Smart Cameras:

The Key Tool Leading the Fleet Safety Revolution

Improving fleet safety, for drivers and the community at large. It’s not just the right thing to do—it’s good for business. One of the most effective tools in improving fleet safety is the smart dash cam, and pressure is mounting for fleets to install this technology in all vehicles. While drivers had initial resistance to dash cams, many are beginning to see the benefits smart cameras provide them, not just the perceived downside.

What is a Fleet Safety Camera?

Smart cams have quickly become one of the most integral fleet safety tools because many of them track and analyze important driver behavior such as distracted driving, cell phone use, speeding, and alert drivers and fleet managers on behaviors to correct, but also to track good habits as well. For instance, GPS Insight’s industry-leading smart cam, Driveri, is equipped with artificial intelligence that automatically analyzes what’s happening while you drive. It collects all the information it sees and gives you a score from 600 to 1,000. That’s your Driver Score, which credits drivers for safe driving actions. You can store the video footage on an SD card if your fleet vehicles don’t have access to wifi.

Smart dash cameras protect drivers in several ways:

Keep in mind: Video isn’t the point of dash cams. Managers aren’t spending a lot of time looking at video footage. Instead, they’ll see telematics showing safety scores at the fleet and individual levels. They’ll be able to see driving habits – without watching any video footage – what behaviors are most common and which ones need to be addressed.GPS tracking is great for efficiency and accountability information, but it won’t tell you everything. For example, if your GPS tracker alerts management that you stopped hard, they don’t know why. You need context.

Smart dash cams provide drivers with real-time evidence to exonerate them from false claims during a severe event. The video footage provides the critical context for why the event took place. For example, when another driver suddenly changed lanes, it triggered a hard stop that prevented an accident.

Keep in mind: Video isn’t the point of dash cams. Managers aren’t spending a lot of time looking at video footage. Instead, they’ll see telematics showing safety scores at the fleet and individual levels. They’ll be able to see driving habits – without watching any video footage – what behaviors are most common and which ones need to be addressed.

Smart Cameras Keep Drivers Safe

Currently, an astounding 94-96% of all motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. are caused by human error, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The overall annual accident rate for commercial fleets is 20%, so measures which improve driver education and driver behavior are critical to improving safety. Dash cams that track and quantify unsafe driving, or how effective coaching can be within commercial fleets, are key components of any safety program. This is especially important as commercial fleets are driving more, and their mileage on the roads is increasing.

The evidence shows smart dash cams are already working resulting in a potential decrease in your insurance premiums. One company using GPS Insight ai dash cam technology reduced their at-fault accidents by 83% over a year. That’s fewer drivers who must worry about their jobs, getting medical treatment, filing an insurance claim, or losing time at work. Even more importantly, their families have a better peace of mind knowing there’s more protection with an AI dash cam.

Fleet Dash Cams Protect Drivers from Lawsuits

The sad truth is that commercial fleets can be targeted by bad actors for at fault accidents. Smart cams protect the bottom line of fleets and their drivers.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the average cost of an accident is about $16,500. And if you consider the accident rate previously discussed at 20% annually, a fleet with 1,000 vehicles, will have 200 accidents on average per year. Of course, not all accidents will cost $16,500, some may be less, and some are going to be more. But as you move into different categories of accidents, like injury-based collisions or at-fault accidents, you can see how quickly the financial impact can grow.

An accident that involves an at-fault fatality costs $3.6 million on average, which is not just a one-time cost. These incidents can severely damage fleets for years through non-renewal of insurance or skyrocketing premiums.

Will Drivers Warm up to Cameras?

Dash cam technology remains relatively new to drivers, and misunderstandings remain, but drivers are beginning to recognize their importance and functionality. Initially, many drivers feared driver-facing camera data would be used in a punitive fashion, penalizing drivers for any violation like unsafe driving or other driving events. That’s not the case with most companies working with GPS Insight. However, fleet management needs to understand that this perception still exists and educate on the true benefits the camera system offers drivers. When organizations demonstrate a sincere desire to prioritize driver safety, they can earn driver trust and accelerate the adoption of this critical technology.

GPS Insight customers report that AI dash cams have been used to help release drivers from an accident site based on provided video clips, saved directly on an SD card. And that single event positively affected culture and reduced risky driving behavior within the organization based on how it supported and defended drivers. But without that information, and without that context, it’s been difficult in the past. We’ve begun to hear a tremendous amount of feedback around the fact that drivers recognize that this technology can help improve the way that they drive their vehicle safely, which is something that they, too, care deeply about.

Smart cameras are made for fleet operations. They provide immediate return on investment, protect the bottom line and the lives and well-being of their greatest assets – their drivers. It’s an all in one resource designed to help improve safe driving through in cab alerts and help managers optimize fleet tracking by viewing the recorded dash cam footage. This software even includes a night vision section for drivers on long travels. As safety becomes an ever more important determinant of successful fleet management, smart cameras will play a leading role in shaping a more efficient and safer road environment.