The Best Dash Cams of 2024

Once used primarily by long haul truckers, dash cams not only capture invaluable data to back up insurance claims for drivers like me and you but can offer visual evidence to police in the aftermath of an emergency or collision.

Over the course of two months, we put six of the most popular dash cams on the market to the test to see how well they worked in various lighting conditions while driving over diverse terrain and, in extreme heat. After traveling nearly 1,200 miles, we can tell you the Garmin 67W (available at Amazon for $250.00) is the top dash cam available right now.

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Other Dash Cams We Tested

How We Tested Dash Cams

The Tester

My name’s Mike Yawney. I have reviewed gadgets and electronics for more than 14 years on Canadian national television and, more recently, here for Reviewed. When I’m not in front of the camera, I can be heard on the radio, talking about tech trends, or seen online reviewing gadgets on my personal YouTube channel. My job sees me behind the wheel, a lot of the time, in a part of Canada where the weather conditions are diverse—and extreme. Having to drive in the worst weather nature has to offer puts me in a great position to test dash cams.

Séamus Bellamy is Reviewed's Senior Editor for product review roundups. He wrote the original version of this guide, back in 2019. He also designed the tests used to put each of the dash cams featured here through their paces.

The Tests

In order to put each dash cam through its paces, I went driving through urban areas, highways, and off-road trails of southern Alberta, Canada. Some days, my adventures would start at sunrise. At other times. I'd hit the road in my Jeep in the dead of night. The variety of terrain I trucked over, in different lighting conditions, allowed me to see how well each of the cameras in this guide performed, in varying circumstances. In the end, I ended up clocking more than 1,200 miles of driving over a two-month period. During this time on the road, I tested each camera for the following:

• How easy it was to mount and remove the camera from my windshield
• Whether the cameras would remain attached to the windshield for the duration of the trip
• Whether road vibration would shift the focus of the cameras away from the points that I had fixed them upon
• The quality of video captured during the day and in low-light driving conditions
• Whether the camera had a 'parking mode', to record security footage while our vehicle was not in motion
• The visibility of the camera’s display, in all lighting conditions
• How easy it is to review footage on the camera itself or, where applicable with a smartphone app or on a laptop

I also exposed all the cameras to some extreme heat, with daytime temperatures soaring past 107 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure they could handle the harsh conditions inside my vehicle when left unattended for hours on end.

Some of the cameras in my test group came packing useful extras such as proximity alerts to warn of an impending collision, a driver alert system that randomly beeps loudly to keep one from nodding off behind the wheel, or lane departure warnings. For the right drivers, these tools could be incredibly useful—but they have the potential to be huge distractions or cause unneeded stress, too. Where such features existed, I made sure that they could easily be turned off. Along these same lines, distracted driving has shown to be just as effective a killer as driving while intoxicated, I rated each product on how well it faded into the background. I awarded higher marks to devices with easy-to-use user interfaces; that needed to be physically adjusted less often. If I forgot that it was even there until it was time to review my video footage, I considered it a win.

Finally, after reviewing all five dash cams together, I did a second round of objective testing on my top performers, just to be sure that I hadn’t missed anything. For this second round of tests, the finalists were mounted in my Jeep and taken on a four-hour drive.

What You Should Know About Dash Cams

Terms You Should Know

There are a few terms in this guide that you might not be familiar with. We’ve provided a few explanations:

• 1440p: This refers to the video’s resolution. 1440p video has a 1440 pixel vertical resolution, which is double the vertical resolution of 720p, and one-third more than 1080p.
• OBD-II port: The On-Board Diagnostics II port is typically hidden beneath the steering wheel of vehicles typically after 1996. This port can be used to monitor the computerized systems in your vehicle or diagnose errors when the check engine light turns on.
• Constant Power Cable: A special cable designed to provide power to your dash cam even when your vehicle is turned off. Typically used if you want your dash cam to monitor your vehicle when it is parked overnight.

Why Own a Dash Cam?

The most obvious reason to invest in a dash cam is that it acts as an impartial witness to your travels. If you're involved in a car accident that wasn't your fault, having this kind of video footage that proves you weren't to blame could keep your insurance rates from rising, save you thousands of dollars in the event of a civil suit, or possibly even keep you out of jail.

Depending on the model of dash cam you buy, the hardware may be capable of monitoring your vehicle while it's parked, too. So, should someone back their mini-van into your car while you're in the grocery store picking up some milk, you'll have a record of what happened, waiting for you when you come out.

Finally, if you love creating videos of your travels to share online, a high-definition dash cam is a great way to record a road trip. Some, like the Garmin 65W, even come packing the ability to create time-lapse videos of your journey.

What About Rear-Facing Cameras?

It's possible to get your hands on dash cams that come with a secondary camera that peers in on you and your passengers, as well as ones that come in a kit with a second camera that's designed to be mounted in your vehicle's rear end. We may address these devices in their own guide at a later date. However, for simplicity's sake, we wanted to stick to forward-facing cameras for this guide.

A forward-facing dash cam can be installed in minutes, by just about anyone. That's not the case with camera systems designed to cover both the front and the rear end of a vehicle. Installing an aftermarket back-facing camera often requires a higher level of technical skill than many folks have, or may necessitate a trip to a specialist to have it installed correctly. We prefer not to recommend products that people can't pick up and start using on their own, right out of the box. What's more, chances are, a forward-facing camera will be all you need to cover your bases, from an insurance point of view.

While a forward-facing camera won't collect footage of a car slamming into you from behind, many dash cams now come with features like GPS logging and accelerometers. This makes it possible to record your vehicle’s speed of travel and, in many cases, register an impact. With the other evidence collected during a police or insurance investigation, if you weren’t to blame for an accident, the video your dash cam captured could be enough to get you off the hook.

Are Dash Cams Legal in Your State?

The short answer is yes: it is legal to own a dash cam in all 50 states. However, depending on where you live, owning a dash cam is one thing, actually installing it in your vehicle is another.

Only two states—Missouri and North Carolina—have no restrictions or any mentions of restrictions when it comes to windshield obstructions or dash cams.

A large number of states including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Ohio have strict rules when it comes to obstructed views through a windshield. Laws clearly state no signs, posters, or non-transparent objects that may obstruct a driver’s view can be placed on a windshield. Technically, a dash cam would fall under that law, even though they are not specifically mentioned. This means law enforcement officers could pull you over, and issue a ticket.

Meanwhile, 13 states including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Wisconsin have restrictions that limit how much of a vehicle’s windshield can be obstructed. Most dash cams are small enough that they shouldn’t be a concern, however, some states make it quite clear that any mounted obstruction must be placed far away from the driver.

It’s also worth noting some states have laws regarding the recording of conversions within vehicles. All of the dash cams we tested are capable of recording audio, which can be problematic if occupants are not aware their conversation is being recorded.

If you are concerned about getting pulled over and possibly being issued a ticket, you could always use a beanbag-style mounting system that keeps the dash cam off your windshield, leaving it free from obstructions.

Can You Hardwire a Dash Cam?

Many mid-to-high-end dash cams come with features that continue to run once your vehicle has been shut down. Once their engines have been turned off, most vehicles disable the flow of electricity to their 12 Volt power ports to prevent the vehicle’s battery from being depleted. As such, in order to continue to power your dash cam, you’ll need to have a constant power supply cable installed in your car (provided one is available for the dash cam you own.)

While the majority of constant power supply cables will need to be hardwired into your vehicle’s electrical system, some dash cams can be paired with cables designed to plug into your car’s OBD-II port.

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