A recent accident on the freeway made me realize the value of a dashcam. Rearended at high speed traveling at the speed of surrounding traffic. Clearly the fault of the other driver, which he admitted on scene, but then later tried to claim that I had cut in front of him and slammed on my brakes. I had been in that lane for several miles at that time. Nobody stopped, so no witnesses, other than his passenger. Ultimately his insurance company took responsibility, but there were a few days where I had to consider that I might have to pay for both my damages and his, not to mention potential medical costs. Since I own a number of vintage cars I also have always owned a heavy duty pick up truck in case I need to tow one of them. It has come in handy a number of times, and fortunately this was one occasion when I was driving it. A former PG&E truck that I bought at their surplus auction, and it is set up for towing heavy equipment with a strong tow hitch and a super heavy duty bumper. Nonetheless the impact was strong enough to slightly buckle the bed of my truck. Thankfully still drivable and usable and I'll probably take a payout rather than fix it. A few lessons learned: always call the highway patrol and have them respond to write it up no matter how seemingly responsible the other driver is. Take pictures and record conversations on your cell phone (recording conversations in public places is allowed in California). The pictures I took helped convince the adjuster I was telling the truth but I didn't record our conversation. Get to a safe place to exchange information and try not to do it a foot or two away from highway speed traffic. I was in a rush to get to a safer place so I hurried up the process. With hindsight I would have handled this differently, so learn from my mistakes and by all means make other suggestions so everybody can benefit from my stupidity . So, this has convinced me I need to put dashcams in all of my cars. I'm going to use any money I get for my damages to pay for them. Anybody out there have dashcams installed in their vehicles? Recommendations? Ones to avoid?

Thanks for passing this along and glad you are OK.

I just looked on Amazon. They have one for $45. Front and rear view. That might be a good idea. A lot of motorcyclists do it.

I researched them for the Sam we reason: Blackvue 750 is a good model. Less that the 900, and better than the 590.
A local auto stereo shop that does installs will be a big help: 1. They sell and install dadhcsms and know which one(s) has the best customer satisfaction.
2. They frequently have customers that are upgrading to a newer model and may connect you to a seller
3 there is a web site that has rated all the dash cams on a number of variables, I would read it

Good luck, a good idea..

I have one in my wife’s car... I would recommend one
With front and rear cameras and also a motion sensor
that turns both cameras on if it senses a hit when the car is
parked.
Don’t go cheap....
Also there is a Lawyer on YouTube that mentions legal issues
with using one possible.
Check reviews on line ..... Be aware they can be used
against you also if you are at fault.

Mine didn't protect me from Insurance Fraud
because my Insurance Company paid the claim and told
me they weren’t a Detective Agency. That cost me an insurance
Surcharge for maybe 6 years that there was 0 damage to my wife’s car..

YMMV

I like the form factor of the viofo a129. Has both front and rear and solid mount to the windshield so there is no vibration in the video.

If you get a motion sensing one, make sure you also get a battery protector so it doesn't strand you with a dead battery.

I've had a dash cam in my cars for about 7 years now. Set it up to automatically come on and you'll forget about it completely until you need it. The lenses typically fail after 3 years due to constant sun exposure.

I typically just get the smallest ones that take an external card. My current one is below. Good quality, I can download video to my phone really easy. I've got a spare I'll put in the 914 some day.


DDPai Mini Smart Dash Cam with WiFi, F1.8 Aperture 140 Wide Angle, Reversible 1080P Car DVR Dashboard Camera with Sony Exmor CMOS Image Sensor, Remote https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HWSNX6/ref=cm...p_2JXIBXcgY7Fqo

After reading of Sir Andy's unfortunate traffic incident here, (glad you're Ok Andy), I thought some of my 914 collegues might be interested in this product. I have always wanted a dash cam for my 914, but did not like the idea of a suction cup device on the windshield that could easily be stolen when my roof is open, which is most of the time. I saw an ad on tv and ordered several of these HD Mirror Cams for my cars. Before I say anything else, you should know that I have no connection to this product in any way, other than as an end user. The HD camera is located under a rear view mirror that straps right over your existing mirror in your car. Other than the small rotatable camera under the new rear view mirror, you can not tell anything is on the car. The HD video starts automatically when you get in the car from motion detection. A small included SDHD card records a ten minute loop of HD video, day or night. There is an HDMI adaptor included to plug the SD card into your computer to view it. The HD Mirror cam connects via a long wire to the cigarette lighter to charge the camera battery. I hard wired my camera by running the wire under the windshield rubber and down to the relay board for power. (Note: If you do this, you must connect leads to the cigarette lighter fitting and not cut the fitting off. The plug-in fitting has an e-board inside it to convert the car's 12v to the right charging power for the HD Mirror.) And now for the best part. It's only $59.95 plus shipping at this website:

https://www.amazon.com/Official-HD-Mirror-C...0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Now I have the added protection of constant video without an ugly obvious device on my front window!
Click to view attachment

Link doesn't work.

Sorry Clay, fixed it, ty
Here’s a good link...
https://www.amazon.com/Official-HD-Mirror-C...0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

So I'll just chime in on the collision stuff.

I was a collision investigator for a PD in Cali, with 31 years total service under my belt. At the end of my Police career, I supervised the collision investigation unit at the rank of Commander.

1) Dash cameras are great. They help you establish you were where you say you were. They catch liars, just like a body worn one can keep the wearer honest.
2) Insurance companies like them and hate them. When you are at fault, they hate them. When you are not at fault, they love them. I have seen many people at fault with a dash camera try to lose the footage pretty quickly. If you spot a camera in their car and they try to hide it before the PD gets there, snap a photo of it to prove they had it and are hiding the footage. OF videotape them doing it and ask if they will share the footage with you. IF the PD responds, let them know. Although it is not a crime and therefore the Constitutional protections apply as far as searching the car goes to recover the hidden camera, it is good to document.
3) In CA, you have to be open and notorious about the AUDIO recording of any second party. It is a felony, even in a public place to SECRETLY record audio. There is a Penal Code exception for police officers to record without consent. Other states have different rules.
4) Find non-involved party witnesses.
5) The CHP and the local PD won't always respond. My agency was a smaller one, so we went to all of them, but are not required by law to document every collision. Some large agencies (LAPD specifically) enacted policies wherein they take NO REPORT unless there is an injury. Some agencies will assist you with an "information exchange" which is required by law by the involved parties. You are on your own to document and photograph the scene.
6) Take lots of photos... more than you think you need. Dont just shoot the bumpers of the car or the close up of the damage. Walk a football field away and snap photos. Capture the skidmarks. You would be surprised what a reconstruction expert can devise from a good photo set.
7) If you are injured, get a good PI lawyer. The insurance company is not your friend. It doesn't mean you're trying to milk anyone, it means you stand up for your rights. (Did I mention I am an attorney as well??.. I don't handle PI)

All good advice given at the start of the post... get out of danger first... "Scene safety" is everything. Then slow down and gather your thoughts.

Drive safe out there....

Also, don't skimp out and get a 720p one. You want the 1080p or higher. You want to be able to make out a license plate from a would be hit and run.

I have BlackVue cameras in my cars. I have the 650 in one and the 750 in another. They both have front & rear cameras. They are compact and clean looking. Great video with no fuss at all. I am considering installing a BlackVue in the Six. But that won't happen until it is completely finished.

Does it do both front and rear at the same time?

i've had a 2 camera rexing installed in the car my wife commutes in for a few years now. it was about $120 at best buy, it finally caught an actual accident several days ago. victim car's insurance now has a copy.

we were coming home from dinner and somebody (probably drunk, his buddy who didn't beat feat from the scene sure was...) ran a red. most of the traffic he woulda t-boned saw him coming... thankfully, no serious injuries. victim driver declined medical.

https://vimeo.com/manage/376608640/general

i have a gopro mounted on my helmet for my motorcycle commutes. thankfully, nothing but other driver's relatively harmless shennanigans on that one...