August 7th is the single deadliest day of the year to drive on American roads, according to new analysis by Nextbase of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)1.
With this grisly milestone in mind, Nextbase – the world’s leading Dash Cam brand – is launching its globally successful “National Dash Cam Day” in the United States. A campaign to raise awareness of the increasing risks associated with vehicle ownership and driving, America’s inaugural National Dash Cam Day, on August 5th, is a nationwide recognition of potentially life-saving technology that has been celebrated for several years in the UK, Nextbase’s home country, but this year marks the first time it has come to the U.S. Nextbase is teaming up with law enforcement and legal experts to help educate the public on how to better protect themselves and their loved ones.
New research commissioned by Nextbase2 found:
- Nearly two-thirds (62.3%) of American motorists agree that driving on U.S. roads is more dangerous than it was five years ago.
- Among the above drivers, distracted driving was named as the biggest danger (65.6%), above road rage (19.2%), carjacking (7.2%) and car theft or break-ins (4.3%).
- Being involved in a crash was the number one worry for U.S. drivers (76.6%), with the fear of something happening to a loved one while driving a strong second at 57.8%.
- Outside of vehicle purchase or lease cost, insurance costs were the greatest financial concern for vehicle owners (43.7%), above maintenance costs (30.4%) and fuel or charging costs (25.3%).
“National Dash Cam Day was established in the UK to raise awareness of various road safety issues and precautions, highlighting the importance of having a high-quality dash cam in your car – which can be a life saver for the individual owner and can improve road safety for all,” said Bryn Brooker, Head of Road Safety for Nextbase. “With data indicating that the risks on U.S. roads are increasing – and noting the spike in fatalities in August – we felt it was time to bring the Nextbase road safety initiative to America, starting with National Dash Cam Day.”
For National Dash Cam Day in the US, Nextbase has enlisted the assistance of road safety experts from a variety of fields, including law enforcement, personal injury law, and others.
Sergeant Chris Palaganas, a 16-year veteran law enforcement officer said, “Video evidence can be enormously helpful in a multitude of incidents – accident, road rage, attempted car-jacking, break-ins, etc. – and obviously, law enforcement agencies across the country have recognized those benefits and deployed dash cameras and body cams to their officers as a result. I tell all of my officers that when they are off duty, if they find themselves in a situation, their first responsibility is to be the best witness they can be, noting details that may be critical later. It’s so much easier to do that if you have a camera recording. The same is true for civilians, too. Whether they’re dealing with law enforcement or submitting a claim to their insurance carrier, detailed video evidence is the best way to protect yourself.”
Jonathan Shin, Litigation Counsel and CEO of Shin Law Group, APC, said, “I wish every one of my clients had a high-quality dash cam in their car. That footage makes my job so much easier. Having video evidence saves time, money and heartache. Dash cam video maximizes the chances that the party at fault will take responsibility for their actions and the innocent victims will be fairly compensated, so they can recover and get on with life as quickly as possible.”
For more information on Nextbase Dash Cams, visit nextbase.com.
ABOUT NEXTBASE DASH CAMS:
Nextbase is a world-class innovator of automotive-based imagery technology with hundreds of patents and design protections to its name. Having created the consumer dash cam category and dominated markets in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. With its multi-award-winning product range, UK-based Nextbase is now expanding into Asia. With the recent launch of the AI-powered, IOT-connected Nextbase iQ – the world’s first truly smart, fully connected dash cam and the world’s only aftermarket connected car platform – Nextbase is transcending the category it created. Nextbase has successfully integrated both market-leading software and data services into its millions of dash cams on the road, positioning itself as a leading imagery provider to the mapping, autonomous-vehicle and digital-infrastructure industries. Nextbase customers include: Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, Halfords, Autobacs, Toyota, VW Group, Uber, Grubhub/Hungry House. To learn more, visit www.Nextbase.com/en-us/ and follow along on Instagram at @Nextbase.
The Nextbase Interactive Crash Map brings to life data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), allowing users to easily view fatal crash counts across the United States by locality (state, county, region) and time period (week, day, second), raising awareness of the dangers we all face when stepping into a vehicle.
1 Source: Nextbase Interactive Crash Map*.
2 Source: Survey of 2000 U.S. drivers commissioned by Nextbase and conducted by Drive Research, July 2024.
