Inseego has addressed the common myths around the use of dashcams for trucks and the positive impact they can have for owners and operators
Arguably the MVP of tools available to fleets today, it’s no surprise that dashcams have been one of Inseego’s most popular solutions this year. However, there are still plenty of considerations for both fleet managers and drivers when it comes to dashcams, including oftentimes, a handful of misconceptions, which Inseego are hoping to set right.
MYTH 1: “Smart dashcams violate privacy regulations”
FACT: Not necessarily. Even though regulations vary from country to country, you may still be able to achieve compliance wherever your drivers find themselves. A smart dashcam solution that is fully configurable can help meet privacy regulations through its setup and configuration. For example, controlling access to footage, adjusting data retention periods, and enabling or disabling in-cab recording. Protecting your drivers’ data to the highest level is equally as important to achieving safer roads.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The technology in the AI-12 dashcam is now being used in more than 60 countries
- Inseego’s intelligent dashcams can be set to detect and alert risky behaviours whilst never recording video, using the camera’s lens-as-a-sensor
- Road-facing only video setup is an option for the detection and recording of an incident
MYTH 2: “My drivers will hate having a camera in their cab”
FACT: Smart dashcams put power into the driver’s hands – not a spy in the cab. Nobody wants to feel that they are under surveillance at work, but drivers using smart dashcams quickly realise that’s not what’s happening. Instead, it is the driver who is in control.
A dashcam equipped with the industry’s most advanced artificial intelligence can detect risky driving behaviour and provide First Notification of Risk (FNOR) by issuing a warning, so that a driver can self-correct in the moment. The technology only notifies the fleet manager if a pattern of risky behaviour persists and no corrective action has been taken. Early communication – including physically showing drivers how the system works at implementation stage – delivers the best results. Drivers who see what the management team can see are better able to understand what happens in the cab and what is communicated back to the office.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Intelligent dashcams alert drivers first – so the power is in their hands
- Incident recordings can exonerate the driver and provide protection against fraudulent insurance claims
- Fleet managers can better understand patterns of risky driving behaviour and focus driver training and support in key areas
- Inseego can provide support on how to best communicate with your drivers who are using cameras for the first time
MYTH 3: “I don’t need a dashcam because I have telematics”
FACT: Telematics are great for telling you WHAT happened, but they don’t tell you WHY. A g-force alert or a harsh braking trigger will let you know that something occurred, but from only this data, do you know what was happening in the cab or on the road at the time or HOW it happened? The most advanced dashcam solutions on the market have both in-cab and road-facing lenses, combined with machine vision (MV) and artificial intelligence (AI), giving fleet managers the best view of exactly what happened leading up to an event or incident. What’s more, this approach moves you towards a more proactive, insight-led stance versus a reactive one.
DID YOU KNOW?
- If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million!
- The AI-12 dashcams with MV+AI provide a full picture of events leading up to an incident
- You can help protect drivers and company reputation against false accusations and fraudulent insurance claims
MYTH 4: “Why should I worry about a near miss? Nothing happened!”
FACT: There are many variations of the “near miss” and fleet managers need to be able to tell them apart. A delivery van’s brush with a kerb to avoid an animal darting out into the road could have very different consequences compared to a driver using their mobile phone whilst approaching a sharp bend with a bus full of people on board. Only by understanding the habits that occur in the cab can you identify where a near miss might have become a catastrophe.
DID YOU KNOW?
- A zero-accident record may still mean hidden risk
- Distraction is the cause of up to 80 per cent of preventable accidents
- 57 per cent of people are more likely to stop distracted driving if a friend or passenger asks them to stop
MYTH 5: “Dashcams are too expensive”
FACT: Collisions are more expensive. Intelligent dashcam technology can not only help improve road safety but provide evidence of safe driving for insurers. A strong safety record can result in fewer insurance claims, vehicle repairs and lower premiums for fleets, along with a positive benefit to company reputation. Protecting your vehicles, drivers and cargo is more vital than ever before. As environmental issues become critical and manufacturing supply chains are crippled by the global chip shortage, vehicle longevity and driver retention are key considerations for fleets. An incident that results in the loss of a driver for any reason will incur significant recruitment and training costs.
And above all, we all want our drivers to arrive home safely — saving lives matters.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Average vehicle repair costs have increased as much as 40 per cent over the past eight years
- In just one year, it is estimated that the technology used by the AI-12 dashcams helped clients achieve an estimated $1.3 billion saving on insurance claims, including workers’ compensation and insurance claims.
MYTH 6: “Installing an intelligent dashcam will mean replacing all my kit”
FACT: Not at all, an intelligent dashcam can be added easily to your fleet! There are different options, and they depend on what is best for you and your fleet, for example adding dashcams to your existing telematics solution and maintaining easy access to the camera data and the reports you need.
DID YOU KNOW?
- You don’t need to replace your existing telematics system to add intelligent video dashcams
- Installation is simple and easy with minimal disruption and downtime to you and your fleet
- Easily connect via open APIs to third-party systems