Soup up your car tech with a second set of eyes on the road

With driver assists, wireless connectivity, lane departure warnings and radar detectors, dash cams are one of the best bets you can have for modern safety features without purchasing a new car. Here’s what you should look for when buying one:

Garmin DriveAssist 50LMT


The Garmin DriveAssist 50LMT offers the full package for safe drivers including GPS navigation, hazard alerts and a built-in dash cam that continuously records your drive and saves the video on impact. The navigation has the option of being voice-activated, and its smart features keep you connected while driving, with hands-free calling, and smartphone notifications.

Cobra CDR 855 BT

The device includes a two-inch LCD screen, ultrawide 160-degree viewing angle and embedded G-Sensor to save and protect clips if an impact is detected. Its smartphone connection enables new features including embedded GPS location, time, G-Force and speed information footage, as well as providing alerts for upcoming speed and red-light cameras.

Goluk T1

It is an affordable dash cam that is equally adept at helping you capture traffic incidents as well as your outdoor adventures. The T1 records in 1080P through a 152-degree wide angle 6G Lens with G-Sensor dashboard camera. It allows easyto-share video and crash detection but doesn’t have a built-in screen.

Owl Car Cam

The Owl Car Cam is a dash cam and security device that pairs with your smartphone. Video clips are stored on your phone, so no memory card is required, and you don’t run the risk of losing your clips if the camera is stolen. It has some cool features like two-way talk, an inside camera, and remote camera access.

Roav Dash Cam C1

This dash cam is a budgetfriendly one with a Sony Exmor CMOS sensor that enables recording at 30fps. Its wide dynamic range auto-adjusts for light conditions to deliver perfectly exposed Full HD 1080p footage. C1 simultaneously records four lanes of traffic with imaging technology that provides a full view of the road, not just the car in front of you.

Garmin Speak Plus with Amazon Alexa

Here’s a dash cam, a GPS device, and a smart speaker all rolled into one. What sets the Speak Plus apart from other devices is that it responds only to voice commands, lacking a conventional display. In addition to getting directions and recording the road ahead, you can use the Speak Plus to play tunes from your Amazon Music collection or control your smart home devices remotely.