Dash Cams Are Changing the Trucking

In the United States, police vehicles and buses have been the primary customers for commercial dash cams, but now the trucking industry is welcoming this technology onboard. These cameras start up with the vehicle, recording everything that happens in front, behind, and even inside the cab. Freight companies will be mainly putting them to use in legal defense, vehicle security, and enforcing driver accountability.

Legal Defense

Dash cams help provide protection for truck drivers embroiled in 18-wheeler lawsuits by supplying evidential proof and eliminating the sticky mess of sorting through witness accounts. Footage recorded by truck dash cams show severity of impact, directions of travel for the vehicles involved, and nearby signs or traffic signals. Some dash cams have impact sensors programmed to lock footage when an impact is detected. These help fight judicial bias against truckers in accident claims.

Trucker dash cams can also be used for disputing traffic tickets. In Russia, over 1 million drivers have dash cams installed to help fight against police corruption.

Security

Many dash cams have a parked or standby mode that will activate if motion is detected. This catches potential vandals, break-in suspects, and hit and run drivers. Even if a face of license plate number doesn’t get recorded, the video is still useful for insurance reasons. Some insurance companies like Paul Hanson Partners offer up to 5% discount on insurance products, which is very significant since costs jumped in 2016.

In fact, insurance companies may require some kind of dash cam system as a precursor to obtaining insurance in the near future; a million dollar claim 10 years ago is now a 3-5 million dollar claim, which means insurers want as much protection as possible.

Driver Accountability

Inward-facing dash cams are used to observe unsafe driving behaviors and encourage better driving, as drivers are more likely to behave when they know they’re being filmed. Sometimes these cameras are coupled with microphones, GPS tracking, and vehicle monitoring (acceleration rates, truck speed, near-miss collisions, etc.). Some dash cameras are even designed to alert drivers to unsafe behavior with an LED light which tells them they need to stop a risky and/or fuel-wasting action such as rapid acceleration, hard braking, or taking curves too fast.

On the other hand, some trucking companies like Swift Transportation are resistant to the idea of videoing their drivers due to potential legal repercussions, especially for those who like to film themselves on the job and post to YouTube. This is both a potential drawback and benefit, as many truckers essentially live inside their trucks and feel that filming is an invasion of their privacy.

Conclusion

Dashboard camera technology is changing the trucking industry for the better, making it safer for transport companies as well as other drivers on the road. For premium quality dash cams and exceptional customer service, let Dash Cam Bros be your go-to resource. We have a lineup of reliable dash cams used for different commercial applications. We would be more than happy to help discuss which dash cams would fit your business needs. Feel free to email us at contact@dashcambros.com or call us at (833) 226-2767 or (833) CAM-BROS for our expert help today.