The need for a dash camera on a truck — or any other vehicle — is fairly clear. A lot of traffic accidents come down to two people’s accounts of what happened. If you have camera footage of the incident, it can help back up your claims when you say the other driver caused the crash and they point the finger at you.
In many semi-trucks, though, companies install cameras that face in both directions. They record the road and the driver at the same time. Why do they do this?
There are a few reasons. One is simply to see if there are any other factors involved in the crash. Was the driver distracted? Did they have an equipment malfunction in the cab? The more footage they have, the better.
New camera systems, though, are set up to reduce the odds of an accident. They are actually hooked to in-cab alarm systems. They look for dangerous things like:
- A driver who is falling asleep
- A driver who keeps looking away from the road
- A truck that is drifting out of the proper lane
- A driver who is acting aggressively, perhaps by tailgating
If the camera sees these signs — maybe the driver closes his or her eyes for a few seconds longer than a blink — then it can alert the company and set off the in-cab alarm. This protects the driver, prevents an accident and tells the company to carry out a safety review.
As you can see, trucking companies are trying to use technology to eliminate accidents, but they do still happen. If you get injured, you need to know all of your legal rights.
