Dual-facing dash cameras have proven time and time again to be beneficial to improving fleet management and safety. Some critics argue that dash cameras only cause more damage to the company because they showcase all the faults of their fleet drivers and end up hurting them in future lawsuits. However, that is not the case. A majority of the time, truck drivers are actually not at fault, and have been helped by dash cameras in lawsuits. In fact, the American Truck Association found that 80% of truck related crashes were actually caused by passenger cars. The University of Michigan reported 81%.
Dashboard cameras provide meaningful insights beyond just the footage of the road. These insights help both managers and their drivers be safer and likewise save money. Jeffery Oster, partner with Vaughan Baio & Partners, recounts two stories where dash cam footage helped save companies from financial ruin in unthinkable ways, illuminating both the impact and breadth of insight that dashboard cameras can provide. In the first story, the dashboard camera recorded footage from a collision and showed that the hit person was walking around unharmed after the collision. This was used as evidence to help the fleet company avoid having to pay false injury expenses. The second story, another collision case, distracted driving was claimed as the cause of the accident. However, the device that allegedly caused the distraction was seen through the reflection of the windshield that was captured by the dash camera. This device was seen to be closed, and therefore not a factor in distracted driving, saving the fleet and their driver. In both cases, the road facing dashboard cameras helped save these companies financially and in ways not directly apparent. However, these stories also suggested some limitations to solely having a road facing camera.
Dual Camera vs. Regular Dash Camera
A dual-facing dashboard camera has two cameras that capture both the road, and on top of that the cabin. This adds the capability of seeing how the driver reacts to road events and to see what they were doing when the critical event occurred. Solutions like the VS800 Video Solution from EZ Fleet Tracking execute this.
Let us revisit the closed device story to see how the dual camera can help. The outward facing solution was only able to capture this evidence because it happened to reflect off the windshield. However, what if the device were on the ground and not in a position to reflect off the windshield? What if on that particular camera they installed it a little too high on the dashboard? What if? Then, the evidence is lost, and the fleet pays. However, the dual camera would find this device regardless of where it is. The inward facing camera records the entire cabin, so the device will be seen without need for a reflection. But what if the device was nestled on the passenger side floor under the glove compartment? Even if that were the case, the inward facing camera would still show the driver not looking in that direction continuously and still prove the point indirectly.
In this case as well, thanks to emerging technologies, the VS800 Video Solution will soon be able to detect distracted driving on its own, a feature impossible with only the outward facing camera. Dual facing cameras take away any doubt and allows fleets escape lawsuit hits due to ambiguity, which prove very, very costly. There are many hidden insights that an outward facing camera can produce, and that is multiplied with the dual camera. And the most important of those insights is that dual-facing dash cameras insurmountably help with collision prevention. Amazon spokesperson Deborah Bass reported that in a pilot on dual facing dashboard cameras, accident fell 48%. On top of that, driver behavior improved as well with distracted driving falling 45%, stop sign violations decreasing 20%, and driving without a seatbelt dropping 60%.
Dual Facing Cameras for Safe Driving and Collision Prevention
Dual-facing dashboard truck cameras offer a surplus of advantages. Specifically, the complete VS800 Video Solution enhances the dash camera experience and takes a step further with collision prevention features powered by video telematics. These features include:
Road and Cabin Vision
Enhanced driver scoring capabilities with insights provided by the cabin view
Collision risk calculation, monitoring, and in cab alerts to drivers
Emerging distracted driving detection utilizing the inward facing camera
Seamless video upload to the cloud for remote access
All these features are invaluable for better fleet management. First, it incentivizes drivers to stay away from distractions on the road and practice safe driving habits such as driving at safe speeds and not tailgating. Fleet managers can also diagnose problems faster before they hurt them financially. Cabin views allow fleet managers to catch bad driving practices and address them with the drivers before an accident occurs. Also, the dash cams utilize AI to help drivers prevent accidents through real time in cab alerts of dangerous situations (i.e., collision risk). But, if a critical event does occur, the cloud footage upload allows fleet managers to access the content and assess the event quickly to send support even if the truck is thousands of miles away. All these things can save lives in a dangerous profession.