Updated on Dec 9, 2024
Fleet dash cams are rapidly becoming a mainstay of construction fleet safety and management. Exponential strides in technology have resulted in practical and affordable products integrated with telematics and fueled by artificial intelligence (AI).
Every day, more construction businesses recognize the benefits of modern fleet dash cams, from improved driver safety to less accident liability, resulting in more savings for businesses.
The global dash camera market was reportedly $0.40 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow from $0.46 billion in 2024 to $3.72 billion by 2032. The commercial vehicle segment is likely to grow the fastest.
With so much market saturation, choosing the right products to equip a fleet can seem daunting. Construction fleet owners need to choose dash cams that help them meet their business goals, including fleet safety and improving profits. They should also select hardware made specifically for the fleet business.
What are the top features of the best dash cams for fleet vehicles? Read on to learn about the best products available. Discover why fleet owners should use safety cameras, and how to adopt the right technology to improve your operations.
What Are Fleet Dash Cams?
Fleet dashboard cameras, known as “dash cams,” are designed to monitor vehicle activity using video and audio recordings. Essentially, dash cams are small security cameras made for vehicles. Commercial dash cams are typically installed around a vehicle’s dashboard (hence the name).
Dash cams have made a long journey in the past seventy years. In the past, regular film was used with large cameras to capture footage on buses. Even further back, in the 1940s, some police vehicles had large rolling cameras on their dashboards.
Unlike the behemoth-sized dash cams of earlier eras, modern dash cams are compact and convenient. Their small size doesn’t mean they don’t have impressive functionality. However, not all dash cams are created equal.
10 Features of The Best Fleet Dash Cams
How do you know if you're getting a good dash cam? Let’s talk about some of the features offered by the best dash cams for fleet vehicles. As you probably already know, these cameras don’t just record videos. Today’s dash cam operates in a similar tradition to the smartphone. It uses different technologies to create a scalable and user-friendly experience—as well as many use cases for fleets.
Dual Footage View
The best dash cams for fleet vehicles have cameras that face both inside and outside to capture the road as well as the driver. This dual footage view helps prevent and correct risky driver behavior while also providing footage for incident context.
Video Telematics
Dash cams needn’t be an isolated tool. The best dash cams for fleet vehicles work with onboard monitoring systems, like fleet trackers. These systems use telematic data, such as speed and hard braking, to provide an overall clearer picture of vehicle activity.
Telematics is also a key technology used when pairing a dash cam with a driver scorecard program. Video telematics enables fleet managers to better understand driver behavior for personalized coaching.
GPS Tracking
Dash cams with GPS tracking make it simple to watch your fleet in real time. This combination of technologies adds an extra layer of protection for drivers and businesses.
For example, GPS tracking can show if a vehicle was physically at the scene of an incident. Meanwhile, the dash cam can provide proof of who is at fault. Additionally, GPS location can assist in relocating a vehicle in the event of theft.
Video: Watch how Onyx Paving was able to recover two stolen trucks within hours. ➡️
Advanced AI Technology
AI technology makes it possible for dash cams to detect a tired or distracted driver. AI dash cams use smart technology to watch and analyze driver behavior.
These cameras can spot dangers inside and outside the vehicle. This includes yawning, drowsiness, phone use, smoking, tailgating, forward collision warning, and not wearing a seatbelt.
In-cab Audio Alerts
Modern dash cams can be set up to alert the driver when they show unsafe behavior. This helps with real-time driver coaching. This gives drivers the chance to correct behaviors, such as using a cell phone or putting on a seat belt, before accidents happen. The best dash cams also provide alerts even when users turn off the interior facing cameras.
Real-time Customizable Alerts
Dash cameras should alert fleet managers by email or SMS message when video is ready. They should also notify them if a driving incident happens or if a camera is disconnected or loses power. Additionally, the best dash cams offer customizable settings for these notifications to meet organizational needs for privacy, safety and liability.
Incident-triggered Snapshots
Dash cameras will sense the incident and record a short video. It will then send the clip to the cloud.
The clip will be available in the fleet tracking platform. These can be sent to the fleet manager or saved to review performance later. These videos provide context behind alerts and serve as invaluable exonerating evidence for insurance, law enforcement, and safety records
On-Demand Video Retrieval
The latest dash cams instantly upload videos to the cloud and offer fleet managers and owners easy, on-demand retrieval. These videos can help law enforcement and insurance companies. They can also be used to coach drivers and train new ones with real scenarios of near misses and lessons learned.
Park Mode
The newest dash cams protect your fleet even when you park vehicles. If the device detects any impact or movement of a parked vehicle, it will start recording. It will also send an alert to the right manager.
Camera Add-ons
Dual facing video is important, but the best dash cams for fleet vehicles also have additional camera angle add-ons. These add-ons help provide 360-degree visibility around vehicles. Choosing one provider instead of using third parties for extra angles makes the installation process easier. It also simplifies data collection and integration for these accessories.
Reasons to Implement Vehicle Safety Cameras for a Fleet
In 2022, there were 42,514 motor vehicle deaths in the United States. These deaths led to total costs of $470 billion. This amount includes medical expenses and estimates for lives lost. Leading causes of these fatalities included:
- Drunk driving
- Not wearing a seatbelt
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drowsy driving
By using dash cams to keep your drivers and the traveling public safe, you take part in a global effort to reduce accidents. Modern vehicle safety cameras provide companies with more than just better roadside vision. They use AI technology to detect and warn drivers of internal distractions and external hazards. This helps prevent incidents before they happen.
Many construction companies have already upgraded to AI dash cams. When drivers and professionals choose where they’d like to work, safety is important. Installing dash cams shows employees that your company cares about safety. This gives you an advantage in a job market where finding qualified professionals can be tough.
How Commercial Dash Cams Keep Fleets Safe
It's unfortunate, but accidents do happen. However, it’s easy to forget that true, unpreventable accidents are relatively rare. Many times, there is a preventable element to motor vehicle collisions.
Preventing accidents is a huge priority, and dash cams show promise with recent technology. Here are some of the ways.
Prevent Accidents and Improve Driver Safety with AI Dash Cams
When a driver is monitored, they’re more likely to adhere to company safety policies and follow laws. As previously mentioned, the best dash cams for fleet vehicles have two-way video: one watching the driver and one watching the road.
With AI technology, the system can detect dangerous driver behavior. If a driver is texting or feeling sleepy, an alert will sound in the cab. This helps the driver fix the behavior and avoid accidents before they happen.
Dash cams can work with other devices, like a GPS fleet tracker. This helps provide context for driver safety alerts. It also records sharp turns, hard brakes, and speeding.
Deter Accident and Insurance Scams with Dash Cams for Fleet Vehicles
Civilians on the road often become needlessly frustrated with trucks and construction vehicles. Sometimes, these frustrations lead to road rage. People may try to cause an accident and then blame the company. The NICB tracks crash scams, and they explain that this dangerous behavior is more common than realized.
Even one incident can damage a construction business’s finances and public image. The good news is that dash cams can help. Signs that read "recording in process" may deter would-be thieves and scammers. If there is a scam attempt, video evidence can help catch the scammer. It can also clear your driver and protect your business.
When features such as Park Mode are enabled in a dash cam, crashes or attempted break ins when a vehicle is parked can trigger a video recording to give context to accidents or potential theft when a vehicle is unattended.
Use Dash Cams to Moderate Driver Safety Programs
Fleet safety programs often use a driver scorecard system. This process rewards drivers who maintain a healthy record while spotlighting drivers who need increased training. Sometimes, it is hard to understand driver safety notifications without more context. Dash cams can help improve a driver safety program by providing this extra information.
You can combine dash cams with telematic fleet tracking to provide a more accurate picture of a given incident. If there is a hard braking event, some systems may blame the driver. However, a smart video device can provide the right context for those incidents. Perhaps an animal ran into the road, or another vehicle swerved in front of the company vehicle.
This way, you can make sure all your drivers are treated fairly. You can reward safe drivers accurately. At the same time, you can focus more training on drivers who need to change their habits.
Use Footage as Evidence for Law Enforcement or Insurance Claims
These programs also help protect drivers and the businesses they work for from wrongful blame. Some drivers say another vehicle caused their accident. However, it is often hard to prove these claims. With a dash cam, you can see with certainty the context of a hard stop, rapid acceleration, or tight turn.
In the past, this meant reeling through hours of video footage. The best dash cams for fleet vehicles detect an incident and save a recording for quick and easy review and retrieval. This feature keeps your business safe from wrongful prosecution and claims.
Ferreira Coastal Construction, a Tenna customer, has cleared false claims for its fleet drivers. They do this by sending video footage from Tenna's dash cam to the carriers. Watch this customer’s success story.
To learn how dash cameras can provide a real return on investment, read our post on the benefits and savings of dash cameras for managing construction fleets.
What to Consider When Installing Fleet Dash Cams
Today, the price of technology is going down considerably, while reliability and versatility are going up. Here are some things to consider before integrating dash cams into your fleet:
- Outline clear dash cam policy changes. Establishing a clear policy regarding dash cam operation ensures the staff knows everything, the expectations are transparent and that their concerns are addressed.
- Dash cams should complement other safety tools. Dash cams should not be the only tool in the fleet safety toolbox. Managers should plan to use dash cams to complement their other vehicle tracking devices and driver safety features.
- Use tools tailored to your industry. For construction companies who are looking for dash cams, think about installing a safety camera that’s built for (and to withstand) the work you do.
Further, the best dash cams for fleet vehicles will integrate into your fleet management ecosystem to ensure you get total visibility across your fleet and more insights to drive better business decisions from your fleet data.
Tenna has designed a construction fleet management platform to give contractors a full-picture view of their fleet operations and a greater understanding of trends, so they can increase productivity and reduce operating costs. Our integrated system provides telematics and video data, powered by AI, into one platform for invaluable visibility into fleet performance.
Contact Tenna for a free demonstration of our fleet dash cam and equipment management platform.
