...and I apparently can't use it in most of the country.
Amazon had a killer lightning deal on a dashcam a couple of weeks ago, so I splurged. My intent is to use it on road trips, because I always seem to run into cool or funny stuff that I can't capture with my phonecam because I'm driving. Also I figure it will be good for capturing scenery on out of the way roads. Then also, in case of an accident, video could be beneficial.
I just got around to hooking it up this week, and it works great. Living in CA, it just occurred to me that I should look up the legality of using it. Turns out CA is a state where I don't have to worry (other than voice recording), but apparently in 36 states, I can't mount the dang thing on my windshield (applies to multiple devices with suction mounts). I can't believe states like ID and UT are stricter on this than CA.
The way I mounted it with my windshield configuration, it goes directly behind (from my side) the rear view mirror so that I can barely see it from the driver's seat, so zero obstruction of my view. Yet apparently these 36 states say "no windshield mount" regardless of view restriction. In CA and some other states, it has to just be "under "X" percent obstruction".
Kinda bummed out about it. I suppose I can still use it when offroading in the restricted states, but I'll be missing lots of highway scenery if I want to stay legal. If any of you have better sources on legality by state, I'd appreciate a hookup to the URLs!
http://blog.proclipusa.com/are-suction-cup-windshield-mounts-legal-in-your-state/