4 Clips That Show the Value of Vehicle Dash Cams – Beyond Collision Capture

February 10, 2020

There are many risks that fleets need to be aware of, and vehicle dash cams can help mitigate them. Video telematics technology and vehicle dash cams can provide companies with valuable information that would never have surfaced otherwise. Here are four clips that prove the value of video, beyond capturing collisions.

Vehicle dash cam clip #1: theft

Footage from dash cams can not only provide fleets with evidence of what happened to cause a collision or risky situation, but can help them coach drivers on how to prevent persistent safety issues like theft. 

For example, this short video shows a commercial truck parked on a busy street with two purple bags sitting on the seat. At about 30 seconds, a white passenger car stops on the street next to the commercial vehicle. A man emerges from the car, opens the truck’s door, grabs the bags, and then jumps back in the car and drives away. It takes just a few seconds, in broad daylight with other cars whizzing by, for the theft to occur. Videos like these can help remind drivers of the importance of following simple safety steps like locking doors.

Vehicle dash cam clip #2: workplace injury

Per the National Safety Council, a worker is injured on the job every 7 seconds. Plus, occupations in the transportation, manufacturing, and construction industry have some of the highest numbers of workplace injuries. Considering those facts, it makes sense that commercial fleets are investing in tools—like vehicle dashboard cameras—that can help them learn the best ways to keep drivers safe and workers’ compensation claims low.

This next clip shows how invaluable dash cam footage can be when trying to determine what caused a workplace injury or accident, and how the workers’ compensation claim should be handled. A worker exiting a porto-potty stumbles on the step and falls to the ground. Other workers come over to assist him, but he remains on the ground and has clearly sustained an injury.

Vehicle dash cam clip #3: equipment use (or misuse)

Most companies have established safety procedures for handling equipment and a big part of any fleet management program is to ensure those procedures are followed. Exterior and forward-facing dash cameras can often reveal when equipment is and isn’t used properly.

Shot from the exterior passenger side of a tanker, this dash cam clip records a worker handling the vehicle’s hose and connecting valve. This can show the manager if the worker was compliant, or not compliant, with safety procedures. This type of information is useful for industries like waste and field services – where equipment and procedures must be used with caution.

Vehicle dash cam clip #4: unusual (and dangerous) events

In some cases, vehicle dash cams record bizarre and potentially dangerous events that no one could predict. For example, this clip from a Lytx DriveCam event recorder shows just such a situation occurring on a two-lane highway. The front dash cam of a commercial truck captures a man climbing out the window of a passenger car in the next lane. The man crawls to the back windshield and “car surfs” down the highway. Luckily, there was no resulting collision or injuries, but the footage would provide the driver’s company with critical evidence if there had been a more negative outcome.