DRIVING DOWN THE COST OF REPAIRS AND CLAIMS WITH FLEET VIDEO
Trucks stops can be one of the most dangerous places on America’s highways. With the tight confines and road conditions of these rest stops, SAV Express relies on SureCam’s fleet video technology to look out for their company.
“Before cameras, we previously didn’t have a chance,” said Matt “Jake” Jacobson, the company’s director of fleet operations. “We were hoping on a good Samaritan or maybe a nearby fellow driver also parking at the same location. And most of the time the truck stop’s camera is not good enough quality to get any sort of details.”
SAV Express, a transportation company based in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, prides itself on being flexible and meeting the needs of its customers by providing dry van truckload shipment services to help businesses transport products from one location to another. With a fleet of 100 vehicles, the transportation company provides customers across the country with fast, reliable asset transportation services pulling ammunition, water, food, and flour.
THE CHALLENGE
For SAV Express employees, the risk of getting from one destination to another can be high. They needed reliable and intuitive technology to capture incidents in real-time but they struggled with finding technology that was cost-effective and would provide them the rights to the footage.
“We tried a pilot for the connected dash cam sold by our telematics provider since we already had their technology in our trucks,” Jacobson said. “The video clarity was not the best and the data was as expensive as can be. The real problem was with who had rights to the footage. For their video telematics package, their stance was that it was their data and footage, but they shared it with us.”
The team at SAV Express didn’t like that approach and the customer service was not reliable.
CHOOSING SURECAM
“The price point with the clarity of the cameras was a big plus for us when we first considered cameras, Jacobson said. “We decided on SureCam due to the outstanding service and relationship we developed. We couldn’t be happier with the service.”
Now when an accident does take place, they are at an advantage with SureCam’s fast and reliable technology.
“If an accident or incident does take place, we can pull that footage and email directly to the officer once the driver gets the information,” Jacobson said. “That has changed so many accident reports.”
FASTER RESOLUTIONS
SureCam fleet video has become essential to SAV Express’ daily operations. Video is also used to document the causes of shipment delays.
Recently a broker didn’t believe a SAV driver was late for delivering a shipment because of a down tree and power line.
“We were able to send him a picture from the scene,” Jacobson said. “With the time stamp on the corner it made it very clear what he was up against.”
With the help of SureCam’s fleet video technology, SAV Express can run its daily operations more smoothly and efficiently.
For its latest incident, SAV Express captured a truck back into one of its parked vehicles at a truck stop. The backing incident totaled more than $10,000 in damages — a cost the company would have paid out of pocket if they had not captured the collision and truck details on video. “It suddenly puts in the truth of the matter rather than the way that the other party wants to shed light on the situation,” Jacobson said. “I think it keeps everyone honest.”
“Since adopting SureCam’s technology in 2018, we have easily saved the business more than $1 million dollars in repair and claims costs,” Jacobson said.
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