httpv://youtu.be/3Zaqi5DwCYE

Via Kottke.org, a Russian dashboard cam captures a plane crash. Apparently, according to Kottke, dashboard video is very popular in Russia. See Kottke’s earlier post Russians are dashboard-cam crazy.

I would disagree with Kottke. The Russians are not crazy. Apparently their legal and insurance systems are in such a state of failure that  vehicle owners must be prepared to capture their own evidence in order to prove their claims. Thus a driver with a dashboard camera can provide proof of the facts of a case.

Maybe that’s a good outcome – better evidence, more accurate outcomes – but a sad way to come to it. On the other hand, as we have seen here in the United States, after members of the LA Police were filmed beating Rodney King,  citizens with video have prompted the police to change their behavior.