Cars should just give you access to the cameras that are already there. Why get a rear facing camera when your car is already legally required to have one?

I've wondered this too. Even if it's only the rear camera all cars should have a few seconds of rolling buffer that they save whenever an accident is detected. At the very least if the airbags blow it should trigger the save. You only need enough storage for maybe 10-15 seconds of footage.

I would also like the ability to turn on the rear camera when moving forward, for those times when the rear view mirror is blocked, especially on vehicles where the backup camera is integrated into the rear view mirror.

Cars aren't legally required to have a rear-facing camera. New cars are. My 2008 Infiniti doesn't have one, for example.

You tuck the wire along the headliner with an interior tool. It's about 10 minutes of work.

In some cars. You're making me think of my van where installing a radio involves unbolting and lowering the steering column. :)

I got a dashcam that ran off USB, which I knew my car had a port for on the center console. There's ways to run the wire under the trim for the most part, but it's a long run.. and at the end there's a part that remains visible to some degree.

There are cams that can do a rear view as well from inside the cab, which likely provides enough evidence if you're rear ended.

I only opted for a forward facing dash cam.

In my state, you are 100% at fault for rear ending someone unless you can prove your innocence -- which a dashcam can do assuming the person in front does something shady (like lane change + intentionally slam breaks).

However, do note that dash cams are not going to magically make rear ending the person in front of you somehow that person's fault. Virtually no one seems to leave enough follow distance by default because doing so means someone merged into the space.. and a dash cam doesn't shift the blame for simple rear endings unless it can prove some kind of malice or inattentiveness on the other driver (but even then, inattentiveness of the other driver is not necessarily a legal defense for you not leaving enough room to react.. perhaps if they stopped faster than a car could be expected to break, e.g. hit a concrete wall....) -- of course, laws vary by state

In my car taking the headliner off involves removing 6 bolts (one in each pillar) and then popping out some retaining clips. I was surprised at how easy it was when I ran the wire to the rear camera. Headliners were notoriously difficult to deal with in the old days. There was even space to tuck the excess wire away to keep it neat and tidy looking. My camera just sticks to the glass using a sticker so attaching it was no problem either.

The camera I bought came with everything I needed, including cables that let me wire it into the circuit breaker panel so it could run even when the engine is off. (It didn't work, but that was probably my fault.)

Installation was easy - glue a thing to the windshield & rear windshield, & run the wires to the cigarette lighter USB adapter (which was also included). It was a bit of a pain to tuck the wires into the trim around the doors, but overall, not bad.

But yes, it would have been easier to have a dealership install one for me.

>Car dealerships should advertise adding webcams while you're in there -- that would really make it easy.

And probably charge you $1000 to install a $100 dashcam.

I mean, they also charge you $150 to change the oil when you can do it yourself at home for free - it's a matter of whether you have more time, or more money.

They are a big fat pain. I just added a front-facing one, done the right way (into the fusebox).

Didn't bother with the rear-facing one.