Researching dashcams for DOT inspections (GPS navigation, pictures with GPS/map data)

ChiPhu

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Our company is subcontracted to state DOT to do permit inspections, which means hitting several points along a route where we (among documenting progress/compliance) take pictures to prove/disprove contractor compliance with DOT regulation.
What we're looking for in a dashcam (in reality a dashcam/GPS navigation system combo) might be an over the top list but am listing them all to see which one hits the most requirements, if not all:

Most needed:
- Typical exoneration: recording of crashes, brisk acceleration/deceleration, et al.
- Important: Ability to take pictures with time & GPS/map data to show date/time and location of picture. (required by DOT to show location and date/time). Possibly with remote link to cell or laptop as that would be easier to retrieve. (not having to pull data from the device in an awkward manner)
- GPS navigation with saved locations (can be up to a hundred of locations, or more depending on how our DOT contracts grows)
Less needed, but nice to have:
- Lane detection, other driving safety features. Not wild about speeding feature unless it's programmable. No need to get an alert whenever an inspector goes 71 mph on a 70 mph road. Possibility to program some margin this would be ideal. (5 or 10 mph over more than a certain time period alert for example)
- Rear viewing camera or link to (pickup) truck rear viewing camera.
- Wide-angle front: 140 degrees or so should be enough for front. Any more is just extra (?) IMO.
- 911 emergency calls (our trucks are already equipped with this). Saw an article that because 5G is being implemented, some of the older trucks equipped with 3G(?) will no longer have the ability to call 911.
- Night vision or similar. Our inspections are during the day 90% of the time. Also if this apparatus bleeds over to non-permit inspectors this would be nice as lots of our non-permit inspectors work at night at paving operations (lane closures are typically only allowed at night in most cases)

We've considered fleet GPS/dashcam through setting up fleet accounts with Verizon and other providers but those are highly expensive for something we want to TRY first. We are currently only a small (but growing) company of about 3 inspectors but we're constantly adding more counties to cover, and thus growing fleet.

Since our inspectors answer to the DOT, they provide a service to the driving public, to make sure traffic is correctly maintained, routed and not obscured, dirt-tracked or other issues at small/large construction sites.
Any help through suggestions or otherwise would be appreciated! If no all-in-one available, possibly linkable GPS device and dashcam device?
~(future) Permit manager, wanting to improve our processes to safeguard the public.
 
Most dashcams record video, not photos. If by "pictures", you mean a single frame photo, then how is the taking of the photo going to be accurately triggered? Or is it better to let the dashcam record video normally, and then extract the relevant frame, or short video clip once back at base?

Most dashcams will overlay the GPS coordinates and time on the recorded image, and if you extract a frame from the video then you will get the location and timestamp with it. Most dashcams will also record the GPS data digitally, alongside the video stream, in the same file, for later display on map overlays, so it is feasible for software to automatically extract a photograph or short video clip from the video at all the relevant points along the route. You just need software that will do what you want.

Nearly all dashcams have a g-sensor to detect sudden decelerations, and will mark video segments where this happens as read only.

- Lane detection, other driving safety features. Not wild about speeding feature unless it's programmable. No need to get an alert whenever an inspector goes 71 mph on a 70 mph road. Possibility to program some margin this would be ideal. (5 or 10 mph over more than a certain time period alert for example)
I don't recommend lane detection on any dashcam. To be effective requires decent feedback to the driver, such as steering wheel vibration, and no dashcam can do that. If you want it, then buy vehicles that have a proper system built in.

Same goes for the speed warning, best to use the vehicle inbuilt warning, and set it just over the limit. There is no excuse for you to be endangering the lives of your employees and other road users by making a perfectly good safety system inoperable by setting the warning 10mph too high, one day you might need to explain your decision to do so in a court.

- Night vision or similar. Our inspections are during the day 90% of the time. Also if this apparatus bleeds over to non-permit inspectors this would be nice as lots of our non-permit inspectors work at night at paving operations (lane closures are typically only allowed at night in most cases)
There is nothing special about any "Night Vision" dashcam, they are just claiming to be better than something else, normally because they are not as good as something else! Just get one from one of the trusted brands, as seen in the "Best Dash Cams of ????" list at the top of this site.


- Wide-angle front: 140 degrees or so should be enough for front. Any more is just extra (?) IMO.
Any wider than that means small detail becomes hard to see, and for your use I suspect you do want to see the small details, so I recomend one of the higher resolution dashcams. The Viofo A129 Pro might be a good choice due to the high resolution and fine detail recorded. That camera is also good in poor lighting conditions, such as when facing directly into the sun, when many cameras will fail to read any road signs because they are in shadow and thus appear too dark.

Possibly with remote link to cell or laptop as that would be easier to retrieve. (not having to pull data from the device in an awkward manner)
Although that seems like a good idea, video files tend to be very large, especially if they contain much detail, so it is generally easier to remove either the memory card or the camera and plug it into a computer. You may find an advantage with a camera that is easily dismountable and remountable.

If it is just photos that are needed then a wifi dashcam will be fast enough, so maybe slightly easier, but there is probably a lack of software to do what you want and you will end up plugging into a computer anyway.
 
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