In car security camera system?

[Trevsaudi]

I can't find a purpose built automotive security camera system anywhere! Does anyone know of one?

I'm in the final stages of buying a nice lil 2004 A4 1.8tQ MT6 Ultra Sport (holy crap that was hard to find by the way, thanks craigslist!), and i want to protect my investment with 3-4 small cameras in the car that record while I'm driving so i can have some proof next time someone wants to blame me for something (story at end of post)

Also when I'm parked if someone hits me and drives off, i'll be able to get their plate # and get my shit fixed, maybe cameras facing left right and directly backwards installed on the back of the car and one in each mirror facing rearwards?

Its a napkin drawing kind of idea but can anyone help me out?




(story from above)
So I was driving back from picking up my drunk ass friends from the bar and dropping them off at home at 4am when an ultra homo black integra complete with loud ass fart muffler and giant "i believe i can fly" rear wing comes flying down the opposite side of the road from the direction of the interstate. So I pass through an intersection, kinda chuckling to myself about how supremely gay his car looks, then he does a U turn in the intersection (now hes going the same direction as me) just then i see a cop coming from the same direction the integra came from switch on his lights, right about then the integra goes flying by me, the cop U turns, im laughing in my car at the integra guy but the cop is in my lane coming up fast behind me so i pull over to let him by, and the guy pulls me over.
I was utterly confused and shocked so i was just as nice and respectful as possible and the cop is literally screaming at me for running from him and racing on the interstate etc etc, I'm trying to explain to him what happened, but he was having none of it, so i ask if we can review his dash cam footage because surely that will vindicate me, this is the exact conversation lol.

(Me) - "Sir I'm telling the truth, a black integra came the same way you did, U-Turned and passed me, I was getting over to let you by I.. I... what about a dashboard camera! Don't you have one of those? Can we just look at the tape?"

(Cop) - "I dont need a dash camera i have my eyes son!! I watched you U-turn!! Why did you U-Turn??!? Why were you running from me!?!"

(Me) - "Sir i'm just saying this is a mistake and if we just look at the tape you can see I'm telling the truth, it was a black acura integra with a big spoiler, this is a black audi, i dont have a spoiler, the guy passed me"

(Cop) - "There is no dash cam! you have performance exhaust, i could hear it a mile away! and you have a black car with the same tail light pattern!"

(Me) - "I don't know what to tell you sir, it just wasn't me, please i wouldn't lie to you, I've never had a speeding ticket in my life, I don't race or run from police! Why would i lie to you?? er..actually i guess i would have a reason to lie if it was me heh... (damn you sarcastic sense of humor! why did you make me say that!) but i dont right now because it wasn't me sir! I swear to god!!"

(Cop) - "Tell it to the judge! and you shouldnt swear!"

$210 ticket for nothing, so gay, so this time i am definitely installing a camera system to record everything that happens in and around my car, the end!

[Coderedpl]

I remember when my bro mentioned this idea to me a while ago, and its a damn good one, especially in NYC with people driving like complete assholes.

He was thinking of having a some sort of mini-pc in the car with a large hard drive to store the video feed.

About that story, yep thats an asshole cop right there. Did you have a loud exhaust though or was it stock? That's definitely something to go to the court with. They would probably make him show the dash cam.

[manhertm]

Well they do have a system located in the rear view mirror that records the driver view and used an SD card. The system starts to record when you switch the car on. You could probably put something together yourself. I'm pondering an idea or a front bumper cam that sets low on the bumper. I would use a rear view monitor to see how far I'm form the curb when parking, protection for a your bodykit( and you could record some cool vids of spirited driving).

[Trevsaudi]

Thats what i was thinking, nice little hard drive wired to several cameras constantly recording.

I did take it to court actually and as it turns out not all cops have dash-cams, mostly the DUI units i guess, but nobody ever gave me a straight answer to if he had one or not, and even though i brought four witnesses including the people i picked up that night, along with video taped testimony from the bouncer that he saw me pick them up at 4, and my explanation that for me to have traveled from the bar, dropped off the people, driven up to where he supposedly radar clocked me then gotten onto the interstate and traveled several miles and ended up where i was i would've had to have been going around 250mph by my calculations, the judge still boned me with a reduced fine of 180, but no points and no driving school, apparently guilty until proven innocent is how it works because the cop could only stammer about how hes trained to recognize tail lights, and no dash cam? thats not proof... the burden of proof is supposed to be on them not me.

Yeah i had magnaflow exhaust but it wasn't loud at all just a nice sporty growl sound

[BNZ TOY]

RE: (story from above)
*FUBAR *

[agart]

the cop could only stammer about how hes trained to recognize tail lights

The funny part is that the majority of this forum isnt trained to do that but we could probably do it 10 times better. Man that sucks, its nice that you got the points taken off but $180 still hurts.

As far as cameras go, can't say I've heard of a system already out there but I don't think it would be too hard to put a system together.

[Trevsaudi]

yeah no kidding i dont see how he could mix integra with audi....just sucks, oh well, thats why im trying to get the cam system.

Seems like im just going to have to wing it from what you guys are saying, but hey i love improvising!

[NyteEscape]

all you need is a system that records about 10 minutes of footage, then deletes that's older than that. if it turns out u need that particular 10 minutes, u save it. almost like a stream. this way you dont need a hard drive that you need to keep cleaning out, and you keep only what's necessary.

[Trevsaudi]

yeah for driving, but the parking stuff id have to have a good chunk of recording time since i park at the university and have class all day, maybe even several days encase i go out of town

and im not sure how i would mount them, they would probably need to be on the interior to avoid the elements but then field of view is restricted, maybe within the tail light housings hmmmmmm

[Hotel Guy]

Ive thought about this several times, but not to record accidents/hit-and-runs, but instead to bust all the asshole valet attendants going through my change dish for all my quarters. I never thought that losing $2-3 would piss me off until I started counting my change before/after parking valet (you have to park valet most of the time here in Chicago).