Dashcams Users: is a rear unit worthwhile?

I am considering a dashcam for our vehicles but am undecided if a rear unit is worthwhile.

Due to battery limitations, none of these cameras can continuously record when the vehicle is parked. I can see a dashcam being useful for front impacts where "fault" can be disputed, but most rear impacts are fairly black/white.

I am considering a Viofo A119 mini 2 or A229 Plus.

Thanks.

I had a guy hit me in the back. When I contacted his insurance they said I was responsible due to the fact he said I backed into him. Luckily for me I had called police and he didn't think of telling them I put it in reverse till after. Needless his insurance paid when I supplied police report.
 
The quality and reliability of dashcams very considerably. It's just not about resolution. In Asia, rear view mirror dual channel dashcams are incredibly popular.

The issue I have with two channel (rear dashcams) is it generally requires professional installation. It's a major PIA to remove the interior trim without breaking or damaging clips and the trim. This can apply to the front cam as well. I've read and heard horror stories around this but in Asia the installation is cheap.

The other thing too is it's a good idea to have the dashcam hardwired to the fusebox so it doesn't need to use your lighter socket (do people still know what that is)? Another thing too you need a hardware kit for this but you also have the option to record while in parking mode.
 
We had a situation where someone hit us and then tried to blame us. Their own insurance company didn’t believe them, but put Blackview 900’s front and rear on all our cars after that experience.

Daughter got hit from behind by a texting driver who never hit the brakes. It was a rental car being driven by a different person than rented it. Her car - a 2014 Outback - got pushed into the car in front of her. She saw the guy coming and pushed down hard on the brake pedal. He bent the rear quarter of the car about two inches, totalling it.

Insurance company found them at fault within minutes of submitting the video. And we were off the hook for damage to the car in front of us.

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We had a situation where someone hit us and then tried to blame us. Their own insurance company didn’t believe them, but put Blackview 900’s front and rear on all our cars after that experience.

Daughter got hit from behind by a texting driver who never hit the brakes. It was a rental car being driven by a different person than rented it. Her car - a 2014 Outback - got pushed into the car in front of her. She saw the guy coming and pushed down hard on the brake pedal. He bent the rear quarter of the car about two inches, totalling it.

Insurance company found them at fault within minutes of submitting the video. And we were off the hook for damage to the car in front of us.

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In a situation like this it’s pretty clear just through the front camera what happened. But having a rear camera is nice to have for the other reasons people have mentioned.

Having at least a front camera in todays world is a no brainer
 
I've seen some bad installs in my time
Try to factor in rear defrost lines and or rear wash/wipe
You want the camera in the clean area, without a line dead through the video or staring at a wiper blade

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In a situation like this it’s pretty clear just through the front camera what happened. But having a rear camera is nice to have for the other reasons people have mentioned. //

One would think. Except the STI driver ahead of her got out of the car and started yelling at my hysterical teen-aged but uninjured daughter because he did not realize she got pushed into him.

Posted the picture on NASIOC, the huge Subaru website. He contacted me a few days later and asked for the video because he was having trouble with his insurance company.

My response was “Sent the video to my insurance company. In other words GFY.
 
Just a heads up, Newegg has the Vantrue N2-Pro-G for $100. It's front and rear but the rear is one of those Uber-style interior cams; but still a killer deal.
 
Before I make the purchase, are there any experiences/recommendations on which camera has easiest/best/quickest access to the recording ?

Suppose you are in an accident, do you have to remove a SIM card, access an App, mount the card to a laptop/card reader, something else ?

Was thinking of getting this, in the bundle version with hardwire kit and Sandisk 512gb microSDXC card (instead of the 256gb Vantrue card)

https://www.amazon.com/Vantrue-Starvis-Buffered-Parking-Control-dp-B0D9GRRXH5/dp/B0D9GRRXH5?th=1
 
Before I make the purchase, are there any experiences/recommendations on which camera has easiest/best/quickest access to the recording ?

Suppose you are in an accident, do you have to remove a SIM card, access an App, mount the card to a laptop/card reader, something else ?

Was thinking of getting this, in the bundle version with hardwire kit and Sandisk 512gb microSDXC card (instead of the 256gb Vantrue card)

https://www.amazon.com/Vantrue-Starvis-Buffered-Parking-Control-dp-B0D9GRRXH5/dp/B0D9GRRXH5?th=1
If the camera has WiFi, you can turn on WiFi on the camera, turn on WiFi on phone and connect to camera WiFi, open app and look at and download videos to your phone.

I have VIOFO cameras and the VIOFO app
So I turn on WiFi on camera, go to my wifi settings on phone, find the viofo WiFi, connect phone to it, go to VIOFO app and connect to camera

Having WiFi is a nice option as you can look at/download clips wherever you are. Otherwise you would have to take out memory card and put into a laptop/computer to look at/download the clips.

WiFi isn’t necessary but it is a convenience I suppose. It is just a quicker, somewhat more convenient way to get access to your videos. I had a VIOFO A119 dashcam for years and didn’t have WiFi. Although I haven’t been in an accident myself, I have been right behind one and told them I have footage it had to wait until I got home to download the footage and save it to a usb stick and gave to them a day or two later

I upgraded to VIOFO A129 just because I wanted a rear camera as well as the 119 didn’t support a rear camera and the 129 has WiFi.

Edit:
I have only used VIOFO and Rexing dashcams. I’ve seen reviews on Vantrue and wouldn’t have a problem using one. I wanted a Blackvue but didn’t want to spend the money that they want for it and I like having the little lcd screen on the camera itself.

VIOFO, Rexing, Rove, Blackvue, Thinkware etc… all make nice dashcams. Just depends on how much you want to spend
 
Before I make the purchase, are there any experiences/recommendations on which camera has easiest/best/quickest access to the recording ?

Suppose you are in an accident, do you have to remove a SIM card, access an App, mount the card to a laptop/card reader, something else ?

Was thinking of getting this, in the bundle version with hardwire kit and Sandisk 512gb microSDXC card (instead of the 256gb Vantrue card)

https://www.amazon.com/Vantrue-Starvis-Buffered-Parking-Control-dp-B0D9GRRXH5/dp/B0D9GRRXH5?th=1

Many dahscams, like Viofo, have a GPS mounting plate or maybe just a mounting plate, that is glued to the windshield and the dahscam then mounts to that. That's what I would get. Then it's super easy to just remove the dashcam unit from the mount and store it for footage retrieval.
Fiddling with the tiny SD car while your adrenaline is still pumping after an incident, will likely result in loosing said SD card.
 
VIOFO A229 Pro or VIOFO A229 Plus ? Why one over the other ?
I highly doubt you would notice a difference between the two. Only differences are resolution and the image sensor. Me personally I wouldn’t pay an extra $110 for the Pro



  • Image Sensor
  • Front: Sony STARVIS 2 Sensor 8MP IMX678; Rear: Sony STARVIS 2 Sensor 5MP IMX675

  • Front: Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 5MP Sensor; Rear: Sony STARVIS 2 |MX675 5MP Sensor

  • Resolutions
  • 2160P(4K)

  • 1440P(2K)
 
I've been running independent front and rear cams on my Rav4 for at least 8 years now. The rear one was easy to install since there's a 12V power port in the cargo area so I just plugged it into that. Whenever my front (Viofo A119V3) finally dies I'll get an actual 2 channel cam. I also swap out the SD cards every 3 months or so (not get new ones just rotate the stock I have of them). Make sure you reformat the cards on a regular basis and check them for errors, I keep 2 in my glovebox in case one of the cards starts acting funny.
 
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