Which Expediter Will Be the First to Use Driver Cams?

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
But can the ECM tell if the driver is texting?
Eating something that requires two hand or maybe looking at a map book.
Nobody's stopping you from installing a driver-camera in your truck if you really have your heart set on that. The problem comes with the idea of forcing EVERY driver to have one of these things, giving the companies too much control over everything you do.
 

OntarioVanMan

Retired Expediter
Owner/Operator
But can the ECM tell if the driver is texting?
Eating something that requires two hand or maybe looking at a map book.
all but texting everything you listed has been done since trucking was started with horse and wagon....and things didn't seem so bad....and don't forget CB use as well....where was regulation and the uproar about them?.....
don't get too hook up on all the hype...
 

Mailer

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Before a YEA or a NAY, watch this video.

I'm still debating..

Finally, I believed I have my answer:)

With in-cab cam....
Looking for the evidence? See above attached video. You may need the whole notebook to write your findings

Without in-cab cam....
To find the evidence, please watch the following video over and over. Please share your findings.

Thanks!

 
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cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
The number of serious accidents in which a nanny cam would provide an answer that wouldn't have been found any other way don't justify forcing it upon millions of safe drivers.
Particularly when the answer is likely to be something that can't be eliminated anyway, like a wasp flew in the window, or a sudden leg muscle spasm, or a sudden cardiac death. :rolleyes:
 

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Set up whatever kind of camera you want in your own vehicle. If you want a driver-cam, install the thing and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Personally, I have no quarrel with what a driver chooses to install in this regard. Hey-- use it to make You-Tube videos, a vlog of your daily adventures just might make a second income--- who knows?

My quarrel will come if/when they insist that they get to install a company-driver-cam in MY van. If I gotta have the thing, they're sure gonna have to make it worth it to me. Saying it "might" clear me in an accident just won't cut it, since we all know lawyers who don't want to pay out will use that video to crucify the driver, making it your fault even though the other guy was the one actually at fault.
 

quadflyer1

Active Expediter
In the video it is obvious the drivers right arm is close to his body. And given his reaction time, I would bet his eyes were not paying attention to his job, being a "PROFESSIONAL DRIVER "
no matter what, you need to leave enough distance between the vehicle being driven and those you share the road with to make safe lane changes and stop if needed. You hear and read it every year about a commercial driver plowing into the back of a school bus.
Now I know some of you will want to debate if it happens ever year or what. My point is, it's an avoidable accident. When the law enforcement and insurance companies do the math, it's cut up into percentages of was it avoidable?
I have taken the liberty to put a camera viewing of what's happening in front of me. Because we all know there are drivers, commercial and non that will cut in front of a loaded truck/ van only to put the brakes on then a signal or not, to turn.
I'm looking at it as a tool to protect me and my lively hood. And if my camera is witness to another driver and an accident , you bet I'd be happy to send the authorities the footage.
Safe driving everyone.
 

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
So--- exactly how does a camera POINTED AT THE DRIVER make him/her drive defensively? Inquiring minds want to know.
 

quadflyer1

Active Expediter
This has been fun. But getting off point.
I wish everyone safe driving. We want everyone to make it home safely.
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Wow, you really have to ask. That's scary.

I think it's a reasonable question. Those who value safe driving will drive safely, camera or not. Those who don't care, will find ways to get around whatever constraints are imposed upon them. We'd get better results by shining a light on the behavior of those who cause most accidents - and that's not the professional drivers.
 

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Some people will allow ANY abomination as long as it's done to you "for your own good".

"We want cameras in your bathroom and bedroom. It's for your own good."

OK--- are you gonna let them do it? I'm sure a reasonable excuse for doing this can be contrived, to make it seem as if it's for your protection against some real or imagined bogeyman--- and it could drive down insurance rates (riiighhhhhttt). Somehow, I have a suspicion we'd have people who would get onboard even with that idea.

Don't put that camera in my face. Or in my bedroom or bathroom.
 

mjmsprt40

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
I think it's a reasonable question. Those who value safe driving will drive safely, camera or not. Those who don't care, will find ways to get around whatever constraints are imposed upon them. We'd get better results by shining a light on the behavior of those who cause most accidents - and that's not the professional drivers.

Shining a light---- now there's an idea. Put a camera in my truck facing me, I make sure there's a light facing the camera. Seems cameras don't do well when dealing with bright lights. Either that, or a piece of duct-tape.
 

Greg

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
The idea of bringing insurance rates down with driver facing cameras doesn't feel right. IMO, it would more likely be presented as a PERCEIVED discount.
Insurance company will say rates are going up, but, if you install a driver facing camera, your rates will not go up AS MUCH.

I'm not a fan of driver facing cameras, I do, however, really like my FORWARD facing camera, and I plan to add side and rear cameras. I'm considering installing one IN the box also, to keep an eye on my load and forklift drivers at facilities where drivers are not allowed on the dock.
 

Greg

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
Driver facing cameras could hurt some carriers as well. They will show how many times a day, the carrier calls,texts and emails (distracts) a driver while on a load. Even with Bluetooth , how often do you look at the phone to see who is calling.
 
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quadflyer1

Active Expediter
FMCSA FACTS:
TRUCK DRIVERS/COMMERCIAL DRIVERS
Truck drivers spend long periods of time in their vehicles, especially interstate drivers, and sometimes they tend to use the cab of their truck as an extended office or home away from home. This means that they often engage in behaviors additional to driving, which can lead to tragic events in Santa Clara County and other parts of the state.

Earlier this year, a commercial driver caused a deadly truck accident outside of Davis on Interstate 80 after choking on food, according to KCRA. Two people died and two others were injured when the driver lost consciousness, sending his semi across the lanes, through the center divider and into an opposite lane of traffic. The truck hit two vehicles and then collided head-on with a third vehicle, killing the occupants.

Distraction and commercial drivers
The accident comes almost three years after a report was released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration which focused on distraction and commercial drivers. The purpose of the study was to look at the role that distraction plays for accidents involving commercial vehicles. The study took information from two other studies which had been conducted on a national scale and then analyzed the data.

The FMCSA made several recommendations at the time in an effort to reduce distractive behaviors, which included:

Changes in the design of panel control to reduce the amount of time a driver has to look away from the road.
Efforts from fleet safety managers to educate commercial drivers as to the risks associated with distractive driving.
Drivers be discouraged from using maps while driving.
No manual dialing on cell phones.
Stronger policies on the part of trucking companies and fleet safety managers that restrict what devices a commercial driver can bring into the cab of the truck.
In addition, the researchers examining the data found that texting should also be banned, as it heightened the risk for accidents.

FMCSA putting more focus on distractive driving
In 2010, the FMCSA banned texting among commercial bus and truck drivers and added hand-held cell phones to that ban in 2012, according to distraction.gov. The FMCSA is taking distracted driving behaviors seriously and encourages commercial drivers to be especially alert to anything that could take their eyes, mind and hands off of the task of driving.

For example, drivers are advised to avoid focusing on external objects as this can distract them from what is going on around them and could keep them from noticing that traffic has suddenly slowed down. Other recommendations from the FMCSA include avoiding eating or drinking while driving, smoking, talking on cell phones, using calculators or maps and playing with dash devices.
 
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