Distracted driving is on the rise across the transport industry. Long hours on the road combined with cell phone use and driver fatigue contribute to countless accidents. Trucking companies have seen their insurance premiums skyrocket over the last several years due to distracted driving. Whether it’s texting, taking your eyes off the road, or swerving to avoid another vehicle, telematics plays a critical role in tracking these activities. Vehicle tracking devices and dashboard cameras document all things related to the vehicle by collecting engine data, driver behaviour and video footage. Clients who work with Northern BI have been leveraging the suite of Geotab telematics solutions to address fleet management activities including:

• Productivity
• Fleet Optimization
• Safety
• Sustainability
• Compliance
• Expandability

But let’s focus on dashboard cameras. Over the past several years, Northern BI has helped clients deploy Rosco dash cameras to enhance risk management and safety – but clients are starting to broaden their use. For many, their initial use of the Rosco dashcam system was to provide additional information in the event of a collision or other incident. Working together, the Geotab tracking device and Rosco dashcam can be triggered to record activities based on pre-set rules. If the vehicle tracking device detects harsh braking, the dashcam can be triggered to record the situation both inside and outside the vehicle. Being able to provide video, along with the rich data provided by the Geotab product itself, has allowed clients to avoid or minimize costly insurance claims. And for some, the dashboard camera system is their primary insurance coverage saving them millions of dollars in liability claims.

Use video to support drivers and resolve incidents

Fleet managers and dispatchers spend a lot of time responding to inquiries from customers and/or community citizens about services calls, visits, or driver deliveries. With the power of video footage, fleet managers can combine telematics data and dashcam clips to confirm if a driver made a delivery or was at fault in an accident. In fact, one of our municipal government clients uses dash camera footage to respond to resident complaints such as possible damage caused by a municipal vehicle. By knowing the area and approximate time, the fleet manager can easily source the recorded footage to find out what actually happened. As you can imagine, using both forward and side-facing cameras provides incredible value!

Superior coaching moments

Geotab offers clients a variety of ways to measure driver safety. The data collected helps managers pinpoint the areas in which driver coaching is required. Are drivers braking too harshly? Taking corners too sharp? Speeding? Clients are combining video footage from their Rosco cameras to provide an enhanced coaching opportunity. By showing drivers their distracted behaviour inside the cab – such as texting, looking away or falling asleep at the wheel, the camera footage helps reinforce safety and vehicle-use policies.

Automatically track visits to your clients or suppliers

The one consistent message we’ve heard from clients is the ability to combine the power of the Geotab and Rosco camera solutions. By integrating the two telematics products, our clients can produce custom reports and rules that apply to their business. For instance, clients will use the zones or “geofences” feature to capture video footage every time their vehicles arrive or depart from those locations. This is especially beneficial when dealing with key customer or supplier locations. Not only can fleet managers monitor the details from the Geotab dashboard, but they can also combine the video footage to see onsite activity.

At Northern BI, we encourage our customers and prospective clients to look at their existing fleet operations. If you had a picture to accompany reports, how would that help save time and money? No matter what you do, there’s always a cost of doing business. By deploying dashboard cameras across your fleet, how could you increase customer satisfaction? Reduce liability claims? Or win new business?

If you’re wondering whether our dashboard camera solution will work for your business, contact Northern BI today! We specialize in delivering quality dashcam solutions, along with client support, to make sure you get the most out of your dashcam investment.