Drive Cameras and other Distractions

Does your company have a driver facing camera?  What do you think of it?  Many in the trucking industry tout these as a safety feature.  Let's take a look at their claims.  If the presence of a camera watching you changes the way you drive you weren't being a safe driver to start with.  Could these cameras make some drivers more patient on the road, maybe not follow too closely when they otherwise would have?  Yes, that is certainly possible.  Accidents and other incidents do go down at companies when they start using the cameras.  I believe this same result could be obtained from a forward facing camera as well.  A driver would still space out better and perhaps not be as aggressive on the road.  

One of the other things people always say is the camera can exonerate a driver in the event of an accident.  I have yet to find even one case where the evidence from a camera pointed at the driver is the reason the driver was not charged in whatever scenario that has played out.  Could it happen?  Maybe.  If someone knows of this happening I would like to know about it.  The driver facing camera certainly can be used against the driver, especially if the driver was drowsy or not paying attention. 

The make or break of these drive cams like Lytx and Smart Drive is the coaching drivers receive from the company.  Some companies are reasonable about it and some are just bonkers about calling drivers on every little thing.  This coaching as it is called should only be done by a CDL licensed driver.  How is some dispatcher who is legally prohibited from driving a class 8 vehicle going to tell me how to drive?  I'll tell you this, I wouldn't listen to them.  Do dispatchers tell their doctor how to perform an operation?  I doubt it because they don't know how to do it and they are also legally barred from performing an operation without a license.  So, companies, if you are going to have someone talk to the drivers about their driving it should at least be another experienced driver who has reviewed the footage.  Also, it should not be the brown-noser that everybody hates.  You know who I am talking about.

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See you on the road!