One of the essential tools for truck drivers has always been, is and will be dash cams. This not only ensures safety on the roads they travel but also ensures they are secured on the road. 

This article aims to delve into the usages of dash cams at first, and the five types of dash cams that are customized specifically for trucks. 

Besides recording crucial moments that can be quite helpful in the future, it has specific designs that are built to address the unique challenges faced by truck drivers. Dash cams are handy when it comes to proving evidence in cases of accidents and it ensures that the truck driver is safe on the road. 

There are so many reasons why one should invest in a dash cam. Besides providing invaluable protection it would give the truck driver peace of mind that they have evidence and cases of accidents. Fleet managers gain the tools to enhance driver safety and capture real-time insights with the help of advanced dash cams. Besides all of these advantages, it also helps to reduce insurance costs.

Without further ado, let’s figure out why the dash cams are really important. 

The Imperative Need for Truck Dash Cams for the Drivers

Offering an unparalleled layer of protection, dash cameras have become an indispensable tool for truckers’ time on the road. Just monitoring safety isn’t the purpose. There’s more to just that. 

As we all know dash cams provide fleet managers with an objective account of any road incident with the video evidence that is captured by it. This further helps to settle insurance claims faster than any other method because they are already carrying video proof with them. Insurance can quickly assess the fault and liability without lengthy investigations and can provide transparency on the matter of insurance. Over the years even reduced premiums are said to have been recorded after the installation of dash cams by the truck drivers. 

The act of video recording oneself promotes safe driving behaviours while on the road. When the whole thing is recorded, the drivers consciously attempt to be aware of their on-road behaviour while travelling miles. This minimizes the risk of accidents over time that are mainly caused due to avoidant or negligent behaviours. There has been a record of fewer on-road collisions recorded that have saved significant savings on legal fees, asset downtime, and other costs related to crashes.

It’s time we dive deeper into the specifics of the dash cams because understanding the type you need for your truck is crucial. It isn’t one fit for all, after all. 

Let’s explore the factors you need to consider while choosing a cam for your on-road journey. 

Exploring the Best Dash Cams and Multi-Cam Systems

What goes beyond its primary function of recording is choosing the right dash cam that actually can help you on your on-road journey. It’s all about figuring out a system that has the right mix of features and benefits that can lead to tangible settings for fleet owners.

Are you aware that real-time evidence that is provided by dash cameras can reduce insurance premiums up to a straight amount of 10%?

Insights just like this, show us the utter importance of choosing dash cam systems according to one’s requirement specifically for commercial fleets. If you ask us about the best dash cam for truckerswe would say that it qualifies a 360 visibility and has advanced multi-camera systems. 

Here is a Pie chart showing the breakdown of dash cam features preferred by fleets:

Source: Automotive Fleet

Key factors to consider while purchasing a dash cam for your fleets:

• Storage Options: One of the most important factors that is to be checked before purchasing a dash camp is the storage option. Checking the storage requirements and checking the SD cards along with cloud archiving for seamless video backup. 

• Internet Connectivity: The next thing to be kept in mind is the internet connectivity. Built-in 4G LTE would enable you to perform real-time sinking of videos to the cloud as well as to all the other places where you need to update your videos.

• Mounting Techniques: Making sure that you have good adhesive when it comes to the dash camps is extremely important because it promotes longevity and safety.
  
• Image resolution: For providing maximum clarity to your videos you must choose something that has 4K or HD 1080p. Choosing 120 to 170-degree angle lenses also expands the field of view. 

• Night vision: Choosing cameras that ensure visibility 24× 7 is extremely important because a truck driver not only travels through the day but also through the night. You can choose something that has low-light IR cameras.

• Fleet integration: You should opt first for systems that integrate tightly with fleet management programs because it would help to save consolidated insights and data.

• Driver-facing view: Having a camera that would point at the driver not only promotes safety but also increases accountability when it comes to on-road behaviour. 

• Rugged built: The camera being dust and water-resistant is extremely crucial because driving a truck means going through all the places that would be full of dust and water. You can choose an IP67 rating for such conditions.

• Multicam: You can choose cameras that provide 360-degree visibility. For this, you have to purchase a quad and eight-camera system. 

Now once you have established the key criteria for selecting a dash cam, we should learn more about the types of dash cams that are meant for different purposes. Each sort offers a certain heightening of a feature that has unique capabilities that are completely tailored to specific fleet needs. 

The 5 Best Dash Cams to Choose for Your On-Road Journey

The world of cams is diverse. With an assortment of different setups that are specifically designed to address individual needs, choosing the right sort of dash cams becomes the most important part of your fleet journey. 

1. Front-Facing Dash Cams

Just like the name suggests itself, these cameras are mounted on the front windshield that points outward. These front-facing dash cams provide a pivotal view of the road the driver is on. Any amount of obstructions or incidents are also recorded from the driver’s vantage point. 

Capturing the license plates, recording your vehicle’s position in traffic and providing insights into driver-based turning, acceleration, and braking patterns are what you can do with these front-facing cams. They can also integrate GPS and software platforms in order to overlay metrics like real-time location and acceleration onto the video’s display. 

Therefore, front-facing cameras are best suited to instigate and speculate the driver behaviour on-road. 

2. Dual-Facing Dash Cams 

Dual-facing cams are the best option when you need to record simultaneously the road as well as the vehicle’s interior cab. This camera contains one forward and another in a word-facing camera system that records simultaneously both angles. 

This has all the benefits of a front-facing dash cam and at the same time promotes driver accountability by monitoring behaviour and events that happen inside the truck. 

Fleet managers can actually review the footage of the cab to coach drivers on improving their driving habits, vehicle inspection practices and adhering to protocols. These cameras provide rounded evidence for these insurance companies while protecting the driver from exaggerated claims that can lead to fraudulent activities. 

3. Multi-Camera Systems

Multi-camera systems allow you to take the visibility to the next level by stitching together video up to 8 cameras which are strategically placed all around the vehicle. With such video footage, you can eliminate blind spots, enhance perimeter visibility and capture a more comprehensive record that has a 360-degree view of the truck. 

Such a flexible camera placement can be customized according to your vehicle type or your typical routes, high-risk zones and so much more.

With such a comprehensive camera setup fleet managers can actually gain unmatched visibility into the driver’s behaviour and at the same time have a 360-degree view of the truck. This is extremely crucial for insurance claims and driver coaching as it increases accountability of the driver and at the same time monitors the truck incidents. 

4. Exterior Cameras

In case you need to focus on only the exterior of your vehicle cameras which are mounted on the truck trailer cargo area or the top can actually work for your requirements. For semi drugs wide-angle sized cameras can actually help you to minimize blind spots in your vehicle. While the dear facing cameras can actually record crucial details like the nearby cars as license plates which might be quite difficult for our forward cab camera to capture on the go.

This exterior camera helps in increasing perimeter security and monitors the trucks when they are in transit or idle. Such an added view can help to save the drugs from vandalism and Thieves while capturing evidence in order to investigate the cargo damage. 

5. Interior Cameras

These interior cameras are actually designed to be pointed inside the truck cab to provide inside into the vehicle interior and driver activity full stop these interior cameras actually help to increase the accountability of the driver and monitor the cab driver’s behaviour while inside the truck. 

Such strategically placed interior cameras can actually help in the reduction of thefts, fraud or vandalism by passengers. At the same time, it also protects the trackers from the production of false cleans by actually recording interactions and events inside this cab. Fleet managers can actually monitor the cargo area which is in order to prevent cargo theft. Overall, it helps to verify compliance with safety protocols inside the vehicles. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do dash cams improve overall fleet safety?

By recording driving incidents and monitoring driver behavior, dash cams encourage safer operating practices. The video evidence also simplifies insurance claims while reducing premiums.

2. What are the primary differences between front-facing and dual-facing dash cams?

Front-facing cams only record the roadway, while dual-facing add a cab-viewing camera to monitor in-vehicle activity too. This provides a more comprehensive view.

3. How do multi-camera systems enhance visibility compared to traditional dashcams? 

By combining video from multiple cameras around the vehicle, multi-cam systems eliminate blind spots and enhance the visibility of the truck’s perimeter.

Wrapping Up

The right dash cam can surely make a good difference when it comes to the on-road journey. Be it claiming insurance or monitoring driver behaviour, it is one of the most handy tools that can ever be used in trucking. It increases safety, promotes accountability and at the same time works as foolproof evidence against false accusations or allegations. In a few words, they have shaped the world of trucking with safety measurements and will continue to do so. 

We hope this article has helped you figure out what dash cam you can get for your trucking experience.