Cameras Inside Facing Road And Cameras On Mirrors Facing Back Side Of Truck.

I'm a company driver. They just installed cameras on mirrors facing back with wide angle lenses. Now they can see in cab also which they said they wouldn't do. Is it illegal to put a hand clamp with some tape to window side of camera so they can't see in cab?

What exactly are your concerns?

If it is privacy while your on break in the sleeper just close the curtain. Problem solved.

If your concerned with the company having a view while your driving then that is another issue. Their equipment, their liabilty, their rules.

Are you absolutely sure that those mirror cameras can see inside? All the companies I have driven for that use the backward facing mirror cameras do not see inside the cab through the window.

As for putting tape or a piece of paper taped to the window or any other method, if you are involved in an accident or you are at the office and someone sees it, it depends on what State you're in, but you could get fired. I had a driver facing camera at my last company in the new truck that I got in August 2021. In May 2022, I was at the shop and the office manager was there. I had covered my camera (for 9 mths) because it would turn on when I was parked. The office manager saw that it was covered, I got a call to come into the office, which was at a different location, and I was terminated for not following company policy. Idaho is an "at-will" state and they do not have to even give you a reason for terminating you. So I just went to a company that did not have driver facing cameras. The camera on the mirrors did not see into the cab.

If for some reason, that the camera does see inside the cab, it won't see very far in and the window would distort what it sees. I wouldn't worry about it unless you are doing something you shouldn't be doing.

If your concerned with the company having a view while your driving then that is another issue. Their equipment, their liabilty, their rules.

+1 for PJ

While it's unpopular with many drivers, driver facing cameras are legal for employers to use. But, many states have laws that state that the employer must notify the employees that the are subject to video recording.

As was said, their equipment, their right, but that does come with certain limitations.

If it concerns you, you can certainly ask in writing if the have the capacity to record you or are doing that. At that point, you have some choices to make.

If they are, and like many drivers, you find it unacceptable, you have options. Many companies have implemented them only to have to take them back out as they lost significant portions of their drivers. You can vote with your feet. It's one area that drivers show unity and actually get positive changes to happen.

You can fight the corporation through attrition, but the house always wins. Additionally, if you're employing tactics to obscure cameras, that's usually grounds for termination.

The other option is to seek financial gain from it. See if they will pay you more to allow it. Many companies found that was the only way they could retain drivers with driver facing cameras. If there is a bonus attached to the cameras observations, learn what the parameters are, develop a system to counter their system or always keep you in their parameters and you can guarantee you'll get the bonus.

We have outward facing cameras, our safety bonus and kicker bonus is attached the outcomes. It took me a while, but i learned exactly what the parameters are for events to be recorded and used by the company to prevent my bonus, and altered my driving habits to always secure the bonus.

That being said, the hoops I would have to jump through to attain a bonus with a driver facing cam would be almost insurmountable, if they tried implementing it again, I'd probably seek employment elsewhere.

I wonder how long before most companies install driver facing cameras. As with forward facing cameras, I bet it helps with their overall insurance rates. If they all do it nobody except O/Os will be able to get away from them.

When I drove I never had them but I wouldn't have been annoyed by them either. Now, if they had audio recording capabilities I would've been toast.

1. These cameras record & remember only the last ten seconds. If there is an "event", they record the next ten seconds and send it to an office. The photos are screened to eliminate non-events not worth reporting to the company.

2. They do not continuously record and there are not people sitting at monitors watching your every move.

1. These cameras record & remember only the last ten seconds. If there is an "event", they record the next ten seconds and send it to an office. The photos are screened to eliminate non-events not worth reporting to the company.

2. They do not continuously record and there are not people sitting at monitors watching your every move.

Actually, the cameras capabilities is based on the software they're using and how they set it up. For the company I drive for its always recording and saving video that can be pulled up. I'm not sure how long it saves for but it can definitely be pulled up after the fact even with no event. In our quarterly meetings they'll pull up footage from our cameras if a driver informs them of something upon their return. We've also had a couple guys stop by the office upon their return to watch stuff with the boss that they found amusing. My buddy had a hard brake and got called into the office to discuss it. The event marked a time and they were able to pull up the camera (seperate software) at that time to see events leading up to it.

If cameras are a potential deal breaker for a driver it's in everybody's best interest to understand the way their system operates. Our cameras have the ability to record audio and driver face but at this time both aren't being utilized. We have covers over the drivers lens though I feel it's just a matter of time before they come off. In my opinion, we have so many drivers against them that I feel they're easing us into it because that's what they've done with other things. Despite all the threats of guys quitting over the cameras nobody has.

Our cameras have the inward lens removed. The first ones we got where "deactivated ". For the new ones they made a big deal mentioning how they paid extra to have the cameras made specially without the inward lens.

They also said the camera saves 5 minutes of tape, 2.5 minutes before and 2.5 minutes after a triggering event. That footage is then sent to someone who edits for the saftey department.

Despite all the threats of guys quitting over the cameras nobody has.

We had people claim the same thing, but just like by you nobody quit. However if they do in can cameras and audio that might change.

So unpopular opinion here...

But I learned to like having cameras. I don't have anything to hide from my employers, so they can watch me pick my nose and scratch my balls all day if that is what they get off on.

Partial joking aside, cameras saved my ass from liability TWICE when I worked for AAA. No one spends time watching trucker TV. Safefy usually has bigger fish to fry. That said, as others have mentioned, during downtime, close the curtains. Some trucks have a middle visor that pulls down over the camera as well.

I would not tamper with the equipment, however. Some companies roll their eyes at it while others will outright fire you for it.