Camera's in the cab???

One of the drivers I normally deal with from Golden State Foods just got his ### saved by the camera. He was at my store unloading and I watched in amazement as this guy pulled into the parking lot shifted into reverse and gunned it right into the front of truck. They called the police and tried to blame the "accident" on the driver but the camera showed what really happened.

Once they knew the game was up they tried to haul ### out of there and got themselves arrested on top of being at fault for the collision.

You see, when unscrupulous people see the company name on the side of a truck they also see dollar signs and with the public perception of truckers being what it is I would rather have the camera.

Hell, even when I worked delivering pizza part-time I set up my own camera in the car. People get stupid and then they want to soothe their ego/scam some money they call your store and raise a fuss.

The drivers who complain about "freedoms" and other such nonsense are the same as the ones who complain about elogs. The reality is that they want to run illegal or ignore safety and don't want to get caught doing it.

 

Friend of mine is getting into trucking. Instead of worrying about the best cb to purchase he is fretting over the best kind of dash cam to buy. My how times have changed!

I drove for a company that used the drive cams. If you messed up major they used them to fire you. And yes they actually had some old mostly retired ex-driver sitting in the office at a computer terminal watching /reviewing the cams.

 

Also of interest, the newer trucks equipped with sensors, quess what can happen if they malfunction, don't know, you better find out if your truck has them. My son was a Trainer for a company running with a truck that had them, they malfunctioned, could have cost his life, no one garage believed they could cause to happen what they did, they can, mechanics aren't rocket scientist, they can shut the truck down no warning, then your in a fight for life, just find everything you can about them, be safe, I'm telling anyone who will listen, WHY because it was my son?? just like others. He's above average in trucking, . They didn't believe him. They can be dangerous when malfunctioning. Just call a manufacturer of them and ask what they can cause.

 

There is a difference between outward facing "dashcams" (I have one) and inward facing "drivecams..." f'getta 'bout it!!!

 

Really bad example here....I worked for those folks til 2011...worked there for over 30 years...great place...But, if the driver was at the restaurant , UN-loading , he was in the trailer.....no way in the world he could have been blamed....that camera showed him getting hit while "parked'......let's please compare apples to apples.....really , really , poor arguement for cameras here....

 

Can someone translate this for me? It sounds like the old airbag/seatbelt argument, but its so garbled I can't be sure.

 

Which sensors? Current production trucks have them pretty much everywhere.

Aside from those driving all-mechanical trucks - we're talking 1980s or older - it's pretty safe to assume everyone here has them. So, again, which sensors are you talking about? Wheel speed sensors? The brakes will resume normal operation without ABS if those go out. Oil pressure sensors? EGT sensors? Diff. temp sensors? Transmission temp sensors? What?

Which one(s) malfunctioned?

Ummm... I'm going to take this with a bit of reservation. It's pretty well known what sensors can do, both amongst mechanics and drivers. If your son didn't know this, then it worries me that he's training. If his shop didn't know this, then, what.... do they have nothing but techs on their first day in the shop? Are they supervised by someone equally green?

No, nor are we clairvoyant. And drivers most certainly aren't, either. Believe it or not, drivers do need to meet us part of the way, but when we see a truck parked in the yard, with no write up done on it, and we see cupped tires, blown wheel seals, and other apparent and major things which the driver failed to report, it becomes apparent that they're not holding up their end.
At my company, at least (and I'm sure mine isn't the only one), the drivers who are diligent about their pre- and post-trip inspections, the ones who catch problems and promptly report them, and the ones who keep up on basic tasks expected of them (such as the aforementioned inspections, topping off fluids, etc.) are vastly in the minority. The majority seem to be the ones who think a pre-trip is maybe thumping on the tires real quick, then taking off. Then you have the 'hypochondriacs', who swear up and down EVERYTHING is wrong with their truck ALWAYS, and, since we have to take these reports seriously, we end up having to waste time looking over these things just to find out the driver is full of ####.
That's what we have to deal with.
Then you have to consider that, a component which shows no signs of fault when the truck is in for service, and which was never reported by the driver as being faulty, is a functional component. I don't have a magical crystal ball to gaze into which tells me, "oh, that's going to go to #### in about 1500 more miles", nor does anyone else who works in a shop. I can look at a wheel seal and tell if it's leaking, and then if I notice something like that on a truck parked in the yard, then I'll see if it's written up, and, if it isn't, I'll have it flagged. But some things, you won't see without either an in-depth diagnosis or a driver report of issues related to it.

Shut the truck down without warning? While is possible for some sort of 'perfect storm' to occur which will do this, the odds are a bit slim. But, that's why they do post-incident investigations, to determine if this was the case or not. If an oil pressure sensor goes out, the oil pressure gauge indicates a lack of oil pressure, coupled with a dash-based warning (or multiple ones). Aftertreatment systems first display a persistent check engine light, then they derate the truck. Just a couple examples there, and those are for protection of the truck and the engine. If those things start happening, the driver is responsible for checking their gauges, along with their mirrors, the road ahead of them, etc. and reporting these things when they happen.
You saying he's "above average" in trucking... how do you determine what the average is, and how do you come to the conclusion that he's above average, exactly?

What exactly happened? Because I do know what can happen with these things, and I'm a bit skeptical about the story being as black-and-white as you make it out to be. Which sensor(s) malfunctioned, and what were the circumstances?

 

Just as I thought, it's the same old argument about safety belts or airbags being deadly. Why are people so afraid of safety systems?

 

It's a third party that does it and they don't watch it all day. It's on a continuous loop and in the event a critical event it triggered it backs up 8 seconds before and I think 15 after depending on how it's setup then THAT video is saved and reviewed and then sent on to the companies safety department.

 

Y
You are correct, it get's sent to the Mgr's. or Safety Dept. and depending on how many drivers made it to the screen, depends on how long someone is watching the vids. We have a few drivers who absolutely hate the camera, so much so that it seems to be a distraction, always looking at the camera to see if the red light goes on. Kind of negates the purpose. Safety Dept. openly tells us it's ok to put tape over the light but not the lens obviously. It seems the ones that ##### the loudest, are the ones on the tape for no seatbelt or eating with both hands at 60 mph and then reaching down to pick up that precious french fry or whatever. Some people just can't handle change

Someone a few posts back had the brilliant idea of putting gum over the lens. lol