Fleet camera systems are extremely important for any business that puts vehicles on the road. Why? Because they give managers and owners a clear picture of what’s going on while their assets are away from home base.
In this article, we provide more insight into why vehicle monitoring systems matter by discussing the benefits that the technology brings to the table and the elements to consider when shopping for fleet camera systems.
Benefits Of Fleet Camera Systems
Accident Reduction
Fleet camera systems can deter risky driving behaviors that can lead to accidents on the road.
For example, the presence of both a driver- and road-facing camera in the cab can reduce the likelihood of speeding as well as aggressive or distracted driving (e.g., heavy acceleration from a stop and eating or using the phone while the vehicle is in motion).
Some fleet camera systems come with advanced safety features such as lane monitoring and enhanced visibility.
Lane monitoring includes things like blind spot detection, lane departure warning, and forward collision warnings, which can alert drivers to potential hazards that can cause an accident. Those same cameras can also give your drivers access to views that they can’t get any other way.
For example, a rear-mounted camera can be used to better navigate a semi, work truck, or work van when the driver has to move in reverse. This can help the driver pilot the vehicle safely and without backing into anything.
Fraud Protection
Fraud can occur from within your company or from without. But fleet camera systems can help mitigate the effects that fraud can have on your bottom line. Video from monitoring technology can be used to watch over everything from the vehicle itself to the cargo it’s carrying.
If company drivers or other drivers make false claims about events on the road, camera footage can be presented to provide proof of what actually happened.
Similarly, cargo-based monitoring systems can be used to verify the condition of valuable goods before, during, and after transport. The same video can be used to reveal mishandling, improper loading, or other factors that may have contributed to damaged merchandise.
Lower Insurance Costs
Some insurance companies offer premium discounts if your business installs safety features like fleet camera systems. Yes, the systems do cost a bit upfront, but they can actually pay for themselves in insurance savings over the course of just a few years.
Installing cameras on your fleet vehicles can also help lower the number and severity of claims you have to submit by reducing accidents and improving driver behavior.
Minimizing claims not only helps you save money in payments, but it can also help your business establish a better reputation with the insurance company, which can lead to lower annual rates for some vehicles.
Increased Vehicle Lifetime
As we’ve discussed so far, fleet camera systems can be used to improve driver behavior and prevent accidents. All of this helps to increase the life of your fleet vehicles.
Vehicles that are driven in a safe, fuel-efficient manner will suffer from less wear and tear than vehicles driven roughly. Similarly, vehicles that suffer fewer accidents will last longer than those that need to be repaired on a regular basis because of minor or major fender-benders.
You can improve both of those variables through dash- and vehicle-mounted cameras. Some fleet camera systems can even be integrated with telematics sensors to monitor vehicle systems and identify mechanical issues early on.
Keeping tabs on your vehicles’ health allows you to be proactive in your maintenance, prevent costly breakdowns, and extend the life of your fleet assets.
Driver Accountability And Training
Fleet camera system video is objective evidence of the events leading up to and including an accident. This footage can help exonerate a driver when they’re not at fault for the behavior of others on the road.
Even if no accidents occur, managers can use data from fleet camera systems to provide valuable feedback and train drivers to prevent accidents in the future.
Elements To Consider In A Fleet Camera System
Instant In-Cab Feedback
Whether it’s something going on outside the cab — like another vehicle driving aggressively — or something going on inside the cab — like distracted driving or driver fatigue — some fleet camera systems can provide instant in-cab feedback to the person behind the wheel.
For example, if another vehicle gets too close to your fleet asset, the system notifies the driver with a visual alert, an audio alert, or both.
Similarly, if your driver is talking on the phone, yawning, or their head is tilting (because of fatigue), the system triggers an alert to bring their attention back to the road.
Video Quality
The benefits of a fleet camera system are only as good as the quality of the video it provides. Sure, you can get a dash cam for cheap, but will it provide clear video at night or allow you to capture legible license plates of the vehicles in its view?
Video quality is more important than you might think, so look for a system that provides high-definition (HD) video whether it’s light or dark outside.
Ability To Capture Risky Events
Some advanced fleet camera systems use artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize and record risky behaviors — either from your driver or another driver on the road.
The AI can also be set to flag those risky events so they’re easier to find and review later on. That can help with driver coaching or with evidence of liability in an accident.
Privacy
Privacy is a major concern when it comes to driver monitoring. Not only do you want to respect the rights of your employees, but you also want to keep the data you collect from vehicle cameras as secure as possible.
Video that falls into the wrong hands can be used in ways that it shouldn’t and that are contradictory to your business goals.
Look for a fleet camera system that comes with strong encryption to protect sensitive data during the transmission and storage process.
It’s also important to ensure that data is stored in a secure, access-controlled location or locations so that employees and outside individuals can’t get to the information without your authorization.
Storage
Speaking of storage, make sure you have enough disk space to hold all the video you need. Some systems provide space by the megabyte or the gigabyte, while other systems make the camera video available for a certain number of days (e.g., 90).
Regardless of the format you choose, your fleet camera system should come with enough storage to fit your needs without constantly running up against the upper limit.
If you find yourself worrying about whether or not you’ll have enough storage, it’s probably time to increase your maximum GBs or the number of days just a bit to cover all your bases.
Alternatively, you could review your camera data every few months and delete unnecessary footage to conserve space.
Reporting
Reporting is another important feature to consider when buying a fleet camera system. Even with one vehicle, the amount of data that the system brings in can be overwhelming. You need a way to sort the important video from the unimportant video.
In some advanced monitoring systems, you can set the software to analyze the footage it receives and report to you any risky behavior it finds (typically through an automated notification).
Then, once you have the clip in hand, you want to be able to store it effectively so that you can find and reference it whenever the need arises.
360° Control With Smart Fuel Cards & Fleet Camera Systems
Are you striving for 360° control of your fleet? The combination of fleet camera systems and smart fuel cards makes it possible.
While the video view of the vehicles themselves gives you a bird’s-eye-view of what’s going on, a smart fuel card can give you control over what your drivers are spending for fuel, supplies, and other essentials.
With Coast, fleet managers and admin get access to advanced spending controls, Security alerts, Data tracking and reporting and much more.
Coast also seamlessly integrates with leading telematics and fleet camera systems such as Samsara, Geotab or Verizon Connect to provide smarter, more secure fuel management:
- With GPS-powered auto-decline, transactions are automatically blocked when a vehicle isn’t near the fueling station, preventing unauthorized purchases.
- Coast also captures odometer readings directly from telematics data, eliminating manual entry errors and ensuring accurate tracking of fuel efficiency and maintenance needs.
- Plus, vehicle sync keeps fleet records up to date, linking transactions to the right vehicle for complete visibility into spending and usage.
These powerful integrations help fleet managers enhance security, streamline operations, and reduce fuel fraud.
The Coast card even provides real-time expense tracking and a powerful online management platform that gives you full visibility of every dollar spent.
Erin Hutson, owner of Saint Louis-based JED Transportation, used the advanced spending controls and comprehensive reporting features to gain unparalleled transparency and insights into the business’s fuel expenses.
That meant that she could track and analyze spending patterns, identify areas for optimization, and make data-driven decisions quickly and easily.
“After switching to Coast,” Erin says, “our level of confidence really went up because there are real-time controls that we have in place.”
By incorporating these features into all of their daily operations, JED Transportation aims to minimize expenses, enhance driver satisfaction, and find new ways to conserve fuel throughout their fleet.
To learn more about how Coast can help improve your fleet management, visit CoastPay.com today.
