New Camera System Coming to all company trucks.

Well...I don't even feel like voicing my opinion to Swift. In fact, this is certain, they are going to lose a great driver. Even if they don't implement the whole camera thing in L/P trucks, there will something else in a few months that is so disagreeable that I will wonder why I didn't leave sooner. It's time that I drop this truck off.
I'm prehired anywhere I want to go, anyways.

 

They will probably advertise to lo. "New contract with better deals. Sign this new contract" and a lot of drivers will look and see something good. And not see where they sneaked in the section that requires cameras. Then bam. Cameras in lo truck that don't pay attention.

 

I would find it a constant distraction to have myself recorded on camera whenever the truck is on, and I consider it a safety issue as much as a privacy issue.
I will not be put in the position of second guessing every move I make.

I am one of the 86% safe drivers at Swift. (That figure was just messaged to us in a video.)
Put the driver-cams on the other 14% all you want, and even on me if I fall into that group.
Until then, leave me alone to be safe on my own.
A forward facing camera I'm all for.

If a driver facing camera is placed in my truck, the next home time I will turn the truck in and find somewhere else to work.
And Swift will lose a safe driver to another carrier.

I stay at Swift because I like it here. I know the system and can work with it, and more money is not my goal.
But if Swift decides to go Big Brother on me to that extent, I easily have other options.

 

My opinion on them. This REALLY bothered me. I was ready to quit. Until how they work was explained to me by another driver at a different company that uses the same camera company that we will be using.

They do not record in huge file chunks so anyone can go back to any moment and view them. They record 20 seconds at a time. If no "event" happens. It records another 20 seconds. OVERLAPPING the previous 20 seconds. If an event happens. Such as braking too hard. Turning too sharp. Also a driver can press a button on the camera to initiate a manual event. It will save a small file. I believe it is 8 seconds before and 4 seconds after the event. But I could be wrong on those numbers. Also. As soon as it saves an event. It will let the driver know via led lights on the camera.
also. Not 100% on this. But according to the company's website. It will power down with the truck as to not drain the battery. Also the cameras CANNOT be viewed live/remotely.

After finding all of this out. I still am not sure how I feel about this. I have a lot of thinking to do. But as of now. I am a little more content with the idea of these knowing what I know now.

 

I feel exactly the same. I like my job at Swift. Ok most days anyway. My DM is an idiot but I rarely deal with him so I can tolerate that. It seems to me having company cameras(bi-sexual cameras going both ways) in the truck the other sides lawyer will know this so will subpeona the records which they will almost certainly make the driver look unfavorably. And they would lose a LOT of drivers if they did this. I think this is unlikely to happen but if it does, like Moose I have other options and that will be that.

 

Sorry, but I doubt it overwrites the previous file with the newer.
Depending on the SD capacity it can record small segments for a duration of up to 12 hours or more before anything is overwritten.
A 64GB SD can record nearly 14 hours at 1080P.
A small 8GB card would give at least 2 hours of recording time.

No camera would have less than that. In fact, that is the smallest that any camera is equipped with.

And while they can't be viewed live, the files can be downloaded on demand at any time if they are connected to the Qualcom unit.
Not real time, but very close if they wish.
And if they are set to a 20 second segment the files would be fairly small, which allows for more files transferred for a lower cost.

Even if it is not real time...
I don't want people watching me all the time, whenever they want.
It's creepy.

They are lying to you as to how the cameras work.
And to what they are capable of.
I know of one camera with Wi-Fi, which means it can talk with the QC without a physical connection.

 

I just had to...

 

Pertaining to driver facing camera.

I do not like this at all, I agree that it will be a distraction while driving no matter how it's supposed to work. A firmware or software update is all it takes to add new functions. I will most likely leave Swift after this is installed if it faces me, I'm one of the only 30 or so multiple million milers they mentioned a few months ago. Probably the reason I've been getting babysit treatment lately when I never did ever while being here for years.

I asked why they are bothering me so much lately, they don't want me to quit was the answer. I think they are expecting the experienced will quit on this newest change.

 

Greatest. Metal. Band. Ever.

 

Insurance companies can't mandate it. They could make it beneficial to the company to have them but they can't force it.

Will they though? Time will tell. If it's in there recording 'critical events' they won't be able to hide that fact from lawyers when the driver screws up and kills a minivan full of kids.

Look, the drivers eyes were moving too much, he wasn't paying attention and plowed into the minivan.

Look, the drivers eyes hardly moved at all, he had tunnel vision and wasn't getting the big picture.

I imagine safety depts. would love these things for 'training' but they could very well be a huge liability in the case of bad accidents.

The phrase 'be careful what you wish for' comes to mind.

Remember this guy...