One day all cars will have an inbuilt dashcam. I know where these have helped in insurance claims and where insurance companies look at it and pay out with any further ado. And I just remembered, also of one case where it helped the driver avoid prosecution for jumping a red light.

I've found them quite useful in Indonesia. We have a $15-20 model there. The charger broke, but a replacement charger was cheap.

I just bought a higher end one on Amazon for my new CRV. I think it was about $70.

Many of the adhesive ones have a snap in piece, so can be removed easily. Not really worried about theft. It's just in front of the mirror, so a bit hard to spot.

This is similar to the semi-"stealthy" rear-view mirror mounted DVR black box we've installed in our Honda, available on Amazon - plenty of models & specs. to choose from, user-installed if you are handy, the wiring for 12v power is a little tricky (or, get your friendly car mechanic to do it ... car audio/specialty window tint shops do them) ... in 1080p resolution (720p will suffice) & night vision & continuous recording, auto power on/off - a 64 mSD card that hold plenty of video clips. Mounted over the rear-view mirror, it's discrete - ours have a 3" display, 4.3" is common among newer ones and some 5" (backup camera view is optional in some and integrated in others)
https://www.amazon.com/OUMAXRV43HD-R...KC8GQ1MJFYGASF

We paid about $50 for ours & easy enough DIY wiring and installation - spend as much as one is comfortable with, "high-end" ones in the hundreds with pro installation by a car audio shop. Ours came with an USB cable to transfer and/or download the stored videos to view on a HD monitor with a PC hookup, or, just pop out the mSD card and transfer the content ... also, do this to check it for proper operation & recording.

Has ours for a while after a head-on hit-n-run (at low-speed, thankfully ... all 3 us w/o a scratch) where the other driver took off, leaving us with $7,000 worth of claims, thankfully - we had full coverage, less a deductible; the Honda AWD workhorse was nearly written off as a total loss, with market value depreciation after 7 years.

Being low-key and semi-hidden at a distance, theft hasn't been a problem. It's a small investment for peace of mind.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xzws0053l4..._0157.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nogghmoi75..._1151.jpg?dl=0

IMHO not a waste of money
 

I had mine for 7 yrs and equipped all our vehicles with the since 5 yrs ago.

It has proven its worth twice when other driver lied about what happened.

There is no more your word against theirs, it is now all on video.

I have considered that when I next replace my travel GPS it will be with a Garmin DriveAssist model that has the built-in dash cam. The problem for my personal vehicle is that when I'm driving around home I rarely take out and use my gps - which would also defeat the camera.

I installed one of these in my BMW, both front and rear cameras along with their external battery pack powering it all. Works great, and records events for about 24 hours after I shut the car off (eg parking garage). Unless you look really closely, they hide really well. Having my windows tinted helps as well.

https://www.blackboxmycar.com/collec...ant=6693416193

If I drove as much as I used to, or if I still drove in south Florida (or NYC etc) I'd definitely have a rear-facing as well as forward-facing cam. The downside (cost, hassle) is completely trivial compared with the upside, which is potentially huge. I think I'll order one for my truck now.

In CA you need front, back, and both sides ! :)

To that point
 

You know, with new cars including built-in minicams pointed in every direction as driver aids, and with the cost of data storage approaching nil, I'd expect to see this very functionality as standard equipment very soon.

Yup, I see it as a form of insurance when our police stopped responding to non-injury accidents. I've been in one accident that if I had one it would have saved me several times the price of the camera--unfortunately that was before dashcams existed. Mine is small and mounted behind the mirror with the cable almost completely concealed (one part is behind gaffer's tape that isn't a perfect match for the panel it's stuck to) until it's under the dash. While you can see it it certainly isn't obvious.

I've only been in one accident since I got it and it didn't record the accident itself. However, had she tried to contest it it did show enough to show that she had no possible course of action that made things my fault. She didn't try to fight it, though. It also recorded this minor bit of karma:


I also own a cheap suction-cup unit for use in rental cars. It's never caught anything interesting and I've never been in an accident in a rental car.

Interestingly: Automobile Association calls for crackdown on sharing dashcam video

I sincerely doubt this would ever happen in the US.

I'm surprised it hasn't happened already in the UK ;)

FWIW - UK dashcam footage shared on Twitter of this evening's explosion Manchester, England - audio & reflected light flash as "whatever" gone off, from a distance.

Keeping those injuried and lost in this tragic incident in our prayers.

The police have asked for any video footage, including dash cam, to be uploaded.

There have bern some great dash cam videos of that airplane crash in the Taiwan freeway, meteor in Russia, and so many more.