At the risk of stating the obvious, safe driving is cost effective driving because it impacts across the key cost centres: fuel, engine wear, accident repairs and insurance.
GPS based telematics equipment provides myriad data for fleet operators to track, monitor and analyse just about every aspect of a vehicle and driver’s performance. However it is in-cab cameras that Lumley believes deliver a comprehensive data-set for transport operators to acquire meaningful real-world, risk management data that can be acted upon.
Since introducing cameras as part of its risk management product portfolio, Lumley has seen a reduction in claims and incidents by a staggering 89%. The camera system they use is based on the DriveCam platform (distributed by Auckland based IVCS) which provides a video clip with audio when a vehicle is involved in a high-risk situation or unusual motion. The camera looks inside and out and is set up especially for a truck – eliminating shake.
Jim Wiles, Fleet Risk Manager at Lumley is unequivocal about the system they offer “it’s proving to be the most significant safety advance in commercial transport in over a decade”. This is no simple video camera, it is part of a fully integrated GPS enabled system designed specifically for transport, and designed to play a key role in managing risk and safety in commercial transport applications.
Wiles believes that merely having the system in place provides an incentive to improve driver behaviour and return savings to transport operators via reduced accident costs and reducing engine wear.
Haydn Bowbyes is managing director of IVCS, which partners with Lumley in supplying the camera system. He cares about driver safety, saying that “there are around 200 to 300 ‘near fatalities’ every day” (a near miss essentially). There is a minor incident every 2 to 3 days, a major accident once a week and a fatality once a month”.
He is proud of the role IVCS has played in helping transport companies to “clean up poor safety records” and be the catalyst of culture and behaviour change.
Jim Wiles is clear on cameras and safety, “it is our recommendation that if [operators] want to get the results, a fully managed and reviewed system is the only way forward”.
