Best Dash Cams for Truck Drivers

Truck drivers drive an estimated 140 Billion miles per year. The constant presence on the road makes them vulnerable to road accidents and mishaps. Dash cams are an indispensable part of the trucking industry today. With the advancement of technology, the use of truck dash cams is continuously increasing. Trucks are now being equipped with both road-facing and driver-facing dash cams for the potential benefits. Dash cams play an important role by impacting various aspects of trucking. It has enabled the industry to provide insight into what happens in the event of an accident. Also truck dash cams have enhanced driver training and coaching, led to insurance discounts, easy claim discussion and additional security.

Here are few ways in which truck dash cams benefit truck drivers and the trucking industry:

Accident Evidence

Heavy duty vehicles are immense in size. In case of an accident, the blame is mostly tossed towards the heavy duty vehicle. But in actuality according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, in fatal accidents involving a heavy-duty vehicle, the truck drivers were responsible for less than 10-15% of the cases. As per the FMCSA, the average cost of a large truck crash is approximately $91,000. A crash with injuries costs around $200,000. For owner-operators and small fleets, such a financial set-back could stop the business in its tracks. When such an accident occurs, the driver at fault may try to deflect the blame on the truck driver. Such incidences are difficult to decipher. Dash cams are helpful in resolving such lopsided claims. A dash cam records the incident and provides the truck driver with evidence of innocence. The recorded footage allows the fleet owners to see the road through the driver’s eyes. Accidents are unfortunate and sometimes difficult to recall. A dash cam comes handy in such situations. A video recorded by the dash cam is not only instrumental in proving innocence, but also avoiding to pay repair charges for damages not caused by the driver. It aids the fleet owners to exonerate innocent drivers, debunk false claims, and avoid potential financial setback. Now most dash cams that are purchased on amazon have memory cards and are very frugal. In case of an accident, if the dash cam is destroyed and with that the memory card damaged, then getting the footage is not possible. That is why for trucks especially making sure that the video is saved on the cloud and easy to access in the future is vital. That footage is vital.

Let’s take Nybll’s incident, for example. Nybll is a food-centered service company based in Oakland. One of its vehicles was involved in a collision with a motorcyclist. On the arrival of highway patrol on the accident scene, the driver informed them about the dash cam footage. After examination of the footage, the driver was deemed to be innocent. It was only because of the recorded footage that the driver was exonerated. The footage saved Nybll from a personal injury lawsuit costing up to $50,000.

Preventing Insurance Fraud

One of the most common types of fraud in the industry is insurance fraud. This usually occurs when a driver at fault deflects the blame onto another driver to obtain insurance money. In such incidences, it is crucial for the driver to have evidence in place. If not, the fraudulent driver can get money from the insurance company. They could also fake an injury they supposedly sustained from the accident. A dash cam helps the driver to protect themselves from such fraud attempts. In addition to evading such attempts, it also brings the fraudster’s action to the authority’s notice and helps in preventing such attempts by them in future.

Lower Insurance Costs

A fleet that installs dash cams visibly prioritizes fleet and driver safety. Some insurance companies offer discounts if the truck is installed with a dash cam. Insurance company leverages the technology and the relevant data provided by the dash cam. Having a dash cam significantly improves driver behavior and overall safety of the fleet. It helps the fleet strengthen their safety claim and get potentially lower insurance rates with savings between 2-8%.

Security

Along with providing security when a vehicle is moving, a dash cam also provides security when the vehicle is parked/not moving as long as the engine is on. Certain dash cams can also record when the engine is off. This can protect if a different vehicle hits the truck while the driver is sleeping or not there.

Driver Training and Coaching

Dash cams can be helpful in aiding the training program for new drivers. Even though an ELD helps in tracking the drivers driving activity, dash cams help in monitoring a new driver. It is also a great asset for drivers that are being coached to improve their skills on the road. With dash cam footage, training can become more evidence based. A fleet owner can look at the recorded footage to note the errors made by the drivers working for the fleet owner. This potentially reduces the in-truck training time that is usually required. In case of critical safety events, it helps the fleet managers to train driver to understand what went wrong and how to avoid similar incidents in future.

Enhancing Driver Accountability and Incentivizing Safe Drivers

In addition to the other features a truck dash cam provides, a dash cam helps in creating a higher sense of accountability in drivers. Hard breaking events and close calls also get saved and sent to a fleet manager which will cause the driver to be more accountable and drive safer.

Drivers that do not practice safety techniques can be confronted with mistakes captured on a dash cam. A truck dash cam enforces a habit of safe practice and encourages drivers to be safe and smart on road. The dash cam allows the fleet managers to easily gather data for hard cornering, braking, acceleration, etc.

Since there are a large number of truck dash cams in the market and a lot are not up to the mark, we wanted to create this website to discuss the best truck dash cams in the country