Are Companies Putting Driver Facing Cameras In Their Trucks?

Bill F wrote:

I like lots of following distance as much as everyone else, but if a camera went off every time someone cut four seconds in front of me; many high traffic areas would be almost continuous alarm events. 285 bypass Atlanta the more I back off the more people dive in. A no win situation.

You would think,... but not really. I lived with a driver facing camera for over 3 years (including a beta-test phase)...they really do not go-off (upload) that often. I drive the Northeast; Jersey, Baltimore, Phila Area,...deal with very heavy traffic and aggressive drivers, similar to what you described in the Atlanta area. Honestly didn't notice it after a while...became a non-issue.

CFI got rid of the few driver facing cams because they could no longer justify the cost. They also do not have a policy about having your side arm with you. However, many places you will go won't allow it on their property. Then every state has their own rules. Good luck.

If you think about it, that's less of an intrusion than many other jobs because they don't record every second, unlike most security cameras.

As for venting to the camera, I just vent to nothing. A camera would make me appear less nuts...

My truck's cam saves/uploads footage, based on events/triggers, in both directions... forward and driver facing. It's their truck, I'm fine with it. What is it that drivers plan to do that they will be embarrassed for others to see? Perhaps they just shouldn't do those things.

My company has them, but then again we are hauling 9,000 gallons of violatile gasoline so all precautions are taken by the company.

In fact, it can be quite fun. You see, you need to treat the camera as another person inside your truck. So whenever dispatch is being stupid, or a policy is contradicting another policy, or a customer is being a jerk, or a car is being obnoxious at a gas station I use the camera to vent my frustration.

Or, when I'm in the singing mood I sing loud and clear and when the song is done I tap on the camera and ask "How was that? Damn, I can sing!"

And don't worry, I pick my nose on a daily basis in front of the camera, pretty sure all the drivers do. Pretty soon you forget its there, or you just learn to have fun with it.

Awesome. If you hadn't already revealed that you're a Commie... errr... of Russian descent, and there weren't 25 yrs between us, I'd have thought we were separated at birth!

This is an issue we've all gone round and round with...

To answer your question, yes, some companies have started using driver facing cams and many use forward facing cams. Most, if not all, only record when triggered. Still, just be aware that this does seem to be a new trend in the industry. Whether driver facing cams will stick around or not--I have no idea. But if you want to get into this career, be aware that whatever carrier you choose to go with may eventually start using them.

Ok, I feel a bit better knowing that a lot of the cams facing me are being dropped by many companies. I don't believe I would be doing anything wrong but perhaps on the other side they may think I am, dunno. I cant help but feel creeped by being watched by a total stranger. I don't know why, I just do, kind of like the fact that clowns totally freak me out yet my sister loves them. On the other hand I fully embrace the forward facing cams as they will show the truth and nothing but the truth should something unfortunate happen. It could save your job or catch a crime being committed. Speaking of saving your job, let me go on a tangent. I think a personal cam is also a good idea. As I stated earlier, I am jumping all over the place while I am looking into trucking and saw a video of a man being threatened by dispatch that he may be fired even though the situation was due to some very poor decisions THEY made. That personal cam saved his job. About my side arm. I think, I haven't researched it, that if it is in a locked safe with the ammo in a separate container that customers will exempt it being brought onto their property. Can anyone direct me to alternatives? Having something is better than nothing. I am going to research and post for at least six months before I make a commitment but at this point I am leaning towards being a trucker. Thank you so so much for being here TT! Hope I don't become a pest.

John, all I can say is you're going to need a lot of tissues for all your issues. Good grief. Freaked out by a camera? How do you ever manage to go into a public building then? Restaurants, stores, malls, movie theaters, major intersections - you're on camera being watched live by strangers from the moment you leave your house until you get home.

And the gun thing isn't going to fly either. That's another issue we go round and round with all the time.

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And that guy who "saved his job" because of his "terrible dispatcher?" You're almost certainly talking about Abe, the big dude with the beard, who was a lazy, lying piece of garbage who set up his dispatcher by refusing to drive after sitting for 20 hours doing nothing any yet claiming he was too tired to drive. The reason he was trying to get away with it is because his company offers a minimum weekly salary if you're available for dispatch. So he was trying to get out of doing any actual work but being paid a nice salary anyways.

When it comes to trucking you're doing an incredibly dangerous job in a public environment. You're going to give up a lot of personal privacy and freedoms to do so, just like any job that involves the welfare of the public. You're going to be monitored constantly, you're going to get regular physicals, you're going to be drug tested regularly, your truck and your logbook can be inspected at any time without cause, and you're going to have to jump through hoops all the time for all sorts of reasons. It's a dangerous job where you're responsible for a lot of innocent lives. Being monitored and scrutinized just goes with the territory.

I would never be able to pick my nose or sing out of tune knowing I am being watched...

I sing a lot while driving. I figure if they want to punish themselves by listening in, that's their problem, lol.

One thing to consider about driver facing cams. IT COULD SAVE YOUR CAREER. I personally know of a guy who was running linehaul at night and somebody jumped in front of the truck in the middle of the highway. Without a camera it would be hard to prove that the driver wasn't at fault.....