There’s pressure in the industry to monitor truck drivers—and drivers aren’t happy

[kscarbel2]

Fortune / May 26, 2015

Swift Transportation, one of the nation’s largest freight trucking companies, this month began equipping its trucks with Lytx DriveCam systems (http://www.lytx.com/) including both a front-facing and driver-facing camera. Though it’s not the first truck operator to install driver cams, Swift is by far the largest to date, and pressures on the industry point towards broader adoption.

In addition to their human cost, the financial costs of crashes for carriers are substantial. In a 2012 report, the FMCSA estimated the average cost of an injury crash at $195,258, and of a fatal crash at over $3.5 million. Recent years have seen over 4,000 truck accident fatalities in the U.S. annually, and settlements to victims routinely exceed carriers’ federally-mandated $750,000 per-incident insurance coverage. 2014’s largest truck accident settlement was for over $34 million.

But driver-facing cameras could help reduce the number of accidents that happen in the first place. Truck drivers, of course, are used to being alone in their cabs. However, observation—even the illusion of observation—can yield dramatic improvements in people’s behavior. A 2011 study by researchers at Newcastle University showed that just hanging posters depicting observant eyes in public spaces reduced undesirable behavior by as much as 50%.

Truckers, however, have taken to industry forums to express outrage over the driver-facing cameras, saying that they represent both excessive oversight and an invasion of privacy. Swift seemed to anticipate resistance, and in April issued an internal video urging drivers to withhold judgment. Land Line reported that in the video, Swift President and COO Richard Stocking reassured drivers that “we are not watching the driver; we are watching out for the driver.”

Though fatal truck crashes per mile traveled declined by 77% between 1975 and 2009, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shown them rising again recently—by 3 percent per mile per traveled between 2011 and 2012.

But the U.S. Federal Highway Administration concluded in a 2004 study that in car-truck collisions, the car driver was solely responsible for the accident 70 percent of the time. Though front-facing cameras are already common on freight trucks, evidence from driver cams may go further to limit drivers and carriers’ liability in fatal crashes.

Driver resistance represents a risk for Swift. The trucking industry is experiencing a mounting labor shortage, and drivers’ responses to the new program so far indicate it may be an obstacle to hiring. But the risk of alienating drivers may be outweighed by the benefits of the cameras, which early indications show will both reduce accidents and limit carriers’ financial liability when they occur.

Swift operates over 18,000 trucks, but cameras will be installed, at least at first, only in the more than 6,000 trucks owned directly by the company. Swift insists that truck feeds will not be monitored live, saying that the Lytx system will only archive footage for the ten-second window on either side of a swerve, hard brake, or other unusual event. Video will then be uploaded wirelessly to a database for analysis, first by Lytx, then, if an event is deemed significant, by Swift.

But drivers remain skeptical. “Having a driver-cam recording what a driver does would be the same as installing cameras in all the Swift executives’ homes,” observed driver Nancy L. Nyman in a comment on the Land Line website. “A truck is our home, so they should treat it like one.”

Most long-haul truckers sleep, eat, and even shower in their cabs, and thousands of comments on Facebook and trucking forums reflected similar privacy concerns.

But the benefits of driver-facing cameras have been borne out by smaller operators with driver-cam programs. As reported by the Commercial Carrier Journal, the northeastern food distributor Bozzuto’s experienced a 22 percent drop in accidents and a dramatic improvement in safety metrics in its first two years with driver cams installed.

Other large carriers have already explored the possibilities of driver-facing cameras, with CR England running a pilot program in 2013. With Swift leading the way to full-scale implementation, its competitors may not be far behind.

[Underdog]

My employer began installing these cameras last year, then backed off. Got a bit of resistance from current drivers, and I imagine it would be more difficult to hire new drivers. He's got his hands full already with several new trucks sitting idle. We need at least 20 drivers right now, unless he fired a few more this week.

Gregg

[mike69mackman]

Any oversight of this new breed of drivers is welcome as far as I'm concerned. But then again if these co's would hire and train properly they wouldn't have to babysit them with cameras. Honestly though there are very few safe qualified, responsible drivers out there anymore so I guess they hire any swinging dick that comes through the door, then bitch because the government is cracking down on companies.

[41chevy]

Any oversight of this new breed of drivers is welcome as far as I'm concerned. But then again if these co's would hire and train properly they wouldn't have to babysit them with cameras. Honestly though there are very few safe qualified, responsible drivers out there anymore so I guess they hire any swinging dick that comes through the door, then bitch because the government is cracking down on companies.

They want qualified but won't train them because of their bottom line, but also they are required to be an Equal Opportunity Employer so the numbers for hiring that group are more important to them. Meet the EOE numbers and pay no fines, get an up for certain contracts and get $ for training some of the minority groups to the minimum requirements. Paul.

[david wild]

I agree, look at what walks around a truck stop claiming to be a truck driver, I would not stop at camera, might put another person in there just to observe the idiot in action. but look at the labor pool in general, we have a problem, I don't know a company of any kind that is not looking for qualified help, not just a welfare check collector, be government or corporate. We have a serious problem when anywhere you go all you here about is people complaining about having to work, heard clerk at Dollar General telling other clerk she did better on welfare than working, that is the problem. Democrats grand plan, everyone works for big brother. they just have not seen it does not work.

[41chevy]

True! The push now for 15 dollar and hour minimum wage (all for the Dems vote) because fast food workers can't afford a new car or house! So in response a few of the fast food places are testing a robotic facility. . staffed by one employee pre shift to feed the machine. We have a Valaeo Gas Station that is a dark facility, no workers Debit or Credit cards only.

Schools and a lot of parents teach the children that manual labor is beneath them or as my daughter inlaw says "that's Immigrant work". Most I've had come in for a job think at 20 something they need to make top dollar with no experience and pick and choose what they want to do. Except for a precious few of young people Americans no longer have work ethic and don't feel the need to have any. . .the government or mommy and daddy will take care of me, the school and the president said so.