Where To Place A Dash Cam

The number of reasons to install a dash cam (personal protection, proof in a crash, outing dunderhead drivers on social media) are varied as the number of vehicles on the road. Most of this rationale has been covered in other articles on this site, so we’ll direct you there rather than reinvent the wheel ad nauseum. However, once you’ve finally decided to invest in a unit, there’s still one critical question to be answered.

Where is the best place to put this thing?

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Pedants in the audience will chortle that the camera obviously go in the car’s window. Hardy, har, har. Thank you, Captain Obvious. What these wiseacres conveniently forget, or simply don’t know, is that there are certain places on a glass area which are far better than others in order to get the most out of your new dash camera.

Always keep safety in mind. Most high quality dash cameras, such as the VanTrue Nexus 4 Pro, are of such a compact size that they can be mounted to the windshield behind the rear view mirror and completely out of the driver’s line of sight. There’s enough to deal with out on the open road without having a chunk of plastic in the way. Try to select a spot in which the camera has a clear view ahead but isn’t distracting to the driver.

This will be easier than you think, especially with a unit like the one mentioned above. In fact, that cam measures just 4.5 inches wide and 3.4 inches tall – and that includes the mount. This isn’t much more than a pack of playing cards and actually appears much smaller than that to the human eye thanks to the camera’s cylindrical shape whose rounded edges tricks the human brain into thinking it is a bit smaller than its actual size.

Placing the camera in such a location doesn’t just keep it out of the driver’s line of sight for safety. It also puts it at a good height so the camera can capture as much relevant footage of the road ahead as possible. If placed too low in the windshield, the cam will pick up a large amount of the car’s hood, a feature which isn’t helpful when you’re trying to see if the Other Guy ran that red light or not. The view from such a low perch is like peering out over the top stair at night when you were a kid when you were supposed to be in bed – all you really end up seeing is floor.

Similarly, though not quite as critically, placing the camera too high runs the risk of missing something that happens right at road level in front of your car. Did that creature really run across the road at the last possible second? Was that piece of lumber already on the road or did it come tumbling off a truck? Some of those answers may not be totally clear if the camera is looking a bit too far down the road. In any event, make sure to choose a camera which has at least a 150-degree viewing angle to capture the maximum amount of the area ahead.

One needn’t spend a king’s ransom in order to get those types of specs, either. In fact, one of the least expensive VanTrue cameras is an affordable little number called the Element 1 Pro, the industry's first ultra-compact true 4K dash cam. This forward-facing dash cam is packed with features like magnetic-assist mount and 158-degree viewing angle. That’s nearly equal to that of a healthy human eye. For our purposes, it reinforces the point that it is important to select a mounting point of this (or any cam) which is as close to the center of your car’s windshield as possible. That way, it has the best chance of capturing video of actions happening a reasonable distance from both the left and right of your vehicle.

Rear-facing cameras play by the same rules, though visibility for the driver is less of a concern in that case. Pick a spot on your rear window which is high enough to capture activity astern instead of just constantly recording the car’s trunk lid. In this age of ubiquitous SUVs and crossovers which generally have a flat pane of glass on their rumps, this is less of a concern. That being said, some ‘sportier’ models of crossover have a rear glass which is rather steeply raked, so be certain the camera is angled properly to point straight behind the car and not pointing upwards where it will only film Jupiter in the night sky.

Most dash cameras come with helpful installation instructions – read ‘em and heed ‘em. It is also a smart idea to learn if there are any regulations present in your area about windshield obstructions. Be aware of specific dash cam laws where you live to avoid being hassled by Johnny Law.