In this blog article, we’re going to discuss the unexpected uses for in-cab video systems. When referring to these, we’re talking about systems where a camera or cameras are mounted inside of a commercial motor vehicle to record video footage and complementary audio clips. In the era of in-cab technology, trucking companies not using video are missing out on a critical tool.
Cameras can be driver-facing or road-facing or both. Some providers also offer external cameras to monitor cargo loading and the like. The features of an in-cab video system vary depending on the provider and can include live streaming, audible driver warnings, text overlay on videos and event-triggered recordings. You want a provider that offers all these features and more. Most fleets that implement in-cab video systems do so to improve safety and prevent crashes. Within the United States, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of workplace deaths in every major industry group
Using the video footage from in-cab video systems, fleet managers and employers can gain a better understanding of how and why crashes occur. Was the truck driver speeding? Was the truck driver distracted? Did the truck driver display symptoms of fatigue? Was there a technical fault? From there, it can be determined what actions need to be taken to prevent these crashes from happening again in the future.
If a safe fleet is important to you (and it should be!), then implementing an in-cab video system should be a no-brainer. Alongside the benefits related to safety and driver behavior analysis, these systems also have many other uses that some may not be aware of and that can increase the potential for return on investment greatly. Let’s look at some of the alternative uses for in-cab video and how these uses can improve your fleet’s success.
Protect Your Trucking Company
In an American Trucking Associations (ATA) report, which is comprised of data from several large studies by government agencies and the like, it was found that more times than not, car drivers are at fault when cars and trucks collide. For example, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute – a leader in truck-related crash research – studied 8,309 fatal car-truck crashes to determine fault. 81% of the time, car drivers were assigned fault versus only 27% for truck drivers. All the other studies found similar results.
However, despite these statistics, onlookers and the public often perceive it to be the truck or other commercial vehicle’s fault even when it clearly isn’t. This proves to be a big problem when it comes to settling insurance claims and saving the company’s reputation.
Since it’s difficult to refute video evidence, in-cab cameras are vital in proving a driver’s innocence when there’s a game of he-said-she-said. Being able to definitively show what happened can save you from engaging in long, expensive legal battles, meaning there is less chance of lost productivity and your driver can get back to work quicker after they’ve recovered.
Optimization of Fleet Efficiency
If you operate a fleet that delivers cargo or passengers, in-cab video can help you improve efficiencies, better meet deadlines and enhance customer satisfaction. You can use features like live streaming to determine where your drivers currently are or what jobs they are busy with so that there is no need to call them (and potentially not reach them) to get an update.
This is especially useful if a customer is waiting for a delivery and you want to provide them with feedback (to improve customer satisfaction). You can more easily determine why there is a delay in the first place and then take action to rectify it.
If you are a fleet manager or supervisor who likes to get regular reports from drivers to measure their job performance, you can use in-cab video to ensure that you are getting the full story. For example, if a driver had difficulty completing a job on time and they say it was due to, say, heavy traffic en route, you can verify this by looking at video footage from that moment in time.
Should you elect to have external cameras installed on your vehicles, you can look at how long it takes to unload and load cargo as well as how it’s being done. This will help you determine whether there are ways it can be done better and thus faster. Ultimately this will help you improve your delivery times and even open the possibility of increasing overall output, a great boost for your profitability
An Essential Training Tool
In-cab video can be a great way to train drivers on ways to be safer on the road and eliminate risky behaviors. It takes the emotion out of it since video doesn’t leave much room for interpretation. Sometimes drivers may not believe that they are participating in certain behaviors because they have become complacent. However, when presented with video evidence, it’s hard to deny.
For the most part, in-cab video systems only record footage when a predetermined event is triggered. As soon as that event happens, it can be reviewed by the fleet manager or supervisor and it can be decided whether the driver needs to be called in to discuss the footage. They can then be given relevant training based on the discussion. Trucking companies can also use video footage to assign scores to drivers based on their performance and according to company policy. These scores can distinguish between good and bad drivers.
Good drivers are rewarded with incentives and bad drivers are placed in driver training. For example, gamification, the act of applying game mechanics (like point scoring) to non-game contexts, has been proven time and again to motivate behavioral change. If drivers are given access to their scores, in the form of a driver engagement app, they can track their performance and visually see themselves improve as they implement what they have learnt in training.
In addition to all the above, video footage can make it easier for some drivers to learn and retain new knowledge. There are around four learning styles (depending on which methodology you follow) and visual is one of them.
People with a visual learning style find it easier to understand information when it is presented to them in some visual form or another. Also, much of the human brain is devoted to processing visual information and responds faster to visuals than to text or other types of learning material. For example, trainers may tell a driver that a certain driving behavior is damaging but showing them video evidence of that consequence is much more impactful and more likely to inspire change.
Better Risk Prevention
Now, there’s not enough evidence to know whether would-be thieves see an in-cab camera as a deterrent. However, it does make thievery much more difficult to achieve because driver-facing cameras are likely to pick up on their identity.
On the other hand, vehicle or cargo damage can be prevented or reduced with in-cab video. When drivers are made aware of their presence, it can encourage them to be more careful with their actions – both when driving and when loading or unloading cargo. Also, should a third-party damage a vehicle when it’s parked or when the driver is not present, video footage can prove that the driver was not responsible.
Should one of your vehicles in fact be stolen, you can switch to live streaming from the in-cab camera and get an accurate screen grab of who has stolen the vehicle and what is being done to it. If you combine it with a telematics tracking system, you can see the exact location of the vehicle as it travels.
There is the very great possibility of the thief spotting the in-cab camera and then trying to disable it. However, most in-cab systems nowadays are tamper-proof. Also, even if a thief manages to disable the camera, video footage is automatically sent and saved to a central storage system when an incident occurs.
If you transport cargo of any kind, then external cameras can be a great option. If you focus these cameras on where cargo is loaded or unloaded, you can assure customers that their valuables are being treated with care and respect.
Also, should a customer’s cargo be damaged in some way and the blame shifts to your drivers, you can use the video footage to prove that they are innocent. However, should your drivers be proven to have played a role in damaging the cargo, you can identify who did it, what they did wrong and provide appropriate training or disciplinary action (should it be needed).
In-cab video solutions and other telematics technology have enormous untapped potential. Simply installing and implementing the technology will not bring you the most return on investment. It’s necessary to explore each and every feature of what you’ve purchased and then take action to improve the efficiency, safety and security of your fleet using these features.