Inward Facing Cameras & AI

Larry T. said 'tattle on us when we hold that cigarette a bit too long.' My company is banning smoking and vaping in all trucks starting Sept 2nd. I'm wondering if they can/will tweak the inward cameras to watch for that.

What??? That is nuts. And yes, they can use the cameras to tell

I am relatively new to the industry and I drive for a small time outfit with about 12 trucks so forgive my ignorance, please.

When you have an inward facing camera in your truck, who monitors the video and to what degree is it scrutinized? Do they only look at events that have been "triggered" for whatever reason? Do they have the ability to just "look in" on you anytime for any reason they feel like? Is there a person/persons/department of people who do nothing but watch their drivers all day?

Reading through this tread is Orwellian as it gets, IMO...

Every company is different. It depends on the camera and subscription package they buy. Prime's does not transmit live. The video os capture during "an event"... no seatbelt, running red light, turn too fast. I have a video on my Youtube channel if u are interested. The video goes to our fleet manager and safety dept. Our IT person can see it too. Tjry send it to our phones, but i only see if if i want to.

However... they saw they can select any time over the last 4 days. Its a matter of trust and whether you believe the company. Crete is putting them in new employees truck with audio recording and full view of rhe cab.

Larry T. said 'tattle on us when we hold that cigarette a bit too long.' My company is banning smoking and vaping in all trucks starting Sept 2nd. I'm wondering if they can/will tweak the inward cameras to watch for that.

What??? That is nuts. And yes, they can use the cameras to tell

I wonder if anybody has been able to estimate the percentage of drivers who smoke. It’s gotta be a sizeable number. Smoking is so addictive I also wonder how many drivers would quit a company that banned smoking inside their trucks.

It's a significant amount of drivers that I still see puffing a long down the road. I see more vapes than actual smokes though. That's going to be a "fun" riot to deal with! Let's put nicotine addicts in stressful situations, and remove their vice..... 🤣

Larry T. said 'tattle on us when we hold that cigarette a bit too long.' My company is banning smoking and vaping in all trucks starting Sept 2nd. I'm wondering if they can/will tweak the inward cameras to watch for that.

What??? That is nuts. And yes, they can use the cameras to tell

I wonder if anybody has been able to estimate the percentage of drivers who smoke. It’s gotta be a sizeable number. Smoking is so addictive I also wonder how many drivers would quit a company that banned smoking inside their trucks.

Veriha has 4 way cameras (outward, inward, both sides). Inward turns off when the motor is off. The others stay on 24/7/365 in case anyone hits the truck while its parked. Audio is on all the time.

We also have Netradyne DriverI which monitors driver behavior (hard turns, red light violations, hard brakes, stop sign violations, etc). It's actually a fun game to play as we get small bonuses for winning best score in the fleet.

Overall I don't think it's a bad thing. The inward cameras are blocked when you pull the windshield curtains.

The AI can be amusing. It nailed one of my buddies with a hard brake when doing a tug test!

Another buddy got so pi**ed at a 4 wheeler he punched the steering wheel so hard the AI recorded a collision event. I am glad he is a friend and not an enemy LOL!

It's certainly not perfect, but it helps foster better driving habits in drivers IMO.

As previously mentioned, every company is different.

My company also has 4 cameras. 1 Driver facing, 1 Front facing, and 1 looking down each side. The cameras are always recording, but no one is sitting there watching you drive. The one exception being they do weekly camera functionality checks on every truck. If you happen to be doing something you shouldn't be at the moment they check your camera, well that's tough luck. If you generate a "critical event" like a hard brake or a sharp turn it will send a 40 second video clip to the safety department for review. It will do the same if you blow a stop sign, red light, or a railroad crossing (we're all hazmat).

I've talked to drivers at other companies who have started using more AI monitoring on their drivers. Cameras track their eye movements and chirp warnings if their eyes stray for to long. If they don't correct their eye movement it will generate a video for safety to review. They also get a score generated by the AI system, every time the driver requires correction by the AI they accumulate points. Higher points are bad...

There seem to be an increasing number of companies that are banning phone usage while the truck is moving. Doesn't matter if you use a legal hands free device, you must be stopped to use the phone.

Smoking is already prohibited near the truck since we haul fuel.

This is the wussification of America. The more accepting and tolerant we are of behavior modification by the corporate and beruocatic complex, the more we become like China with a social credit score based on all your actions being monitored.

The basic issue is that we have a surplus of individuals driving vehicles that simply shouldn't be. The physical motor skills to drive while enjoying a smoke, vaping, and doing a million other things that you probably shouldn't be doing are either there or not there.

I'm talking about Bud Elkins slam shifting a 1969 firebird while smoking a cigar and winning track records. Hell, guys used to bang three gear shifts while driving with scalding hot coffee in a paper cup between their legs while smoking nonfiltered smokes. They were either successful at it or they suffered the consequences of not being. I've operated a lot of various equipment and drove a lot of old trucks that were widow makers. It's just the way it was. You either learned how to do it, or got out of the way.

Some people are just naturally gifted at operating equipment and vehicles. It's a small percentage of the population. We have the eye hand coordination, the physical motor skill aptitude, and spatial reasoning to do it with or without distractions around. In a natural world, those people are drivers. They naturally gravitate to it. Those who don't do it well, fail and are out of the industry. Natural selection, not everyone makes the team, not everyone gets a trophy.

I can honestly say, going from a massive corporation that engages in transportation to a trucking company that is still a trucking company, free from encumbrances of cameras and nanny state equipment, I can't bring myself to go back to that environment. My performance metric is based on performance, not adherence to policy.

The world is becoming a softer place, too soft. To willingly accept behavior modification by corporate overlords and unelected beruocrats is to tolerate mediocrity and the ongoing devaluation of skilled labor. This has been going on since the 70s. Our labor and skills have lost their value across almost all industries.

They showed some videos at orientation. Several where a vehicle jumped over to the left with stopped traffic in right lane and the trucker hit them. I didn't follow or understand when I asked how does having a inward facing camera help in a court of law/lawsuit.

To me the outward facing cameras are enough.

They showed some videos at orientation. Several where a vehicle jumped over to the left with stopped traffic in right lane and the trucker hit them. I didn't follow or understand when I asked how does having a inward facing camera help in a court of law/lawsuit.

To me the outward facing cameras are enough.

As truckers, it isn't enough to say we didn't cause the accident.. we have to prevent it. if someone is merging, and i can slow down and do not.. and that person hits a guard rail... i failed to prevent. i didn't cause it.

recently the driver dangling off the bridge in KY had an outward which picked up a car coming at her and smashing into her fender. the inward camera proved that she tried to gain control of the truck, but could not because her steering rod broke on impact. she turned and turned to no avail, as the truck went off the bridge.