How to deal with a driver facing camera?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/magazine/11ideas1-3.html?_r=0

Answer may be here soon, just need a small wearable version. Not necessarily this product/method, but I could see a huge market for wearable CCD camera blockers. Just something simple that would distort the image around the blocker, like your mug.

 

My company Conway has them in our entire fleet. I don't agree with the driver facing camera, no problem with forward facing. They caught one driver eating a bowl of cereal as he went through a red light, and drilled a car. Also has saved several drivers from lawsuits and termination one driver was accused of running a car off the road by the passenger, video showed the car completely in our drivers lane. I won't sing their praises, but I will answer any questions about them honestly.

 

Oops, How do you eat a bowl of cereal while driving?
That's insane. Probably Fuity Pebbles.

 

Has your company lost any drivers due to the cameras being put in?

 

I didn't read the whole thread yet, just the first and last pages so far.
I have a camera in my truck and it doesn't bother me at all. I hang my hat on it when I'm not driving. Of you work retail, or on a bank or casino or any place where high value material is handled or processed, you Ares being filmed all the time. Why would this be any different?

Occasionally, if I hit a dock too hard, and see the camera deploy, I will reach up and bury my finger in my nose, so the person watching and screening videos gets a nice gross out.

But most of the time, I forget it's there.

It's just part of the truck.

Their truck, their rules.

I don't let it bother me.

If they want to look at my ugly face all day long, more power to them.

 

They put one in mine. After two weeks of my Dr. Frank-N-Furter impressions, it was removed.

 

Forward facing cameras have a proven track record of exonerating drivers and companies of wrongdoing over and over again, no contest or argument there.

But I cannot see one single scenario where a cam pointed at the driver will ever exonerate anyone.

Take this scenario, Truck driver proceeding through a green light at speed, woman in a car runs red light and speed and gets Tboned by the truck. Truck driver's dash cam records a green light his way-- exonerated.

Woman in car pulls out yellow pages and finds the pitbulliest ambulance chasing lawyer she can find.

Lawyer subpoenas the video of the driver and they all arrive at court with the woman in a motorized wheelchair with neckbrace and morphine drip.

Lawyer plays 20 second clip of truck driver in super slo-mo and can make any argument assigning fault

A Truck driver was looking to his left, should have looked right would have been able to slow down enough to not injure my client.

B Truck driver was looking right, why did he not slow down enough to prevent injuring my client

C Truck driver was looking straight ahead same argument.

D Let's not forget this cam picks up audio as well. We hear 1.5 seconds before impact the truck driver yelling out expletives, this guy has anger issues and intentionally caused mayhem to my client we are seeking $350,000 for lost wages and $2.5 million for pain and suffering.

Who are they gonna get the money from? Not the carrier-- they did all they could to prevent their angry driver from running over an innocent four wheeler.

They have to go after the truck driver for the money now, and that folks what these cams are really all about. Truck companies are sick and tired of paying out settlements.
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The Walmart vs Tracy Morgan wreck is the prime example. Walmart has already settled with one of the victim's family for $10 million bucks.

Bottom line this is what truck companies want to avoid-- huge payouts. So they try to mind control you into thinking this camera thing is a good thing for you it will protect you it will exonerate you. Yes and No-- outward camera does those things, inward camera does those things - not for you but for your company. Guess who gets to pay the $10 million bucks next?

 

Scottied- This is right on the money. I do not see much resistance for the forward facing dash cam as it is a useful tool for all parties but the driver facing cam is only a tool for lawyers and companies that have schools that can continue to fill seats after the lawyers are finished with the driver.

 

Maybe I have just worked in too many positions of responsibility over the years, where cameras were a part of my job, my world and my life, but I am no longer afraid of them.

In todays world every where you go, someone has a camera, and you can assume no matter what you do, somebody, somewhere, has it on tape.

Ask any police officer.

As for me, I just drive my truck.


If someone from the company wants to ride with me, either in person, or via camera, they are welcome. Maybe if we all wore body cameras, the shippers and receivers would stop treating us like dirt.

Personally, I want to be able to prove that I was NOT on the phone, NOT asleep, NOT texting, or eating a sandwich or reading the paper, or checking my map, or anything else I shouldn't have been doing, when the deer ran out in front of me

 

So you want the camera to prove your innocence instead of someone having to prove your guilty. Seems backwards to me.