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For years, the strongest opposition to dash cams has come from the very people they’re designed to protect: drivers. It’s understandable; no one wants to feel like their every move is being scrutinized.
While drivers may be the biggest skeptics, some fleets encounter pushback from supervisors and leadership, too. In today’s environment, turning these skeptics into believers can help ease growing pressures related to safety, liability, and inflation.
The good news is that today’s dash cams are a far cry from the recorders of the past. Modern systems are easier to install, help mitigate risk, and protect drivers from unwarranted blame. When these advancements and advantages are clearly communicated to skeptics, they can become believers — and that can lead to organization-wide wins. Here’s how.
Winning Over Drivers: It’s Protection, Not Punishment
Drivers typically oppose dash cams due to concerns about their privacy. Tom Koch, senior director of Global Channel Sales for video telematics provider Xirgo Technologies, says addressing the real underlying fear is important.
“We often hear drivers talk about ‘Big Brother’ watching them. Dash cameras can feel intrusive and like an invasion of privacy. What that often boils down to is fear that footage will be used to punish mistakes, which means dash cams ultimately threaten their job security,” Koch said. “But the reality is that organizations are using the technology to keep drivers out of trouble.”
A good example is the role video plays when crashes happen. Dash cams record footage of the moments leading up to, during, and after the event. Having exonerating video evidence saves drivers from the repercussions of an at-fault crash, including fines, disciplinary measures at work, and legal trouble.
Dash cameras can also protect employees from false complaints about their work.
“We worked with a lawn care company to install cameras on the outside of their trucks. When they stop at a customer’s yard, the cameras capture video of the service person applying the product,” Koch said. “That means if a customer complains, they can verify their employee was doing their job and spare them from unfair accusations about their work.”
Instead of threatening job safety, dash cameras can protect drivers from being disciplined and/or terminated.
If drivers still have concerns about their privacy, Koch said fleets can use implementation strategies to overcome these concerns.
“Disabling driver-facing video or starting with a road-facing camera can be effective strategies for introducing video telematics. Video telematics sensors will still detect unsafe behaviors like lane departure, tailgating, lane drift, and aggressive cornering, even if the cameras aren’t recording,” he said. “This also helps drivers get used to having the technology in their vehicle. After a little time, most realize dash cams aren’t a big deal.”
Another strategy is to use driver-facing cameras on a provisional basis.
“Our driver-facing cameras are removable, so we’ve seen fleets install them for the first 90 days of a driver’s employment, then remove them if drivers are driving safely. If a driver slides back into risky behaviors, the cameras go back in the vehicle,” Koch said. “What typically happens, though, is drivers stop noticing the cameras altogether, and the organization deploys them to the entire fleet.”
Persuading Supervisors: Installation Isn’t What It Used to Be
The biggest concern supervisors have is that the installation process will be complicated to manage and increase vehicle downtime. Fortunately, this is another element of video telematics that has changed. In most cases, hard-wiring cameras isn’t required.
“We’ve worked with customers who are understandably concerned about not having direct control over the installation process. When we tell them we can remotely verify proper installation for every camera, those concerns disappear,” Koch said. “Our teams work with fleets to develop a transition strategy. For some solutions, installation can be done by your technicians in only a few minutes. It’s as easy as sticking a camera on the dashboard and running a single wire to your OBD II port.”
Understandably, supervisors don’t want to disrupt driver productivity by taking vehicles out of service for installation. Today’s dash cameras actually improve productivity and reduce downtime.
We worked with a refuse company that used its dash cameras to take a photo when a customer hasn’t put out their garbage cans on pick-up day. The company sends the photo to the customer and offers to return to pick up their trash for a $50 fee. In addition to adding a new revenue stream, the photos also prevented customers from calling in to complain that their trash wasn’t picked up,” Koch said. “Another customer, a government fleet, used its dash cam system to photograph potholes and drop a location pin so street crews could locate and fix them faster.”
Using video footage can also reduce downtime.
“Submitting video footage to an insurance carrier speeds up the claims process and reduces vehicle downtime,” Koch said.
Convincing Executives: Dash Cam ROI
Cost is usually the chief concern for those in leadership roles. Leaders at the top may bristle at the level of investment, but video telematics can both save fleets money and help generate additional revenue.
From a ROI perspective, cameras can pay off quickly: When a crash happens, video footage could be the piece of evidence that stands between an organization and a nuclear verdict. Plus, many insurance providers offer insurance discounts if an organization has video telematics and a driver coaching program in place.
“Executives are seeing video as an increasingly effective way of mitigating insurance risk and reducing premium costs,” Koch said. “Reducing the number of crashes also lowers repair costs and workers’ comp claims.”
Beyond savings, video telematics can help companies generate new revenue streams.
A refuse company used outward-facing cameras to document whether trash bins were curbside at the time of pickup. When operators notice that customers haven’t put out their garbage cans, they press a button to take a photo.
“The company sends the photo to the customer and offers to return to pick up their trash for a $50 fee,” Koch said. “In addition to having a new way to earn money, the photos also prevented customers from calling in to complain that their trash wasn’t picked up, which was a win for supervisors and drivers, too.”
Drive More Value With Video Telematics
The use cases for video telematics are only limited by your imagination. If you would like to discover ways your fleet can drive more value using dash cams, visit www.att.com/fleetmanagement to schedule a demo today.
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