As I'm writing this, I can see the snow coming down pretty heavily outside my office window.  On days like today, two things are certain to me:

1) I'm happy I work inside

2) There will be more vehicle accidents than usual

Dash mounted cameras ("dash cams") are becoming more common these days for a few reasons that might make you want to pick one up for yourself.

1 - Protection

This is the obvious one, but the main reason people should have one of these is to protect them when in an accident.  If you're in the right, but the other vehicle(s) involved have different stories, these things can provide the proof you're looking for.  Some of the higher end ones even record things such the speed you were traveling at the time of the accident.

2 - They're Cheap

Like any tech, when these things first came on the scene, it was cost prohibitive for most people.  I mean, hopefully you might only be in a situation where you wish you had one a couple of times in your life, so spending hundreds of dollars didn't make much sense for a lot of consumers.  These days, you can grab an el-cheapo one on E-Bay for $10.  Of course, if you shop that low end, don't expect much.  However, if you up your budget to the $100 range, you can get some reliable cameras with high image quality.

3 - Insurance Discounts

Some insurance companies are offering discounts to drivers with dash cams.  It is quite possible that your cam could pay for itself within a few months.

4 - Theft Deterent

Some models actually have motion sense activation for times when the vehicle is parked and list this as an anti-theft feature.  I'm not too sure about this one because it seems likely that the thief might be breaking in to steal your dash cam instead of your car.  I suppose if you have one that records to the cloud, it might be effective.

5 - They're Legal Here

Believe it or not, there are plenty countries where dash cams are either restricted, or completely banned.  There may be some states which have restrictions on these, so do your homework, but at this point we're free to record here in Montana. 'Merica!

If this has inspired you to become a dash cam owner, I only ask one thing:  If you ever capture any funny footage, send it our way.  I've had plenty of days where I wished for one of these things, not because of accidents, but just because people do funny things...and the internet needs more videos of people falling hilariously in the snow.