Traffic "accident" scams are common in other countries, but it's becoming more common in the US now.

This is one very good reason to get a dash cam apart from all the other good reasons:  evidence to assign fault in actual wrecks, vandalism, hit and run, etc.

Wire the camera into the car's power (battery or fuse box) with a device to turn it off when the car battery drops to below 11.8v or so.  Really cheap on Amazon or may be included with some cameras.

They also make external lithium dash cam batteries that charge when you turn the engine on and supply power to the camera when the car is off -- prevents any chance of killing the car battery and likely lasts longer, too. It allows "surveillance/parking mode" when not driving.

i'm thinking of upgrading my front-only camera and getting one with higher resolution, 360º coverage (front, interior, rear -- maybe side, too), and more channels for more cameras. 

Teslas seem to have them already, and there are YT channels just for Tesla-recorded incidents. 

I also want a telephoto camera in front to capture license plates.  The wide angle lenses on dash cams don't have the frame rate and/or pixels to pick up license plates so they can be read easily especially in low light.  Some newer models have the telephoto built into the front camera, or you can just add another single-use telephoto dash cam for this purpose.  I notice many drivers will call out license plates when something happens, because they know the camera rarely gets the plates, but the audio will pick up the driver's voice. 

It's possible to install a separate camera in each direction, but a dash cam with multiple cameras not only integrates them so you can view all the recordings simultaneously and in synch, but you can also view all the cameras live on the main unit.  Good for parking, monitoring the camper or trailer while towing, etc.

Isn't it sad that scams (of all sorts) are becoming such a problem for ordinary people just trying to live a decent happy life?

I've been dashcamming since 2016. Very amusing stuff.
I seen some winnaz

Isn't it sad that scams (of all sorts) are becoming such a problem for ordinary people just trying to live a decent happy life?

I've been dashcamming since 2016. Very amusing stuff.
I seen some winnaz

Yes.  We live in a time where if there's no video, you can't convince others of the truth.  People believe the "victims" stories because that's the way we've been programmed by politicians and the media.

We're also at a point where we need to have a body cam or phone constantly recording to keep from being accused of everything under the sun or to prove what others said or did.

Mine just broke. Any recommendations?

Dashcams and everything else associated with this topic is because the US as a nation has become a den of liars.

It's the new culture.  Lie and believe your lie.  And make others believe your lie.  Your only defense as a victim is probably these devices.  More and more people are becoming delusional liars.

From the highest government officials, Law Enforcement, the Media, all the way down to the inner city momma and deadbeat dad that claims their son was just a good boy, our nation has become a den of liars.  Everybody in-between, whether yellow, black, white, brown, green, or purple are not exempt.

Mine just broke. Any recommendations?

When looking for a new dash cam, first decide how many lenses you want.  They market the cameras with number of channels:

1 - forward facing
2 - forward & rear facing
3 - forward, rear & interior facing

I'm thinking of a 3 channel myself.

Thinkware and Blackvue brands are more expensive, but seem to have the most features and quality.

I've been watching some reviews, and this one seems to be a good mid-priced camera system with 2 or 3 channels offering new tech and features.  You can get the number of channels you want to start with, then add more later if needed (same front camera for each 1/2/3 channel bundles):

VIOFO A139 PRO 3CH FIRST REAL 4K HDR 3 CHANNEL
FRONT+INTERIOR+REAR DASHCAM WITH
SONY STARVIS 2 IMX678 SENSOR

https://viofo.com/dash-cam/293-viofo-a139-pro-3ch-first-real-4k-hdr-3-channel-frontinteriorrear-dashcam-with-sony-starvis-2-imx678-sensor.html

I need a new helmet cam, but gotta figure out how to can change the angle so it doesn't show the speedometer.

I have a Garmin GPS with a built in dash cam. I like the navigation on the Garmin better than the one on my Infiniti.

Dashcams and everything else associated with this topic is because the US as a nation has become a den of liars.

It's the new culture.  Lie and believe your lie.  And make others believe your lie.  Your only defense as a victim is probably these devices.  More and more people are becoming delusional liars.

From the highest government officials, Law Enforcement, the Media, all the way down to the inner city momma and deadbeat dad that claims their son was just a good boy, our nation has become a den of liars.  Everybody in-between, whether yellow, black, white, brown, green, or purple are not exempt.

Unfortunately, that's true.  Friend of mine was rear-ended while he and his wife sat behind a city bus. Lady hits them and asks to handle it without insurance. She was Navy, and he's retired Navy Chief, so he decided to cut her a break.  next day he finds out she filed a report with her insurance saying he backed into her trying to go around the bus.  Luckily he'd gotten the number of a witness at the scene, so he was able to refute the claim.   After that, he called her supervisor and explained what she did.  I bet she's sorry she lied now, but it didn't stop her then.

Too many stories i know of where the person at the scene was all apologetic and promised to take care of it.  After a few hours, they tend to change their story because they convinced you to not call the cops. Better to file a police report before they get their lie figured out.

I had a woman hit my truck as I was turning left. She made a right turn on red, so it was obviously her fault.  Next day her insurance company said the husband (who wasn't there until after the cops arrived) told them I was partially at fault because i turned into the far lane rather than into my left lane -- implying if we both turned into the proper lan the accident would not have happened.  i told the adjuster that's funny since there's only one lane.  They took pictures of the intersection and called me back to tell me i was right -- DUH.  Even when the lies are demonstrably false, they still lied!   

When money is involved, people will throw all integrity out the window!  It's the "You're lying!" -- "Yeah? Prove it!" situation over and over.  Most times, there's no real penalty for lying.  They just claim to have been mistaken..

Another thing that interests me is the G-shock and motion sensing features in parking mode.

My daughter drove the truck to HPU before they moved to Aloha Tower.  After class, she got in and drove home.  It wasn't until i was going to work next morning that we saw the damage on the passenger side.  Someone really crushed the 2 doors on that side.  Hit & run.  Since it was not on the side she got in and out of, she never saw it until i asked about it.

If we'd had a dash cam in parking mode, we probably would have seen the vehicle and driver --  enough for a police report.  instead, we had to pay the deductible and use our insurance.

With the advent of road rage today, you really need to protect yourself from the crazies, too.  So many videos online of road rage idiots causing crashes and either blaming the victims or leaving the scene.

If I catch someone lying and know I should have it on video, i'm just going to keep my mouth shut.  Better to call the cops and then watch the video than alert the liars so they can change their stories.  Often they just leave the scene if you point out the camera rather than stick around and be charged with the accident.  Let them dig their hole, then cover them up.   

yeah, that's a good one
starvis 2 just came out, and it's higher res than previous ones

When looking for a new dash cam, first decide how many lenses you want.  They market the cameras with number of channels:

1 - forward facing
2 - forward & rear facing
3 - forward, rear & interior facing

I'm thinking of a 3 channel myself.

Thinkware and Blackvue brands are more expensive, but seem to have the most features and quality.

I've been watching some reviews, and this one seems to be a good mid-priced 2 channel with new tech and features.  You can get the number of channels you want to start with, then add more later if needed (same front camera for each 1/2/3 channel bundles):

VIOFO A139 PRO 3CH FIRST REAL 4K HDR 3 CHANNEL
FRONT+INTERIOR+REAR DASHCAM WITH
SONY STARVIS 2 IMX678 SENSOR

https://viofo.com/dash-cam/293-viofo-a139-pro-3ch-first-real-4k-hdr-3-channel-frontinteriorrear-dashcam-with-sony-starvis-2-imx678-sensor.html

The attempted kidnapping in Hawaii Kai, they're asking for a Tesla SUV to check their cameras since Tesla's come with 360 cameras and interior.

What makes the Tesla one good is that it comes with the car. So no needing to hide wires or tinkering with the electrical and risking a short for those who don't know how to DIY too well.

The camera is constantly rolling and when you honk the horn, it saves 30 mins prior to the honk.  Also you can view your cameras when you're away from your car via the Tesla app.  I often do this when I'm double parked or on a trip off island.

With the security system engaged, when someone walks by your parked car, the video records and from a few mins prior to the motion alert.  This can be humbug though as my OCD kicks in and I clear my date the 1st of the month.  But b4 I delete recordings, I make sure there's no damage to my car.

But this isn't a plug to buy a Tesla because of it's camera system.  It's just my XP with it and I have no XP with other systems. And I am an indoor dog, so for me to DIY a camera system won't happen. I would pay a professional to do it, which means it will cost more and I won't do it.

The attempted kidnapping in Hawaii Kai, they're asking for a Tesla SUV to check their cameras since Tesla's come with 360 cameras and interior.

What makes the Tesla one good is that it comes with the car. So no needing to hide wires or tinkering with the electrical and risking a short for those who don't know how to DIY too well.

The camera is constantly rolling and when you honk the horn, it saves 30 mins prior to the honk.  Also you can view your cameras when you're away from your car via the Tesla app.  I often do this when I'm double parked or on a trip off island.

With the security system engaged, when someone walks by your parked car, the video records and from a few mins prior to the motion alert.  This can be humbug though as my OCD kicks in and I clear my date the 1st of the month.  But b4 I delete recordings, I make sure there's no damage to my car.

But this isn't a plug to buy a Tesla because of it's camera system.  It's just my XP with it and I have no XP with other systems. And I am an indoor dog, so for me to DIY a camera system won't happen. I would pay a professional to do it, which means it will cost more and I won't do it.

Many cameras offer or include an installation kit that includes everything you need (or most everything -- might need to add fuse taps for your type of fuses) along with online videos for how-to.  If you can change a fuse, find a ground, understand which fuses are switched and constant-on (1 for normal driving operation and 1 for parking mode) and can run a few wires, the process is painless.  Sometimes figuring out where you want to mount the cameras takes longer than the actual connecting.  These multi-channel cameras usually all connect to the base unit in the front windshield, so there's only one power connection to worry about.

The interior and rear facing cameras draw power from the main front facing unit, so you only have to deal with one power cord.

I’m gonna get a Google cam mounted on the roof….ya know the one that spins around…..
Amazon has an ODB2 cable that can power your dash cam. Can be had with micro, mini and usb-c and has a switch that lets you select  switched  or constant power to the cam. I got one that also has the ability to sense when battery voltage drops below 11.8V and shuts power off to the cam.

Many cameras offer or include an installation kit that includes everything you need (or most everything -- might need to add fuse taps for your type of fuses) along with online videos for how-to.  If you can change a fuse, find a ground, understand which fuses are switched and constant-on (1 for normal driving operation and 1 for parking mode) and can run a few wires, the process is painless.  Sometimes figuring out where you want to mount the cameras takes longer than the actual connecting.  These multi-channel cameras usually all connect to the base unit in the front windshield, so there's only one power connection to worry about.

The interior and rear facing cameras draw power from the main front facing unit, so you only have to deal with one power cord.

Don't use a light to probe for voltage! Tapping into the fuse box like that is so unprofessional.

Don't use a light to probe for voltage! Tapping into the fuse box like that is so unprofessional.

I thought the whole idea behind DIY is you aren't looking for "professional?"

 

Admitting a guilty pleasure… I’ve been bingeing dash cam videos on YT lately.  From my non-scientific sample, I see a lot of Viofos and Roves provide pretty good results.  With the Rove R3 (front/back/cabin), you can get a kit to wire it into your fuse block, and it will do time lapse while parked and record video for a period of time after sensing acceleration (somebody bumps your car).  I think the R2 (front only) will do the same thing.

If nothing else, you might capture something interesting like that guy that yeeted his truck over the guardrail on the Moanalua Freeway.

Admitting a guilty pleasure… I’ve been bingeing dash cam videos on YT lately.  From my non-scientific sample, I see a lot of Viofos and Roves provide pretty good results.  With the Rove R3 (front/back/cabin), you can get a kit to wire it into your fuse block, and it will do time lapse while parked and record video for a period of time after sensing acceleration (somebody bumps your car).  I think the R2 (front only) will do the same thing.

If nothing else, you might capture something interesting like that guy that yeeted his truck over the guardrail on the Moanalua Freeway.

I copied this from the A139 manual:

Parking Mode

There are three options for parking mode.

1. Auto Event Detection
Including buffered parking mode, the camera will automatically record a
video sequence (from 15 seconds before the event to 30 seconds after the
event) while a moving object is detected during parking. It will stop
recording without new movements.

2. Time Lapse recording
Time lapse record a video at low frames at 1 / 2 / 3 / 5 / 10 fps, it keeps
recording continuously without audio recorded.
Note: Audio cannot be recorded in time-lapse mode

3. Low Bitrate Recording
This mode records video and audio continuously at low bitrate in
small file size.

Good info for dash cam buyers.  This is about 10 months old.

So, if you're like me and looking at the VIOFO dash cams, one thing that might not be obvious with the A139.

The older A139 has the STARVIS 1 CCD, and the front-facing camera can do 2K resolution at up to 30 fps.

The newer A139 Pro is the one with STARVIS 2 CCDs, and can do 4K resloution at a 30 fps depending on how many channels (cameras) are used.  or it can run at 60 fps but only at 2k quality.