How To Choose A Vehicle Camera System For Your Fleet?
Safety and security have become the most prioritized factors for the fleet business because there are so many potential hazards waiting on the road that you face while operating the fleets. You wanted to know how your vehicles are doing, the roads or weather conditions, and whether your drivers are adopting safe practices.
The introduction of vehicle cameras has become a valuable addition to any fleet giving you the experience of a virtual ride-along with a real-time view of events. It captures details of what is happening on the road and how the driver performs. It also provides visual evidence during emergencies that helps to analyze situations and make informed decisions.
With a wide range of products with multiple features, it can be challenging when it comes to choosing the right solution for your fleet. This article will give an overview of vehicle camera systems and guide you to make the best choice that helps your truck operations become more efficient and productive.
How Does The Vehicle Camera System Work?
Cameras allow better on-the-road visibility by recording incidents happening around the vehicle and viewing video remotely. It means that as a fleet manager, you can access the live video footage while the fleet is on its way. You can get a comprehensive visual of the vehicle, the road conditions, and the driver’s performance that help you make informed decisions. Live streaming visuals vary depending on models and the type of system you choose. You can use road-facing or inward-facing video via the dashboard to monitor vehicles on active trips. You can initiate the recording from your computer and notify the driver when it starts and ends to ensure drivers always know that live streaming is activated.
The Different Types of Vehicle Cameras
There are a variety of vehicle camera systems in terms of the features and the value they can provide. The live video facilities empower you with a real-time visual reference of incidents and manage driver performance as a part of surveillance. It can be an aid to coach and engage drivers to minimize road accidents, gather evidence for making informed decisions, and ensure compliance. An overview of the various camera types and their advantages is listed below:
- Front-Facing: These are front cameras mounted on the windshield and capture the incidents on the road ahead. A simple front-facing dash cam provides a basic level of security while driving.
- Dual-Facing: This camera system consists of one front-facing camera to monitor the road ahead and another inward to capture in-cab activity. Dual-facing cameras can record distracted driving, like drowsiness or checking their phone, and alerts them of this behavior. It provides clear evidence of whether a driver is attentive and driving responsibly.
- Exterior: When drivers need to change lanes, make a rapid turn, or risk colliding with another vehicle suddenly owing to poor sight, exterior cameras offer a complete view to help them. Footage from external devices can be useful in alerting drivers to avoid collisions with other passing cars.
- Backup Cameras: Backup cameras are a specific type of exterior camera mounted on the outside rear of your vehicle that records the road behind the truck. It can help monitor potential objects of danger when driving in reverse. The external camera detects potential accidents and blind spots.
- Interior Cameras: Interior cameras can be mounted in suitable positions inside the trailer to boost cargo security by continuously monitoring in-vehicle activity. Some critical load carriers deploy this tool to gain real-time visibility of the arrangement and conditions of cargo while in transit.
Benefits of Installing Camera Systems in Vehicles
The surveillance cameras mounted to the front, back, or inside your vehicle continuously record footage of the vehicle interior, the road ahead, or sometimes even both.
The intelligent video system eliminates the risk of danger through a comprehensive, real-time unbiased view. In addition, it helps avoid costly repairs and higher insurance rates by assisting the drivers in focusing on the best operating practices.
This video-based safety solution is effective in avoiding accidents, helps in improving productivity, and saves costs. The main advantages of installing camera systems in your fleets are as follows:
Improve Safety
The camera system enables monitoring of risky or inefficient driving practices through video recordings. It allows you to communicate and guide drivers with visual references and control their performance towards ensuring safety. The surveillance cameras improve drivers’ accountability to follow safety norms and avoid violations, thus ensuring safety.
Lower Insurance Costs
There is no doubt that vehicle cameras improve safety and reduce risk through better monitoring and real-time actions. Dashcam installed in your vehicle is a favorable condition for insurance companies that help you get concessions or rebates on insurance premiums by reducing the chance of damage and repairs.
Reduce Vehicle Wear And Tear
Monitoring driving behavior helps you control inefficient or risky driving habits like harsh braking that can wear out brake pads and cause unnecessary stress on other vehicle parts. Your vehicles are less likely to deal with damage, wear, and tear since they are driven more safely with camera assistance.
Better Resource Utilization
You can aim for better resource utilization by coaching drivers through video-based tools and help boost their performance. The visual references guide drivers to modify their driving patterns toward improving safety and compliance. The digital safety scorecards and video-based guidance encourage drivers to follow safety practices.
Avoid False Claims
Advanced internet-connected camera systems can auto-upload safety incident footage within minutes so that you can identify the cause of accidents or damages. It helps settle the claims processes smoothly and avoid unnecessary payouts due to false claims. The recorded events can prevent fraudulent claims and protect innocent drivers from harassment.
Legal Support
The video footage can provide supporting evidence for legal proceedings and influence legal verdicts. In case of an accident, it acts as reliable proof of the actual scenario and helps to settle insurance claims and damage liabilities.
Key Features to Look at When Choosing a Vehicle Camera System
When selecting a suitable vehicle camera system for your fleet, you need to consider several factors and choose the one that best suits your purpose. Here are a few key features to consider that ensure you get the best system according to your needs.
Picture Quality
You should go for a camera that gives crisp and clear video quality. The video recordings should be such that it allows you to read any vehicle number plates during the scene of an accident or detect whether the driver feels drowsy or not. You also have to ensure that it offers high quality all the time, even under poor lighting or adverse weather conditions.
Cameras with a wide-angle lens and high dynamic range (HDR) with a resolution of 1080p ensure a good field of view and give brighter and more detailed footage, which is most suitable for video evidence. Camera resolution becomes a crucial parameter that makes a big difference between brands. The higher the resolution, the sharper the image, and it captures more details. A superior video quality provides better evidence to establish facts and avoid legal actions or settling insurance claims in the event of an accident or damages.
Cloud Storage
Your camera should be internet-connected to ensure that high-resolution video footage is stored on the cloud platform even when the internal memory card is full. You would not prefer running out of space while continuously recording footage and overwriting older video files to continue recording new files. So you must go for a reliable and convenient option where the system automatically uploads event footage to the cloud allowing you real-time access and to be used for future reference.
This convenient, remote access to footage can help settle claims or investigate accident reasons. The most significant advantage is data security because you can access footage even if the camera is lost or damaged. The recordings are saved in a different location which you can retrieve anytime to know what happened to the vehicle.
Inbuilt Tracking System
Today, most vehicle camera systems have an in-built GPS tracking mechanism that shows the route, time, date, and speed while providing the video footage. This real-time visibility of the truck helps you by giving sufficient information about the truck’s location and movements. The GPS signal aids to determine whether your truck has deviated from the predefined track or is facing excess downtime.
The GPS features vary, so you should choose the best one depending on the situation and the vehicle’s use. It is one of the most critical aspects as managers gain the ability to track the vehicle and make sure that drivers are safe under any potentially hazardous conditions. The real-time location tracking allows you to arrange quick assistance to reach the place in case of any issues concerning safety.
Low-Light Vision
If your trucks need to operate at night quite often, you should go for a camera with low-light or night vision capabilities. Look for a camera with high dynamic range (HDR) and infrared LED features that allows capturing of clear images even under low-light conditions, especially at night.
It is a significant aspect from the safety point of view as the real-time visibility gives you clear indications of any potential dangers and allows you to take corrective actions immediately. The clarity of pictures taken under poor visibility conditions can help you assess the reasons and consequences associated with an incident that happened at night.
Design Features
The design, compactness, and installation facilities are crucial features that you may find relevant for your fleet. You may need a system that can accommodate the angles of view, and blind spots and is compatible with the space and weight of the vehicle used in your fleet. The type of locations your drivers will be driving can be a deciding factor for your camera system.
For example, for movement on rough roads and under critical weather conditions, you will need a robust system that can withstand the vibrations and impact of heat, cold, and dust. It is also crucial to consider the length of time your vehicles are in operation so that you can choose a suitable one that experiences less wear and tear in the long run.
Driver Monitoring
Driver monitoring features in the camera system allow you to monitor driver fatigue, mobile phone distraction, and risky driving behavior. If you notice any driving behavior during the live video streaming that you feel can lead to potential dangers and accidents, you can immediately guide the driver to control the driving performance.
For the driver who takes up the trip during the night, the advanced IR vision-based camera monitors the driving conditions and gives instant alerts to pay attention to the driving. You can alert your driver to follow the best practices to avoid traffic violations and refrain from risky steps to reduce the chances of accidents. The real-time footage enables you to take prompt action and make informed decisions proactively to avoid accidents or mishaps involving drivers.
Advanced Features
You may prefer to incorporate advanced features in your vehicle camera system to enhance safety, reliability, and efficiency. A few of the advanced features are as follows:
- Harsh Event Detection: There are vehicle camera systems with a built-in accelerometer and G-sensor for motion and impact detection. The system can detect safety-related events like harsh braking, turning, and collisions and automatically upload footage before and after the incident for your team to view and analyze.
- In-cab Voice Alerts: The advanced camera systems have a built-in audio speaker that can deliver messages in case of harsh events, speeding, and other safety-related matters, alerting drivers to avoid potentially unsafe behavior in real-time. Immediate feedback from in-cab voice messages helps guide drivers to improve driver performance and prevents accidents.
- Remote Power And Fuel Cutoff: You might face inefficient driving practices leading to the idling of trucks and unnecessary fuel usage. The camera system installed in the vehicle gives you visibility of the actual situation and allows remote access to cut off the power or fuel when the truck is idling for a time, or the driver has left the vehicle. This facility facilitates saving a sufficient amount of energy and alerts drivers with the message to improve their inefficient behaviors and driving patterns.
- Mobile App Support: Vehicle camera systems generally give you access to video footage through your computer, but you can look for a system that offers accompanying mobile apps. A compatible smartphone app for android and iPhones, you can access footage from any remote location and while on the go. It becomes easier to share and view images in case of an accident or false claims.
Matrack Vehicle Camera System
The Matrack camera system is one of the best tools to keep your fleet safe and productive. It has dual-facing cameras that enhance visibility and alert drivers in potentially dangerous situations. The dash cam has both lane and driver-facing cameras and gives you the most comprehensive remote visual of the truck.
The high-resolution device gives you clear and vivid video footage even under poor lighting conditions, thus improving the visibility of real-time incidents. It features an in-cab infrared LED for nighttime video capturing. It will ensure that you have the recording of any critical event by making full utilization of this system.
The live video footage allows you to instantly know if the driver experiences drowsiness, fatigue, or distractions. The audio alerts facilitate drivers to control risky driving behaviors or violations. Regular guidance and feedback on potential adverse situations help drivers to practice safe driving and proactively avoid accidents.
Fleet managers get alerts when the vehicle changes lanes without the indicator, and there is a potential risk ahead of a collision. The AI-enabled sensor detects the potential danger and immediately sends the driver an audio alert to enable him to focus on safety.
Matrack camera system saves all live streaming video recordings to the cloud platform with tagging based on severity. The videos help in the analysis of driving behaviors and risk assessment and allow taking proactive actions to avoid chances of accidents.
The camera integrates with the existing fleet management system to monitor real-time location, analyze driver performance, and identify vehicle problems. It allows you to start video recordings by activating motion and impact sensors or use high-quality video recordings to help to prevent your fleet from any financial liabilities due to damages, repairs, and violations.
Conclusion
A vehicle camera system integrated with AI-enabled fleet management software provides you ample benefits of vehicle camera system fits by helping to improve fleet safety. It offers real-time visual information to make driving more convenient and protect your trucks from unpredictable hazards.
This article emphasizes the features and benefits of vehicle cameras that can offer you practical and reliable solutions while operating your fleets. The picture quality, reliability, GPS integration, and easy accessibility of data are the crucial factors to consider when selecting a dash cam.
We hope this article helps you identify and utilize the best camera features to improve the overall safety and reliability of your fleet operations.