The clip that would have settled it
A client's van driver is accused of pulling out on a cyclist. He says he was stationary. The van has a forward and side-facing camera. The accident was reported three days after it happened, the case was opened a week later, and when your desk finally asks the camera provider for the footage, the device has recorded over it. The clip that would have settled the argument no longer exists.
The same happens with parking disputes, customer complaints about driving and theft from vehicles.
Why footage goes missing
Retrieving footage is usually quick. Remembering to do it in time is the problem.
- Cameras record in a loop, and the retention period depends on the device, the storage and how much the vehicle is driven.
- Clients use different camera providers, each with its own portal and request method.
- Requests are made when the case reaches someone's desk, which may be days after the event.
- Event-triggered clips are uploaded automatically, but continuous footage has to be requested.
- Retrieved clips are saved on someone's laptop, not with the case.
The price of footage that no longer exists
Claims that could have been defended with evidence. Disputes with the public that become one word against another. Clients who invested in cameras precisely for this and find they did not help. And the time spent afterwards trying to reconstruct what happened.
The footage request flow we build
- Every event that might need footage triggers a request: an accident report from a driver, a claim notification, a complaint, a traffic or parking notice, a theft report.
- The vehicle's camera provider and device are looked up, along with the time window around the event.
- The request is sent through the provider's API where available, or placed in a queue for your team with the portal steps and the deadline based on that device's retention.
- Retrieved clips are stored against the case, with the vehicle, time and who requested them.
- Requests that fail, for example because the device was offline, are flagged immediately so the vehicle can be reached before it overwrites.
- Access to clips is limited to the people handling the case, and clips are kept or deleted according to your and the client's retention policies.
| Trigger | Time window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Accident report | Minutes either side of the reported time | Immediate request, stored with the accident case |
| Complaint about driving | The time the caller gives | Request, then matched to telematics trip |
| Parking or traffic notice | The notice time | Request if the client wants footage checked |
| Theft from vehicle | The period parked | Request interior and exterior footage |
Privacy is part of the design
Dashcam footage includes drivers, passers-by and number plates. The flow only requests footage when there is a logged reason, records who asked and why, and restricts who can see it. What drivers are told about cameras and how footage is used is set by each client's policy, with their own advice. We build to those rules.
Evidence there when you need it
In practice, a driver reports a minor collision from the car park at lunchtime. Within minutes, the request for the forward and side camera clips around that time has gone to the camera provider, and by mid-afternoon the clips are on the accident case. When the other party's insurer writes a fortnight later with a different version of events, the desk already has the footage and does not need to ask anyone for anything.
Footage is requested the day an event is logged, which for most camera systems is well within retention. Clips arrive on the case, not in someone's downloads folder. When a client asks what happened, you can often show them. And the list of failed requests tells you which devices are not working, which is worth knowing before the next incident.
Is footage lost before you ask for it?
- Footage has been overwritten before it was requested.
- Each camera provider has its own portal your team logs into.
- Requests depend on someone remembering to make them.
- Clips are stored on laptops, not against the case.
- Nobody knows which cameras are faulty until footage is needed.