This is why a rear-facing dash cam is essential. Wish I had one. :(

[SandyM]

is it silly to get a 2nd dash cam aimed at the back of my car?

I personally think it's necessary. When I was backing out of a parking spot, another guy in the spot opposite me backed into me.

Here's what happened: I turned my head and saw no car moving, so I backed out of my spot and came to a full stop to change gear. I started to look ahead . 1 second after I put my gear into Drive, I heard a bump from the rear. The guy had backed into my rear bumper. He absolutely insisted that I back into him first. There were no witnesses in the parking lot at the time.

If I had a rear-facing dash cam, it would have proved that he was at fault. Even the police officer who came out to make the incident report agreed with me. Unfortunately, I had no camera. He said in cases with no witnesses, both parties share equal blame, unless I have video to proof. His insurance company will pay only 50% of the repairs to my rear bumper.. and my insurance company will pay 50% to him to fix his bumper.

 

[BobDiaz]

There's an interesting point of cost and risk. A single camera facing forward might cost $100 (USA) and if we assume it lasts for 5 years, the cost is $20 per year. While you may never need it in those 5 years, the camera acts like insurance. Add a second camera facing backward and the cost per year increases to $40 per year based on my assumptions. Is it worth it?

A number of years back I was almost involved in an accident changing lanes. I looked and saw it was clear, but as I changed, the guy appeared out of nowhere. The guy was driving 100+ Miles Per Hour (161 KPH) and changing lanes like crazy. I know this because after he whizzed past me I saw him do it to others. If I hadn't moved out of the way at the last split second, we would have crashed and only a rear camera would have told the true story.

 

[DashCamMan]

Actually a front facing camera may be enough in this situation. It would show that you were stopped and you would likely hear the bump and / or see the car shake when bumped. A g-sensor would pick up the event as well which many cameras have. A rear facing camera would be ideal but there are many situations where 1 camera is sufficient.

 

[SandyM]

Actually a front facing camera may be enough in this situation. It would show that you were stopped and you would likely hear the bump and / or see the car shake when bumped. A g-sensor would pick up the event as well which many cameras have. A rear facing camera would be ideal but there are many situations where 1 camera is sufficient.

That's a good point. I was definitely stopped... then he bumped me. A decent microphone on the dash cam should have no problem picking up that sound.

 

[fieldofview]

A decent microphone on the dash cam should have no problem picking up that sound.

And picked up your vocal reaction. But definitely if the vidio is showing your car not moving then suddenly a bump, then you got hit. The other driver must have backed up quite fast to do any damage? This was a parking lot? Bumpers are supposed to take a 8 km/h (5mph) hit without damage aren't they or did that regulation go by the wayside?

 

[SandyM]

........ Bumpers are supposed to take a 8 km/h (5mph) hit without damage aren't they or did that regulation go by the wayside?

ah... the good old days... I remember back in the early 1980s... my family had a big old Oldsmobile. There's a picture of me and 3 friends sitting on the hood of that car. No damage. The other picture showing the 4 of us standing on the big fat front chrome steel bumper. Yes! 4 people standing on it... I think the combined weight of the 4 of us were at least 700 pounds!

Once we drove to NYC for a weekend. (again, this was the early 1980s) We were at a red light and someone rear-ended us. I remember the guy was driving a Toyota Cressida(?). The front of that Toyota was completely smashed in. Even the engine was pushed in. Our Oldsmobile had almost no damage, save for a few spots of chrome peeling off. (of course, I guess that meant all the energy was not absorbed and kept on going?)

These days, car bumpers are a joke... My next-next door neighbor was in my driveway chatting with me last year. When she was leaving, she was pushing her stroller with the baby in her arm. She accidentally let go and the stroller rolled down 6 feet into my front bumper of my just-purchased SUV. It made 2-inch wide 1/4-inch deep dent. Yes, a stroller going at 3mph denting a new SUV bumper. My neighbor paid for the repair($650), but I move my cars into the garage when she comes over now.

 

[Street Guardian USA]

I plan on getting a dual camera system at some point but not until something with higher bitrate w/ WDR comes out.

The new blackview one sounded promising but didn't meet my expectations.
http://dashcamtalk.com/blackvue-dr550gw-2ch-faq-added/

I'll wait to see what Jokiin comes out with. (or other A7-LA based ones)
http://www.ambarella.com/products/automotive-camera-solutions.html

 

[Milamber]

If you would like a recommendation, I would suggest a 140 degree or greater angle camera to cover both sides of the vehicle. I have my Vico TF2+ all setup now, I had to use suction mount since the window is heavily tinted.

 

[jokiin]

We're looking how to do separate EV and brightness settings for front and rear cameras in the dual cam models, tinted windows make it a necessity to have different settings I think

 

[sludgeguts]

There's an interesting point of cost and risk. A single camera facing forward might cost $100 (USA) and if we assume it lasts for 5 years, the cost is $20 per year. While you may never need it in those 5 years, the camera acts like insurance. Add a second camera facing backward and the cost per year increases to $40 per year based on my assumptions. Is it worth it?.

Is it worth it? Most certainly
I'd never heard of dashcams until I came across a YT clip. I bought a T-eye cam 2nd hand off ebay. Even 2nd hand, it cost over £200.
By the end of the year, it had paid for itself many, many times over.
The front cam showed me going through lights 'just' as they started to change. Aside from my ugly mug, you could just make out the idiot speeding down my outside. Back to the front cam & at the moment of impact, his rear wheel was clearly way over the line and into my lane. With the timestamp being the same, it was easy for the insurance to calculate he was speeding & the video clearly showed exactly where we were & what had happened.
At the time, £200 was just less than my annual insurance bill.
Facing a 50/50 insurance claim, my repair costs were just shy of £2000, the other guy's car had the back bumper bent & ripped off plus damage to the rear quarter panel & door (not the easiest of fixes!). That £200 investment really paid dividends.

My current car cam is just a cheapo dual cam, at around £35 I consider it a valuable investment, it only runs for about an hour per working day, tops. I would like to upgrade from 720p to two mobius or 0801 (to get similar small footprint - current cam shows an aspect of 3.5" wide x 1" deep and the rear cam 1.25" x 1").

I bought the DR32 to use in my bus at work (so, running up to 9 hrs per day), I think it cost about £69 (definitely $99) but well worth the money since we always get the odd muppet who takes advantage of the phone number on the side of the bus to try to get us into trouble - because I honk my horn at their stupidity.
My boss simply tells the idiots that he'll review the camera footage at the end of my shift - amazing how the idiots soon shut up!