CAN YOUR DASH CAM COST YOU YOUR FAST CARD?

Dash cams have become popular among truck drivers for a number of reasons. Mark Roberts bought one after being involved in an accident in the US. A car in front of him lost control and smacked into Mark’s tandems. The driver emerged from the car and approached the truck seemingly in anger, and Mark thought ‘Oh boy, here we go,’ assuming he would be blamed for the crash. Instead, the car driver thanked Mark for his heroic driving and for preventing a more serious outcome. Still, Mark realized it could’ve turned out differently and if the driver chose to pin the blame on him, a police officer may well have accepted his version of events. Up went the dash cam.

A few weeks ago, Mark was travelling south at the Ambassador Bridge when a US CBP Customs officer took issue with the presence of a dash cam in his truck. “You truckers just don’t get it, do you?” she blasted, informing him that you’re not allowed to record border crossings or border agents. She said she could confiscate his FAST card for violating this unknown rule (no signs are present at the border crossing to warn against using dash cams). This was obviously disconcerting to Mark – his FAST card is his livelihood.

Mark was sent over to secondary for an x-ray. Afterwards, another border officer – one who was visibly less agitated than the first – explained that Customs is concerned about dash cams because the footage can be uploaded to YouTube where it can be viewed by the criminal element while conducting reconnaissance. (There’s some irony to be found here, considering both US Customs and Canada Customs are involved in reality TV shows that would seem to reveal far more about Customs facilities and protocols than any dash cam could).

At any rate, Mark showed the second officer how the camera worked and reformatted it, deleting all its contents. He was allowed to go on his way – two hours delayed. I reached out to both Customs agencies to find out if there are any rules against dash cams at border crossings. CBSA replied quickly, indicating there are no rules against filming border crossings or Customs agents, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the agent’s ability to do their job.

US CBP is still trying to get me a response. I suspect that no formal policy about dash cams exists, and one very well may be in the process of being written after my inquiry brought some attention to the issue. That’s fine. Listen, no one’s trying to be difficult here! If there’s a rule against using dash cams at the border, then professional drivers won’t use dash cams at the border. Truckers are the best people in the world at complying with rules – that’s what they do! But they need to know what those rules are.

Mark has already taken to turning off his dash cam at the border and his carrier, Kriska, sent out a message to all drivers asking them to do likewise. Other drivers Mark has talked to since the incident place a sock over the camera to show it isn’t recording, or remove it from the dash altogether. Again, no one here is looking to flout the rules – but truck drivers need to know what those rules are. A clear policy should be drafted and signs posted if dash cams really are not allowed at the border. Stay tuned, I’ll share the US response as soon as I get it.

Avatar photo

James Menzies is editor of Today's Trucking. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 20 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


Have your say


This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.

*

  • was this at the detroit crossing. There seems to be a female agent who is just frustrated with life. She has rules that aren’t written anywhere…. except maybe in her world…

  • I have run a dashcam for 5 years. My first cam used my laptop as a monitor which sat on the passenger seat and was visible to border agents US and Canada. The only comments I got were curiousity and positive. I quickly changed that system for safety reasons. Since then the only time I have had a comment was when I was passenger and reviewing some earlier footage so the US agent thought I was filming him. He didn’t like it but I explained i was not filming and showed hime the screen. There is all kinds of footage online of border crossings by trucks and four wheelers and all the crossings are visible on Google Earth as close as you can get without crossing. Little too late to close that barn door.

  • I have also had CHP and a couple of different state DOT officers see the camera operating during traffic stop and inspections and had very positive comments.

  • Great article. I never would have thought a dash cam would cause any issues. I am currently looking at buying a dash cam for trucking, but is helpful to know to take it down to save from any delays. Thanks.

  • A clear policy has been created and decided in the courts of both countries. Public officials CAN be recorded and in fact ANYTHING in public (including you and your kinky wife) can be recorded by anyone.
    CBP is only trying to become an exception to a well established rule and the only reason for that would be because they are engaged in unlawful activities themselves.
    Don’t look for CBP recordings in your search but rather recording in public locations and you’ll see a clear decision by the courts on this matter.