New report: 96% say dash cams reduce costs, freeing up budget and protecting taxpayer dollars

Public sector leaders today face a difficult balancing act: managing rising insurance costs, legal exposure, and public expectations while maximizing every dollar of taxpayer-funded budgets. For agencies nationwide, the pressure to maintain essential services with limited resources has never been higher, yet budgets are quietly eroded by preventable risks.

Today, Samsara released a new report: How Dash Cams Reduce Risk and Deliver Clear ROI for the U.S. Public Sector. The report, based on a third-party survey of 400 U.S. public sector leaders across federal, state, and local government, as well as education, shows that dash cams are more than just a safety tool—they are a proven financial safeguard and key contributor to community improvements.

Key insights include:

• Rapid financial returns: 89% of agencies see a return on investment (ROI) within just six months of deployment.

• Significant cost savings: 96% say dash cams have reduced costs, freeing up money in their agency’s budget.

• Insurance and litigation relief: 98% of agencies report a decrease in annual insurance premiums after adopting dash cams.

• Operational efficiency: 54% of agencies save a week or more per incident by using footage to accelerate investigations.

Read on to discover top insights from the report, or download the full report to learn how your agency can fortify its budget and protect its workforce.

Accelerated budget recovery

For many public sector organizations, the primary barrier to new technology is the time it takes to see a return. Dash cams accelerate the path to cost recovery, with 61% of agencies seeing returns within just three months.

• Speed to value: 68% of organizations fully recover their initial investment within the first year.

• The scale effect: Agencies that deploy dash cams across at least half of their fleet are significantly more likely to achieve six-figure ROI.

The City and County of Denver demonstrated the power of scale by connecting 1,900 vehicles across 43 city divisions to Samsara. This centralized approach led to a 94% reduction in safety incidents and a 99% decrease in harsh driving, significantly cutting the long-term costs associated with vehicle wear and resources committed to incident investigation.

The power of video evidence

When an incident occurs on the road, a lack of real-time data creates massive financial and reputational risk. Video evidence has become the primary tool for protecting agencies against false claims and "nuclear" verdicts that can devastate an organization’s budget and operations.

• Defending the workforce: 99% of agencies use footage for incident investigation, with 91% doing so in the last year alone.

• Eliminating guesswork: Access to video turns weeks of manual investigation into minutes of review, allowing agencies to resolve claims before they escalate.

The City of Allentown saved an estimated $370,000 in taxpayer dollars from a single not-at-fault incident by using Samsara dash cam footage to exonerate their driver. By having immediate proof that their employee was not liable, they avoided massive legal fees and claim costs.

Operational speed and transparency

The administrative burden on staff is a "hidden" cost for agencies, siphoning away countless resources that could instead be focused on higher-impact community services. Dash cams help agencies reclaim hundreds of hours previously lost to paperwork, witness interviews, and prolonged citizen complaint resolutions.

• Reclaiming time: 54% of agencies save a week or more of administrative time per incident by using footage to accelerate investigations.

• Proactive safety: 57% of agencies use footage for driver coaching, preventing accidents—and the subsequent costs—before they hit your bottom line.

Gwinnett County Public Schools transformed their school bus operations with Samsara, taking control of their data across 2,000 school buses to improve the safety and efficiency of their fleet. By using HD footage from AI Dash Cams to reduce time spent on incident investigations by 50%, GCPS can now quickly dispute false claims and streamline parent communication—exonerating innocent bus drivers within hours rather than days.

Protect your workforce and community

The research makes it clear: the cost of inaction is now higher than the cost of adoption. Every day of delay in dash cam implementation is a day of wasted budget, as agencies continue to absorb avoidable costs from false claims, high insurance premiums, and prolonged investigations. Adopting these tools is more than a budget decision; it is an essential part of fulfilling the promise public sector leaders make to prioritize community well-being and act as responsible guardians of public resources—delivering reclaimed administrative hours, safer roads, and enhanced transparency. 

Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform provides the technology for faster, safer, and more cost-effective public sector operations. Our AI-powered dash cams proactively prevent incidents by alerting drivers to risky behaviors in real-time, providing the visibility needed to protect your team, your community, and ensure every taxpayer dollar is used effectively.

Download the full report today to discover how your agency can reduce liability, accelerate incident investigations, and better protect your frontline workforce, allowing you to reinvest in improving the public services your citizens rely on.