A video camera on your cars roof points up at a convex mirror reflecting a 360 view all around your car. The last 30 seconds of the cameras continious output is buffered until a collision is detected, then it is written to a memory card.
After running the distorted video through a filter to unwarp it, this record shows the 30 seconds leading up to the collision, settling any challenges to your (truthful) version of what happened.
This device could also be used to show who stole or vandalized your car by having it send the video file via cellphone to your email.-- macrumpton, May 17 2004 Hit & Run Prevention http://www.halfbake..._20run_20preventionSimilar, but i'm sure I saw this very same idea posted. [MikeOliver, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Tivo For Cars http://www.halfbake...a/Tivo_20For_20Carsyou must mean this one which makes the idea redundant [FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] I'm sure this has been posted before. Will have a look.-- MikeOliver, May 17 2004 Good idea, but ugly. And cars are too expensive as it is.-- mtoonsdale, May 17 2004 Thats the one [FJ]... I knew i'd seen it!-- MikeOliver, May 18 2004 Cars do tend to have a collision memory stored in the form of distorted sheet metal.-- bristolz, May 18 2004 random, halfbakery