What Coach and Bus Operators Should Know About Connected Cameras.
With over 4.36 billion bus journeys each year, ensuring the safety of your fleet presents unique challenges. As bus and coach operators who provide local, national and international coverage, your vehicles can be spread across a vast geography making it even harder to have visibility into what is really happening with each vehicle.
Bus and coach operators are responsible for ensuring the smooth running of a critical transport service. They also have to contend with a number of challenges including vandalism, anti-social behaviour of passengers, fraudulent and exaggerated insurance claims.
Connected dashcams protect against potential safety and security compromises on buses and are proven to reduce claims costs.
Fleet dashcams have been proven to reduce claims costs
A recent study by Plexus Law showed that connected dash cams can reduce the average claims cost by over 50%.
More fleets are adopting vehicle cameras and surveillance equipment primarily to keep insurance premiums down. According to the Director at Transport Technology Systems (TTS), David Cummings the bus and coach camera market is growing, and this growth is mainly driven by insurance.
Connected dash cameras capture critical driving incidents and alert the user in real-time.
The higher the quality of the video footage, the more chance there is of speeding up the claims resolution process. This, in turn, frees up cash otherwise tied up in a claims provision account. Bus cameras remove all ambiguity around incidents, you can simply see what happened, what was the cause and how to proceed; whether that be compensation award, claim rejection or driver training.
Network-connected cameras give immediate access to footage
CCTV coverage for bus fleets is used to monitor both passenger activity and on-road incidents, with footage also accessed by insurers, emergency services. With analogue cameras, the video has to be physically removed from the hard drive of the device to access the footage.
Connected dashcams overcome these challenges as no manual intervention is required. Incident footage is automatically uploaded to the cloud and the user is alerted within seconds of an incident occurring.
Anthony Marett, Managing Director of Don’t Travel Empty and Marett’s Chariots said: “With SureCam connected cameras, we don’t have to physically retrieve the SD card or risk loss or damage to valuable footage.”
Connected dashcams can self-diagnose and report faults to both drivers and the system supplier immediately to ensure a quick repair.
Enhance duty of care to bus drivers and passengers
Bus and coach drivers often travel busy routes and long distances and have a responsibility to protect the passengers they’re transporting. Fleet owners, in turn, have a duty of care to ensure driver and passenger safety.
Connected dashcams can be used to exonerate drivers from fraudulent claims and to detect road risks to drivers and passengers alike. In-cab cameras also act as a deterrent for anti-social behaviour by passengers.
Many connected dashcams incorporate panic buttons so drivers can protect themselves against road-rage incidents.
Driver coaching and positive recognition
Driving professionally requires great skill and dedication. Furthermore, driving large vehicles, like buses and coaches, requires continuous improvement and training.
Fleet dashcams are an effective tool for driver training and can be used to alert fleet operators when there is a coachable incident like sudden braking, harsh acceleration or harsh cornering.
Cloud-based dashcams give transport managers and fleet owners insight into each driver enabling them to identify areas to improve and to reward positive behaviour.
Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Plant and Transport Director, Jonathan Hall commented that “SureCam is a positive tool in providing factual evidence of any alleged incidents or infringements reported against the vehicles and promotes a responsible driving style. Drivers are recognised for avoiding incidents which we would not have been aware of prior to the introduction of SureCam.”
Combining bus cameras with tracking or telematics gives additional insight to enable:
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- Driver behaviour monitoring and positive recognition
- Improved planning by connected navigation – routing and scheduling adherence
- Minimised vehicle idling
- Reduced operational costs including fuel
- Improved levels of service to customers and passengers
What’s the best dash cam for your bus fleet?
When choosing a dashcam or camera system for your bus or coach, there are a few factors to consider:
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- What are the main challenges or type of incidents you are looking to reduce? Then, decide the level of visibility you need. Large bus operators may need a combination of forward-facing, side, in-cab and driver-facing cameras. For smaller bus and coach fleets forward-facing and in-cab may be sufficient for your needs.
- Camera features: If installing cameras to reduce insurance premiums, HD video quality/infrared and first notification of loss are key features to consider.
- Compare the level of equipment used by Tier 1 and Tier 2 bus operators versus your own vehicle to see if you are meeting industry standard when protecting your fleet.
- Decide what incidents are important to you and what systems offer customisable settings so you get alerts you care about.
- Connected dash cam vs SD card cameras: Cloud-based cameras offer a lot of benefits and don’t require physical retrieval of footage. They are also more reliable and more cost-effective in the long run.
Our recent guide for How To Choose A Dashcam covers the different kinds of connected camera technology to invest in and the benefits of each type. Whatever the size of your bus and coach fleet, we can tailor a dashcam solution to suit your needs.
Contact us now for a free demo of the SureCam Video Monitoring Platform.
