Cameras In Tractors?

Rayzer, even that name calling isn't new. It doesn't really advance the conversation.

You describe yourself as "Experienced Driver" but with 7 posts so far. Sure, anyone can sign on here and share their experience. I appreciate that. Who do you drive for? How long have you been driving?

Doesn't your company have policies you need to follow, that you don't like but you need to do if you want to keep your job?

For the record, I think a company is perfectly within their rights to install cameras in their work spaces, including trucks. In the case of trucks, those cameras should be "off" when the driver goes off duty.

The keyword there is "should" be off. In this modern day of computer hacking nothing is safe. And on top of it people are just weird. Just because you have a boss it doesn't mean he/she doesn't fly a freak flag and just because they tell you that they can't see anything unless "an event has occurred" doesn't mean that they can't access your camera at any time of the day or night, on duty or off.

Look at the Xbox Kinect camera that hooks up to your Xbox. Supposedly it was only used with certain games that were designed to work with Kinect. Turns out that these freaks were hacking into the Kinect camera connected to people's Xbox and watching them in their own home.

And to prove my point about people being freaky weird all you have to do is turn on the TV and you will see that probably 80% of the programming is what? Yep, you guessed it, reality TV. People just love watching people, especially when the person(s) being watched don't know they are being watched.

Belluavir believes:

there are plenty of companies that indulge this preference ....

They might "indulge" - until the insurance company, or the State, tell them to quit indulging and get the cameras installed already.

And besides, just what are you doing that you don't want your boss to see you do just before your accident? I thought "observant driver" would be a good thing to be doing just before the fender bender.

Errol,

I was under the impression that big trucking companies like Swift are usually self-insured. If that's not so, then which insurance company is it that is forcing Swift to install cameras that see and hear the driver at all times in the truck, even when off duty? I really want to know, because if it is the same company I use, I will definitely be switching companies. Also, which states are forcing trucking companies to install driver facing cameras?

Rayzer, even that name calling isn't new. It doesn't really advance the conversation.

You describe yourself as "Experienced Driver" but with 7 posts so far. Sure, anyone can sign on here and share their experience. I appreciate that. Who do you drive for? How long have you been driving?

Doesn't your company have policies you need to follow, that you don't like but you need to do if you want to keep your job?

First off, I didn't call one single person on here a name. I only mentioned two terms that "our" industry uses on a daily basis. If you or anyone else found that offensive then I apologize.

Secondly, I don't get the connection with calling myself an Experienced Driver but with only seven posts. Are you guys wanting to know if I'm an experienced driver out on the road, or are you wanting to reserve that term for how long I've been a member on the TT site? I assumed you wanted to know my experience as a truck driver and not how long I have been on here.

But, like I said a few posts ago, I'm four months away from twenty years driving and of course my employer has policies that I have to follow in order to keep my job. And if one or more of them ever contradict my beliefs then I will politely part ways and either find another driving job or find another type of work altogether.

So, is that what you meant or did what you say go right over my head and I missed something?

Where, if anywhere, do you draw the line about privacy? Or have you completely surrendered?

When the man said pull down your pants so he can check your privates, you pulled down your pants and he checked your privates. So don't act like you're some hero that's above the rest of us standing up for your rights. You've surrendered just as much as anyone.

Where would you draw the line on personal privacy?

When it's personal. When you're an employee of a company inside equipment owned by that company then you're not in a personal situation, you're in a work situation.

to me It just seems like a slap in the face after 20 years of driving

I have a friend who works at a company with 50 trucks. In the past year they've had three incidents that I know of (and a million I don't):

A 25 year veteran reached for something on the floorboard, his foot came off the clutch, and he rolled in front of a train. Totalled the truck and trailer but wasn't hurt badly - pure luck.

A 20 year veteran fell asleep at the wheel. The truck went into a creek, rolled, and ruined the truck and 45,000 pounds of dog food.

Just last week a 30 year veteran, accident free and ready to retire in 3 weeks rolled a truck on a ramp. Minor injuries.

So you know as well as anyone what can happen and it doesn't matter how long you've been driving.

the next biggest issue I have with driver facing camera's is the blatant discrimination of only putting them in trucks. Why not cars

Because you're an employee in a commercial vehicle being operated by a company for profit. Cars are personal vehicles.

Have any of you ever thought that if we were paid by the hour instead of by the mile that drivers might not feel the need to rush around taking unnecessary risks dodging in and out of traffic, running yellow lights, etc., while driving and that the cameras might not even be necessary?

No, I've never once thought that because all day, every day I was surrounded by four wheelers who drove like suicidal maniacs though they weren't being paid at all. They were just driving around for their own personal reasons and they drove that way.

Now keep in mind that if you screw up it's your company that's going to get sued, not you. So if you don't want your company to have the right to monitor its employees to make sure things are being done safely and legally then how about this scenario:

Your company agrees to take the camera out of the truck if you'll sign a waiver stating that you take full responsibility for anything that happens during the course of your travels. You absolve the company completely of all responsibility for your actions if you screw up and get in a wreck. If you agree to that, they'll stop monitoring you.

Would you do it?

"When the man said pull down your pants so he can check your privates, you pulled down your pants and he checked your privates. So don't act like you're some hero that's above the rest of us standing up for your rights. You've surrendered just as much as anyone."

I never claimed otherwise. I am questioning your line of reasoning... That, basically, we shouldn't question the next intrusion, because we accepted all the others.

And, it is personal for those that must live in their truck.

Okay, Brett, this is the last post I'm going to make on this subject (I can already hear the cheers ) and just accept that we can all agree to disagree. If those of you that are willing to let the government, companies, or insurance companies have their way with you just because you feel that it is their right and that you have none because you are ONLY an employee then there is nothing I can say or do to change your minds. I don't understand that mentality, but to each their own.

I would love to see the trucking industry stand together as a whole just once sometime during my career, however I don't see that happening...ever, those days are gone. I also wonder what has to happen in our industry to make drivers realize that we don't have to keep taking all the crap that keeps raining down on us. For the past few years it just doesn't seem to stop. It's one regulation after another with no end in sight. We are constantly told that "Without trucks, America stops," but so many of us act like there is nothing we can do and that we have to keep rolling with the punches. Just like the Restart rule is in jeopardy AGAIN of being reinstated. That has to be one of the stupidest rules I have ever heard of in my life, yet here we are again with it staring us right in the face. It's enough to drive a preacher to drink.

And to answer your question if I would take full responsibility for anything that happens if they took the camera out of my truck, the answer is no, why should I? I'm not compromising my belief for anyone and if it ever came down to being mandatory then I am far along enough in my career that I'm comfortable and would retire without worry. However, I would like to have the money in the bank to pay for my grandson's college without having to dip into my retirement, but if it happens then it happens and my grandson better get a job is all I can say.

So, with that being said, I am done with this topic. I hope all you guys and girls have a great weekend and be safe out there.

Seppo is adamant:

However, whether I'm at fault or not, I absolutely do not want video taken of me shown publicly to any group of people for any reason.

No company has the time to show "Best Of DriverCam" for either instruction or laffs. Even any Incident recording sent in is checked for "usefulness" before it gets processed.

Better start looking for a local job.

If I was reading earlier comments correctly, the company showing the video of the driver eating the salad to other drivers in the organization. I understand they aren't compiling anything for a blooper reel, and I'm all for the proper usage of cameras for recording necessary incidents, but I'm strongly against companies showing video taken of drivers (without their permission) to use as examples.

Interestingly enough, I once was given a ticket for "too fast for conditions" in Kentucky for driving 50 mph on the Interstate while it was snowing. I was in complete control of the vehicle and could have safely gone considerably faster but was taking it easy because people in front of me were just easing along. Now I'm from Buffalo where we get more snow in June than Kentucky gets in a decade so I'm comfortable in it, Kentuckians are not.

I asked the officer when he said he was giving me a ticket, "How you can say I was driving too fast for conditions if I was in complete control of the vehicle and safely holding my lane? If I was sitting off in a corn field I would understand. But what evidence is there that I was driving too fast for conditions? I was 100% in control of the vehicle at all times and I was safely going down the road."

He said that it's a judgment call on his part and that I shouldn't be driving that fast when it was snowing. I explained I was from Buffalo and 50 mph is more than adequately safe for these conditions, but he disagreed. For him I'm sure it wouldn't have been as safe because he doesn't have the experience I do so snow probably scares the cr*p out of him.

Well turns out the judge sided with the officer. Apparently Kentuckians know more about what's safe to do in the snow than someone who grew up in it. And apparently even if you have a career-long safe driving record they know more about how you should be driving your vehicle than you do.

My point is that even if you aren't demonstrating any signs of erratic driving it's possible you could be ticketed or fired from your job for distracted driving because of something you were doing behind the wheel. So be aware of that.

Brett, I've lived here and a few diffferent states over my years and from what I've seen while driving a 4wheeler, when it snows anywhere in KY and all the way down to the gulf, drivers of anything with 4 wheels becomes a danger. I did live in WI for 4 years from 99-04 and they know what they are doing up there when they drive but they don't have the ice like KY and other states do either. Ice storms are the worst weather in KY and TBTH, when the ice starts falling I stay off the roads cause of all the damn kids out there being idiots behind the wheel. Whem I lived in WI I learned to drive on both the snow and ice, Drove across the lake once or twice and ice fishing, lol. When it snows down here and south its just better to savee you and your truck by getting off the road and it will save you the headache of an accident, your fault or not, mainly there fault. Thats my opinion and I'll stick to it. BTW thanks to you and your staff at truckingtruth for all of the helpful info on the site. I've been doing research and on companies and schools and also taking the CDL prep tests you guys have an its been very beneficial to my beginning to become a driver. Now all I have to do is get cleared by the VA and off to school I go to become an honest to goodness truck driver, wish I had done this right out of the military to begin with.