Inward Facing Cameras & AI

someone said "AI" and everyone is losing their minds

Well said, and true. We truckers are funny. We can face terrible storms, black of night, and ridiculously demanding schedules, but get us thinking somebody might get to see what we're doing every once in a while, and we lose our composure.

For myself, the bigger issue is feeling like the truth was slowly trickled out to us, after every direct lie.

This is two incidents that have made me question the level of trust I have in the company.

Yeah, I severely dislike the idea of the camera pointed at me, and notifications going off (how many of us ignore the lane departure warning? Or the soft beep of following too close?) but it won't be the absolute deciding factor in me leaving, it would be one of many.

AI isn't perfect, nor will it ever be.

So I’m thinking that there are different levels of technology used with inward facing cameras. Is this the case? For example, the Prime cameras will use AI and will be advanced technology. Then there are the older systems that can record but don’t analyze like AI does. I believe my company uses cameras with just basic recording ability. Even with all the reaching, grabbing, looking around at things, etc. that I have done while the inward camera has been on me, I’ve never received a complaint from the company. I understand that they don’t view the “footage” unless a critical event is triggered. The system we have gives me no concern whatsoever. This status quo may change according to what the company decides, but until then I have other things to fret about.

Now if they ever ding me for picking the lint out of my belly button while driving, that would make me want to fight.

So I’m thinking that there are different levels of technology used with inward facing cameras. Is this the case?

In short, yes. Not every camera out there has the capability and software to detect eye movements and seat belt use and so on. You can even buy different kinds of cameras yourself from truckstops with varying levels of technology.

It’s also not all about the cameras themselves. Some companies simply monitor their drivers more than others. Idk about all camera systems but I know at least some of them like the ones my company uses can have certain alerts turned on or off. I’ve worked for a company that will call you if you’re not wearing your seat belt while driving in their yard and I’ve worked for another company that wouldn’t fire you even if they caught you red handed doing 20 over (it wasn’t me lol. The safety lady told me herself they had drivers they had caught doing it and they did not fire them).

I have a question. It seems to me that some companies are claiming that driver facing cameras will save the company insurance costs by lowering premiums. I can understand this if a company has an insurance provider. But…..what if a company is self-insured like some of the big ones? How can these self-insured companies claim that the cameras will save insurance costs if they have no outside insurer?

There is a misnomer in the whole "self insured" title. Most of the megas are self insured, to a point.

If a claim is under a certain dollar amount, the company eats the cost, because that small claim is statistically cheaper than paying insurance premiums on every truck for a $500 deductible.

Think of it as a person carrying a "catastrophic coverage" high deductible/high co-insurance medical plan.

If you only visit the Dr for an annual wellness and blood work exam, you will pay out more for your premium in the year, than if you just paid cash for the visit and blood work. Let's say the same person gets diagnosed with cancer, this person reaches the deductible and co insurance stop loss really fast.

The stop loss is literally the maximum dollar amount you can lose in a year, paying for medical bills.

So,transfer that theory to trucking, and a self insured covers all repairs and claims up to a certain dollar amount, ie the Stop loss.

The short term is lower insurance premiums for the year, and an acceptable loss risk.