Samsara Dash Cams are designed to improve fleet safety, exonerate drivers, and lower accident-related costs. The Samsara Dash Cam performs the following functions based on vehicle movement, manual triggers, and your configured settings:
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Recording: The start, stop, and storage of video footage depend on the trigger. For more information on the triggers that control recording and the storage locations for footage, see Dash Cam Recording Logic. You can also enable the dash cam to
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Still Images: Dash Cam Still Images are uploaded directly to the Samsara dashboard for specific circumstances.
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Video Uploads: Video Uploads to the Samsara dashboard if they meet specific criteria.
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For CM33/CM34 Dash Cams, you can also configure the dash cam to display an LED when recording. For more information, see Dash Cam Recording Status Visibility for Drivers (CM33/CM34).
Samsara Dash Cams store video footage locally until it is overwritten. For more details on storage of dash cam images and video, see Customizable Data Retention Settings.
Samsara Dash Cams are designed to record and upload video footage based on specific triggers and settings:
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Recording Start: Recording can be started by vehicle movement, engine state, or manually triggered.
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Motion Detection (Default): Recording starts when significant movement, such as a certain g-force or speed, is detected.
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Engine State Detection: When Record on Engine State is enabled, recording begins when the engine is running, including idle states.
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Manual Trigger: Recording can be initiated for up to 30 seconds without motion if a driver presses a Panic Button Overview or a dash cam button (on certain camera models). Video footage is uploaded directly to the Samsara dashboard.
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Recording Stop: By default, recording ends 10 minutes after the VG no longer detects movement. If engine state recording is enabled, recording stops when the engine turns off. To extend recording beyond these limits, adjust the Parking Mode setting in your Dash Cam Settings.
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If Event-Based Recording is enabled, footage is still recorded based on motion or engine state—but only clips tied to safety events are stored. All other footage is automatically overwritten on a short loop (typically three minutes).
Images are uploaded to the Samsara dashboard in the following scenarios:
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Verify Driver Identity: When enabled, images are uploaded and saved to the Samsara dashboard to verify driver identity for Automatic Driver Detection (Camera ID). Camera ID is disabled by default.
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Installation Verification: During dash cam installation, you can Take a Picture to Test Dash Cam Positioning. These images are uploaded temporarily to the Samsara dashboard but are not stored on the dash cam or in the cloud.
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Documenting an Incident: For policy violations, such as No Seat Belt Detection, if the safety event type is enabled, images are captured to document AI-detection of the safety event.
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Documenting a Trip: Images are uploaded at the start and end of every trip. If Periodic Trip Images are enabled, the dash cam also uploads a still image every few minutes to the Trip Timeline and Trip History.
Videos are uploaded and saved to the Samsara dashboard in the following circumstances:
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Safety Event Detection: After an event meets the minimum criteria for a safety event, it triggers the upload of the safety event video and details to your Safety Inbox. Safety events include the following detection types:
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Harsh Event Detection: VG-detected events such as Crash, Harsh Braking, Harsh Acceleration, and Harsh Turning
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AI Event Detection: AI-detected events such as Distracted Driving, Tailgating, Forward Collision Warning, and Policy Violations
In Event-Based Recording mode, the dash cam continuously overwrites footage unless a safety event occurs. Only safety event-triggered clips—up to three minutes in length—are retained and available for video retrieval. However, not every detected event may result in a stored clip or an upload. Backend filtering and volume limits may exclude some detections from being retained or shown in the Safety Inbox.
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Video Retrieval: Users with Video Retrieval permissions can manually request video be uploaded and saved to the Samsara Cloud. The amount of historical footage that is available for retrieval varies by camera model and Dash Cam Storage Capacity. If desired, you can adjust the default Dash Cam Settings to further extend total storage capacity.
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Panic Button: If your vehicle has a Panic Button Overview and a dash cam, pressing the panic button triggers dash cam recording and automatically uploads up to 30 seconds of dash cam footage.
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Dash Cam Button: Up to 30 seconds of video is uploaded to the Samsara dashboard after the driver initiates a video recording with the Dash Cam Button (requires a compatible dash cam).
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