UK - With the road haulage industry particularly vulnerable to the whims of the insurance market it is every operator’s interest to ensure costs are minimised and the extremely high cost of premiums for adequate cover, coupled with the advances in technology, has meant that it is now possible to install a system which protects the driver from unfounded accusations of negligence. We wrote recently on the new methods being used to help avoid accidents but sometimes other road users have suspect motives or simply little sense.
When Scott’s Transport of Haverton Hill were face with a series of claims, some of which they felt were caused by drivers deliberately targeting their slow moving vehicles in a bid to fraudulently claim against insurance they got together with brokers Henderson’s in nearby Stockton on Tees and decided to trial camera systems to prove that not in every case involving a vehicle being struck from behind is it the following drivers fault. One of the spectacular results they obtained can be seen HERE. Ben Szyman at Scott’s commented:
“We trialled several types of camera and finally settled on the Roadhawk system which we felt offered good value for money. The cameras link to our Tom Tom units and what that video doesn’t show you is that the driver was cruising at 50mph, the legal limit for that particular road. We have had other instances, including a recent one where a driver flashed our driver to pull out then lost patience and pulled out herself causing a collision. Without the video evidence there is no doubt we would have been held responsible but the film clearly showed she was at fault and therefore did not pursue the matter.”
Andrea Clark from Henderson’s says the fitting of such devices will certainly help keep Scott’s premiums down at renewal and confirmed that several of the broker’s road haulage clients have now had systems fitted and the benefits are proving obvious with a drop in the number of claims noticeable.
One specialist company has taken the technology a stage further with Blackburn based FleetSentinel marketing a 24/7 system which not only records traffic incidents but monitors various factors ensuring cabs are safe from hijackings, thefts, that drivers are adhering to company regulations and fuel consumption is accurate. Company engineers maintain the fully secured, tamper proof systems every six weeks with the FleetSentinel management team analysing all footage should an incident occur in order to determine liability, cause of accident or even identify thieves.
This level of extra intelligence can prove crucial in giving the background to a theft or traffic incident and the company is so confident as to the quality and value of their product that they are offering a free trial of their systems, including fitting and management. Interested parties should contact via the website or e mail info@fleetsentinel.co.uk
Photo: A screen shot of someone making a fool of themselves
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