Video cameras for cars that cost from $15 in Ecuador: are they an option for defense or accusations against infractions and traffic crimes?

In Guayaquil alone there are an average of 120 traffic accidents caused by speeding each weekend, according to the city’s Municipal Traffic Authority (ATM).

In the challenges of these cases, the videos of the cameras that record and measure the speed of the vehicles, which some drivers place in their cars, cannot be presented as evidence, since these devices must be approved and calibrated according to the specifications of the National Transit Agency (ANT).

The Traffic violations due to speeding are measured and captured with approved cameras, so if a person has a camera that measures the speed of the vehicle built into their car, it is of little use in this case. specific.

But a camera placed in vehicles can be useful to determine guilt in a traffic accident, such as a run over, or in the final resolution of an infraction.

Jorge Félix, director of Infraction Management and Traffic Services of the ATM, indicates that the camera can be inaccurate with high and even dangerous speed limit ranges. “So, that cannot be accepted. When the traffic authorities buy radars they have to see that it is approved and that it complies with all the technical specifications that the law indicates, also calibrated”, says Félix.

In Guayaquil There are drivers who, when challenging a speeding ticket, want to establish as evidence the camera that measures the speed of cars.. But the answer at the moment is that cannot be validated because they are not approvedFélix points out: “And be careful, it is not because Jorge Félix or the ATM do not want to, the same law requires that the devices that measure speed must be approved, you cannot go against the already established norm”.

Then you have to analyze the type of traffic violation and each case to determine how much a video can be used or not in the resolution of a conflict. One of the steps for it to be considered evidence in a process is the dematerialization of the video before a notary.

The procedure includes taking the original video, it is dematerialized and a copy is made that can be presented in court.

If the camera is on the frontfor example, and that car ‘runs over’ a person who was crossing carelessly, or has thrown himself in front of the vehicle, the video can be presented in court following the indicated steps.

“Your function would be to take precautions in the event that there is some type of imprudence on the road or that someone does a bad maneuver and thus we can demonstrate that beyond being negligence of the driver it is actually negligence of the cyclist, the one who walks or the one who go out to play sports For this type of case it is totally valid”.

The electronic engineer and video expert Jesús Vega affirms that in the national market there are cameras to be placed inside vehicles that cost from $15, which are the most basic and have the lowest quality resolution.

These require micro sd cards to store the sound events they capture. They have a capacity that goes from 32 gigabytes of storage, which allows a recording of up to 24 hours and from there it is overwritten by replacing the oldest. They come with a small screen and do not have the function of connecting to the internet.

“Obviously the quality is not adequate. In addition, there are those that are better, such as those of the Hikvision brand whose price is from $170 and additionally, you also have to purchase the micro sd card to record the events. One can turn it off when getting out of the car or from the cell phone, since they connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to the mobile phone,” says Vega.

In interprovincial buses, he adds, dvr cameras with GSM (global system for mobile communications) are generally placed, which are even more professional. A cell phone chip with a data plan connected to the internet is placed in these.

In this way you can check from anywhere what happens in real time inside the buses during the journeys. “I can also review the videos from that team from my phone, including the recordings from the previous days through the mobile.”

On social networks there are videos that capture the robberies inside the buses. The better the resolution of the cameras, the more those responsible can be identified.

Vega recommends one with a resolution of at least 5 megapixels or higher. “By having a greater image capacity, the camera will record with better quality, so when you enlarge the video or the photo it will not depixel as much and it will be possible to capture data such as the license plate of a car or specific characteristics that are need to visualize”.

There are some that record in color at night, called Colorvu. Another feature to ask is the number of frames per second. In this technical requirement, at least one is requested that has from 30 frames per second. This way you get more information.

Cameras in light cars are usually placed on the front and rear windshields, he adds. “In this case, Most drivers put them to protect themselves from traffic accidents and determine the guilt of the accidents. Or to record the agents when they ask for bribes in exchange for not proceeding with the offense”.

Vega tells an anecdote when he was going from Guayaquil to Quito. An agent stopped him and the first thing he checked inside the car as he approached was if he had a camera installed. Then he asked her to turn on the cell phone to realize that he is not recording it with this device.

Technology now provides solutions such as the possibility of recording what cameras capture in the cloud, that is, in cyberspace. So in the event of a robbery, it is possible to access the stored videos. There are programs like ezvizcompatible with certain equipment, in which a subscription is paid from $20 per month to store these videos remotely on the Internet.

The most sophisticated cameras recognize micro sd cards up to 250 gigabytes whose storage capacity is 10 to 15 days and then it is overwritten. The cheapest ones only recognize cards up to 64 gigabytes.

Devices that cost $160 today were $200 a year ago due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the container crisis, Vega says.

At the national level there were 19,742 traffic accidents between January and November of this year with a total of 17,267 people injured and 1,999 deathsaccording to the figures of the ANT.

A little more than the 19,337 that occurred in the same period of 2021 and that left 15,801 people injured and 1,888 dead.

There is no official data on how many videos recorded by the cameras installed inside the cars are presented as evidence to determine the responsibility of an accident or a traffic violation. Félix indicates that there are cases like this in Guayaquil, but their participation is still negligible and they are not counted.

In 32.88% of the claims so far in 2022 involved cars and trucks, in 30.88% motorcycles, in 12.7% it was not identified, in 9.76% trucks and in 13.78% the rest of motorized vehicles, such as buses, and those that are not ( bikes).

The ten main probable causes of these accidents are driving inattentive to traffic conditions due to the use of cell phones, video screens, makeup, etc. (4,643), not respecting the regulatory traffic signals such as the stop disc, give way or the red light of the traffic light (3,738), driving vehicles exceeding the maximum speed limits (3,203), driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs ( 1,562), not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front (1,311), making a sudden or improper lane change (977), not keeping the minimum lateral safety distance between vehicles (727), not giving up the right of way or right of way for vehicles (581), getting off or on moving vehicles without taking due precautions (577) and driving against the road (515)

Other cases in which the videos can be applied to verify an action is when a traffic officer is caught with improper conduct, such as asking a driver for a bribe.

“There are people who record and there an investigation is carried out in which it is determined whether or not the agent acted in a bad way. It is done in two aspects, firstly, to see if the civil agent complied with the parameters that must be met to sanction, and secondly, if there is bad behavior, it is raised to the human talent area to proceed with the sanctions”, affirms Félix.

So, in these situations when people report their videos, their videos are taken into account in the investigations that the ATM undertakes to resolve the case.

“We have several methods, the citizen’s video arrives, but we also see what sector it is in, since there are cameras from the Citizen Security Corporation, from ECU911, even civil agents have a body cam on the chest and we ask for those videos, we call on the parties to present their evidence, then in the long run a committee is reached and sanctioned if the fault is proven”.

Felix says that most agents have the body cam on the chest to record the procedures they perform. It’s on for as long as the battery allows, he adds. “Some have already been discharged”, without specifying how many are enabled. (YO)