Road trips with friends can create some of the greatest memories of a lifetime. Hitting the open road with a trunk full of stuff, camping at parks, staying at hotels, or visiting people along the way. But all that fun can be ruined if someone steals your stuff, or worse, your car. And with all that constant driving comes the constant reminder that accidents do happen. The solution? Purchase a dash cam.

In the event of an accident, dash cams are the first line of defense

We’ve all seen our share of crazy dash cam videos, but that’s exactly what they’ve been built for. And while I don’t mean to scare you, the longer you drive, the more likely you’re going to crash. According to GreyLaw, the average person gets into four accidents in their lifetime (assuming they live through them all). If you don’t have that camera, you can’t prove innocence or guilt.

That is the kicker, however, as dash cams are typically seen as cold hard proof. If you get into an accident and it’s your fault, refusing to release the dash cam footage may prove you guilty. It’s great if the accident is someone else’s fault, but if it’s not, there’s no way out.

So there’s that added security on the road, no matter where it takes you. But road trips often have overnight stops. And if you have a car full of belongings, you want to make sure they’re safe if you leave your vehicle unattended.

Dash cams make overnight stops safer

Dash cams can be like a second pair of eyes, watching your car when you’re not around, or if you’re asleep inside of it. This isn’t true of all dash cams, but some can record video even while the vehicle is off. Some things in your car are constantly powered, such as anti-theft systems, which use very little energy.

That said, plugging a dash cam in constantly can drain the life of your battery. It’d be a slow burn, but if you don’t recharge that battery by driving, you may wake up and find it dead. My philosophy on the matter is that, if someone steals the car, there’s no way to get the footage off the camera unless it’s saved to the cloud. But cloud-based dash cams get expensive fast, so which is the best option that won’t break the bank?

Which dash cam should you get?

There’s one particular dash cam that achieves both these goals, continuous recording and parking lot operation, without breaking the bank. It’s the Thinkware F70, and I know this because I just bought one and used it on a 1,000-mile road trip.

It can detect impacts and store the clip in a separate folder, meaning you don’t have to sift through hours of continuous video to find the accident. And, if you choose to have it constantly powered, the F70 will only record when it detects motion, saving some overall battery life. So if you’re in a parking lot, this is great for catching thieves and vandals.

Dash cams aren’t just good for road trips, they keep your car from getting stolen altogether. Thieves can be deterred because of a dash cam’s presence, especially one like the F70, which doesn’t look all that fancy or expensive. And, if hard wired to the car, would be too much of a hassle to steal anyways. Keep all those points in mind when looking for a dash cam, whether it’s the Thinkware F70 or something else, in order to keep your vehicle safe.