With the introduction of new technology such as electronic logging devices and dash cams, the trucking industry is evolving. There is a lot more focus on safety and minimizing the number of road accidents nowadays, and dash cams may play a crucial role in achieving that goal.
If you are on the fence whether you should install a dash cam or not, this blog post may help you decide.
4 reasons why you should install a dash cam.
1. More effective driver coaching programs
Although you can identify and coach high-risk drivers with the help of ELD data, dash cams add another layer of safety and effectiveness to it. With dash cams, safety managers can see the events unfold from the driver’s perspective. This allows them to provide personalized and more effective coaching to drivers.
For instance, the Motive Smart Dashcam records 10 seconds of HD video before and after the Motive ELD detects a critical safety event, such as hard acceleration, hard braking, or hard cornering. You can use these videos to show drivers what went wrong and how to react in similar situations.
Without videos, your conversation may be on assumptions and misinformation. For example, hard braking is a common symptom of aggressive driving. It’s also an indication that a driver may be distracted, leading to delayed reactions that account for 90% of all rear-end accidents. Without video evidence, you can’t know if the hard braking event was a result of a poor driving habit or if it was just an evasive maneuver.
Front-facing dash cam videos allow you to see what happened and then use that information to rectify the driver’s mistakes, if any.
2. Protection from fraudulent claims
According to studies, despite passenger vehicles being at fault in 85% of truck-passenger accidents, commercial drivers are more likely to be blamed when cases are litigated.
If you have a front-facing dash cam, you can provide video evidence of what exactly happened and exonerate drivers when they aren’t at fault.
3. Better insurance rates
Insurance providers recognize the importance of dash cams and the impact they can have on the safety level of a fleet. More insurance companies are expected to offer reduced premiums to fleets with devices that help improve safety, e.g., ELDs and dash cams.
Progressive Insurance has already created an ELD-based insurance program, the Smart Haul program. This program offers qualifying truckers a minimum savings of 3% on their initial commercial auto policy period for signing up and sharing their ELD driving data. We may soon see similar programs for fleets and drivers with front-facing dash cams.
4. Improved CSA scores
Dash cams lead to more robust and effective driver coaching programs, safer driving behavior on the road, fewer liabilities to deal with, and an improved level of fleet safety. All these factors enable you to improve CSA scores.
With better CSA scores may come better business opportunities. This may also have a positive impact on the bottom line of your company.
See what the Motive Smart Dashcam can do for your fleet
A front-facing dash cam has several benefits for fleets of all sizes. From more effective driver coaching programs to better CSA scores and insurance rates, there are many reasons why you should install a dash cam.
The Motive Smart Dashcam integrates seamlessly with the Motive ELD solution.
Call at 855-434-3465 or contact sales to get started.
