Tesla M3 Dashcam Footage Recovery - Urgent Assistance Needed

[snowdiana]

Today I was involved in a car accident where another vehicle collided with the right side of my Tesla while attempting to change lanes. Unfortunately, the other driver is insisting that I was the one who changed lanes and caused the collision.

I am aware that the Tesla dashcam records only one hour of footage before overwriting it. By the time I realized the importance of the footage and checked the dashcam, it was already more than one and a half hours after the accident, and the relevant footage had been overwritten.

I am reaching out to seek your assistance and expertise to determine if there is any possibility of recovering the overwritten footage from my Tesla dashcam. This video could be crucial evidence to establish the correct sequence of events and prove that I was not at fault for the accident.

Please let me know if there are any options or solutions available to recover the lost footage or if there is any further information or steps that you may recommend.

Thank you in advance for your help and attention to this matter.

Diana

 

[WyoDude]

I personally think absolutely no one should upload anything like that any such channel, ever, but thats just me I guess.

Why not? Just purely out of curiosity

 

[stopcrazypp]

Thank you for everyone's help. My car was hit by someone yesterday who then lied to the police, claiming that I changed lanes and hit him. I was in the far left lane on highway. With your help, I was able to recover the dashcam footage, which shockingly revealed that his car was actually behind me, and he suddenly changed lanes, deliberately and directly hitting my car. This is a very dangerous behavior on a highway. I am wondering, besides dealing with insurance, should I consult a lawyer about this situation?

Not a lawyer, but were you injured (which is typically why most people in accidents find a lawyer)? What other damages are you planning to look for with a lawyer? If you are thinking instead of possible criminal charges or other punitive charges, I would think that is the business of the police and local prosecutor. And before assuming it was a deliberate action, could it be possible they were distracted? Was there an interaction previously that would lead you to believe it was deliberate?

Note, you don't necessarily have to answer these questions here, just pointing out some possible questions to think about.

 

[jjrandorin]

Why not? Just purely out of curiosity

Because there is nothing at all to gain for the person posting it, other than the possible approval of some nameless / faceless to them people online, and there is plenty to lose. some people love (love love love) digging into accident videos and saying stuff like "look right here, at 2:45 in the video, you can clearly see they had enough time to......" or some crap like that.

There is also the very real chance that any actions the person is looking to take (insurance, etc) could be compromised by over sharing information. Once its out there, its out there, and it isnt coming back, and there is absolutely, positively, nooothhhiiiinnng to gain by putting it out there.

 

[pnwadventures]

Because there is nothing at all to gain for the person posting it, other than the possible approval of some nameless / faceless to them people online, and there is plenty to lose. some people love (love love love) digging into accident videos and saying stuff like "look right here, at 2:45 in the video, you can clearly see they had enough time to......" or some crap like that.

There is also the very real chance that any actions the person is looking to take (insurance, etc) could be compromised by over sharing information. Once its out there, its out there, and it isnt coming back, and there is absolutely, positively, nooothhhiiiinnng to gain by putting it out there.

 

[snowdiana]

Not a lawyer, but were you injured (which is typically why most people in accidents find a lawyer)? What other damages are you planning to look for with a lawyer? If you are thinking instead of possible criminal charges or other punitive charges, I would think that is the business of the police and local prosecutor. And before assuming it was a deliberate action, could it be possible they were distracted? Was there an interaction previously that would lead you to believe it was deliberate?

Note, you don't necessarily have to answer these questions here, just pointing out some possible questions to think about.

There were no injuries, but the car behind me abruptly changed lanes, striking me directly as it made a nearly 40-degree cut into my lane. Since I was in the far-left lane on the highway, I had to swerve to the side, which posed a significant danger. The driver of the other car should have their license revoked for such reckless behavior. To make matters worse, he falsely accused me of being the one who changed lanes and cut them off.

 

[likkuid]

There were no injuries, but the car behind me abruptly changed lanes, striking me directly as it made a nearly 40-degree cut into my lane. Since I was in the far-left lane on the highway, I had to swerve to the side, which posed a significant danger. The driver of the other car should have their license revoked for such reckless behavior. To make matters worse, he falsely accused me of being the one who changed lanes and cut them off.

There will be a police report and your footage will show he gave an incorrect report, which can be a criminal offence. That's for the police, not you. Since you're okay, a lawyer is unneeded and this is strictly an insurance matter.

I think our culture has become a little too quick to jump to lawsuits. It's important to extend the same grace we would want to be shown in these matters.

It's also a possibility he did not lie but was distracted, pressured, etc. We never know what's going on in others' lives. Grace wins!

 

[brkaus]

A lawyer isn’t going to get them off the road. It will likely cost you money.

Your insurance should help you and work with the other insurance. If they don’t or there are issues becoming whole, then consider a lawyer.

 

[Mithgul]

Thank you for everyone's help. My car was hit by someone yesterday who then lied to the police, claiming that I changed lanes and hit him. I was in the far left lane on highway. With your help, I was able to recover the dashcam footage, which shockingly revealed that his car was actually behind me, and he suddenly changed lanes, deliberately and directly hitting my car. This is a very dangerous behavior on a highway. I am wondering, besides dealing with insurance, should I consult a lawyer about this situation?

If it was that obvious it was deliberate I would contact the police. They can charge the person with several driving offenses if they so chose.

 

[brkaus]

If it was that obvious it was deliberate I would contact the police. They can charge the person with several driving offenses if they so chose.

True. And no lawyer needed.

 

[snowdiana]

Thank you to everyone who has offered their support.

Here is the final result.
I have offered the dashcam footage , the other driver's insurance company will cover the cost of repairing my car.
I also reached out to the police to inquire about the possibility of issuing a ticket to the other driver, but was informed that tickets are only issued at the scene of the accident, and not afterwards.
Also since this is considered a civil case, there will be no charges of deliberate dangerous behavior against the other driver.

 

[gvaletti]

You can try contacting Tesla with the approximate time of the event.. They may be able to help. Something vaguely similar happened to us once and I think when the car is involved in an incident the footage gets automatically saved/sent to the Tesla mothership (I might be wrong but ours was definitely saved). Good luck.

Apparently you have to honk the horn in order to save the last 10 minutes before the accident. Did anyone know that or can confirm this?

 

[brkaus]

Apparently you have to honk the horn in order to save the last 10 minutes before the accident. Did anyone know that or can confirm this?

It is a setting. Read the manual.

 

[BitJam]

Apparently you have to honk the horn in order to save the last 10 minutes before the accident. Did anyone know that or can confirm this?

It's in the manual. Normally you press the Dashcam icon to save the last 10 minutes of video but you can configure the "On Honk" feature to also save the last 10 minutes when you honk the horn.

Note, it is easy to confuse the system by saving twice in succession. The video you want may not end up in the SavedClips folder and won't be visible on the Tesla screen. But the last hour of video is always in the RecentClips folder which you can access by (safely) unplugging the usb device and plugging it into a phone or computer.

I keep a spare usb storage device in my glovebox. If an incident happens that I want to make sure I keep. I pull over when it is convenient, safely unplug the current device and plug in the spare. As long as I drive for less than an hour after the incident then it is almost sure to be in the RecentClips folder. This avoids the undelete hassle. I also keep a spare spare in the glovebox.

 

[fholbert]

I personally think absolutely no one should upload anything like that any such channel, ever, but thats just me I guess.

You are no fun!