RoadHawk RH-2 Pro Driving Kit
RoadHawk RH-2 Pro Driver Training Kit By Road Hawk UK, reviewd by Mac McDade. £499.95
There has always been great debate about the use of in-car camera equipment in driver training, not only over its effective-
ness as a teaching tool, but also whether or not it is an infringe- ment of the student’s rights. More recently, I’ve heard concerns from ADIs regarding lessons recorded ending up on media shar- ing sites like You Tube. Personally, I have used in-car cameras to great effect, particularly when carrying out ADI training; however, I never felt it necessary to capture every moment of every training session. There were times though when I’d wished I’d had the camera recording but didn’t. There are also occasions when it is not suitable to inter- rupt a session with a question or prompt, i.e. when conducting a mock test, independent driving or when in role-play. On these occasions video playback can be of great value to the student and the instructor. As to the question of whether it is an infringement of the stu- dent’s rights, it is surely a simple case of only using such equip- ment with their approval. A simple consent form can be drafted and kept as part of your student records, which could also cover concerns of lesson recordings ending up online. What you get The RoadHawk RH-2 Pro Driver Training Kit is a complete solution for the driver trainer. The RH-2 Pro camera unit is comparable, in its functionality, with some others on the market. It has two 1.3 mega pixel CMOS cameras, providing simultaneous exterior and interior recording, and audio recording via the built in mic. The unit also provides G-Sensor data, automatically saving any ‘event’, recording the movement of the vehicle through the X-Y-Z axis, and GPS location overlaid onto Google Maps. From the moment you unwrap the RH-2 camera it looks and feels like a top quality product. It is compact, robust and nicely fin- ished…professional. It’s small enough to tuck neatly behind your interior mirror, with just enough showing for the 170° wide-angle lens to capture the necessary interior detail. There’s a backlit display window showing you the current mode, GPS reception, time and speed. It fits to the windscreen via a clear plastic holder into which the base and the GPS receiver slot. There are also the Emergency Re- cording Button (use is optional), allowing instant recording in the event of an emergency and an IR receiver for the remote control, which also connects to the monitor, all of which are wired to the T-Box. However, there is a fair amount of wire to tuck away, lead- ing from the camera unit to the T-Box, and on to the cigarette lighter plug. The T-Box, you may have guessed, is the main junction box for the kit. It not only connects all the devices, but it also has a USB
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Port, which means you are limited to an SD card for data storage. You can of course use an SD Card (min 512MB, max 32GB SDHC), but I think the option and convenience of a USB stick is a big plus. This is especially useful for fleet and/or ADI training, where a full day’s activity is being recorded and reviewed. If you are providing the data storage, SD Cards are easily lost or damaged, whereas USB sticks are sturdier, plus you can always spend a bit more and have yours personalised. The monitor that comes with the kit has a 7” TFT LCD screen, big enough for in-car use. It comes with an adhesive mount that the screen can rotate on for best viewing position. I would say it’d have to be somewhere central, if both driver and instructor are going to see it clearly. The system allows live video display, which is handy when setting up your camera angle, though I wouldn’t want it switched on whilst on the move — it could be danger- ously distracting. You can view playback direct from the camera unit via the T-Box and navigate through the 30 second segments using the on screen menus and another remote control. You can choose to watch video from one or both cameras (picture in picture) and the screen offers a nice sharp image. The monitor is also powered from the cigarette lighter plug; a dual socket adapter is supplied with the kit. The RoadHawk viewing software is user friendly with a slick user interface. You can watch the camera views simultaneously, singly or with the Google Map view. The speed, position and G-Sensor data is nicely arranged in the viewer window without too much clutter. The viewing software is easily distributed and installed for clients to take away or download. Summary Where RoadHawk RH-2 Pro Driving Training Kit stands out from the dual camera competition is in its build, the T-Box and the function to directly playblack using remote control. True, there are a fair amount of wires to tuck around, but once it’s done it’s easy enough to connect and disconnect the camera and monitor units at the beginning and the end of the day. If you are con- stantly changing vehicles in your work, then it might be a bit of a chore, though I’s sure the more you do it the quicker you’ll get. During my trial of the kit it performed well. The picture image was as sharp as any I’ve seen, and the audio was clear in and around town. However, I did lose GPS a few times and the audio quality suffered a bit at higher speeds due to background noise. However, this has been the case with every camera kit I’ve used and they really are minor glitches in a kit that offers so much. The full kit is priced at £499.95, complete with 4GB DDHC card and USB card reader. If you don’t require or want the monitor, you can buy the kit for £379.95. It’s a bit pricey, but this is a qual- ity kit, that should serve you well for many years. If used correctly and effectively marketed by you, you should be able to make your money back in a matter of months and be seen to be offer- ing a slick, very professional and modern driver training service (not least insurance savings by easily proving non-fault crashes you may by involved in!).
For more details visit
www.dogcamsport.co.uk Tel: 01208 269 159
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