Mounting Position Recommendations for Dash Cams (UK and Europe)

The mounting process is designed to be quick and easy when you Install a Dash Cam (Standard Instructions). The rules concerning dash cam placement on vehicles vary by country and most countries are silent on the specific placement of dash cams or other objects on the windshield. Based on a review of roadway and vehicle safety laws in applicable European jurisdictions, a common theme is a general requirement that the driver’s field of vision is not obscured. If your fleet operates in the UK or Europe (France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, or Luxembourg), we recommend you mount your dash cam in accordance with the UK Department of Transport guidelines, which are more prescriptive than the European countries above.

Note

The following recommendations do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with your own advisors.

For placement requirements, see instructions for your configuration:

• Typical Dash Cam Mounting Position for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)

• Typical Dash Cam Mounting Position for Light Good Vehicles (LGVs) and Smaller Commercial Vehicles

Best Practices

In addition to local regulations, note the following best practices and resources for dash cam placement:

• Avoid dash cam obstructions. Ensure that the inward-facing view of the driver is free of obstructions. Any obstructions to the driver's line of sight will affect AI Event Detection. Review the best practices for the AI detection type you plan to use to ensure the placement is ideal for your use case.

• Avoid driver obstructions. Do not obstruct the line of sight for drivers. Mount outside sight-lines to the road, highway signs, and signals.

• Verify placement. To test positioning and verify placement, see Test Dash Cam Positioning.

Typical Dash Cam Mounting Position for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)

When installing the dash cam on an HGV, follow the legal requirements of your region.

In most cases, the ideal location for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) is on the lower-middle area of the windscreen, however, alternate positioning may be required if that location obstructs the field of vision.

The following recommendations are in accordance with the Heavy goods vehicle (HGV) inspection manual. For the most up-to-date information, refer to the manual.

Many commercial vehicles have very large screens and have windscreen wipers which cover an area that have no practical use. For the purposes of the annual test, the area of the screen above a horizontal line taken from the driver’s eye position, assessed from the driving seat looking forward in a comfortable upright driving position, can be ignored other than the area through which the driver is required to view any mirror (front mirrors on HGVs are not required to be viewed through the area swept by the wipers). It is not necessary to speculate on the effects of tall or short drivers.

Official stickers and acceptable features (see examples below) are permitted to encroach into the field of vision if this is necessary to comply with other regulations. These will be considered a deficiency only where they seriously restrict the drivers view to the front or the sides.

Examples of acceptable features which may intrude into the swept area of the wipers provided they do not seriously restrict the drivers view to the front or the sides are:

• Vehicle distance or lane indicator systems

• Operator license

• Automatic windscreen wiper detectors

• Fresnel lens

• Split windscreens

• Wipers which park adjacent to a central pillar

• Driver monitoring systems

• Driver’s aids such as blinds and their mountings

• Toll payment tags/stickers

• Vehicle anti-theft scheme stickers/security passes

Lower-middle mounting position

Ensure that the vehicle dashboard does not obstruct the inward-facing camera view to the driver.

Upper-middle mounting position

Ensure that the vehicle sun visor does not obstruct the inward-facing camera view to the driver. If necessary and possible, remove the middle visor.

Typical Dash Cam Mounting Position for Light Good Vehicles (LGVs) and Smaller Commercial Vehicles

The ideal location for LGVs and smaller vehicles is in the upper-middle area of the windscreen.

When you install a dual-facing dash cam, make sure the inward facing lens is not blocked by the rear view mirror and check that the sun visor does not fold down in front of the dash cam. To verify the position you can Test Dash Cam Positioning.

The following images display an example of this mounting position:

The following visibility recommendations are in accordance with the private passenger and light commercial vehicles manual. For the most up-to-date information, refer to the manual.

You should only fail the windscreen if the view is significantly affected. If only the driver’s view of the sky or the bonnet is affected, it should not be rejected.