On 31 December 2024, a customer dropped his car off at Curry Subaru’s workshop in Cortlandt Manor (a hamlet in New York State) for a simple service. Nothing very unusual. Except that an on-board camera reveals a scene that is as absurd as it is disturbing.
The footage shows a mechanic moving the car around the garage, performing a series of abrupt manoeuvres, before tackling a completely different problem: the vehicle’s surveillance camera. First, the man tries to disconnect it from the main unit. No luck, it’s still running. On his second attempt, the mechanic removed the camera’s USB access. He failed again.
Convinced that he had erased all traces of his act, the technician calmly returned to work. Unluckily, he ignores a crucial detail: a second camera, installed on the dashboard and connected to the OBD port, has filmed the entire scene. This camera captures everything, sound and image. You can even hear the mechanic mutter in frustration as he leaves the vehicle.
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The video, posted on YouTube by the NewYorkDashCam channel, quickly attracted attention. The burning question is: why would this employee try to deactivate a camera?
Transparency or intrusion?
Some Internet users put forward the argument of privacy: an employee should not be filmed without his consent. They therefore believe that this act is legitimate and that the man was simply trying to protect his right to an image. Except that in New York, the regulations on capturing images inside private vehicles are vague. Taxis, on the other hand, are authorised to operate with on-board cameras.
Above and beyond the legal framework, this type of attitude fuels the mistrust of all those people who, at one time or another, will have to entrust their precious car to professionals. What if it wasn’t a case of image protection? What was the mechanic trying to hide? A botched service? Irresponsible driving?
Many motorists are suspicious of car dealerships. Installing an extra camera in their vehicle becomes a way of monitoring the way they are treated. It’s not for us to judge the morality of such an act, but you should know that the debates on the subject are quite lively. This kind of video is bound to inflame them once again.
Deactivating a camera is more than a simple gesture. It’s an involuntary declaration: “What I’m doing, I don’t want you to see”. For some workers, it’s an important act of protection. And for some customers, it’s yet another reason not to trust concessions. Everyone should choose their own comp!
