Accidents happen on the roads every single day, it’s just one of those things. Some can be avoided, others, sadly can’t. I have been driving since I was 18 years old (so only a couple of years hahaha) and in my time I have had a few accidents, some of which I am still paying for medically. At the time when the accident happens, if you are conscious, you will inevitably be very shaken up and it can be difficult to piece everything together. If you aren’t at fault, you’ll want to be able to prove so and your Insurers will certainly want to be able to prove that too. In recent years, the Dash Cam has become the must-have accessory for cars on the road because they are your personal eyewitness on the road.
Introducing the MiVue 688 Dash Cam
The Mio MiVue 688 is a Dash Cam with integrated GPS, lifetime safety camera alerts and a high-quality Sony optic sensor for a superior view. I have had a Mio Sat Nav for years and I’m pleased to say that it has never let me down, even in the most rural of places so when I was asked if I would like to review the MiVue 688 Dash Cam I didn’t hesitate to say yes.
The MiVue 688 Dash Cam is compact, stylish and lightweight offering crisp clear proof of what really happened on the road. From the moment the engine starts the Dash Cam jumps to life and welcomes you to the car – every morning the children reply “welcome” which makes me giggle. The full HD 1080 pixel camera begins recording your journey without you even having to think about it, it even records in low light conditions that are to the Sony optic sensor so you will always have a clear recording of what happened.
Obviously, the hope is that you will never have to call upon your Dash Cam as a witness to an accident BUT that isn’t all it’s good for . . . last year when we were on holiday in Norfolk I was kicking myself in the car (I wasn’t driving) because the twisty little roads offered beautiful views which I would have loved to have had footage off but I had left my GoPro at home. The MiVue 688 would have been the perfect accompaniment for such a journey and I would have been able to save, edit and design a video to accompany our holiday photographs for all-around holiday footage. Using the MiVue Manager desktop application you can share your videos to Facebook and YouTube too.
Feature Highlights
- 1080p Full HD recording at 30 fps – with the latest H.264 technology for high quality videos at a smaller file size
- High quality Sony optic sensor – for optimal view and superior quality, especially in low light conditions
- Safety camera warnings – free safety camera data with monthly updates for the lifetime of your device, so you’ll always know where to drive extra carefully*
- GPS tracking – automatically records your driving information including speed, altitude, longitude, altitude, latitude and heading
- Lane departure warning system – offers a sound alert if you drift away from the centre of your lane
- Forward collision warning system – you will be alerted if the distance from the vehicle ahead of you is less than 1.5 sec or less than 15 metres, preventing potential collisions
- Wide viewing angle – 140° wide-angle lens to capture every details at critical moments
- F1.8 lens – this results in brighter and clearer videos, even in low light conditions
- 3 Axis G-sensor – records direction and force, including impact, turns and acceleration
- Rotating mount design – mount is easily rotated to any desired angle for video evidence collection
- Parking mode – motion detection activates and records from a parked car with no driver present**
- Switch to photo mode – use the dash cam as a camera for close-up accident evidence collection. The pictures include your GPS coordinates, so you know the exact location of what happened
- Speed alarm – offers a sound alert if you go over the speed limit
- Add safety cameras – add a new safety camera to your device
Why use a Dash Cam?
- Proof in case of accidents – at the time when I had my worst accident back in 1997 there was some discrepancy as to what happened. As I was pulling out of a Give Way road end, a car was indicating to turn into the road from which I was leaving. The car slowed, began to turn and then at the last minute as I had begun to pull away, drove straight forward into the side of my car. He had seen a parking space on the opposite side of the junction and accelerated forwards into my front corner and driver’s door. Had I been in possession of a Dash Cam at the time it would have made life a whole lot easier for the Insurers to come to a decision. Years later when I was sitting stationary at a roundabout and someone drove straight into the back of my car, I would have had a witness to help me prove that I was stationary even though the person behind swore blind that I was moving. In both cases, it would have taken the stress away from me, it would have got the Insurance claim processed more quickly and would have saved extra cost in the long run.
- Protect yourself from fraudulent claims – sadly fraudulent claims are on the rise so it’s best to keep yourself protected wherever possible. Recorded proof from the dash cam can be used to help resolve accident liability claims, ‘stop cash for crash’ claims and can protect your ‘No Claims Discount’.
- Peace of mind when driving on the roads – feeling and being safe on the road is paramount. So why not protect yourself against instances of road rage and become more aware of your own driving speed with the safety camera alerts.
What I think to the MiVue 688 Dash Cam
From taking the Dash Cam out of the box, my experience with the MiVue 688 has been one of ease. It was very quick and easy to set up with only one cable to worry about and window mounting was a doddle. Perhaps the most tricky aspect for me and the part which confused me a little was the placement of the cable. It is recommended that the Dash Cam sits to the right-hand side of the rearview mirror and the cable then runs from the camera along the top of the windscreen on the passenger side, down the inside of the passenger door, under the glove box and into the 12V socket in the centre console. I hate to see trailing cables so I used the 3M Command Mini Clear hooks to secure the cable to my windscreen and around the car. If I hadn’t used those I’m not sure what I was supposed to have done with the cable so I was surprised that hooks had not been provided. I am lucky in that I have two 12V sockets in the front of my car so I am able to run a Sat Nav and Dash Cam at the same time but for many cars, this would not be possible without using the SmartBox accessory (sold separately) for uninterrupted power to the Dash Cam).
Once the Dash Cam was in place and I was ready to head off on my maiden journey I turned the ignition and was delighted when the Dash Cam sprang into life. As soon as I started driving the Dash Cam began recording. Initially, I thought “oh this could be distracting” because I could see what was happening on the screen but after a few seconds, the video screen switches to a clock and speed mode. As I am approaching a speed camera a coloured scale will show up to indicate my distance to a speed camera, it will tell me the speed limit and my current speed so that I can be sure that I am driving carefully.
The camera menus are very clear and easy to navigate with ticks and crosses to the right-hand side and there are up and down arrows on the buttons on the side of the camera to make your selections.
We had often considered purchasing a Dash Cam before but then wasn’t sure whether it would be necessary or not but now that we have this peace of mind we are considering purchasing a second Dash Cam for Hubby’s car since he spends a lot of time on the road.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided with the Mi Vue 688 Dash Cam free of charge for the purpose of this post. All words, images, opinions and videos are my own and may not be copied without my permission. I have not been instructed what to write.