safer when driving on local roads with your new dash cam.
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