Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/708027
To ward off such expensive, time- consuming cases, Carroll Fulmer began using cameras to gather video evidence. The SmartDrive dual-camera systems in place there today produce such good results that they shortcut the satisfaction of "going to court and having this 'gotcha' moment." When video evidence is in play, Fulmer says, "it just never gets that far." He describes a case of attempted insur- ance fraud. "We had a gentleman pull in front of us at 65 miles per hour and slam on his brakes, and we rear-ended him. Our driver got charged. A day or two later, we were able to get that vid- eo, and they retracted their citation." Without the video, it could have been simply a "he-said she-said" trial with an officer's citation working against the trucking company. Carroll Fulmer does carry excess insurance – "up to $10 million, $8 million over our first $2 million," he says, with a high deductible to lower the premiums. The investment in the cameras, Fulmer believes wholeheart- edly, "lowers our exposure" with the ability to "tell the true story of what really happened." Dragging a suit out when there's a scarcity of evidence, too, is unappeal- ing because attorney's fees accrue. "With a camera system, you know what you have," Fulmer says. "If we're at fault and we know it" beyond a shadow of a doubt, "we have no prob- lem paying the injured party, but we don't want to pay the attorneys." Bill Strimbu's Nick Strimbu Inc. fleet moved to iDrive's dual road- and driver-facing camera system (iDriveg- lobal.com). It's not unlike Fulmer's SmartDrive cams, but with a crucial difference. Both SmartDrive and Lytx DriveCam, two industry leaders, include a third-party review service for all critical events. Most of those events, with parameters determined by the fleets, are used for training. The iDrive system is in some ways more intrusive because it gives fleet managers the potential to monitor drivers in real time. But as the Strimbu fleet has it set up, the company moni- tors captured events after the fact and on their own, rather than paying for any third-party review service. When drivers fuel at the central terminal in Brookfield, Ohio, personnel download the data from the camera. "We like to review our own events," Bill Strimbu says. "A lot of these camera manufac- turers don't allow you to do that." If the volume of events is sufficiently low, having little or no direct ongoing costs could be an appealing option for many of the smallest fleets. What's more, reflecting a trend that's just now gaining steam, "the insurance company we're with pays half the cost of the camera," each of which costs about $300 in total, Strimbu says. While many owner-operators are investing in road-facing dashcams, they've seen no reason to buy driver- facing cameras to monitor themselves, though some have gone that route with the employment of two consumer dashcams, one pointing at the road, one back into the cab. Moseley believes that might be the right move in light of litigation. 6 www.bigrigowner.com A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 Cover Story Cover Story 0816.indd 2 7/8/16 9:19 AM