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The best dash cam for Uber and Lyft drivers
Updated
If you drive for Uber or Lyft, get a three-camera dash cam: road ahead, cabin and rear. From the cameras on this site, that is the REDTIGER F17. A normal front and rear kit will not show what happened inside the car, and that is where most rideshare disputes start.
What a rideshare driver needs that other drivers don't
- A cabin camera. It covers false complaints, damage to your seats and arguments over what was said or done.
- Infrared lights on the cabin camera. Most rideshare trouble happens at night with the cabin dark. The F17 listing names 4 IR lights on the cabin camera.
- A bigger card. Three video streams fill a card much faster than one. A long shift can loop over the start of the day before you get home.
- A supercapacitor instead of a battery. Your car sits in the sun between rides. See dash cams in hot weather.
How much video a shift takes
These numbers use the same math as the card calculator, with a 4K front camera plus rear and cabin cameras.
| Card | Hours before it loops |
|---|---|
| 64GB (in the F17 box) | About 2.8 |
| 128GB | About 5.7 |
| 256GB | About 11.4 |
So the 64GB card in the box will not hold a full shift. If a rider complains the next morning, that video may be gone. We'd plan on a 256GB high endurance card. Check the largest size the camera supports on the listing before you buy one.
The pick, and the catch
REDTIGER F17 (3 Channel): front, cabin and rear at once, with GPS and a card in the box. The catch: owners give mixed reports on WiFi pairing and on recording reliability. Format the card in the camera, and pull a clip once a week. For a working driver, a weekly check is worth the two minutes.
If you only want the road on video and not your riders, the VIOFO A229 Plus is our pick for most drivers. It has no cabin camera. All four cameras are on the shortlist.
Recording passengers
Video of the road is rarely a problem. Audio of people inside your car is different. Some states require everyone in the conversation to agree to be recorded. Uber and Lyft also have their own rules about recording riders, and those can change. Read the current policy in your driver app. Many drivers put a small "audio and video recording in use" sticker on the window. If you are unsure about your state, turn the microphone off in the camera menu until you have checked. This is general information, not legal advice.