Hey fellas... Is this a dash cam?

Hey fellas, my son was recently hit by a drunk driver. He was in a Prius V and the drunk was in a 2018 Tacoma. Long story, but the drunk is not allowing access to his truck at all... As such, we are having to go through a bit of a legal battle to get a subpoena in order to gain access.

The one thing I do have, however, are pictures... And as a previous owner of a Tacoma, I noticed something:



I don't recall that in my 2021 TRD... But it sure looks like a dash cam to me. As does the thing to the right... What do you guys think?

 

Looks like one to me, I think the lane assist lens is mounted higher.

EDIT:
Looks like this
https://fitcamx.com/collections/toyota/products/fitcamx-dash-cam-for-all-toyota

 

No, that is the standard toyota safety sense sensor or whatever. All 3rd gens have it, that is not a dashcam.

 

Damn... Mixed thoughts... There is also this thing to the right:

 

I believe this is the lane departure assist camera.

Pic from google:

 

That kinda looks like one of those RFID things for a toll lane.

 

That white square is not standard, aftermarket something. However, that looks more like a sticker that would be used for toll roads if I had to guess? No idea

 

Agreed... Think I might be shit out of luck.

 

It’s a camera but not a dash or recording camera. It’s part of Toyota safety sense so adaptive cruise control, etc.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help.

 

Sorry about your son! Hope hes okay!

 

There has been some discussion that the DCM records video, via the windshield camera, and can be downloaded by Toyota or a well-equipped Police Force. Never have gotten a confirmation as to the validity. Ask the Police that attended to your son's encounter. The 2018 MY might be a bit too soon for DCM, perhaps it was only added in the 2020 MY.

 

Sorry to hear about your son being hit, but why not solve this with insurance? They'll happily send someone out to evaluate the vehicles and handle all the legal stuff. They don't want to pay to fix the vehicles just as much as you don't want to wrongfully have to pay to have it fixed. I can only imagine the other party getting lawyered up immediately to protect himself from you if the police report confirms he was under the influence, especially if he did in fact have a dashcam. Your time may be better served trying to find some local businesses with security cameras or traffic cams nearby that may have caught the accident, or at least the moments leading up to it. Wishing you the best man, and glad your son is okay most importantly.

 

External camera view can be better sometimes. They show how both vehicles approached the collision ... fast, slow, weaving or controlled, etc. If an intersection with a red-light camera is involved and one party had a red-light, another chance.

 

All 3rd gen’s after 2017 have that

 

i wonder if the drunk is on this forum.
Browse some posts and see if he is talking about the wreck.

 

Yeah, my 2017 doesn't have it. Instead we have a GoPro mount, where I installed a Dashcam on.