Why Uber Drivers or Lyft Drivers need Dashcam and Help Choosing Uber Dash Cam

If you are a rideshare driver, irrelevant which company you work with, you must install a dashcam. Dashcams are essentially five significant reasons:

  1. Driver security
  2. Sexual Harassment
  3. Child Abuse
  4. Legal Issues
  5. Insurance

First of all, dashcams are an integral part of a ride-share driver’s life, make no mistake; you cannot even consider starting a career with Uber, Lyft or Sidecar without a dashcam installed. A dash-cam is a legally acceptable recording device that is used in evidence in any legal case or insurance claim.

1. Driver Security

Driver security means protecting you. Protecting you from lousy rider behavior that can include verbal attacks, the wild and destructive behavior of drunks, drugged and unruly passengers. Dealing with drunks can be an onerous affair, but you will get your fair share of them. Unfortunately, some drunks are problematic, and it is your unfortunate lot to have to drive them safely home.

Make sure you remain calm and collected, polite and don’t retaliate. If a passenger becomes violent or tries to take control of the car, you may stop and defend yourself. Don’t forget to call 911 while doing this, or after this. You might reconsider if the passenger responds by stopping and even apologizing. If this occurs, you should still not take this too lightly. In case of an accident, you have protection since the dashcam has recorded everything, and you can name a culprit. The dashcam evidence is irrefutable.

2. Sexual Harassment

As with the unruly passenger, you could face a precarious and low point in your life if you are wrongly accused of sexual harassment. That is why the dashcam is your best friend. Sexual harassment cases can arise when “defending” against an advance, and the spurned passenger could decide to take revenge.

3. Child Abuse

As for child abuse, only an idiot will take a minor without an accompanying adult, but even an idiot should not be wrongly accused of such a heinous crime. Since the Uber and other company’s policies and rules do not allow for minors to travel or even order a ride without an account holder present, some drivers do bend the rules for that extra bit of cash. My tip, don’t take underage passengers alone, ever!

4. Legal Considerations

While the law varies between states, the basic rule is that you do not need to tell a passenger they are being recorded if it is the only video. However our tip is always to notify the passenger they are being recorded, this tends to make them change their attitude beforehand. Preventative measures are still better than treating after the case.

In regards to drop-offs, while we cannot control where we pick up our passengers we can control where we drop them off. Always make sure the passenger gets out in a safe environment, if needed, accompany them to the door (for drunk or infirm). Make sure they leave the car healthy, a dash cam will record this.

5. Insurance

The best evidence you have of an accident is a video recording. By having a front and back cam record (as well as inside one too), you can document any accident and use that as part of your claim. It is also useful when recording bad drivers that have collisions with other cars. Being a service to the community is an excellent way to ensure road safety for all. Another reason for recording the accident is when you go to get the other drivers details, and for some reason, we all know they refuse and drive off, or don’t have and drive off, or just drive off, if they can. Your cam recording will be sufficient for finding the offender through the car registration caught on cam.

Dashcam Models

Dashcams come in many designs and packages, so there are plenty of modes to choose. The features you want in a dashcam are wide-angle viewing, a g-sensor for locking video when in a crash, a large memory card, HD (1080p), if possible night vision and of course built-in GPS.

We give you a few models that have proven themselves; this does not mean another model is not as good, it just means we did not check it out in the field.

Falcon Zero Touch HD

A five-star rated dashcam, one of the best in the market. The lens offers a near fish eye 170-degree field of view and records in full HD (1920 x 1080p) in 30 fps. The Falcon comes with a 32GB disk expansion slot, as well as a built-in GPS, which means you don’t need an additional device. It connects with google maps and embeds place, time and speed into the video recording. This is one of the leading dashcams of 2017 and provides a perfect solution.

Vantrue N2 Dual Cam

This camera system is amazing, although it lacks the GPS, so you need to connect it. Its features are so full and practical it covers up for the lacking GPS. The Vantrue N2 comes with a 170-degree ultra-wide angle front view and a 140 degree rear view cam. It has AR0330 1/3” CMOS sensor in the front and ¼” in the back. It has a 32GB card but will accept a 64GB card. (1920 x 1080p) In 30 fps. Night vision and g-sensor memory lock. A 4.5-star camera.

Cobra CDR 840

The cobra is an affordable camera with a standard lens, 1080p with GPS and g-sensor. It comes with an 8gb memory card and crisp view. The LCD is 1.5, ” and this allows for a compact design. It has a low angle of view 118 degrees, which is its only major drawback. This camera is awarded 4.2 stars.

Cabin recording dash cams also improve passengers’ safety. It protects them from fellow riders (Pool and Line rides) and even from the driver in the case of an accident.
That being said, there are 11 states that have double consent recording laws, meaning that you DO need to get the other’s person consent to record them. Even some of the single consent states require you at least to inform them that there is a “recording in progress”.
Learn more about how to research recording laws and using a double lense dash cam in your state.