Ask Trooper Brent 070 - Dashcams

This is a video transcript for a social media post.

Transcript

[Intro music - distorted electric guitar chords]

Series intro sequence - The words #ASK TROOPER BRENT appear onscreen from various directions. The background includes scenes from previous ATB episodes, including: Trooper Brent being hassled by a zombie from a Halloween episode; Trooper Brent in front of a school bus; Trooper Brent running with a flashlight, headlamp and a bright shirt; Trooper Brent sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck; and Trooper Brent installing a child passenger safety seat. A cursor arrow appears from bottom right and clicks on the words #ASK TROOPER BRENT. The arrow exits to the upper left. The words and background blur and fade to black. A Pennsylvania State Police patch fades in.

Corporal Brent Miller is standing beside a vehicle. The windshield is visible.

Corporal Miller: Welcome back to another edition of Ask Trooper Brent. I’m Corporal Brent Miller. Megan asks in an email:

The following question appears:

Can I mount a dashcam to the right of or behind my rearview mirror?

Corporal Miller is beside the vehicle.

Proper placement of the camera is key to answering this question. It is important to remember...

The view changes to the vehicle interior at the windshield. The camera pans the windshield from left to right. An intersection is straight ahead and a vehicle goes by from right to left.

...that anything placed on the windshield shall not obstruct the driver’s clear view of the highway.

Corporal Miller is beside the vehicle.

A small camera could be mounted to the windshield only if it does not obstruct the driver’s view through the windshield. In addition,

The view changes to a dash with a small screen mounted on it. The street ahead is visible behind the dash and also on the screen. A light is on the screen, indicating it is turned on.

...if the camera has a screen for viewing the live stream, that feature would have to be disabled,

The screen goes blank and the power light turns off.

...as it would be a violation of the image display section of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code.

Corporal Miller is beside the vehicle.

Remember, the law addressing windshield obstructions was created for your safety. So please, use common sense when wanting to mount anything to the windshield or the dash.

If you have a question, post it in our comments below. Use hashtag #AskTrooperBrent on Twitter or send us an email. We’ll see you next time. For Ask Trooper Brent, I’m Corporal Brent Miller with the Pennsylvania State Police.

Corporal Miller walks off to the left. The scene blurs and the Pennsylvania State Police patch in full color fades in, then all fades to black.

[outro music - acoustic guitar picking and strumming]