Over the past decade, litigation targeting the trucking industry has skyrocketed. Motorists involved in crashes with big rig trucks are being conditioned by law firms through continuous advertising to sue those carriers for big payouts.
Sadly, this is happening regardless of fault, damages or injury.
When involved in a crash, it’s not uncommon to be in a situation where both sides tell a very different story. One of the ways trucking operations are helping to shield themselves from unwarranted liability is by installing dash cameras in their vehicles. The dash cam provides objective footage showing exactly what happened from its vantage. Despite a pushback from privacy concerns, operating with cameras has gained enormous popularity as litigation becomes a more routine part of the claims handling process. A growing number of insurance companies are even mandating insureds to have dash cameras installed for coverage to exist.
The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reports that large verdicts against trucking fleets continue to increase dramatically, both in number and in size of awards. Motor vehicle accidents in general were the second most common type of claim to result in a nuclear verdict from 2010 to 2019. This must also include vehicle maintenance and driver selection.
Considering that just one bad crash can jeopardize a company’s future, carriers must take extra steps to (at the minimum) validate the driver’s report and any claims made to the contrary. Footage from cameras can help speed up claims investigations by proving fault, potentially saving many thousands of dollars, future premium increases and overall insurability. In addition to reviewing footage following a crash, companies are encourage to utilize the cameras
as a safety training tool to: encourage safer driving habits; monitor for distracted driving, hard braking, speeding, etc.
We highly recommend installing dash cameras in all your vehicles. Below are some key feature considerations for commercial operators.
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- Wide field of view: A camera with a field of view of 120-170 degrees will give you an optimal coverage
- Quality of video: It’s important to choose dash cameras with at least 2K video resolution. This helps with license plate readability and clarity in low light over lessor resolutions.
- Cloud connectivity: Provides real-time access to footage, allowing incident review as soon as it occurs. With cloud storage, video is securely saved online, ensuring footage is not lost should a camera become damaged. Cloud capabilities also support quick data transfers.
While dash cameras can shield your operation from unwarranted claims, there are things it cannot help with. Companies need to be sure to vet drivers before putting them in a position of power behind the wheel, adhere to strict maintenance schedules, and make necessary equipment repairs to ensure you’re road ready. It is also advisable to conduct regular driver meetings to discuss
trends, expectations, what-to-dos and include dashcam video as teachable moments. Stay Safe!