What a dash camera is actually for

It is an evidence device

Most of what a dash camera records is worthless and gets overwritten. That is the normal case and it is fine. Its value is entirely in the rare event: a collision, a disputed right of way, a claim made against you weeks later by someone whose account does not match yours.

Insurers across Europe increasingly accept footage, and the argument it settles is usually not who was there but who had priority.

What actually matters in one

The lens angle. 120° covers the width of the road ahead including the lanes either side, which is where the incidents are. Much wider and you gain peripheral detail you will never use while losing definition where it counts.

Where it points. A camera aimed slightly too high records a great deal of sky. Two minutes of setting the angle at the start is worth more than any specification on the box.

That it is running. The most common dash camera failure is a device that has quietly stopped recording. Glance at it occasionally.

The part people get wrong

Recording the road is broadly permitted across the EU. What you may do with the footage afterwards is a separate question, and a stricter one. Continuous recording of public space engages data protection law, and several member states have specific guidance on it. Some restrict publishing footage of identifiable people and number plates quite firmly.

The practical reading: keep it for your insurer and for the authorities, and do not put it on the internet. Check your own country’s guidance if you plan to rely on it – the rules genuinely differ, and this is not legal advice.

Where to put it

Behind the mirror is usually both the best view and the least obstruction. It must not block your view of the road, and it must not sit in the path of an airbag. Set it up parked, never moving.