While initial driver pushback paired with accusations of creating a “Big Brother” environment can influence fleets in their decision to add new vehicle technology, in-cab cameras are becoming more common in fleets across the country, with pushback dissolving as drivers experience their benefits first-hand.
Measuring the Need
According to the U.S. Postal Service, national package volume from March-May 2020 jumped 30% compared to 2019 and was even higher than 2019’s holiday peak season volume. Online giant Amazon saw a 47% spike in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, bypassing e-commerce sales for the entirety of 2019. But more sales means more deliveries — and more chances of an accident.
A crash of any sort is a lose-lose proposition for a fleet. At the very least, a vehicle is put out of commission and an experienced driver is sidelined while waiting for it to be repaired. Worse, if that driver was injured, it will cost approximately $70,000 in workers’ compensation claims, about twice the amount of an in-office injury.
If another person was injured or killed in the crash, the fleet and its company could be liable for millions, possibly even resulting in a so-called “nuclear verdict” that could be catastrophic for the company in the short and long term, as its brand will almost certainly be tarnished as a result. Carriers have seen some verdicts amounting to $58 million — some even as high as $178 million. No matter the scenario, motor vehicle crashes are a drain on the productivity and profitability for U.S. companies that operate fleets of vehicles, costing employers $72.2 billion as recently as the year 2019.
While telematics can provide deep insights into vehicle data and driver behavior, adding a video monitoring component to your telematics capabilities completes the overall picture by providing visibility that will help improve efficiency, promote safety, and protect your drivers — and your company — from false claims.
The Benefits of Video Telematics
In short, having eyes on your fleet drivers is a win-win proposition. Specifically, your fleet will see four primary benefits from its use in the event of a crash or other event:
- Know the whole story. The full context of harsh driving and accident events can be reconstructed, including in-cabin driver behavior, weather conditions, the positions of the vehicles involved, and other circumstances for informed decision making.
- Strengthen trust in your employees. You can confidently trust and support your employees without having to do so blindly—that is, without video evidence. You will be able to combat false liability claims with video to help establish the facts.
- Aid in keeping costs of false claims down. Video proof can also help prevent hikes in insurance premiums or damage payouts resulting from unchallenged false accident claims.
- Hold your drivers to a high standard. Though telematics and video data won’t eliminate unsafe driving behaviors on their own, they help you more effectively address those behaviors.
By keeping your drivers accountable and backing them up, it could also help your fleet retain your best-of-the-best employees, which is critical in keeping your fleet productive and safe.
Source: https://www.worktruckonline.com/10147266/protecting-your-drivers-and-fleet-with-video-telematics
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