Dash cams, however, are not just high-tech tools used to capture supporting evidence for road accident claims.
This neat piece of kit has many more strings to its proverbial bow, and has been used to great effect to inadvertently capture everything from unbelievably magnificent natural phenomenons to surreptitious acts of human kindness to the down-right side-splitting hilarious.
Dash cam footage has now been used in almost every medium from breaking news bulletins, to comedy panel shows to scientific journals, so if you want to start capturing your very own never-before-seen footage take a look at the the RAC's Shop's quality range of dash cams.
Here to support our claim of the incredible, unbelievable and jaw-dropping films you can potentially capture using this simple piece of tech are six astounding videos caught using dash cams.
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1. A meteor seen ripping through the sky at close range
No it's not the beginning of the apocalypse, but an example of a truly breathtaking natural phenomenon - not to mention one of the most terrifying things you could come across while driving - caught using a dash cam.
In February, 2013, a meteorite explosion occurred over Russia that was so large it was seen from as far away as Kazakstan - not that this driver knew it being only a matter of miles away at the time.
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The dashboard camera belonged to Roman Belchenko who captured the meteorite exactly as it shattered over several major cities, including Chelyabinsk, where the blast waves blew out windows and disrupted mobile service.
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This dash cam footage shows the shocking moment a TransAsia plane clipped a bridge before crashing into a river in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday 4 February 2015.
The driver was able to see the incident clearly and could avoid putting himself in harms way, escaping unharmed.
2. Driver helps an old lady cross the road
A rare moment of genuine altruism caught on camera.
This display of empathy and care is a stellar example of the good Samaritans out there on our roads opposing the normal tirade of negative news we sometimes see in the press.
The dash cam in this instance served to highlight this example of kindness if at the same time somewhat shaming the driver of the dash-cam vehicle for not getting out and helping first.
3. Shake it off
This is priceless - the proof that dash cams are worth their collective weight in gold is in this this single video catching an American policeman dad-dancing to Taylor Swift's Shake it Off, whilst miming the words.
4. Scam artists uncovered
This is where dash cams prove another of their invaluable uses.
One of their specialties is not just capturing evidence from a genuine accident that can be used for a claim but also capturing evidence from a manufactured accident making them a deterrent to scam artists.
5. The most outrageous parallel parking
Thank you to the dash cam that provided us with this gem of either incredible stunt-parking or lucky traffic avoidance.
Although we do not condone this type of driving it is a lucky escape pulled off with incredible style.
Did you know, you can get fined for moving out of the way of an ambulance?
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