Best Dash Cam for Commercial Vehicles

Best Dash Cam for Commercial Vehicles

If you’re in the market for dash cams, this is an essential choice for your business. Dash cams offer a wide range of benefits for your business, making your fleet safer and more efficient. We know it can be hard to sift through all of the available information to determine the best dash cam; that’s why we’ve created this buying guide to make it easy to get the information you need. 

The Rise of Commercial Dash Cams

You’ve likely noticed that more fleets these days are utilizing dash cams. These fleets are doing so with safety and cost savings in mind. New dash cams have more capabilities than ever thought possible. For example, AI dash cams like Yuwei’s AI Dash Cam don’t only record the road ahead. They also monitor driver behaviors and alert you when there’s cause for concern. With so many options available today, let’s explore how to pick the best dash cam for your business and what benefits you'll enjoy. 

Importance of Choosing the Right Dash Cam

Many fleets put off installing dash cams due to the cost. While installing dash cams initially comes with a somewhat expensive price tag, the return on investment is significant. Think of the cost of the average accident. They can range from $16,500 to $500,000. Dash cams reduce the likelihood of a collision by 60%. That figure alone will save you significantly, not to mention the savings on driver coaching and fleet downtime. 

5 Benefits of Fleet Dash Cams

Consider what you want your dash cam to accomplish. Dash cams have many uses, and you want to find the camera that aligns with your fleet goals. We’ve listed some of the benefits below. 

Enhancing Driver Safety 

You can use dash cam footage to contextualize road events for training and coaching. AI dash cams even give you the ability to coach in real time. When a risky event occurs, you want to be able to coach your drivers right then and there, and your dashcam can help you do this if it has in-cab coaching enabled. Alerts and warning messages will sound over the system, making them aware of their unsafe behaviors.

Reducing Fleet Costs

Accidents cost thousands of dollars and hours in downtime. When you can avoid them, your business is far more effective. Furthermore, insurance providers like when you reduce risk with technology solutions like dash cams. While simply installing a dash cam may not result in an insurance discount, being able to prove months and months of safe driving will go a long way. 

Protecting Against False Claims

70% of accidents are not your fleet drivers’ fault; dash cams can help you prove it. Fraudsters will often target fleets as victims for their insurance scams. With a dash cam installed, you can reduce time spent in court by easily exonerating your drivers. 

Improving Driver Behavior

The ability to analyze driver behavior in real time is a significant asset. It is beneficial for keeping individual drivers on track, preventing accidents, and overall safety training . Your fleet management software can even summarize your information with easily digestible data tools that allow you to track trends and make critical decisions

Optimizing Fleet Operations

Dash cams help ensure your drivers operate with the utmost safety in mind. They also eliminate wasted time after an accident since you can easily prove your driver’s innocence. Both of these benefits help you boost your fleet’s efficiency. 

Commercial Dash Cams Features

Of course, not all fleet dash cams are created equally. Examine these features and decide what elements are critical for your fleet’s safety and operations. 

Video Quality and Resolution

No matter the type of accident, you want your dash cam to be able to cover it. Look for a dash cam that records in 1080p. You should always look for a dash cam with a wide field of view so you can see everything you need to see on the road.

Night Vision Capabilities

Ensure your dash cam can capture footage at night if your drivers operate in low-light hours! These dash cams will have infrared LEDs.

GPS Tracking and Geo-fencing

Some dash cams do come equipped with GPS tracking capabilities through telematics. This feature helps the dash cam better detect safety events like speeding, harsh braking, harsh turning, and more. Advanced dash cams can upload this footage to the cloud for fleet managers to review. 

Storage Capacity and Cloud Support 

Storing footage on a memory card will get tedious quickly while running a fleet; find a dash cam that connects to the cloud via high-speed cellular connections.

Dual-Facing Dash Cam

These cameras are mounted on the windshield like the forward-facing dash cam but include two lenses: facing the road and looking into the cab. These are more robust and are ideal for promoting driver safety and successfully exonerating drivers in the event of an accident.