he first thing someone asks when you tell them you’ve been in an accident is, “Are you okay?” The second is usually, “Were there any witnesses?”

In today’s litigious society, that’s an important detail. If no one saw what happened (or at least no one who will come forward) it’s your word against theirs. Certainly, there are still some honest people out there who recognize an accident as just that — but there are others who see property damage as an opportunity to dig deep into your pockets and those of your insurance company.

A dash cam is a great way to protect yourself — especially when driving or towing an RV, vehicles which, like semi-tractor trailers, often tend to be on the losing end as auto drivers carve through traffic lanes. Attached discreetly to the top of your tow vehicle or motorhome windshield, these small cameras act as ever-vigilant eyewitnesses to your travels, recording high-resolution video in a loop that automatically stops on impact, capturing the accident event. Most dash cams also record at night, so even if the offender is a wayward deer or falling tree branch, you can provide all the details. Dash cams can also be a useful tool for bearing witness to someone else’s driving mishaps, hit-and-runs and more. Just search “dash cam accidents” on YouTube, and you’ll see what we mean.

The decision to purchase a dash cam is the easy part — deciding on which one is what can be daunting. There are dozens of dash cam manufacturers on the market, each with several models to choose from. To help you narrow your search, we’ll discuss dash cam features and benefits in general, followed by 10 solid dash cam choices. These should be considered a “jumping off” point for your dash cam purchase, not necessarily recommendations. Also, keep in mind that many of the companies featured here have several dash cam models to choose from, so if you see one that interests you, be sure to visit that company’s website. Oftentimes the flagship (or newest) cam will get all the accolades, but the company may offer other, lower-priced models that may suit you just fine.

Like many other types of electronics, dash cams range from the basic to the high-tech. The more feature-rich they are, the more expensive they become. The question is, what features do you really need and what others can you do without — or simply don’t fit within your requirements?

Resolution
Possibly the first thing you’ll want to consider is resolution, or the clarity of the image recorded. All dash cams, even the least expensive models, shoot in 720P or 1080P, which is more than enough resolution to capture the essentials: What happened and the license plate of the offender (provided it is close enough to see). However, there are now dash cams on the market that record in higher resolution — all the way up to 4K Ultra HD, which is cinematic-image quality. This may be a consideration if you want to be sure you can see detail almost to the granular level, like license plates, road signs, lane markings, etc. Recording in 4K provides improved contrast and color range compared to HD footage for unbeatable recording quality. The only thing to consider with a 4K camera is that you will need a larger memory card and the file sizes will be considerably larger than those of a 720P or 1080P camera.

To Screen or not to Screen
The next thing to consider is the screen…or not. Most full-featured dashcams have a screen size of about 3 inches and touchscreen controls for various features. However, some drivers find the screen distracting, especially when it is displaying the road in front of you. Some only display this in the beginning so you know the recording is live, then turn off; others continue to display, but give you the option to turn it off if desired. Models with no display will only have an indicator light and connect via Bluetooth to your smart phone if you want to view, manage or share a recording (some screen models also have this feature). The advantage of these screenless models, however, is that they’re smaller, less expensive (apples to apples) and more discreet, which may be of interest to you if, for example, you plan to leave the camera in the vehicle and don’t want it to be a target for theft.

GPS
Another feature you’ll see in many dash cam offerings is GPS. GPS helps record important data like date, time, direction of travel, location and how fast you were driving prior to impact. None of this is good if you were actually breaking the law, but if you weren’t, the GPS feature will prove your actual location and speed, while the camera footage will prove that you were driving sensibly. GPS isn’t necessarily a must-have feature, but most dash cameras have it now.

• Front and rear: Some dash cams can record what’s happening in front and behind you, either with a dual-lens setup or with optional cameras that can be added to the main unit at the time of purchase or afterward. With a truck and trailer application, you may elect to add a rearview camera on your tow vehicle, but when you’re towing a trailer or dinghy vehicle, a cable long enough to reach the back of your rig won’t be available. You could rig up your own, but the manufacturers we spoke with said that image quality can suffer if the cable is too long. Instead, it might make more sense to purchase a second, less-expensive dash cam that could go inside your trailer or dinghy vehicle and record the action behind you.
• Parking monitor: Wouldn’t you like to know what happens to your tow vehicle, motorhome or trailer when you’re not there to protect it? Who, for example, backed into it while parallel parking and didn’t leave a note? With a parking monitor feature, you might just find out. If your vehicle is bumped, many dash cams on the market can start recording to capture the perpetrator in action, but this feature usually requires a hard wire kit that allows the camera to draw juice even when the ignition isn’t on (although some units have internal batteries or optional external batteries that will allow them to record without tapping into your vehicle battery). Don’t worry; hard wire kits are designed with a battery saving feature that turns off the power supply a short time after the incident.
• Audio recording: Some dash cams also allow you to record audio, which could be useful after an incident, during a traffic stop, or when encountering an aggressive driver. Keep in mind, however, that audio isn’t always a good thing — one dash cam reviewer on Amazon commented that his dash cam recorded the argument he and his wife had after an accident, and it was played in all of its glory in court. If you do get audio, make sure it can also be switched off.
• Additional features: Some dash cams also offer a number of features that, frankly, have little to do with being a dash cam but can nonetheless be very handy for some drivers. These include driver assist aids (like lane departure warning), Amazon Echo (Alexa) integration and more. These all pile on to the price tag, however, so think about what features you can/will actually use rather than being swayed by a multitude of cool features that may never be taken advantage of.