It depends on the camera. A lot of the cars will still have VHS based cameras. Some have cameras that are digital but record directly to a DVD. These only record when they are activated. But a lot of the newer cameras are always on and recording. They record to a temporary loop that is constantly being overwritten. The loop size can depend on the camera and some are adjustable. These cameras will save the last 3 minutes or 30 seconds of time before they were actually activated.Keith B wrote:Which bring up a question for the active LEO's on the forum. Do the dashcams these days record all the time or only when the emergency lights are turned on? I know they can be manually activated, but wondered if in general the supposed improper stop at the stop sign would have been on video if in the view of the dashcam?
There are lots of ways to activate them now. Most can be done manually or activate automatically when the red lights or siren come on. Some are also set to activate if a crash is detected, and a few even activate under hard braking or sudden lateral movement like a swerve. Someone got smart and realized that cops may need evidence to investigate an accident or near miss, so these last two are becoming more popular.