Liability and insurance issues are constant hot topics in the transportation industry. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, large truck crashes account for around 3,500 fatal accidents. The estimated cost of commercial motor vehicle accidents is $87 billion annually.
Trucking company leaders are constantly looking for safety solutions to protect the lives of their drivers and those they share the road with, and to reduce overall risks. When the overall goal is to protect your fleet and save lives, the DriveCam Program from Lytx, Inc. is proving to be the strongest turn-key solution on the market.
“We wanted to not only reduce accidents, but to identify why they were happening.” –Joseph A. Newsom, Corporate Risk Director, Salmon Companies
By Lewisprsandiego (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
What is Lytx™ DriveCam?
Founded in 1998, the DriveCam program features a palm-sized, onboard digital recording device that captures driving behaviors during high-risk events. When a high-risk event occurs, such as a car crossing into the truck driver’s lane improperly, the camera is triggered to record. Twelve seconds of the incident is captured from both the inside and outer 76 degrees of the cab. Both the audio and the video is then uploaded onto a web-based program for review.
The goal of the DriveCam program is to prevent collisions and related injuries to both employees and others on the road. The program has four major benefits. DriveCam can:
- Predict and prevent unsafe driving behaviors
- Protect against fraudulent claims
- Improve fuel efficiency
- Save lives
Last year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VITT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted a study on the impact the DriveCam program has on driver performance and overall road safety. They found that a DriveCam installed in all heavy trucks and buses could prevent 801 fatalities every year. This technology could potentially reduce truck and bus collisions by a little over 25,000 truck and bus collisions and 39,000 injuries.
Through DriveCam’s coaching improvement tool, the driver is given the opportunity to correct poor behaviors. Drivers who execute life- and property-saving tactics are rewarded for their good decisions.
DriveCam in Truck Accident Cases
Probably the most applauded feature of the DriveCam is its ability to provide unbiased evidence if a truck accident case heads to court. Truck accident claims can be a battle of he-said-she-said, with little to no documented evidence. However, the visual and audio evidence of incidents recorded by the DriveCam provides companies and attorneys with an accurate and incurably honest witness, able to share the exact event with all parties involved.
In this way, DriveCam can save trucking companies money in both settlements and insurance rates — not to mention the lives of drivers.
The Right Move for Safety
Ultimately, the American economy needs the trucking transportation industry to thrive. A goal of any trucking company should be to reduce risk and save lives. The Lytx DriveCam Program improves the focus and safety techniques of drivers. That’s technology we all can feel good about.
The attorneys at Fried Goldberg in Atlanta know you’re doing your best to drive safely on the road. But when the worst happens, know that we are here and ready to help if you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident.