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Camera crew
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Telematics can stop you falling foul of the law, by indicating blame in an accident or proving compliance with tax rules.
Words: Sharon Ctancy
Proving who is at fault ault .n a traffic accident often boils down to one driver's word against another's. But, to get around this, forward-facing video camera systems are being used to record the view from the front of the car, taking a picture every 30 seconds or so. These systems contain an integrated GPS transceiver so 'reduced liability' is one argument for fitting such systems. By providing a snapshot of an impact accident, they can be used to determine blame.
They can simplify insurance claims by providing photographic evidence of the incident, reducing knockfor-knock settlements. They can protect drivers from allegations that their vehicle was involved in an accident when it wasn't, and, perhaps more importantly for CM readers, they can protect operators from fraudulent claims that their vehicles were responsible for causing damage to another vehicle or to property.
Vision Technologies and Vehicle Camera Systems are two companies that offer video telematics-based protection against false accidents claims. Both firms' systems constantly record the forward view, with the memory constantly being overwritten. The images are only permanently saved to memory when triggered to do so by the integral impact sensor. Images from a predetermined period before and after the impact are committed to memory. The driver can also manually save recorded footage at any time.
Once recorded, the data is encrypted and can be digitally watermarked — a feature designed to eliminate tampering and fraud.
Vision Technologies' DRS1100 is a 1.3-megapixel camera, with an integral GPS location receiver to record location, and an SD memory card. The camera itself can sit on the dashboard or, if hardwired into the vehicle, behind a rear-view mirror. It can also be powered from the cigarette lighter. "We think that option, and the £250 price, will appeal to individual drivers wanting to protect themselves," says product manager David Williams.
As well as a visual image, the DRS1100 also makes a voice recording. "Voice recordings added to the data file can be useful in analysing behaviour," Williams explains. -The driver can also activate the voice recorder to describe events happening in front of him.
The data is uploaded by inserting the SD card into a PC. Once uploaded, the video can be converted to still images. Reports available include one that gives drivers scores for smooth acceleration, braking and cornering.
VCS's TruScene TS-1L is mounted on the inside of the windscreen in a cradle behind the rear-view mirror and is wired into the ignition. It incorporates a drop-down LCD screen, which acts as a viewfinder and plays back video clips.
The TS-11.. continues to record even when the vehicle is unattended. The camera has its own battery and goes into sleep mode when the ignition is switched off to prevent draining the vehicle battery. VCS claims the camera will not pick up somebody scratching the vehicle but, because it works on movement sensors, it will be activated by someone jumping up and down on it or if it is struck by another vehicle when parked.
Data is downloaded from the TS-1L by connecting the camera to a PC via a USB port. As well as storing clips on their own PCs, operators can upload images to VCS's web-based database, where they are unencrypted and stored for downloading by the user, who can authorise police or insurance companies to view the clip.
You can also use the TS1L to record footage of the damage, the vehicles involved and registration plates by removing it from its cradle. VCS say this is particularly useful if the collision is a sideswipe, outside the view of the forward-facing camera. Recording the images of the impact will help accident investigators piece together a picture, the company says.
By uploading the clip to a website, the data is watermarked and VCS guarantees it is untampered with. It warns that clips stored on users' PCs do not have this guarantee.
Brigade Electronics' MDR-304 incorporates a hard disk, which records up to 58 hours of video, and also has an SD memory card as a back-up storage facility. You can view the data on the disk via a TV The device can accept input from up to four cameras positioned around the vehicle, as well as four alarm inputs and two outputs, which can be triggered in several ways. These include doors opening or a help button being pressed. It can also interface with other vehicle systems, showing when indicators, brakes or the handbrake are applied, for example, and when doors are opened or lights are switched on.
The MDR-304 incorporates a Garmin UPS transceiver and antennae. As well as the unit being portable and able to fit under the driver's seat, the hard disk itself is resistant to extreme temperature, shock and vibration — and has password protection.
Brigade says refuse collection operators, for example, have used recorded footage to prove their vehicles did not cause damage to a parked vehicle. Many claimants drop cases when they are shown the contrary evidence, says Brigade. There is scope, too, for any company that offers camera aids to drivers to link those cameras A Brigade Electronics' into an on-board black box, which can record events. MDR-304, incorporating a Configuring the black boxes to accept the input is shock-proof hard disk where the cost comes in, but it will begin to be more widespread thanks to the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 (see panel).
Axle overloading
Inadvertent axle overloading can happen to any operator, but the problem is that the law takes a stern view, whatever the cause.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires operators and drivers to ensure that vehicles are not overloaded, with penalties of up to 0,000 for each offence, and a maximum prison sentence of two years for dangerous overloading. Vosa has been investing in weigh-in-motion sensors and, coupled with automatic number plate recognition, it is going to be a lot easier for the agency to identify and prosecute operators whose vehicles are overloaded.
Overloading appears to becoming acute in the 3.5-tonne van sector. Phil Bridge, sales office manager for axle weighing specialist Red Forge, points out that, according to Vosa's Effectiveness Report 2005-6 (the last year for which figures are available), the agency stopped nearly 75,000 vehicles for overloading in that year, and more than a quarter of these were issued with prohibitions.
"The figures show that light CVs are often the worst offenders. with 38.7% of light vehicles prohibited when stopped," he says.
Red Forge is even calling for an 0-licence system for vans, so that operators who overload can be punished.
Red Forge can now send data recorded by its Limitlite fight vehicle axle-weighing device to a vehicle tracking system. The device works with vehicles up to eight tonnes GVW. The driver gets a simple bar-graph showing the size and position of the load, with an audible warning if maximum axle capacity or gross weight is breached. When an overload occurs. however, the device automatically sends an alert to the on-board tracking system, which, in turn, sends the alert to the transport office. Managers can then take action to resolve the problem, avoiding the risk of the vehicle being caught by the authorities.
One of Red Forge's telematics partners is Navman Wireless. "The telematics unit has to be sensitive enough to recognise that an alert might be sent because of a bump in the road," points out managing director Tony Neill. "We deal with that by having a sensor trigger between the Limitlite and our black box, which only activates after three seconds."
Neill thinks the solution will prove a boon to operators wanting to demonstrate compliance. "There are no legal penalties if you arrive late with a delivery. But there is the immediate risk of fines and prosecution if the vehicle is stopped in a roadside check and found to be overloaded."
Many vehicles leave the depot in a legal condition, points out Neill. "It is only later, when the load shifts or the diminishing load effect overloads the front axle, that problems can occur. Van drivers often don't realise the importance of load distribution. With Red Forge's system, the transport office is instantly aware that there is a problem and can take remedial action." El