Car camera - capture damage while parked

[stuge]

I have a problem that I hope you can help me with. I park my car on the roadside at the end of a quiet no-exit street. The road is steep and cars will frequently drive up to the end of the road, do a 3-point turn, and depart. Unfortunately while executing the turn they back very close to my car - some hit my driver side door and drive off without leaving a note for the damage caused. This is wearing thin and I am keen to install a camera system on the at risk side of the car to capture these impacts (even light touches with a rear bumper will leave a dent) and record the incident so I can chase the culprits to pay for the damages that I will otherwise have to repair. I use my car only once or twice a day for short trips generally, so a low draw power system, or battery management/recharge system will be important. I am very keen to get this sorted and I am looking for your advice on the best system to put in place.

Thanks in advance. I look forward to hearing what you suggest.

 

[stuge]

Oh, one more thought. Capturing slow moving side impact damage will probably need a camera mounted on the wing mirror. So needs to be a small secondary camera that is waterproof and discrete.

 

[dash riposki]

Can you see the car from your house?

 

[stuge]

Car is almost in wifi coverage of the house, but not visible. I do use the car daily so any damage is spotted within 24 hours.

 

[dash riposki]

The simplest solution is a security camera in your house, pointing at the parking area....if it is within sight and not too far away..

 

[stuge]

I get that, however the damage is always on the opposite side of the car to where I could get an image from an outdoor camera. Hence the need to monitor from the car itself.

 

[dash riposki]

Kind of hard to come up with better options without a picture of the area. The dashcam route is not impossible but maybe not much fun to live with.
How about neighbors willing to allow you to put up a cam on their property...for 'community use'?

 

[SawMaster]

While a security cam would be more ideal, the B1W dashcam might be good for this use. It's small and discreet, has the lowest power draw of any current dashcam, uses supercaps for good heat tolerance, has acceptable video quality, and has a low-bitrate recording mode which will give you plenty of coverage time. There are cams offering better performance than this but with what I feel might be less suitable form-factors and higher costs. You should also know that no dashcam can function in total darkness; some lighting will be needed at night but it needn't be a lot with the right cam. The B1W does a fairly good job at this, again better is available and I'd recommend something else if there is little lighting where you park. Also know that plate number capture isn't a given with any dashcam even in full daylight- all cams struggle with that at times.

You might also consider a motion-activated "Trail cam" or "Game cam" like is used in forests to capture videos of animals in nature. That will need someplace suitable to mount it and batteries, plus it might be at risk of being stolen or tampered with if it can't be hidden well. These all have infrared illumination so they would give you some chance of plate capture in darkness, which most regular security cams would also do, but the illumination range is rather limited which might also present a problem.

Your real protection is insurance, and cam footage mainly assists your insurer in recovering their payout and giving the Police evidence in locating the culprit. I wouldn't be without my own cams when parked regardless, even with the limited benefits they give here, simply because they may be all that you have to prove a claim.

Phil

 

[stuge]

Thanks to all that replied. Great info. I have decided to go down the trail cam route, after looking at all the available options. What swung me was that the issue really only happens when I am parked at the top of the street and there are good options for positioning a trail cam amongst trees that overlook the troublesome area.

I see that I have learned a lot about dash cams while doing this exercise and I will be indulging in buying myself one - for normal dash cam duties. That way I only have standard user needs and suspect my experience with the in car solution will be much better as a result.

Thanks again for all the great input. What a great community.

Stu