We were all new drivers at one point in our lives. For many, it opened up a lot of opportunities for independence and freedom. Whether you are a new driver or you are looking after a new driver, safety is always the most important. Most people in their lives have gone through an accident and know that no matter how many precautions one takes, another driver may be distracted and cause harm.
Finding the best dash cam for new drivers adds another layer of protection that may not necessarily prevent an accident, but it can give a clearer view of what exactly happened and who was at fault. This is a tremendous strength on the legal side if the other driver was at fault and it can be beneficial to the new driver to learn from their mistakes.
Rove R2- 4K Dash Cam
The Rove R2-4K Dash Cam packs tons of features into a small device and comes at a reasonable price. The camera films in 4K resolution at 24 FPS and can record at a multitude of resolutions and frame rates. It can even film in slow motion at 120 FPS if you want to lower the resolution to 720P.
The Rove R2 is reliable as long as you use a SD card that is NOT made by SanDisk. They recommend using a Samsung memory card and can support up to 512GB.
This cam setup excels with night vision as the aperture is F/1.8 and includes WDR to improve image quality.
WiFi and built-in GPS are nice touches to have that make driving with a dash cam a lot more convenient. Easily review, download or share footage with the Rove App that allows you to remotely connect to the dash cam via WiFi. GPS data is attached to give you coordinates at any point.
The one thing that the Rove can improve on is the viewing angle which is at 150 degrees. We were expecting a field of view closer to 170 degrees.
CHORTAU Dual Dash Cam
The CHORTAU Dual Dash Cam is a budget friendly alternative that has significantly less features, but really deliver on the features it includes. Unlike the Rove, the CHORTAU is a dual camera setup with the rear being a waterproof external camera. The front films in 1080P at 30 FPS while the rear only films in 480P. Not the greatest resolution by any stretch of the imagination, but it gets the jump done.
New drivers may like the external rear camera as it can be angled to help you in scenarios where you need to see the rear such as parallel parking or backing out of a driveway.
Both front and rear cameras come equipped with infrared LED lights that will help illuminate nearby objects.
It does come with standard features such as G-Sensor and Loop Recording, but the maximum card capacity is only 32GB so footage will get overwritten after a few hours of recording. Essentially this dash cam is good for recording and reviewing immediate accidents.
Vantrue S1 4K Dash Cam
The Vantrue S1 is a dual dash cam setup with the front facing camera capable of filming in 4K resolution by itself, but if paired with the rear camera it can film both in 1080p.
What sets this camera apart is the camera’s aperture which is at a wide F/1.47 for great night vision video quality. The field of view is wide for both units with the front coming in at 170 degrees and the rear at 160 degrees.
This does come with built-in GPS as well as 24/7 parking mode which can detect motion like people walking by your car.
The image quality is probably the highest quality compared to other dash cams in this article. Picture is super clear in many different light scenarios and reading license plates is easy. Be sure to remember to take off the protective film when first unboxing the Vantrue dash cam.
We like the hidden design of this dash cam as it fits nicely on a windshield and has a minimal footprint. While the front unit camera lens can be manipulated to get the perfect filming angle, the rear unit doesn’t have as much flexibility when it comes to positioning. The rear power cable does get in the way of the rear camera but still makes it possible.
VAVA Dual Dash cam
The VAVA Dual Dash Cam is another two camera solution that films in 1080p. It doesn’t have the prettiest design, but you can hide it nicely in front of your mirror. One of the reasons why VAVA has chosen this design is because there’s actually a built-in 320mAh battery that can record when no power is being supplied to the device, like when the car is off.
This is great for 24/7 parking mode protection which will record if the device detects any shock to the car. Parking your car overnight will give you peace of mind that anything happening to your car will be recorded. Keep in mind this does not record true motion detection like someone walking by your car.
Like others, this dash cam carries a F/1.8 aperture which takes in a lot of light and results in a great image whether it be day or night.
It comes with WiFi so you can access footage via smartphone and share footage to your social media accounts. We’ve all seen those Russian dash cam videos.
Dash Cam Features New Drivers Need
Reliability
Whenever you are using your car you’ll want your dash cam to be operational and working. This makes perfect sense because that’s the main job of a dash cam, to record while you are driving. Funny enough, there are tons of dash cams out in the market that have reliability and durability issues. Technology has certainly advanced but sometimes it makes simple tasks complicated.
And the hard part about it is that manufacturers don’t have a metric or a statistic on longevity.
One has to count on the experiences of others to figure out if a certain dash cam model is reliable but here are a few things you can look out for. If a manufacturer has been around for several years it’s a good sign they aren’t looking to scam customers. Look at the customers who say they are having recording issues or corrupt files.
GPS
GPS is a great feature to have to be able to track your location, speed and routes. Depending on your situation, you may want to be able to refer to data that puts you at a certain location at a certain time. If you have a young adult who is learning to drive, you may want to verify where they are traveling.
Teenagers today who are younger than 18 have restrictions on their driving behavior. Driving with friends is often prohibited due to the inexperience with new drivers and the elevated driving risk.
Night Vision
New drivers sometimes think that driving at night is easier due to less car and foot traffic. While this is true, night time driving comes with its own dangers such as drunk driving and falling asleep at the wheel.
Having a dash cam that has the capability to record at night is paramount to figuring out how one wound up in an accident.
Look for dash cameras that has aperture ratings of F/1.8 or lower. This means that the camera is taking in more light for the sensor to process. Also look for HDR or WDR which stands for high/wide dynamic range which means the software is picking up a large range of colors to help form an accurate picture.
And finally review the camera’s footage. Chances are someone posted footage of low light conditions that you can judge for yourself. Are objects discernable with the lights available?
Dual Cameras
Most dash cameras come with only a front facing camera. This is the most important view, but it doesn’t mean you should completely disregard a secondary camera.
The most common areas to get damaged in a car accident are in the front and in the rear. There’s limited visibility through rear view mirrors and a rear dash cam can help fill in those gaps.
If you’ve stopped in a reasonable way and a car rear ends you, the dash cam can help separate your word versus theirs.
Conclusion
New drivers need to take extra precautions when getting onto the road. There’s a reason why insurance premiums are higher for new and younger drivers. If you get into an accident as a new driver and can’t prove it wasn’t your fault, it is very likely that insurance rates will rise. It may take a long time for those rates to subside.
Using a dash cam mitigates the risk of misaligned drivers, unforeseen accidents and overzealous law enforcement officers. A small investment can reap less headaches in the long run in getting a dash cam for new drivers.