Fleet managers need to keep an eye on the vehicles they control to know about their location at any given time. They also need to know if the drivers are driving responsibly without speeding, accelerating rapidly, and other careless driving acts. The fleet managers and operators also need to ensure that the vehicles are sticking to the set routes and not getting out of the specified geographic boundaries. To achieve all these things, commercial trucks, buses, transit vehicles, and others that need to be monitored are fitted with dash cams or dash cameras that relay real-time data to a control center.
Importance of dash cameras
Dash cameras are made to incorporate features that enable managers to monitor their fleets better by enhancing the automobiles’ visibility. The cameras have the following benefits:
· Reduce accidents by making drivers more responsible and alerting managers of any irresponsible habits for corrective actions
· They reduce costs due to vehicle crashes, for example vehicle repairs, traffic fines, penalties, and downtimes due to vehicle damages in accidents
· Some insurance charge lower premiums for fleet vehicles fitted with cameras
· Improved customer service due to proper vehicle allocation and monitoring to rescue vehicles with breakdown incidents. Also, excellent routing and ensuring adherence to the routes enable timely delivery.
In case of accidents, cameras provide evidence to exonerate innocent drivers or to show the driver’s action that led to the accident.
Choosing the best dash cameras for your fleet
Dashcams come in many varieties, but the key thing when picking some for your fleets is to ensure that they capture high-quality footage and the recorded data is available or accessible when you need it. Some of the key considerations when choosing cameras for your vehicle are:
· Storage
· Image resolution
· Mounting
· Internet connectivity
If you are looking to install cameras on your fleet vehicles, you can contact the market leaders in in-vehicle entertainment and surveillance accessories. You can read a more useful explanation here on bus Wi-Fi and other technologies that they offer to make your truck, buses, and other vehicles more secure and better for customers.
Types of Vehicle Cameras
The following are the types of cameras you could install on your fleet vehicles:
Front-facing dash cameras
These are best for the safety-conscious fleet managers who want to have more visibility of what is happening in front of the vehicle. They are mounted on the windscreen and capture footage of the road ahead, giving the managers and drivers better visibility of the vehicle operations. Some use sensors to detect incidents and upload them to cloud storage or the camera dashboard. They may be integrated with Google Maps to give the manager information on the location and footage.
Dual-Facing Dash Cameras
Dual-facing cameras record footage of the road ahead and cab. They offer a wide-angle recording of the in-cab activities and outdoor areas around the vehicle, allowing fleet controllers to quickly identify distracted or dangerous driving. The manager can later share the video with the driver during coaching or training to improve their driving.
Multi-camera dash cams
These provide 360 degrees of visibility into the vehicle and its surrounding. They help drivers see a complete picture of the vehicle’s sides, rear, and front end to avoid collisions by reducing blind spots. On top of that, they give a view of the vehicle interior.
Interior cameras
The interior cameras record the activities inside the vehicle to enhance cargo security and commuters’ safety by preventing harassment incidents.
Exterior cameras
These can be fixed on the vehicle exterior parts to give the driver a 360-degree view of the automobile, road, and surrounding areas. They come in handy when the driver encounters blind spots and needs to make a turn or change lanes.
Cameras for commercial trucks, buses, and transit vehicles are critical for drivers’ and automobiles’ safety and security. They also provide evidence in case of incidents and help to train drivers and correct them. The key features of any vehicle camera are capturing clear footage and the capacity to store or send the footage to storage for accessibility when needed.
