Dash Cams make sense and with the horror stories of people using trucks to commit suicide, cars stopping in front of trucks on purpose, or any other manner of accidents it is in our best interest to have the video.   In our years of trucking none of the above have happened to us, but it only takes one time to ruin a career and our income.
 
While talking to John about have a dash and driver cam he brought up the argument on why he would like to have them in all of his trucks and why he thinks everyone should have them.  He talked about the few accidents that his trucks have had and how he could have used a video to fight the case.  Without the video it was the drivers word against the supposed victim.  His reasons were good enough I immediately started researching cameras.
 
Our camera came from Diesel Boss for less then $150 and that included the bullet cam.   We have the 32Gb card that allows the camera to record images for 24 hours before over-writing.  If something happens we can download the file to our computer and save.   
 
We decided to add the bullet cam to the inside of our truck facing us so that we also have proof of what were doing when an incident happened.  In our case the bullet cam will help prove our case that we were attentive and alert and at all times watching the road. 
 
While talking to Don from Diesel Boss he shared a story of a dash cams owner being hit by a truck going through a parking lot and thrown into the air.  That driver’s career is over, but his dash cam recorded everything.  Another story was of a dash cam recording a truck driver being struck by lightening as he was getting into his truck.  That is an interesting video and can be found on You Tube.
 
On our next truck we will have the camera system from Diesel Boss that can also be used as a backing camera.  Instead of two monitors we will have one monitor and four cameras that will record everything around us including backing into docks. 
 
Another nice side benefit of the dash cam it that is will record what we are seeing outside of the windshield. Some of the awesome views we have can now be saved and published on You Tube to share with family and friends.  Now that I have learned this I have two videos up that you might want to watch.  Nothing exciting just some of beautiful things we get to see.
 

 

 

 

 

Comments (8)

Linda Caffee

Bob and Linda started their driver careers after their children left home for college in 2000. Bob started as a driver for a large motor carrier with Linda as a rider. They decided to enter the Expedite industry as team drivers in 2005 and purchased their first Freightliner. Both, Bob and Linda have had their Class A licenses since the early 80's starting out driving in the oil field and hauling grain as fill in drivers where Bob worked as a diesel mechanic. Linda worked at the local country courthouse in data processing.

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Joey,

You got me on that one as as I said, I'm happy to admit it. I can't argue your point as it makes perfect sense. Maybe sometimes no data it better.

December 07, 2015 8:35:25 AM

In our new truck we put in a 5 camera system (forward, left, right, back up and cargo). A quad display screen that shows us left, right, back up and cargo. When we put truck into reverse that display switches to full screen. We like it a lot (so far) and the software to view and save selected parts works great. Only been running with the system for less than a week so we will know more how we feel in a month or two.

December 05, 2015 10:37:39 AM

Craig, if the data is available, the investigative authorities may have the right to gather that data; all data.

December 05, 2015 7:16:18 AM

Phone records are easy to get and when we are on the phone, when there was a text, and when there is an email received. With voice to text though I have to wonder about that as I often you voice to text to leave myself notes of things I need to get done or blog ideas. Some of the voice notes I can decipher later and some I cannot. The camera pointed at us is debatable and we will move the camera around as it is waterproof and can be used outside of the truck. The customer service at Diesel Boss is why I finally understand more of all that the dash cam is able to do and how I can use it for videos that I want to save and share.

December 05, 2015 5:48:57 AM

Sounds reasonable Linda. From what I've read, my limited understanding is the fear of the "back office" being able to watch the drivers all the time. Since they basically live in the truck they feel an invasion of privacy even though they don't own the truck. Similar to an office job where you don't own the company or equipment, we are watched all day every day and our computer use is monitored as well. I would be more comfortable with your situation where you own the company/truck and you control the videos. I hope the cameras work out well for you and look forward to seeing some great footage!

Joey, I may be wrong and will gladly admit to that, but sadly I don't believe we live in a world where we are assumed to be playing by the rules unless proven otherwise. There are too many lawyers out there ready to make a good payday on us not being able to prove without a reasonable doubt that we are professionals and acting as such. I'm not advocating for driver facing cameras, but they do take the doubt out of the argument. In my daily work I've been accused of doing things wrong and had to provide proof to get them off my back. Now CYA activities take up more of my daily work time than I prefer. You are in the same situation as Bob and Linda where you own the truck and have complete control of the videos.

December 04, 2015 8:32:50 AM

I'm considering getting one. I would never have one pointed at me though. I think they could be useful with a fleet, but not to self police myself or prove that I'm attentive. It should be assumed that I was attentive unless someone can prove otherwise. With phone service records, the police and lawyers can find out if someone was on their phones and being distracted.

December 03, 2015 17:51:45 PM

Craig you are right we do control the video and can use as we want. I also hope it is never needed and can be used to view the beautiful scenery we see. Even if installed by a company the information is generally only used if there is an event such as hard braking. The info is then shared in a small block of time to see what happened and if something was wrong or if an animal darted out in front of you.

December 03, 2015 8:45:12 AM

I can see both sides of the "discussions" with dash cams and driver cams. I think what makes yours different from company drivers is that you installed the cams and you control the videos. No one but you can log into it or watch from a remote office location. You don't have the issue of invasion of privacy that so much has been written about. I hope you never have to use the videos to defend yourselves but rather be able to use them to share your journeys.

December 03, 2015 8:26:22 AM