Dashcams are quickly becoming essential for fleet management in waste hauling businesses across the globe. Forgoing a dashcam can leave your fleet exposed to unverified claims and preventable losses.
These cameras serve as vigilant overseers for fleet safety, significantly reducing the vulnerability to liability in the aftermath of road incidents. Dashcam technology also protects the drivers and contributes to overall road safety, benefiting both the fleet and the general public.
While many fleets still employ the basic models reminiscent of those that emerged around 2010, technological advancements have introduced sophisticated variants. Today, you can find a dash camera with GPS tracking and even AI functionality, which offers your fleet enhanced capabilities. Let's examine the top benefits of integrating this technology into your fleet's security protocol.
According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), car drivers are at fault in nearly 70-75% of car-truck accidents. However, in most cases, commercial vehicles take the blame for these accidents.
Investing in dash cameras with GPS tracking offers several compelling benefits for your waste hauling business, one of them being driver protection. The combination of video footage and GPS data offers a comprehensive record of what transpired in the event of an accident.
This information prevents your business from becoming a victim of false claims and insurance fraud. It also serves as a witness when accidents occur by providing tangible proof of innocence. This makes it easy to exonerate your drivers from false accusations and protect their livelihoods.
Dual-facing dash cameras provide a comprehensive view by monitoring both the road ahead and the driver's actions. In an accident, they offer critical insights into external road conditions and the driver’s immediate response, ensuring a clear understanding of the event. These insights are especially helpful when your business faces insurance fraudsters looking for hefty payouts from your fleet.
In 2020, distracted driving caused almost 3,000 fatal crashes. Trucking dashcams equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities and GPS are transformative tools for ensuring road safety and monitoring driver conduct.
Advanced cameras with AI sensors and GPS tracking go beyond simple video recording. They actively detect and alert unsafe behavior both on the road and inside the cab. Due to their AI capabilities, these cameras can identify risky behaviors, including:
These cameras also recognize signs of driver distraction or fatigue – behaviors like eating, drinking, phone use, or even excessive yawning. Moreover, these systems send alerts when a driver's face is not visible, they are not focused on the road, or if an obstruction is blocking the camera's view. This ensures both you and the driver are promptly notified of potential safety issues.
Safety plays a huge role when it comes to insurance premiums. Dashcams are crucial for protecting fleet businesses and their assets, providing many defensive benefits.
Most insurance providers recognize the benefits of having dash cameras for your fleet. Therefore, they offer discounts to those fleets that have equipped their vehicles with this technology.
Fleets that use dashcams also present a lower risk profile, making them more attractive to insurers. The presence of dashcams can lead to more responsible driving, contributing to a decrease in accident rates.
Moreover, when incidents do occur, the clarity provided by dashcam footage and location accuracy from GPS trackers often leads to the exoneration of drivers. This saves insurance companies from making significant payouts. This footage is also pivotal in speeding up claims, providing concrete evidence, and clarifying any details that parties might misremember.
Continuous training is key to anchoring the best road safety practices in your drivers' habits and improving driver retention. Utilizing dashcam footage can significantly enhance your training programs.
For instance, you can create more impactful driver safety videos using real dash camera recordings to illustrate points. This practical approach is more impactful than theoretical lessons as drivers witness genuine scenarios they're likely to face.
Dash cameras also streamline evaluating new driver performance. Since you can’t physically accompany every new driver, dashcam technology helps you monitor performance constantly. Should an incident occur, you're instantly alerted, allowing for prompt attention to potential issues.
These cameras also upgrade your ability to provide ongoing feedback and coaching. AI-enabled dashcams don't just passively record; they provide active in-cab coaching. As unsafe driving behaviors are detected and managers get real-time alerts, you can address and correct these behaviors immediately. This timely feedback is essential for instilling safe driving habits and reinforcing lessons with immediacy and relevance.
Data analytics and business insight data are valuable tools for fleet management, providing a solid foundation for informed decision-making. Your dashcam is more than a digital witness; it's a vital data source that helps you make choices based on hard evidence. With these cameras, you can:
Dashcam footage, when analyzed, can reveal unsafe driving patterns across your fleet. By leveraging this data, you can pinpoint and address detrimental behaviors before they become systemic issues.
A GPS dash camera tracking system provides important metrics, such as adherence to routes, which you can translate into a comprehensive safety score. This scorecard approach simplifies monitoring driver performance, distinguishing high-risk drivers from those consistently following safety protocols.
With reliable data, you can tailor your safety programs, refine training modules, and recognize drivers who are ready for advancement. Data isn't just information, it's the roadmap to a safer fleet.
Waste hauling vehicles have unique security needs since you cannot follow each of them to the job site. On top of that, you have to leave them on the job site overnight, which can increase the risk of theft and tampering. With GPS-tracking cameras installed on your fleet, you can keep an eye on your valuable assets, regardless of their location.
Dashcams are also a visual deterrent for thieves and vandals. With visible cameras present, they will likely think twice before trying to steal or break into your vehicles. Additionally, if a break-in occurs, you will have valuable footage to provide to law enforcement to identify and recover stolen goods.
Additionally, these cameras allow you to monitor the activity around your vehicles when they are left unattended. This can help prevent unauthorized individuals from tampering with or damaging your vehicles.
Dashcams are a robust tool for enhancing the safety and security of commercial fleets. They aid in improving driving behaviors, providing evidence during incidents, and protecting vehicles from theft and vandalism. Integrating dash cameras with GPS tracking and sensors provide fleet managers with real-time insights and a clear view of on-road activities.
Waste hauling businesses investing in technology such as dash cameras and GPS fleet tracking ultimately benefit from greater operational efficiency and reduced expenses.
For businesses seeking to integrate GPS and dashcam capabilities into their operational waste management software, try Basestation. Basestation’s software for waste haulers can integrate with numerous fleet management providers, so you can truly run your business from one, centralized system.