New Camera System Coming to all company trucks.

I got no reply to the e-mail I sent a couple days ago. Guess they didn't like the question about how much memory it had. Oh well.

 

There have been a few Swifty You Tubers who were fired after releasing footage of running stop signs, stupidly self incriminating themselves. None the less, you see how Swift is swift to pull video evidence on drivers already.

 

Those are the only really important questions, I think.

1 - because it determines how far back they can view your activities.
3 - because if they define trivial things as events, more video will be saved and transmitted.
7,8 - they tie together, both being security related. But, issues that need to be known.
9 - if someone hitting the truck would trigger saved files from before the crash, that would mean the cameras are running 24/7 even if the ignition is turned off.

#6 is a no brainer. It transmits with no driver interaction, and no driver interaction is even possible.


This is a very secretive company. I went to the website to check out the product line.
Guess what?
I couldn't.
It is only 1 page, with no links to products or support.
You have to fill in a form with your name and a lot of other information to be sent information. or contacted.

They don't WANT the average Joe to know what these cameras are really capable of, hence the vetting process.

 

apparently if you hit a rough spot in the road is can set the #### thing of... Sorry but i do not buy it. It will be november before they start going into OTR trucks that are out already and by then i will have enough time to get some solid offers from other companies.

 

Do they make you sign a release so they can put you on the evening news or use your image for training purposes ....?

 

I would imagine there might be something to sign.
Something to the effect that you agree to being filmed and that Swift has total control of said recordings.

That is just a guess, however.

 

New video available at swiftdrivers.com.

 

Yes, from Stocking.
And much of the same, I might add.

It is there for our benefit, and drivers that have learned how it actually works are in favor and are promoting it to other drivers.

Well, I would like to see the actual specs of these cameras, and what they are actually capable of doing - and by whom.
But in a spy-cam system, those details are reserved for a very few.
I've seen the website of the DriveCam, and NOTHING is in the open.
You won't get any information directly about any of the products until you request it with a lot of personal information.

Drivers that buy into the propaganda are simply people that have no idea of what is possible.
And these days, if you can think it up you can write a program to do it.

Have no doubt about it - Big Brother is here, and now!

 

We had these cameras installed at my previous place of employment. I managed to get hold of one of the design engineers on the phone, and once he found out that I was also a design engineer, he was more than willing to "talk shop".

I asked him many of the same questions. The answers are from memory, and while the camera looks the same, there could have been changes made in the three years that has passed.

The design spec was to hold ten clips; about 4-5 total minutes of video. The camera uses static RAM for memory; there is NO flash memory in the camera. (I later verified that pulling the power would dump any saved video. BTW, the loss of power *is* logged.)

NO. There is NO circuitry in the camera to access any kind of external memory.

There are exactly two types of events that will trigger a recording.

1. G-force exceeding a threshold level. The camera has a 3-axis sensor. Lateral (side to side) motion is the most sensitive; vertical is the least sensitive.

2. Pressing the button on the camera.

These are the only two types that the law allows.

(This came from multiple sources, not the engineer.) Statistics have shown that in a given accident, it is far more likely that the commercial driver did NOT cause the accident. Camera footage gives proof, so no more "he said/she said".

Personal anecdote: Just a few days ago, I had a 4 wheeler swerve and brake to avoid some debris on the road. I had to do a quick swerve to the right to avoid getting hit. I now have a critical event on my record. If I had camera footage of the incident, the critical event would have been dismissed. I would have been "exonerated".

[5 skipped, as it is Swift specific.)

See the answer to #3.

What people don't realize is that it is ILLEGAL for the employer to stream the video, or to be able to remotely trigger the camera. Any employer the size of Swift would very quickly find themselves on the losing end of a large class action lawsuit.

Because of this legal prohibition, the COMMERCIAL cameras have significant limitations on what and when they can record.

Video is compressed, not encrypted.

(8 skipped.)

When the engine is off (my old job; I heard that trucks use the parking brake), the interior facing camera is deactivated.

 

MsJamie, if this company is using three year old technology they are archaic.

Please please please please don't intermingle and juxtapose OUTWARD facing "drive cams" with INWARD facing cams. In your personal anecdote, the OUTWARD cam would have aided in exoneration. The 20 seconds of INWARD footage would give an "adversary" a number of reasons to shift liability back to you.

Yes there is a new Richard video at the driver portal. He keeps saying "it's for you". If it's TRULY for me why don't I have control of it??

He gives two anecdotal examples. One is texting and the other is driving with knees and elbows while eating a salad. REALLY????? My humble opinion, if you are texting or driving a cmv with your knees and elbows while eating a salad, you don't need a camera you simply don't need a cdl. Richard implies these are Swift drivers. Have they already installed cams?????

Richard also proffers anecdotal instances where he claims he's converted drivers from negative to "ambassador", who are now converting fellow drivers. I'm wondering if Richard will give me a name and number for one of these converts???