A fleet dash cam belongs in one of two narrow bands on a commercial windshield. Under the federal mounting rules in 49 CFR 393.60, a camera, toll transponder or other safety device sits near the top or the bottom of the area the wipers sweep. It also stays out of the driver's view of the road. That zone answers where to mount the device on a truck, van or tractor. Arizona and Florida each add a windshield statute on top of it: Arizona names a spot at the rearview mirror, and Florida lists allowed devices without naming a spot.
The question gets urgent when glass is replaced. Anything stuck to the old windshield comes off with it or before it, and the new glass arrives bare. Each camera, GPS receiver and toll tag then has to go back on. That makes the replacement the right time to fix a mount that never met the rules. We replace fleet windshields on box trucks, pickups, work vans and other service units.
Where to Mount a Fleet Dash Cam: 393.60 Windshield Mounting Rules
The placement rule sits in paragraph (e) of 49 CFR 393.60, under a heading that bars obstructions to the driver's field of view. For devices that count as vehicle safety technology, it gives two allowed bands. One condition then applies to both of them.
- The upper band reaches down no more than 8.5 inches (216 mm) from the top edge of the area the wipers sweep.
- The lower band reaches up no more than 7 inches (175 mm) from the bottom edge of that swept area.
- In either band, the device stays outside the driver's sight lines to the road and to highway signs and signals.
Both figures start at the edge of the wiper sweep. The frame and the top of the glass are different lines, and on a semi truck windshield the wiper path can end well inside them. Run the wipers on a wet windshield and mark the highest and lowest points of the blades' path with tape. Then measure from those marks.
The space between the two bands is left for the driver. Paragraph (e) gives a safety device no place in the middle of the sweep, however small the device is. A camera that drifts down during a re-mount can leave its band without anyone noticing, so measure the finished mount as well as the planned one.
The sight-line condition works as a second test. A device can sit inside the upper band and still fail if it blocks the driver's view of a signal over an intersection or a sign beside the road. Check it from the driver's seat, set where the usual driver sets it. Look ahead at the road, then up toward signal height, and confirm the device is out of both views.
The rest of 393.60, on glazing and windshield condition, is the subject of our post on DOT windshield regulations for fleet managers. Paragraph (e) is the part that governs what rides on the glass.
Antennas Versus Safety Technology Under 393.60
Paragraph (e) opens with a tighter rule for antennas and similar devices. They must not be mounted more than 6 inches (152 mm) below the upper edge of the windshield. The same clause keeps them outside the wiper sweep, and the same sight-line test applies. An antenna therefore lives in a thin strip along the top of the glass, above the wiper path.
The next clause lifts that 6-inch limit for vehicle safety technologies mounted on the inside of the windshield. Those devices take the two bands described above instead, and both bands sit inside the wiper sweep. The effect is that a safety camera looks through glass the blades clear, while an antenna stays out of their path.
The two rules also measure from different lines. The 6-inch figure starts at the edge of the glass. The 8.5-inch and 7-inch figures start at the edge of the sweep. Mixing up those starting lines puts a device in the wrong spot, even when the tape measure reads correctly.
Sort each device before measuring. A unit that only receives a signal, such as a radio antenna, falls under the 6-inch rule. A device that serves a safety purpose the federal definition covers moves to the swept bands. A GPS tracker that only reports location may read closer to an antenna. One built into an incident or driver-behavior system matches the safety examples in the next section.
Devices the Rule Counts as Vehicle Safety Technology
The definition sits in 49 CFR 393.5. Vehicle safety technology includes systems and items of equipment that promote driver, occupant and roadway safety. That wording is broad, and the examples after it read like a fleet's equipment list. They include:
- a fleet-related incident management system;
- a performance or behavior management system;
- a speed management system;
- a lane departure warning system;
- a forward collision warning or mitigation system;
- an active cruise control system;
- a transponder.
Two entries answer the most common fleet questions. A transponder is named outright, so a transponder mounted inside a commercial windshield takes the safety-technology bands under the federal rule. A dash cam that records incidents or coaches drivers matches the incident management and behavior management entries. That puts it in the same bands.
Factory systems on the list count as well. A forward collision warning camera usually sits behind the mirror under a plastic cover, held by a bracket glued to the inner glass. An added dash cam placed at the mirror shares that space. Keep the dash cam's body, cable and adhesive pad off the cover and out of the factory camera's view.
New glass under a factory camera also brings up calibration, which our ADAS calibration page covers. The written ADAS notices after a windshield replacement belong to that same step.
Inspection Decals and Stickers Along the Lower Edge
Paragraph (e)(2) handles decals. CVSA inspection decals, and stickers or decals required under federal or state law, may be placed at the bottom or sides of the windshield. Each must reach no more than 4.5 inches (115 mm) up from the bottom of the glass. Each must also sit outside the wiper-swept area and pass the sight-line test.
That strip is narrow, and devices compete for the space near it. A lower-band camera, a required decal and a toll tag can all end up near the bottom edge. The decal rule measures from the bottom of the glass, while the camera band measures from the bottom of the sweep. Put required decals in first, low and toward the sides, then fit devices around them inside the lower band.
The clause covers CVSA decals and decals a law requires. A sticker no law requires gets no space from it. Decals also leave the truck on the old windshield. Before the glass comes out, list which required decals each unit carries, so the replacements go back into the bottom or side strip.
Arizona's Rearview-Mirror Rule and Corner Squares
Arizona's windshield statute, A.R.S. 28-959.01, starts from a ban. Subsection B bars driving a motor vehicle with an object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed or applied on the windshield, except as the section provides. Subsection A then lists twelve exceptions, and two of them shape fleet mounts.
Item 12 exempts safety monitoring equipment and driver feedback devices mounted in either of two locations. The first is immediately behind, slightly above or slightly below the rearview mirror. The second applies when the vehicle has no windshield-mounted mirror: the spot where that mirror would commonly be positioned. For a dash cam on a commercial vehicle, these rules make the mirror area the camera's listed place.
The federal bands and item 12 overlap only in part. A camera in the federal lower band, down near the dash, can meet the 7-inch figure and still sit far from the mirror. The state statute gives that camera no listed location. Move a driver-feedback camera on such a unit up to the mirror before the new glass goes into service.
Item 5 covers signs, stickers and other materials. They may sit in a seven-inch square in the lower corner farthest from the driver, or in a five-inch square in the lower corner nearest the driver. On a left-hand-drive truck, that puts the five-inch square at the lower left and the seven-inch square at the lower right.
None of the twelve exceptions names a toll-payment device. The listed places remain the mirror spot, for safety monitoring equipment, and the two corner squares, for signs, stickers or other materials. Keep every sticker that is not safety equipment inside one of those squares.
Florida's Toll Device and Safety Monitoring Exceptions
Florida's rule is Fla. Stat. 316.2952(2). It bars driving any motor vehicle on a public highway, road or street with any sign, sunscreening material, product or covering attached to, or located in or upon, the windshield. The paragraph then lists exceptions, and three of them reach fleet equipment.
- A device issued for electronic toll payments by a governmental entity, as defined in s. 334.03, or by its designee.
- A GPS or similar satellite receiver device used to obtain navigation, to improve driver safety as a component of safety monitoring equipment capable of providing driver feedback, or to route information.
- A certificate or other paper required by law to be displayed.
None of these three items comes with a mounting location. The statute names what may be on the glass and leaves the position open. For a dash cam on a commercial vehicle, the position comes from the federal rules. A toll device or GPS safety unit goes in one of the two swept bands, clear of the sight lines. A required paper goes in the bottom or side strip.
The toll item turns on who issued the device: a governmental entity or its designee. The GPS item turns on what the receiver does. Its words cover navigation, driver safety as part of safety monitoring equipment that gives driver feedback, and routing. Check a camera's spec sheet for the GPS receiver and the driver-feedback function, since those are the features this exception names.
Placement Rules Compared Across Both States
The federal rule applies to commercial vehicles under Part 393, and each statute applies to motor vehicles on that state's roads. A fleet truck in either state therefore answers to two layers at once.
| Element | Federal (49 CFR 393.60(e)) | Arizona (A.R.S. 28-959.01) | Florida (Fla. Stat. 316.2952(2)) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety monitoring and driver feedback devices | Vehicle safety technology: within 8.5 in below the top of the wiper sweep or 7 in above its bottom, outside sight lines | Exempt immediately behind, slightly above or slightly below the mirror, or where a mirror would commonly sit | GPS receiver that is part of safety monitoring equipment giving driver feedback; no mounting location stated |
| Electronic toll device | Transponder listed as vehicle safety technology; same two bands | No toll-payment exception among the twelve listed | Excepted when issued by a governmental entity or its designee; no mounting location stated |
| Stickers, signs and required papers | CVSA and legally required decals at the bottom or sides, up to 4.5 in high, outside the sweep and sight lines | Seven-inch square in the far lower corner; five-inch square in the near lower corner | Certificate or other paper required by law; no location stated |
| General bar on windshield objects | Paragraph (e) bars obstructions to the driver's field of view | No object or material on the windshield except as the section provides | No sign, sunscreening material, product or covering on the windshield except listed items |
One camera spot works on units in both states. A camera at the mirror that also sits inside the federal upper band, out of the driver's view, meets A.R.S. 28-959.01 item 12, and Florida's list in 316.2952(2) names no position that conflicts with it.
Stickers need a little more care. A required decal placed in a lower corner, no more than 4.5 inches up and outside the sweep, fits the federal strip. Under A.R.S. 28-959.01, the same decal also has to fit inside the corner square on that side. Fla. Stat. 316.2952(2) excepts required certificates and papers without naming a spot, so that corner placement serves a Florida unit too.
Putting a Camera Back on Replacement Glass
After a windshield replacement, the camera goes back on clean glass that has never held a mount. Samsara's install guide for its AI dash cams gives a sequence for that job:
- Clean the mounting spot thoroughly with an alcohol wipe.
- Position the camera below the rearview mirror and within the wiper sweep, the spot the guide gives for best visibility.
- Leave the adjustment screw loose until the camera's position has been checked.
- Peel off the adhesive liner and press the camera firmly against the glass for 30 seconds.
- Look for large bubbles between the adhesive and the glass.
- Peel the protective film off the lens.
That vendor position lines up with the rules above. A spot just below the mirror and inside the sweep fits the federal upper band when the mount stays within 8.5 inches of the top of the sweep. The same spot matches the slightly-below wording in A.R.S. 28-959.01 item 12. Measure and run the sight-line check before peeling the liner, while the camera can still move freely.
The guide's safety notice puts compliance with all applicable laws and ordinances on the installer. It also tells the installer to check local laws for any installation restrictions. In a fleet, that installer may be a driver, a shop employee or a telematics vendor's technician. Whoever does the work should have the federal bands and the mounting list for each unit's state before the new windshield goes in.
A fleet request to us can name each vehicle by unit number and group several into one visit. That list doubles as the re-mount plan. Note which camera, GPS unit, toll tag and required decals each unit carries before its glass is changed.
When a Mounted Device Passes or Needs Moving
If a camera or transponder sits within the top 8.5 inches or the bottom 7 inches of the wiper sweep and clear of the driver's sight lines, it meets the federal zone. If it sits mid-sweep, or a safety camera sits away from the mirror where A.R.S. 28-959.01 applies, move it to a passing spot on the new glass. If a Florida unit carries a device that is not a government-issued toll tag, a qualifying GPS safety unit or a required paper, check the statute's list before it goes back on. Once each unit's re-mount plan is set, book the glass through the fleet auto glass service page.
Fleet dash cam windshield placement questions
Where and what can you mount on a commercial truck windshield?
Safety technology, such as an incident-recording camera or a transponder, goes in the federal bands: no more than 8.5 inches below the top of the wiper sweep or 7 inches above its bottom. Required decals are the low-lying exception, along the bottom or sides of the glass. Anything else on the glass has to fit the state statute where the truck runs.
Are dash cams legal on a fleet windshield in Arizona and Florida?
Arizona exempts safety monitoring equipment and driver feedback devices only at its two listed spots, at the rearview mirror or where a mirror would commonly sit; elsewhere subsection B bans objects on the glass. Florida lists GPS devices used as safety monitoring equipment capable of driver feedback among its exceptions and gives no spot, so a Florida unit leans on the federal bands.
Can a fleet truck keep a toll transponder on the windshield in Arizona and Florida?
Florida excepts a toll payment device issued by a governmental entity or its designee, so a tag that fits that wording may stay. Arizona's twelve exceptions in A.R.S. 28-959.01 name no toll device, so an Arizona unit should hold the tag in the mirror spot or ask whether the tag counts as a sticker for a corner square. The federal bands apply in both states.
Who answers for a fleet dash cam being mounted legally on the new windshield?
Samsara's install guide for its AI dash cams says the installer is responsible for complying with all applicable laws and ordinances. For a fleet, that installer may be a driver, a shop employee or a vendor technician, so the unit's mounting list should name who checks the finished position against the federal bands and the state statute.
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