Which Expediter Will Be the First to Use Driver Cams?

ATeam · Jun 16, 2015

I just read in the June, 2015 Land Line magazine that Swift is installing inward facing cameras (driver cams) in its trucks. Full article

Which individual expediter or expedite carrier will be the first to do the same?

TeamCaffee has always been one to promote new technology, gadgets and safety initiatives. Will you be jumping on this bandwagon soon?

To all expediters, if your carrier does what Swift just did, how will you respond?

fastman_1 · Jun 16, 2015

If they want to buy my van then fine and dandy. As long as I own it. Not gonna happen

deadhead · Jun 16, 2015

ATeam said:
I just read in the June, 2015 Land Line magazine that Swift is installing inward facing cameras (driver cams) in its trucks. Full article

Which individual expediter or expedite carrier will be the first to do the same?

TeamCaffee has always been one to promote new technology, gadgets and safety initiatives. Will you be jumping on this bandwagon soon?

To all expediters, if your carrier does what Swift just did, how will you respond?

I had one for over a year......Just in case.A picture is worth a thousand words.It small and well do the job at less money than the Swift edition more costly model.

vandriver2 · Jun 16, 2015

Inward facing cameras?
Nope.

deadhead · Jun 16, 2015

I think we can guess how this one is going to go.

paulnstef39 · Jun 16, 2015

vandriver2 said:
Inward facing cameras?
Nope.

The article actually says they are dual direction, both inward and forward facing; not that will change very many people's opinion,

deadhead · Jun 16, 2015

paulnstef39 said:
The article actually says they are dual direction, both inward and forward facing; not that will change very many people's opinion,

I guess that if a 53' can drag a suv a couple of miles down the road they may need to see what back there.I seem to find myself looking forward to avoid what in front of me,if they hit me from rear it there fault.

Twiggy · Jun 16, 2015

If inward means it's facing the driver, then that's a great deterrent for nose picking.

SWTexas1 · Jun 16, 2015

I run a two camera system forward and passenger side, but not going to have one looking at me. The microphone picks up enough to know what's happening in the cab

paullud · Jun 16, 2015

ATeam said:
Which individual expediter or expedite carrier will be the first to do the same?

It's got to be FedEx.

davekc · Jun 16, 2015

If employees, it could happen. If they are independent contractors, not going to happen. There is no benefit to a driver to have one facing them.

Mailer · Jun 16, 2015

Before a YEA or a NAY, watch this video.

I'm still debating...

Daffyduck528 · Jun 16, 2015

I think I'm ok with it. Just have to make darn sure the curtain to the sleeper isn't in view. Could cause some lawsuits for us fleet owners.

(Btw Phil, I saw your old truck today. She's still beautiful.)

davekc · Jun 16, 2015

And there is the problem. There is no benefit to the driver if a contractor and has one facing them. Might or might not be good for the carrier, but that is a different issue. Most would use it as another profit center if they could. Would need a surplus of drivers to pull it off, and that the industry currently doesn't have. Carriers could potentially get a insurance discount, but that wouldn't transfer to the operator so there would be no benefit.

tumbleweeds · Jun 16, 2015

Not only is There no benefit to the driver, it opens them up to more liability. If for some reason they do get distracted it is hard to denigh the video. Of course none of us would ever get distracted. If they made me put one in my van, I'm gonna drive with nothing on but my boots. (Shows over nothing to see here).

jelliott · Jun 17, 2015

Not saying I love them but I think their is a benefit to the owner operator or driver. In the event of a questionable accident it can completely rule out the driver was distracted. In talking with carriers they have found cases of hard braking and lane departures triggering the camera. Would a fleet owner like to know that his driver hard braked twice a day because he was texting? Is it better to address the issue then BEFORE a possible accident or injury? Does the driver have a sleep apnea or a medical issue that could be addressed before it ruins his career or someones life?

Again, I am not advocating them but they do have a benefit that I don't think has been touched on here.

ATeam · Jun 17, 2015

Daffyduck528 said:
(Btw Phil, I saw your old truck today. She's still beautiful.)

Wow! That's great to hear. It does not surprise me, though. I have not communicated with the buyer of our truck since the sale but have heard from those who know him that he was delighted with it. Word is that he takes very good care of his equipment so your report does not surprise me. Great to hear the truck is serving him well!

ATeam · Jun 17, 2015

jelliott said:
Not saying I love them but I think their is a benefit to the owner operator or driver. In the event of a questionable accident it can completely rule out the driver was distracted.

It can also completely rule it in.

We were once invited to have a TV crew in our truck to do a story and we declined. With the camera on me, my driving would be perfect but even if I happened to yawn one time, there it is, the iconic image of the tired trucker on film, taken out of context and used against me and the industry.

Notice the effect of the videos above. No one shows footage of an alert driver driving safely down the road. With more and more driver cams, more and more videos will contribute to the public mis-perception that all drivers are tired or distracted all the time.

You could have a perfect driving day until that blond in the convertible flashes you or an irate motorists honks at you, and you look away from the road, and at that instant wreck your truck. It is that instant of looking away that the jury will see with your driver cam footage.

Does reaching for your coffee cup count as a distraction? Does lighting a cigarette? What about poking away at your dash-mounted GPS? Drivers would likely answer no. But if it is on film being played to your carrier safety bureaucrat or to a cop doing an investigation or to judge or jury or in court, the answer may be different.

Turtle · Jun 17, 2015

The distracting blonde is, in fact, a distraction, so that doesn't really help make your point. But everything else is spot on. All it takes is a random yawn, it a blink, a few glances to check out the mirrors (which the driver facing camera won't show what your looking at) and a prosecutor can create whatever believable narrative he chooses.

I've seen a police dash cam video where a suspect was standing there talking to the officer, and the suspect reached towards the officer with his palm up while asking for the return of his driver's license, and the inevitable slight body lean towards the officer combined with the outreached hand was presented (in super slow motion) as a highly aggressive action, causing the officer to "fear for his life" and resulted in a dead suspect. So what is on the video might not be what is on the video.

In any case, for an independent contractor, a driver-facing camera installed by a carrier or a fleet owner will almost certainly create a "supervision and control" issue with regard to employee versus independent contractor status.

mjmsprt40 · Jun 17, 2015

Who owns the vehicle I'm driving, and am I leased on as an independent contractor or am I an employee?

If I'm driving a company-owned vehicle as an employee, the company can have a driver dash-cam and there's little I can say except "so long" if I choose not to work for them. But, so long as I drive their vehicle and I accept their paycheck as an employee, I have to work under their work-rules-- at least so long as their rules don't violate the laws.

If I'm driving MY vehicle, as an independent contractor-- that driver dash-cam needs some talking about at the very least. That could be construed as an invasion of my space and an attempt by the company to impose rules that violate the differences between contractor and employee status.

Not to mention that it's a double-edged sword-- as has already been pointed out. Yes, it can exonerate you--- but it can also convict you. It all depends on what prosecutors and so on want to make of it.

Just off the top of my head--- I vote "No" in my vehicle. If you want to put a driver dash cam in there, do it right and make me an employee.