Anybody get caught out in the recent freeze? Rained when it was below zero about 0430 in Liverpool few days ago. Knowing the score, was only doing about 20mph on a dual-carriageway and was just cresting a bridge with a slight turn and found myself accelerating sideways and then down the other side. Unit and skel sideways almost and lock to lock about 4 times trying to keep the thing pointing downhill. Amazingly, did not hit anything and no damage. Amazing to think of all the places I have been in various snowstorms and the like, the only time I have come a cropper is in my own back yard.
Question is, got home with SD card from dash cam. Slotted it in computer, and files from about ten mins before incident and for about an hour or more afterward are not on it. I am aware that some lock footage from sudden movements, but I assumed this is on the SD card? Does the camera itself have some sort of hard drive that stores as well? or am I paying the price for not formatting card frequently?..and if so, how often should you do it? (question to the TN TECH DEPT…not to a patronising git.) 
They don’t have a hard drive in them, shouldn’t need to format it regularly.
Only downside with SD Cards is they have a limited number of writes that can be done before they start ■■■■■■■■ out and of course Dashcams are writing to them all the time they’re running, even if you set it to capture so many seconds/minutes during and after an event. All that happens when it does that is to save that particular few minutes of video capture as a separate file.
If you’ve had it a long time might be time to buy a new one and buy a decent brand one from one of the major flash memory manufacturers as they’ll survive more writes than cheap no-names. If you’re getting SD cards for dashcams or security cameras/CCTV you need to look at the number of writes they’re guaranteed for as much as the data write speed.
If you were gently skating about then there is no sudden movement.
The motion might be uncontrolled and very frightening, but not sudden.
Sd cards should be formatted every so often in a dashcam usually once a month will suffice.
It is also important to use the right kind of SD card an endurance card if preferable for high use applications like dashcam, DSLR camera and drones. I use Kingston canvas go cards in mine which are designed for high transfer rates and constant writing and rewriting to the card.
If files are missing then it is likely the card is unable to write to those sectors on it so a new card would be a good idea.
It’s very easy even at slow speeds to get caught out especially when empty.
Franglais:
If you were gently skating about then there is no sudden movement.
The motion might be uncontrolled and very frightening, but not sudden.
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Good advice. So all SD cards are not created equally. Will sort that. It is a recent dashcam, but not an expensive one. The incident did get me thinking about what I would of done if I had needed that footage for insurance/blame purposes. If I had pressed the ‘lock’ button straight after the incident, would that of done the trick? Also, has anybody been in this position? Looking to retrieve important footage, but not been able to, for same reason as I found?
If it’s a Nextbase, look for another directory / folder alongside the saved images as they store any locked files in those you prevent overwriting. Can’t remember the name, but you’ll see it.
Personally I turned off the g-sensor on any nextbase ones I used in trucks as they were constantly auto saving files and eventually filled the card.
You normally need class 10 cards ideally something like Kingston or Sandisk. I tend to buy the more expensive version to ensure it can write quick enough and doesn’t corrupt.
Edit: If its one of these a-n-other never heard of brands then first thing I’d do is bin it and buy a good one. For something important its worth the money not to have it pack up.
Thanks mate. Have ordered an endurance specific 128gb SD card. Will use that and regular formatting whilst I look at the premium models. One I have is a recent 30quid noname. False economy, obviously.
Some of the dashcams rename the ‘trigger’ files and store them in a different folder so make sure to have a look. They might be in the main folder, but if they’ve been renamed by the software they may appear elsewhere in the file list rather than where you’d expect to find them by date and time.
It wasn’t so much the ice I got caught by but the heavy snow yesterday afternoon in E Lancs around the A59 corridor. I was on farm collections and needed a tractor pull at Pendleton and Easington Fell as it was a good 3" deep.
Worst thing if you slide on ice, assuming the slide doesn’t hit anything is if it suddenly catches a dry patch and it wants to send the whole lot over.
One thing re dashcams - I would check what cards the unit says it can take. Never tested say a 128GB in a unit that can write upto 32, so it might work perfectly, just no idea.
I know the 500 series Nextbase ones can do upto 128GB and I suspect other reputable brands probably will too. Especially any with HD recording (you dont need 4K from the really expensive ones).
Seperately, am wondering if there are winter tyres for trucks? Considering half the time the tyres spin in just mild wet conditions (even when loaded), I assume most are made for longevity rather than grip.
trevHCS:
One thing re dashcams - I would check what cards the unit says it can take. Never tested say a 128GB in a unit that can write upto 32, so it might work perfectly, just no idea.I know the 500 series Nextbase ones can do upto 128GB and I suspect other reputable brands probably will too. Especially any with HD recording (you dont need 4K from the really expensive ones).
Seperately, am wondering if there are winter tyres for trucks? Considering half the time the tyres spin in just mild wet conditions (even when loaded), I assume most are made for longevity rather than grip.
mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop … +for+tyres
Lots of winter truck tyres available, never seen them on a Brit motor unless it goes over the water in winter, have seen them on foreign regd lorries and buses during the season, wonder if hauliers in Scotland use them?
For most of the country they would be a waste of money, seldom do we see anything likely to cause more than a day or two’s disruption over recent years.
Juddian:
trevHCS:
One thing re dashcams - I would check what cards the unit says it can take. Never tested say a 128GB in a unit that can write upto 32, so it might work perfectly, just no idea.I know the 500 series Nextbase ones can do upto 128GB and I suspect other reputable brands probably will too. Especially any with HD recording (you dont need 4K from the really expensive ones).
Seperately, am wondering if there are winter tyres for trucks? Considering half the time the tyres spin in just mild wet conditions (even when loaded), I assume most are made for longevity rather than grip.
mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop … +for+tyres
Lots of winter truck tyres available, never seen them on a Brit motor unless it goes over the water in winter, have seen them on foreign regd lorries and buses during the season, wonder if hauliers in Scotland use them?
For most of the country they would be a waste of money, seldom do we see anything likely to cause more than a day or two’s disruption over recent years.
Yep.
This link explains a little about it.
continental-tyres.co.uk/car … mperatures.
Apart from the tyre pattern different rubber mixes are used. Aggressive tread patterns may dig into soft surfaces better or squeeze away water, but will have less contact (hence wear area) with a hard surface. Also the winter tyre mix is softer so gives more grip when cold, but will wear out quicker.
Bit any tyre on an icy road (apart maybe from one with studs) will unlikely ever be as good as one on a warm dry road.
Got any spare tin tacks in you shed?
youtube.com/watch?v=SsmmRXsCTm8
I`m sure those TNUK members in the Scandies will know more.
OP mentioned the word bridge - and there’s the problem - the deck always freezes easier than substrate.
Most premium truck tyres now (Mich, Goodyear, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Conti etc) are ThreePeak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF or alpine) rated, on the drive patterns at least. Look for a picture of a three-peak mountain and a snowflake on the sidewall. These tyres are now compulsory in much of Europe in winter.
If these tyres are properly ‘managed’ ie regrooved and returned for retreading before they are worn out, they aren’t actually any more expensive in the long-run than the Chinese horrors unless you run onto landfill or similar surfaces where tyres get destroyed before they wear out.
The old MST and M+S ratings you used to see (multi-surface tyres and mud and snow) on sidewalls were just allocated by the tyre manufacturer. To get a 3PMSF approval the tyre has to beat a standard tyre by a margin in grip tests on ice and snow surfaces.
A true ‘Winter’ tyre has a specialist pattern and compound, and is not suitable for use at temps above + 7 C.
The technology used in 3PMSF tyres ncludes high-silica tread compounds (which remain flexible at low temperatures), narrow ‘sipes’ cut into the tread which grip ice, and a coarse tread pattern designed to clear water, mud and snow to expose the hard road surface beneath. The Winter tyres have a coarser, deeper tread and a more temperature-specific compound…they can go like chewing gum in really hot weather.
I’ve got 3PMSF tyres on my old Ford Focus. When the ‘beast from the east’ hit southern England I was in Swindon. I got home to Cornwall (last vehicle into the village that night), having passed various ‘stuck’ SUVs on the way. I only had one ‘moment’ when I foolishly let the wheels on one side fall into a rut carved by a Range Rover in front while the wheels on the other were on virgin snow. Other than that, it was a ‘fun’ drive.
Also, does your truck have a lift axle, so you can put more weight on the drive axle at low-speeds?
Socketset:
OP mentioned the word bridge - and there’s the problem - the deck always freezes easier than substrate.
Wise words, had thought that may of been why it was severe at that point.
trevHCS:
One thing re dashcams - I would check what cards the unit says it can take. Never tested say a 128GB in a unit that can write upto 32, so it might work perfectly, just no idea.I know the 500 series Nextbase ones can do upto 128GB and I suspect other reputable brands probably will too. Especially any with HD recording (you dont need 4K from the really expensive ones).
.
You are correct. Checked the blurb, and is only rated up to 32gb. Will have to buy a better one soon.
Been asking drivers locally how often they format SD cards, or even check whether footage is being recorded correctly, and nobody does.
Might be worth taking a look and check it is working as it should.
I used to use a Garmin dashcam that had voice recognition,so you could tell it to save a file when needed. The trouble with this system was you got a lot of saved files that you hadn’t requested.it just stopped working. I use a 512nextbase now,about £100,I find it’s very robust,and reliable,I don’t have the sensors turned on,because 128gb records a whole day,so if I need to view footage ,I just remember the time,and then scroll to it later,all the files have the date and time as a file nane
Years ago I was driving a No75 bus down Castlemilk drive at half 6 on an icy morning and the bus started sliding. What really struck me as odd was the woman at the bus stop who started shouting and swearing at me for not stopping as I went past the bus stop sideways 