A haulage company working with stars like Lady Gaga and Rihanna has saved on its insurance after fitting dashboard cameras to its fleet. Fly By Nite – specialist hauliers for the music and entertainment industry – has cut its insurance premium 10% and its accident rate since installing SmartWitness cameras in its 110-vehicle fleet three years ago.

Transport manager Richard Brown said that the cameras had been ‘amazing’ and had been welcomed by the firm’s 150 drivers.

He said: “They have made such a difference to us and pretty much ended those 50:50 debates you used to have following accident. These days, we just view the footage and know exactly who is to blame. It makes the whole claims system so much simpler and cheaper.”

The SmartWitness SVC1080 LCA cameras were fitted in 2013 at the suggestion of  Fly By Nite’s insurance agent Jelf Lampier.

The company runs largely 38-tonne trucks from its Redditch base – travelling all over Europe and working with some of the biggest stars in the world.

He said: “Our drivers can end up in some pretty remote foreign locations and it is great to have the peace of mind which the cameras give you.

“There was an incident in Russia where our driver had been completely cut up by a Russian driver which had ended up in a ditch. You would fear the worst before the introduction of cameras but the footage showed that our driver was completely blameless.

“The Russian police viewed the footage and simply said: ‘Russian drivers – what do you expect!’

“It was quickly resolved with no claim to us and our driver was able to get on with his business.”

There have been claims that some drivers are uneasy about the cameras because they fear that ‘Big Brother’ is watching them and it is an infringement on their civil liberties. That has not been the case with Fly By Nite.

Mr Brown said: “The cameras are there to protect our drivers and they really appreciate the fact that there is an accurate record of any incident. We had an incident recently where one of our drivers rolled into the car in front at very slow speed. The other driver got out and was clearly looking to throw the book at us and make a completely exaggerated claim. Our driver simply pointed to the camera to show that it had all been recorded and no claim was made.”

Mr Brown said all of Fly By Nite’s drivers earn a non-accident bonus and drive very carefully but the firm’s accident rate had still gone down since the cameras were fitted.

He said: “We had two complaints of aggressive driving against our drivers. I reviewed the footage and discovered our drivers had done nothing wrong. I was able to go back to the complainants and say: ‘Do you want to review the footage?’  You can see who is to blame.'”

Fly By Nite’s dashboard cameras have also been used to help solve a crime. Mr Brown said: “We had a request by the police for the memory card after there was stabbing near one of our trucks and the video was needed to identify the assailants.”

Just 2% of incidents captured on SmartWitness cameras result in disputed claims against an industry norm of 40% of all motor claims.

SmartWitness sales have shot up by 40% in the last years. More than 50% of fleets in the UK now using dashboard cameras and they are becoming increasingly popular with private motorists. 

SmartWitness

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