Camera? Not on my watch

Dido!!!! That's all it's about. "Money" companies have products that don't sell. So they hire a lobbyist to get a law made to force an uneeded product on the people. Look at how the health care laws are working out. People forced to buy a very expensive product. And the whole idea behind it. Is to make money in pharmaceutical and insurance. Plus added that now they are slowly doing pharmaceutical expermentation on the public. Mainly the eldely.. Just to sell more products. "Money" is all it's about.

 

This is crap they force on others in the name of safety, they would not tolerate, themselves.

 

Mcdonalds actually would make you more money at 70 hours a week with min wage increases and hourly requiring benefits and overtime after 40 hours.. at 70 hours ppm no over time or benefits I as a newer driver make roughly 10 or so an hour.. I also cannot see home for more than 4 days no matter how long I stay out having to be out at least 12 days earning a day a week and at mcdonalds I'd be baby making and video gaming every night with little to no responsibility needed lol.. so yah I became a trucker due to ####ing up in life this is a bottom of the barrel career when the math is done... us younger gen people hop in that crap seat also due to a lack of jobs.. better to work 70 as a slave than 30 as a human being.. and honestly I'm ashamed enough of what I do for a living I don't tell people i'm a truck driver lol... ppm is a obvious employer scam.. anyone who works for no pay is a moron.. as a flatbedder I do this all the time..

 

I'm not going to defend that company for putting cameras in their trucks but I will tell you that this practice is the wave of the future. You might be able to skip around from job to job and avoid companies who have cameras for the time being but sooner or later all major companies will be "forced" to install them. When I say "forced" I truly mean it in the traditional sense of the word.

You have to understand that your company probably isn't putting cameras in their trucks to spy on drivers. I would venture to say that they have better things to do than to watch you driving up and down the roads...like getting you freight to move. However, the major driving factor (pun intended) that is inadvertently forcing companies to install cameras is the court system and all of the strategies that plaintiff's attorneys are taking to collect as much as they can during a lawsuit.

In short the company is more than likely using cameras to protect themselves from the crazy lawsuits...and believe it or not they are protecting you the driver too.

Installing cameras isn't a cheap venture for companies and many wouldn't do it if it didn't have a payoff for them. Besides the initial cost of the cameras and the cost of installing them, there is an ongoing monthly cost to access the data. This could add up significantly if the company has a large fleet. Even though they may get a break on their liability insurance premiums which would help offset the cost, it's not going to be enough to break-even.

And another thing, I recently attended a legal conference on truck safety where cameras and other safety technologies were discussed. Attorney's are now suing and winning cases against trucking companies who DID NOT use the technology to prevent accidents. It's a ###### if you do and ###### if you don't situation.

If you decide to buy your own truck (if you're smart you'll run it as a business) you will become your own trucking company and a greater target for these less-than-honorable attorneys.

Just some food for thought.

 

I used to be one of them. In my case though it was split between Mickey Ds and either Taco Bell or a Chrysler dealership detailing cars. Mind you,minimum wage was much lower back then (circa mid to late 90s).

 

I still get the feeling they won't need to worry about it much anymore, the old timers are getting ready to retire and
We don't see our younger men and women jumping at the chance to be an OTR driver especially with a camera in their faces and no $ to made in the trucking industry, we can't blame them

 

And we have a new post from somebody in a safety department who uses these cams, or somebody in the driver cam business.


The driver cam thing may be a snowball effect situation where they become more common, not because they make perfect sense, but more companies are talked into using them.

does anyone remember the BS lawsuits in the '90s, I think?

ABS was an option on a few trucks, and if I remember correctly, not working well.

I vaguely remember one lawsuit in GA where a truck ran over a car, killing some people.

The basis of the lawsuit was something like 'if the owner had specc'd ABS as an option on the truck when purchasing it, the people who pulled out in front of the truck would not have been dead' or some crap like that.

I'm not totally against cameras. I have dash cams of my own.

The reason I left the company with the cameras was not solely the cameras. They were XXXholes to deal with, my income was flat, and substandard, and it wasn't worth putting up with them overall.
The first place I applied to hired me as soon as they saw my record.
If they decide to install cameras, I'll see how it's implemented, and then make a decision.

 

If I see a camera and mic in my truck, I know three things the company will find when they "peek in". Loud music, bad singing, and a booger on the lens.

 

I do this with my camera. All 3. Though I do not allow the camera watcher to hear my favorite bands. I pause the satelite radio. They are not worthy. I talk to the camera telling them this. Usually when I get around asking if watching truckers was wanted to do when they grew up the light goes back to green.

 

I used to talk about their mothers. Hard to believe they had one, and I doubt they know who 'Dad' was?
(Maybe a trucker who was laid over one weekend?)