Truck dash cameras are cameras designed specifically for use in long haul transportation. They are mounted on the dashboard or the windscreen of a truck and record video footage while the vehicle is in operation. The video footage can be used for a variety of purposes, including recording road incidents for insurance claims, monitoring driver behavior, and providing evidence in the event of an accident. Truck dash cameras often have features such as wide-angle lenses, night vision capabilities, and GPS tracking.
Why does your business needs a commercial dashcam?
Dash cams aren't just for police cars or for the average driver. Lots of companies equip transportation, their delivery vehicles or trucks, with commercial dash cams for safety and data gathering purposes. Why?
Imagine this scenario.
One of your employees gets into an accident with another driver on the road. Your employee claims he was not at fault for the accident. The other driver disagrees and states otherwise. The police get involved and take statements from each driver, but of course the statements don't match. You will need proof to back up what your driver is saying.
You call your insurance company and the other party's insurance carrier, and there is no clear liability. Because the claim does not get settled in the other person's favor, they decide to hire a lawyer to sue your company, costing you hundreds if not thousands in legal defense.
This would be any business owner's nightmare. So how do you avoid this altogether? Equip your vehicles with commercial dash cams so you can show the facts.
In addition to recording any potential accidents, there are other tools and technology at use in installed commercial dashcams. These small devices can provide your business with many different benefits.
What is a commercial dash cam?
Before we get into the many benefits of having commercial dash cams, let's define what they are. A dash cam, also known as a dashboard camera, is a device that you mount onto your vehicles' dashboard.
Depending on the type of dashboard camera, you can record what happens on the road and inside of the car at the same time. The recordings are stored in the cloud for easy accessibility by managers.
Modern cameras now use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to detect certain behaviors and road conditions and provide managers with a complete picture of how drivers are performing.
These cameras are essential to protect you and your fleet against theft and false auto accident claims.
Benefits of commercial dashcams
Transportation business dash cams help fleet managers control the quality of service their drivers provide. This is one of the most significant variables for fleet managers, regardless of the size of the fleet.
No matter how large or small your vehicles are, you will need to ensure that your drivers are competent at what they do. You also want to ensure that you can also rely on your drivers to drive responsibly.
Unfortunately, you can't tag along with every single driver in your fleet. Instead, you can use vehicle fleet dash cams to keep your drivers in check.
It is well-known that employees, or people in general, act differently when they know they are under surveillance. Having a commercial dash cam in your fleet vehicles is not meant to scare or intimidate them but to ensure that they act in the best professional way possible.
Exonerates Drivers and Protects Fraud
In addition to keeping your drivers in check, dash cams can help exonerate them in auto accidents. Road accidents are a common concern for the average person and businesses with commercial vehicles.
Research indicated that most passenger vehicles are held responsible for their accidents in almost 80% of collisions with commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. Of course, this does not mean that commercial drivers do not take the blame sometimes; this just means that these vehicles are more equipped with technology to exonerate them.
With your vehicle armed with high-quality dashboard cameras, you can help your commercial insurance company settle your claim faster. Of course, if your driver is found to be at fault for the accident, you will have the data you need to train your driver and correct their actions.
Protects Your Business From Fraud
It is not uncommon for most people who get into auto accidents with commercial vehicles to want to come after your business for the accident, even if they play a part in the liability decision. The National Insurance Crime Bureau considers these staged accidents a "big business" where thousands of people fall victim to these fraudulent claims.
These fraud rings tend to target commercial vehicles because they know most companies carry high limit commercial auto policies. Commercial dash cams record the entire auto accident, giving your auto insurance company the information they need to deny these types of claims.
A lot of these fraudulent groups like to swoop in front of your driver's vehicles, and they slam on their breaks, making the accident look like your driver rear-ended them. Your dash cam footage can exonerate your drivers and save your company thousands of dollars.
Provides Live Monitoring
Popular to contrary belief, dash cams don't only record the road ahead. Commercial dash cams provide you the ability to have a live connection to your driver so you can speak with them.
Some dash cameras have cameras that point out onto the road and inside the cab simultaneously. This is very helpful in the event that your driver drifts off the road or causes a collision. You can see if your driver fell asleep behind the wheel or if they were on their phone while driving.
While most trucks made today have built-in GPS systems, other fleet vehicles do not. It is hard to install GPS systems on older trucks, especially if there is limited space inside the cabin.
Most dash cams have GPS capabilities to help track your driver's location, and some other dash cams provide GPS navigation for your drivers if needed.
Dash Cam Capabilities
When you use an updated commercial dashboard camera for your fleet of vehicles, you can access a wide range of tools. Not only can you monitor what happens inside the cabin, but you also can track any speeding or rolling stops.
The dash cam can also monitor any harsh braking, acceleration, and cornering. When these events happen, the dash cam will report this information back to headquarters, letting you know when and where these events happened.
You can then use this information to better train your drivers and make them aware of their driving habits. This is especially helpful in highly populated areas.
With more frequent traffic lights, speed safety zones, and narrower streets, your driver's focus is split in many different ways. This is why it is best to use a dash cam with detection technology and live audio feedback.
Reward Safe Driving
Not only can you use your data from your dash cam to help train your drivers to drive safer, but you can also reward safe driving behaviors. You or your fleet manager can run reward programs that recognize drivers who adhere to driving safely.
Incentivizing safe driving comes with many added benefits, such as reducing vehicle wear and tear and reduced fuel use. Most insurance companies also incentivize you for having safe drivers out on the road. They will provide you with a discount for having driver monitoring technologies.
Your drivers also may feel safer having the dash cam in the vehicle. It shows them that you care about their well-being and you will have their back in the event of an auto accident they did not cause.
Getting Buy-in From Your Team
Of course, before you implement any changes to your organization, it is best to get their buy-in. To do that, you will want to highlight the great benefits of having these commercial dash cams inside each vehicle. As mentioned earlier, you can introduce a rewards program where you recognize and reward drivers who drive safely.
Another talking point to use is letting your drivers know that these dash cams protect them. Let them know that the dash cam footage will help exonerate them of liability in the event of an accident.
It is vital to have a conversation with your team about implementing commercial dash cams. Being transparent with your team and disclosing the usage of these dashboard cameras will make sure that everyone is on the same page.
Some states have wiretapping and privacy laws that can restrict you from recording someone's image or voice without their consent. Let your team know ahead of time about the dash cams and have them sign off on their approval before you implement them.
Commercial Dash Cam Costs
The cost of dash cams for businesses varies depending on who you partner with. Companies who are the right fit for your commercial transportation business will likely only charge you around $40 or less per month for services. It will depend on how many vehicles, however.
Of course, we understand it is best to compare different companies before making your final decision. When you do, make sure to look at the companies reviews on the Better Business Bureau and other third-party platforms. This will help you gauge what customers liked and disliked about partnering with specific providers.
In general, if you are looking to purchase dash cams for your fleet of vehicles, you may be able to receive a considerable discount than someone buying a few dashcams. Make sure to reach out to the company to see what offers they have for you and your business.
Different Types of Dash Cams
There are currently two main types of dash cams available: SD cameras and network-connected cameras. Most advanced dash cams are network-connected cameras with telematics devices that provide how fast your drivers drive and if they brake harshly.
SD Dash Cams
SD dash cameras use physical storage media such as small SD cards. You must insert these cards in the camera to collect any data. If there is no SD card inside the camera, there will be no data.
In addition to that, your driver will need to make sure to take the SD card out and provide it to someone in your company to review the data. If your driver loses or damages the SD card, all the data collected is also destroyed. These dash cams are much cheaper than their network-connected counterparts, but they come with many downsides.
Network Connected Dash Cams
If you are looking for a dash cam that records your driver's driving habits and also works as a GPS tracking their location, you will want to opt for a network-connected dash cam. These cameras sent data wirelessly to the cloud, making it easy to transfer and review data.
Dashcams connected to the cloud automatically operate in the background, which means that your drivers don't have to do anything. All they have to do is turn on the vehicle and start driving.
Most dashcams turn on when the car turns on. If you want to manage your fleet of drivers in the best way possible, you will get network-connected dash cams.
You will be able to review video and audio quicker than you could with an SD dash cam. Downloading and reviewing information from your dash cam can take between twelve to twenty-four hours.
Dashcams With Night Vision
If your business has a fleet of drivers who drive at night, you will want to make sure you get a dashcam with night vision. These cameras have infrared technology that invisibly illuminates the inside of the vehicle so you can still see your driver.
The camera that faces the outside has night vision technology that allows your camera to record what happens on the road in HD. More than 40% of accidents of most fatal car accidents happen at night because the primary source of light, the sun, goes down.
Although artificial lights help illuminate the roads, sometimes they aren't enough. If your driver does hit another object because they could not see it clearly, you can see exactly what happened with the dash cam evidence.
Protect Your Fleet Today
Commercial dash cams do more than record the inside and outside of your vehicles; it also provides you with peace of mind.
Dash cams created today have several different benefits that will increase your bottom line and keep your business safe from any unnecessary lawsuits.
Feel free to get in touch with our friendly sales team if you are ready to find out how much you can save with your own fleet of commercial dash cams. We offer special volume pricing for fleets. Learn more about Linxup Dash Cams here.
You can reach us by dialing 1-877-907-0801.
