Have you noticed how many trucks nowadays have dash cams installed? It seems like everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon for a good reason. Dash cams are becoming more popular and important than ever, especially in the trucking industry. Dash cams for trucks offer a ton of benefits for truck drivers, fleet managers, and even insurance companies. In this essay, we will dive into why dash cams are so crucial and why everyone from owner-operators to mega-carriers, is installing them in their rigs.
Dash Cam for Trucks: Basic Functions
Dash cams are really easy to use, which is one of the main things to think about when deciding to buy one. Here are the basic features of reliable dash cams for trucks.
- Auto-Start and Auto-Recording
A dash cam is a special camera that can be put in your car to record what happens while you’re driving. The most important thing it does is turn on by itself and start recording without you having to do anything. You can make it work by getting power from your car’s fusebox, cigarette socket, or battery pack.
If your dashboard camera has something called parking mode recording, it can also start recording when your car is turned off and parked. It will do this by itself, without you needing to do anything else.
- Memory Capacity
A dash cam for trucks’ memory capacity depends on the size of its microSD card. Dash cams can use small 32 GB cards or much bigger ones up to 512 GB, depending on the video quality and number of cameras used.
- Loop Recording
Dash cams loop record videos on a microSD card, which means that when the card is full, the newest videos will replace the oldest ones automatically. This ensures that you can keep recording without worrying about running out of space.
- Attachment and Stability
Even in a small car accident, people inside the car can feel a lot of force. That’s why it’s important to have a dash cam that is attached very securely.
Use a dash camera for a car that is stuck to the windshield with a special kind of sticky tape, instead of a suction cup. This is because the sticky tape is much stronger than the suction cup. It keeps the dash cam from shaking too much and moving around when you’re driving on bumpy roads or in a car accident.
- View Field
Dash cams need to see things from all directions on the road. But the more they can see, the more the picture can look funny, like through a fish-eye lens.
The best range for a 4K dash cam is up to 170 degrees, with most dash cams around 140 degrees. This range is wide enough to see things on the sides but not so wide that the picture looks too weird. The picture will look too fish-eyed if the dash cam can see more than 165 degrees. If it sees less than 125 degrees, it won’t be able to see things on the sides.
Benefits of Dash Cams for Trucks
Dash cams have become a valuable tool for truckers as they provide numerous benefits:
- Evidence in cases of accidents
A dash cam (front and rear) is a special camera that can help truck drivers in many ways. One of the most important reasons to have a dash cam is to have proof of what happened in case there is an accident. If there is an accident and you have a video from the dash cam, you can use it to show that the accident was not your fault. But, if the accident was your fault, the video can be used to show that it was your fault. So, having a dash cam can help keep you safe and protect you if something bad happens on the road.
- Insurance fraud prevention
Insurance fraud is a type of cheating that some people do when they get into a car accident. They might cause the accident on purpose and blame the other driver so they can get money. They may even pretend to be injured in order to receive additional compensation from the insurance company. But if you have a dash cam for trucks, you can protect yourself from this kind of cheating. You can show that the accident was not your fault and prove that the other driver caused it on purpose. This can stop the cheater from doing it again in the future.
- Report abusive drivers
Truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road and sometimes see other drivers not driving safely. If a driver is being very careless and putting people’s lives in danger, it is important to report them. But, it can be hard to prove what happened if you don’t have a dash cam. Without proof, it is unlikely that the bad driver will get in trouble. However, if you have a dash cam, you can easily show what happened and prove that the other driver was driving recklessly.
- Continous recording
Dash cams can record things even when the truck is turned off. This means that you can record things even when you are not driving. For example, if you are sleeping in or away from the truck, you can still record things that happen around your truck. If you come back to your truck and see a scratch or dent, you can check the wireless dash cam’s video to see who did it. You can also use the dash cam to keep an eye on your truck when you have to leave it parked overnight. This way, you can catch anyone who tries to do something bad to your truck, like break in or vandalize it.
- For training
A dash cam is a helpful tool if someone has other people driving their truck or they need to train new drivers. Even though there is something called an ELD that can help teach drivers, a dash cam is another way to watch and learn. With a dash cam, you can see what the driver sees when they are driving. After watching the videos, you can point out things that were done correctly or things that need to be improved. This means you don’t have to be with the driver all the time to help them become a better driver.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that dash cams for trucks are gaining popularity not just as a trend but due to their advanced technology, usefulness, and practicality. They offer top-notch security and protection that can easily solve even the simplest situations that could have cost you a lot of time and money. By investing in a dash cam like the Cloud Dash Cam, you can protect yourself from fraudulent insurance claims, reckless drivers, and damage to your vehicle.