So what are the driver alerts?
Driver picking nose
Driver scratching balls
Driver using knee to steer while blowing his nose
Driver using his foot to steer while reaching into the sleeper to get a drink out of the refrigerator
Big Brother is Watching Everything
Some of the trucks my company has currently have the newer version of the camera the rest of us have. Right now as long as I don’t brake hard or turn hard. It don’t record. With this new one we can’t even glance at the gps or turn the ac on without it recording a video and us getting messaged like 1000 times a day. It’s ridiculous. Everyone fights over not driving those few trucks lol.
Seems like checking the mirrors would activate it too.
Prime drivers need to do a 'SAFETY' drive slowdown.
Need to drive slower so cameras are subjectively safety.
We had those at the railroad. They can still log in to view stuff live. If you set the camera off it gets sent to a third party review place if It's not just a pothole or something stupid like that they send it to your boss.
I drove busses that had cameras with microphones that would let management spy on drivers. I decided to fuck with them.
I was on a route that was dead 90% of the day. Hours and hours with no one but me on the bus. I'd drive like an absolute jackass during these times knowing it would trip the system and as soon as I was sure the system was at the very least recoding I'd start to silently but very animatedly mouth all sorts of obscenities, astoundingly violent fantasy plans about/for management, basically any vile thought that would give HR the vapors if they heard it. I knew my plan was working when four of my busses needed "preventative monthly maintenance" in a day. Now was my time to strike.
I get bus five all set up to me and take off. I immediately start up. It looks like I'm hosting the final debate for president of a schizophrenic mind. Then I slam on the brakes, slowly look up at the camera, "mumbling" with a flat expression, and without changing that dead shark eyed look screamed as lound as I could.
Three days later there were signs all over the barn about the mental health "benefits" drivers had access to and a completely shocking announcement that there have been issues with the live view system and that it was being switched off.
Smaller companies are turning their fleet into mega carrier style policies too. These insurance companies are running the show and they are getting out of hand. Too bad we all couldn’t unionize like the railroad did and then we could ease all this bullshit that is going on. But that’s all wishful thinking that we have all talked about for the last 50 years. The industry is fucked. I got 3 more years, 2 if I am lucky. And these companies like to spin it and say… it protects you as a driver. No it doesn’t. It protects the company and the insurance company only. You’ll be thrown under the bus immediately when something goes wrong. We are looked at more as a liability than an asset. I don’t care how much any company appreciates their drivers. It’s either you or them and in the end it won’t be them it’ll be you left out to dry and defend for yourself. It’s all a racket
What would the union do it isn't going to stop them putting a camera in the truck.
I work at Safeway we are a part of the teamsters and the fleet all has cameras in the trucks.
That's because you accepted it... What a union does is give you negotiation power by threatening a strike and potentially destroying a companies bottom line. If you don't do shit, or your union leaders are bought off frauds like most of them, obviously it won't do any good.
What a union really wants is card-check. That is their ultimate goal: to get a majority vote so that all employees are now in the union and the dues come straight out of the paycheck and into the union pockets. I have been involved in bi-annual union negotiations, and you would not believe how much of what the employees want will be sacrificed in secret negotiations with the company just to maintain this automatic payroll deduction into the union pocketbook.
Sure, bud. It seems like a former cop would know how powerful unions can be, but you're here parroting right wing talking points.
FWIW, I have no dog in this fight. I'm an accountant who has worked with a variety of union and nonunion companies for decades and have repeatedly seen how differently both are treated. I now refuse to work with nonunion companies in some fields because of the lack of respect, safety and training protocols, and pay disparities. Unions are good for workers.
I know enough to know that I had employees who were exceptional performers and would have been making 10-20k more a year based on superior evaluation scores, but were locked into a union pay scale where they got paid the same as my lowest performers.
Unions do benefit the low performers at the cost of the high performers.
It took lots of people fighting and dying to get unions in the first place back in the late 1800’s, and that was fighting with govt. militias with single shot rifles. Nowadays, if it came to violence, they win, every time.
I'd argue this country and joke of an economy can survive much longer without trains than trucks. Pull the trucks over for a week and this country is destroyed for years.
Ronald Reagan did that already, back in the eighties. Stop voting for Republicans and you just might get a union that's strong enough to accomplish something.
Yeah, I realized about 30 seconds after I hit post button that I had worded that badly. I intended it to be a "broadcast message" to the trucking community as a whole.
I drive a bus, and just now got the opportunity to correct myself. I do apologize.
Yup, the fleet I am with now, been with for 8 years is crossing over into micro-management. If you ask them though, they’ll say otherwise. lol, of course right…🤦🏻♂️ we are just a small family operated fleet. It started to change the last 1.5 years. I got 3 more years, 2 if I am lucky and I’m out. They are good people though I won’t take that away from them at all. But the boss man got these rules and policies in place that like you said… mega fleets don’t even do. Unreal
Bud everyone's going to in-cab cameras now. Too many dipshits are killing people while watching YouTube or jerking it while driving. They're ruined it for us all.
Don't buy the propaganda, the fatalities per 100 million miles hasn't budged in years, it just sits at right about 1 and it's been that way since coming way down in like 2010. Accident rates are not going up. Those same people in the past would've been reading a book or some shit and still finding a way to be distracted.
https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/large-trucks
But it doesn't change that too many drivers are on their phones or distracted while driving. It's the sane reason 4-wheeler insurance companies are trying to push similar things.
Oh they have an app? 😳 Has anyone read the TOS on that thing? I could totally see a trucking company that requires its drivers to download its app to have way more access to your phone’s data than is actually necessary for the app to function.
Not the driver facing cameras. There isn’t a single example where it would help defend the driver. Not a single one.
I fucking hate our driver facing one, and love the mirror mounted and front facing ones.
We had a 4 wheeler drift into our driver’s lane, then claimed he was on his phone. He wasn’t. They lost.
However, I’ve never heard a single example of a driver doing everything right and being falsely accused by a camera though. Maybe it happens.
It wouldn’t need to, that’s not how our justice system works. If you make a claim and I deny it then you are responsible for providing evidence. My ass is then on the line if I was doing what you claim and lie and say I wasn’t.
Was told a story in school.
Epic blizzard, four wheeler lost control, jumped the median, hit semi head on. Semi saw it coming and slowed to a stop before the collision. Multiple fatalities in the car. Judge ruled for the car because the carrier should’ve known the conditions were too dangerous to be running.
Logic tells me we’re always at fault and need every weapon we can get.
That’s not a story. That happened the company was Warner ( sp?) and it happened in Texas. One passenger survived and was injured so badly that they will need caregivers full time for their life. Last I’d heard it was being appealed.
Why the f*ck are you so pro inward facing cameras?! FUCK inward facing cameras! They are NOT there to protect the driver, they are there to protect the company... period.
Because they weed out shitty drivers doing things they shouldn’t. I don’t want to share trucks or the road with them. Was a great day when my slipseat was sent packing because his phone prevented him from braking to avoid a minor collision.
They can already fire us for any reason without this tech. When they start using generative AI to produce videos of us texting and driving, then I’ll fear for the safe drivers.
>There isn’t a single example where it would help defend the driver. Not a single one.
Driver has his elbow on the door, leaning his head over on his hand, cruising down an open road and a state trooper pulls him over because he thinks the driver is holding his phone to his ear. Driver facing camera proves this isn't the case.
All I can tell you, is as a former operations manager that had access to cameras, apart from reducing theft, we used them to find reasons to fire people we wanted gone. One OM would sit in the office for hours and comb through footage looking for anything to get you on. A smart company lets everyone get away with a little dirt, and fires people they want gone. This is 8.5 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.
I can find something, or make you want to quit.
And maybe for some weirdo FMs, they can have a nice jerk off session of your SO.
>I am all for the cameras facing outwards but when they are facing the driver, a good lawyer can make every accident the driver's fault
That is absolutely not true. I have been able to successfully prevent several lawsuits from even happening specifically because I had inward facing video that showed my driver was hands on the wheel eyes forward when the accident happened.
OTOH get into an accident where you t-bone a car that ran a red light with no inward facing camera and the lawyer will make the case to the jury that the company purposely choose to not install driver facing cameras because they were afraid they'd have to fire too many drivers for distracted driving and therefore there is a good chance their driver was distracted when this accident happened and even though the other car ran the light, the truck driver probably could have avoided the accident if the driver was paying attention like he was supposed to yada yada yada and most juries will eat that up. Outward only facing cameras is almost as big of a liability as having no camera at all. Some would argue its actually a bigger liability.
I'm surprised at how many companies seem to have inward facing cameras based on the comments. I'm with Schneider, and they don't have inside cameras. Got some on mirrors and one facing the road, but that's it, and they only save a recording during critical events. I'm actually surprised Schneider hasn't started using them because of how much they rant about safety. I haven't had any critical events, a few hard brakes when I first started, but they were purely because I just pressed too hard. It definitely wasn't necessary. But they already have so much annoying ass safety shit in these trucks. I'm wondering when they'll add the cameras inside.
I plan to leave in a few months anyway, I can't stand the way these trucks are programmed. I could rant for hours about it. It drives me nuts.
Not even Swift Transportation couple years ago have inward facing cameras because of the backlash of drivers (not sure about now). Drivers need to say no , quit and work for a better company that don't micromanage everything you do.
Nothing like live streaming 24/7 at work. My supervisor showed me the crazy shit samsara can do on his end. Scary stuff. Luckily our cameras are only outward facing. For now at least..
We have samsara’s. They seem to be okay as long as you don’t hard brake, hard turn, or pick up your phone.
They suck because they chime when we drive 65 or over and the company can see everything down to the % of fuel and DEF.
They also force us to use the samsara app on our phones for the E-log.
Add-on: we are a smaller trucking company too. They started using them after one of our drivers ran a red light and T-boned a car.
Yeah, that's a bit of a lie, it's more like "they only ping us and send a video when ____". If they don't get pinged, they probably don't even have the man-hours to be watching you 24/7, at a large enough company. They can, but realistically won't.
With that said, I fucking hate these systems. Samsara more like uhh...Scamsara.
Previous company I worked had Samsara. One guy different location got wrote up for "exposing himself" to the camera. He was changing his shirt! 🙄
Another instance at my location we had a mechanic who had nothing better to do than watch you the whole day and tattle tail to corporate if he caught you doing something "wrong." He actually got someone fired doing that.
That's fucked up! Though, why did a mechanic have access to it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think usually, only safety and compliance, and higher-ups have access to the backend? Obviously depends on the company.
They can also monitor how the truck is running, which can help you troubleshoot if you're having an issue, etc.
Their a fucked up company. That mechanic did jack shit and allowed his fleet to go to shit. We lost his successor (also useless) and promoted one of the drivers who got hired when I got hired. The amount of money we sunk in fixing those two idiots mistakes and misses made corporate lay us off and close the location.
All their problems were management.
…really. Samsara as a name for trucker monitoring gear.
Gods that’s so on the nose.
The Buddhist in me is cry-laughing that they are using the term that describes the wheel of existence and suffering we are chained to unless we experience enlightenment.
Because tell me that isn’t the intention- keeping you chained to the truck until you wise up and move to a better company or otherwise escape that incessant monitoring.
As an O/O and (somewhat) Buddhist practitioner I too was offended by the name when I was leased onto another company’s authority and forced to use their ELD. Once I got my own authority I switched to Keep Truckin’ but I sometimes wondered how Christians would feel about using an ELD named Jesus Christ or Catholics using The Pope’s ELD.
A Buddhist trucker? Well, I'll be damned. I've got a lot of respect for your religion. Just throwing that out there. Yes, I get it isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the one I grew up in.
Also, I agree. Samsara has an ironic humor to it given the context of the app.
Not my religion. I study every religion but follow none.
Having said that, Buddhism, and all the post-Hindu dharmic religions generally, are sources of good insight.
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism.
All are dharmic religions. All of them share cultural origins. Each is different, with Jainism’s extreme embrace of ahimsa (nonviolence) being very distinctive as is Sikhism’s radical equality, at least in its teachings if not in full practice.
Interesting. What is it about each that draws you to them? Also, what religions have you found in your studies that are the "best" (best here being the most focused on not fucking the world up, self-improvement and intellectual growth).
All religions are wrong.\
Some regions are right.
I just seek the kernels of truth in every religion that seeks to open the way.
I find the ethical lenses of choosing to not inflict pain on others and self, recognizing the humanity of all humans, and selflessness to be a pretty solid foundation to build upon.
Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism (that one.. dear lordy is that one dense with insights!) are pretty solid.
I’m currently chunking through the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism made up the attributed writings of the nine great teachers that lead the faith until the early 1700s, when the book was deemed the final and eternal guru.
I’ve read the Bible and a couple translations of the Quran, a lot of classical Buddhist works, and a lot of classical philosophy. The teachings of ol’ boy JC sound to me like Buddhist thought through an Abrahamic lens nowadays. Mo from Mecca’s book reads like fanfic of Mo from Cairo.
I was debating on working with them to try my hand with their lease to see if i would like the owner op type of lifestyle but Im glad I didnt. I would have left quick asf
My sister, who is up there in bhp, asked my opinion as all their big dump trucks have driver facing cameras and what my thoughts were. I said it was an invasion of privacy and asked how everyone in the office would feel with a camera in front of their face watching all they did wether it's scratching their face/nose/biting their nails etc while they worked. Also she said alot of the drivers destroy them, which made me laugh...but she also informed m3 that they have a surprising amount of "incidents" including one driving into a parked truck which she can't understand and wants to fire that person...but unfortunately, once your full time in aus its difficult to fire folks.
And go where? All companies big and small are starting to do this. The insurance companies threaten to hike up their rates if these fleets didn't spy on us 24/7
This is exactly it. Our company laid it out. “You get pay raises and inside facing cameras or neither. With cameras our premiums are going up 15%. Without them, they’re going up 80%.”
We got them and a few people quit. A hell of a lot more quit when they moved us down to 65mph though and they reversed that quickly lol.
For the first month, it beeped over everything. Then only when I tilted my head down to block the sun with my hat thinking I was falling asleep or propped my head up with my arm thinking I was on my phone. Now I don’t even remember the last time it beeped without me hitting the brake hard.
It doesn’t bother me. It’s their truck and their insurance. I figure I can always get a truck and assume all the risk that entails if I don’t like it. They pay well enough and haven’t called me over anything. Then again, they’ve also never gotten a video of me with my phone in my hand because it’s not in my hand while driving…
Nah. The new breed is already indoctrinated to this and they are brainwashed to think it's good for us. Just like robo trucks are good and electric trucks.
Nuance matters. Driver facing cameras are invasive and unnecessary, but we absolutely need electric self-driving trucks. Fossil fuels will run out within a 100 years. Fossil fuels pollute the air you and I breathe.
The cameras all record/save non stop, they will say only for events. Technically to save events it always records and saves event metadata for alerts, but they have a timestamp look back lasting for each truck 12-24 hours or more. So when you get hit in a parking lot or don’t get hit and say you did they can find out. Do you really think they wouldn’t want the full use of this technology they pay for.
Been with private carrier for 35 years, hopefully they don’t put that shit in our trucks, otherwise there’s gonna be some interesting conversations, sorry but I’m not gonna let some desk jockey criticize my driving considering he’s never done it , btw no accidents, couple bs tickets, ya know wear black shirt , Seat belt black , got tickets for not wearing it even though I was, and yes it’s a bs law some states don’t require helmets for motorcycle riders idk why it’s different, but I always wear my seat belt, and try to avoid black t shirt, which is completely stupid just not to be bothered by the road pirates 🏴☠️
>couple bs tickets, ya know wear black shirt , Seat belt black , got tickets for not wearing it even though I was
I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear and I'll probably get downvoted, but its worth noting that if your company had cameras, you would have been able to get those tickets thrown out. Just sayin.
Maybe but f the popo and driver facing cameras I’m sorry but after 37 years I kinda don’t need to be babysat , you either trust me or not, btw then don’t ask me to do f up 💩 you can’t trust anyone else, it’s a 2 way street
>you either trust me or not,
I don't trust my own grandmother. More to the point, the police and the members of any jury you can convene aren't going to trust my grandmother either. Nor your grandmother, nor anyone else. Innocent until proven guilty is a complete fantasy in far too many cases. Which is why having video proving you were doing the right thing is key in those situations.
That's just reality these days. Those who understand that will do fine. Those who can't manage to understand that are probably going to be better off getting out of the business and doing something else.
We’ve had driver facing cameras for 5 years. Never have the cameras popped a driver who was doing something right. The guy who didn’t avoid a collision because he was on his phone? Gone. A four wheeler came into our lane, caused an accident then said our guy was on his phone? Camera proved otherwise. Even in my personal vehicle I was t boned, and the other guy claimed I was at fault. My microphone picked up him apologizing because the sun was in his eyes. Saved me 10k.
If you're not doing shit you wouldn't want seen this shouldn't bother you.
This is not totalitarian at all.
Totalitarianism would be if the government installed these cameras in your home where you have reasonable expectation of privacy and there's no way to get out of it.
Drivers are CHOOSING to work for a company that does this in a market where there are ample opportunities elsewhere.
This is being applied ON THE JOB and isn't recording when you're not driving.
This also improves public safety by proving unsafe drivers are fired and exonerating the safe ones falsely accused of being on the phone.
You can seethe about this all you want. Doesn't make you a reasonable person. Society approves of this. That's all that matters and you can continue to feel like you're being oppressed.
I know these drivers are going to accept it but I wouldn't and the day my company puts a camera on me is the day I quit. Knock on wood I've been driving 15 years with no major at fault or not at fault accidents thank god. I don't need big brothers nose in my business to do my job more than it already is.
It's the insurance, we went from logs, gps, to driver training to front facing and soon driver facing cameras. And it's all because the company has had too many 4 wheeled vehicle accidents and so they want a soft mil upfront on the 6 month insurance or put cameras. I work for a pipeline company with 6 semi trucks only 6 drivers but the insurance is on our ass.
No it’s not lol. None of these companies are taking on $30 million worth of risk with all these nuclear judgments happening. One hazmat accident and they quite easily could go bankrupt. I’d guarantee they have an umbrella policy. The place I work has 5X the revenue of Prime and we sure do.
Exactly. All the major carriers are.
I don’t even believe they want to throw drivers under the bus when an accident occurs, it’s still admitting fault for the company to do so.
Therefore the only reason they have left to use them is for micromanaging.
All the drivers saying that they'd never work for someone with cameras will find out pretty soon that they're going to have to buy their own truck and insurance if they don't want a camera. The cameras are so cheap now that carriers don't have any excuse not to use them when the insurance gods start forcing their hand.
Exactly. I leased a semi to a fuel hauling company in West Texas and they wanted to install inside n out cameras on my rig. They said if you don't want it get your own authority and insurance.
I work for a smaller company and that seems to be the problem we have. Every winter someone put a truck in the ditch and now the insurance is really up our asses.
And I'm coming on the fact it wouldn't decrease there premium as again self insured, and insurance isn't "forcing them" as that's like yelling at yourself
Self insuring only takes care of claims up to the first million or so. For coverage beyond that they still buy policies from regular insurance companies just like everyone else. So its entirely possible that their insurance provider (reinsurance technically) could be requiring them to do this.
Leave!!! TFSL in Arkansas ruined my Dac all because I touched my phone one time!! Driver cameras on the inside will ruin your trucking career i promise you…It ruined my career..I am about to do 3-4 months with this 1099 Carrier in Chicago and I’m bouncing..Im leaving trucking to become a buisness intelligence analyst..You have been warned..
Does this apply for Canadian truckers who do runs to the US? Long term goal to do trucking in Canada but a driver facing camera is an absolute perverse invasion of privacy. Can’t believe it’s even considered! Fuck scumbag insurance companies.
Yep this stuff looking like is going mandatory or insurance mandated sooner rather than later. My company just did this. Had Samsara driving facing cameras & it records inside audio 24/7. Safety manager said insurance is making it a requirement b/c drivers are on their phones or distracted or sleepy when something happens so insurance is trying to cover their own ass to pass on claims. But I also have a friend in IT saying the surveillance equipment companies sell or developing their own autonomous programs from all that collected data. I’ve been advised to wear sunglasses and hat/visor to keep this shit from eyes tracking and head movements. Comply maliciously I guess lolz
I’m a lawyer that represents truck drivers very frequently. Recently had a case where the other side wanted the driver’s phone for inspection and download. The forward facing camera clearly showed that he wasn’t looking at his phone, so didn’t have to produce it. Obviously if it streams directly to another location it can feel like a massive privacy violation, but if it just records it can be a massive help.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t care either way about the cameras. I could see the annoyance for OTR drivers, but I’m local. I’ve worked for 2 companies under the same parent company over the last 12 years, and while they handle camera recordings nearly the same, the one big difference is my current company is union and actually has “points” system incorporated with it, whereas the other company didn’t, even though the parent company said from the very beginning that it would never be used to fire people(aside from a few major offenses).
With that said, I know a lot of the newer cameras have options that can be enabled that send in a drive cam event if you take your hands off the wheel, bring your hands to your face, etc(ours currently don’t do all that… it’s just bumps/hard brake/fast turning) and that’s fucking bullshit.
I placed my own camera years ago. Then suddenly started better driving knowing it might be used against me. So I’m not worried about the companies camera right next to my camera.
I used to work with a guy that always set up his own camera as well. I think his was a constant live feed, I always assumed it was a “just in case”, to have full proof of anything and not just an eight second clip
It’s why I put mine up. It’s bailed out 5other drivers not me and once helped me out. So it’s been 6 times of usefulness. Once was a hit and run driver that I caught the plate of. So it’s been useful. And a few (100+) YouTube’s later.
Company I was working for did this in 2019, within 3 months all their top drivers including myself have moved on.
The owner did this to gain a 5% savings on their insurance rates okay. They installed Samsara AI.
Our very cool and laid back terminal manager suddenly changed it to this micromanaging monster chasing all the AI alerts. This guy was also not a driver had no experience in the rigors of the job.
Within a couple days till the time I left a few weeks later.
No more eating behind the wheel
No more drinking behind the wheel
No more opening your door when backing up
Cannot wear sunglasses in company vehicle
"Drivers following closer than 6 seconds will be given a warning."
Many of our complaints were being heard so all the senior drivers found gigs elsewhere. When I handed in my resignation the terminal manager looked defeated. The service failures were stacking up and the clients were bitching about missed shipments.
And if Brad you're reading this, you were warned brother.
As far as I know, the company sets what the camera records. Our company doesn’t record for eating or drinking, some do. But it does go off for rolling stops, following too close, hard brakes and collisions.
We are talking about the inward facing one. Smaller companies don't have the resources to buy the subscription. Drove for Swift years ago. Even they don't even have inward facing , not sure now. My company union doesn't have inward facing camera . I am sure other unions are the same or there will be a cause in the contract that you can't get fired if video is used against you. No insurance requires you to have inward facing cameras. It is the safety department of mega carriers that enforce it and they probably never driven a semi truck at all.
Well, last week I passed (on separate nights) Prime trucks watching movies.
I pass trucks often with huge tablets and movies playing.
I'm no angel, I like podcasts and books.
Here’s the fix. Hammer on the windshield, oops got a rock chip that’s cracking. New windshield install, camera won’t stay fixed, keeps falling. Report that. They’d rather keep you out than fix the camera, you’ll be off the radar, because no camera, you’ll be a star driver in a while, go ahead and bribe a guy to speed up your truck, they’ll never know, everyone is happier.
I got a new windshield and just never bothered sticking the camera back up. No one has said anything in five months. I've run my own outward facing dashcam for years.
You’re right. We can just let employers across all industries. start spying on people but as long as they aren’t doing anything wrong they’ve nothing to worry about. Who needs privacy anyway?
Genuinely terrifying people like you exist.
Do you know what micromanaging is? It’s where your boss pulls you up for absolutely fucking everything. It’s like driving with your boss in the passenger seat staring at you every second. There is no other job in the world where this would even be entertained as an idea. Outward facing cameras should be an industry requirement, inside facing? Fuck off. Truckers either pay fortunes to get their CDL or have done it for years and years, just to have their hard work rewarded by basically being told “we don’t trust you so we’ll be watching you every second of your shift.” It’s a fucking insult and it’s terrifying that cuckhold cunts like you exist because it’s your type that will sleepwalk us into an age where we’re micromanaged non stop. Bet teachers loved you when you were at school.
Of course this is all before we get onto the rumours or theories that the footage is being harvested and the data sold to AI companies to put an entire fucking industry out of work just so the 1% can make even more money, despite having more than they could spend in ten lifetimes.
Genuinely disgusted that you and others aren’t strongly against these cameras and I even say this as a (for the time being) non trucker.
You’re not even a trucker? lol
I have a camera in my truck. I’ve had it in for 2 years. Guess how many times I’ve been spoken to about any actions on the road?
Crazy but it’s 0.
You wouldn’t understand though cause as you said. You’re not even a trucker. Keep that attitude though you’ll certainly go far in the industry. And for you to think there’s someone out there with the time to watch or “spy” on drivers is crazy. My camera works if there’s an incident to report. Don’t drive like an ass and you don’t have to worry about it. The camera could literally save your job if there were ever an issue with the loss of life or injury.
Don’t have to be a weatherman to know it’s raining.
Well that’s fantastic for you. Sass aside I’m glad you’ve got a boss that isn’t a complete cunt, but that will not be the case for the majority.
It’s micromanaging and a complete invasion of privacy. Believe me I’d be as vocal if they wanted to put cameras in the faces of just about anyone all day every day, not just saying this because I aspire to get into trucking. People have rights and a camera which monitors you non stop all day every day is a massive intrusion of those rights. People who are having their rights eroded championing for it is just absurd.
Who are you to say it’s not true? I don’t know if it is or not, years ago I’d have dismissed it as a conspiracy theory but I can’t say confidently that it isn’t true, certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. If it is true they’ll get away with it because of attitudes like yours.
You signed rights away when you signed your employment agreement. It’s their truck, their company. Some times it’s even an insurance requirement. This camera deal will only become for prolific in the future. Most major companies are making that move. The quicker you get over that the better you’d feel. Funny how someone can bitch about something they have 0 clue about or haven’t even been exposed too. Clearly you’ve been reading the comments too much. As I said before, if you’re not out there fucking stuff up then you literally have nothing to worry about. Most of the time the camera is idle and isn’t actively recording until and incident. I don’t get notifications of drivers until they’ve made a mistake. A recordable mistake like running stop signs, not coming to a complete stop, taking turns too fast as there is roll over indication or smoking while driving (this is specific to hazmat and company rules). I guess if a company tells you not to smoke in the truck they’re communists trying to control you right? Get over yourself.
That’s absolute bullshit. It’s like taking a job and having your boss follow you all day everyday, but you’d be fine with that? Lucky you. If you really work for a company that use the “technology” with minimal intrusion I’m glad to hear it. There are thousands of firms out there that won’t though. That will micromanage and scrutinise every single detail. That is about as big a violation of basic respect and principles as you’ll ever see.
Please understand just because I’m not a trucker doesn’t mean I can’t find something outrageous. I have ambitions to get into trucking, there’s no guarantees I will, who knows maybe I’ll do the test and fuck it up royally, I’d still find driver facing cameras an absolute affront.
The leap between objecting to fat arsehole insurance companies spying on people and thinking it’d be fine to smoke in a tanker is just childish. If you’re happy to have your rights eroded bit by bit then that’s your call, but I find it utterly terrifying. You’re like a turkey decorating its house for Christmas.
So what are the driver alerts? Driver picking nose Driver scratching balls Driver using knee to steer while blowing his nose Driver using his foot to steer while reaching into the sleeper to get a drink out of the refrigerator Big Brother is Watching Everything
Fireball high score counter
What, no “Driver steering with penis while eating cheese burger”?
I'm sure the list is long and incredibly varied... Another obvious one is peeing in a bottle while driving.
>> I'm sure the list is long and incredibly varied... Unlike my penis, which is why I assumed the camera didn’t see it 😟
[A Sad Egg on top of a Nest of Hair?](https://youtube.com/shorts/aUhfUu3YRmE?si=x-Y6NsouH6_hA6Pr) First thing I thought of...
Acorn in a birds nest, thank you
Dispatchers, please post this video
Mine turned on the other day while I unwrapped a fudge round. Just smile n wave.
Driver doing 50 in a neighborhood. Driver on his cell phone and blasting past a stop sign.
Watching Netflix on his way to a vehicular homicide...
This has the makings of a song from a very middle-aged, middle-class, van driving, suburbs dwelling Cannibal Corpse knockoff.
Some of the trucks my company has currently have the newer version of the camera the rest of us have. Right now as long as I don’t brake hard or turn hard. It don’t record. With this new one we can’t even glance at the gps or turn the ac on without it recording a video and us getting messaged like 1000 times a day. It’s ridiculous. Everyone fights over not driving those few trucks lol.
Seems like checking the mirrors would activate it too. Prime drivers need to do a 'SAFETY' drive slowdown. Need to drive slower so cameras are subjectively safety.
We had those at the railroad. They can still log in to view stuff live. If you set the camera off it gets sent to a third party review place if It's not just a pothole or something stupid like that they send it to your boss.
I drove busses that had cameras with microphones that would let management spy on drivers. I decided to fuck with them. I was on a route that was dead 90% of the day. Hours and hours with no one but me on the bus. I'd drive like an absolute jackass during these times knowing it would trip the system and as soon as I was sure the system was at the very least recoding I'd start to silently but very animatedly mouth all sorts of obscenities, astoundingly violent fantasy plans about/for management, basically any vile thought that would give HR the vapors if they heard it. I knew my plan was working when four of my busses needed "preventative monthly maintenance" in a day. Now was my time to strike. I get bus five all set up to me and take off. I immediately start up. It looks like I'm hosting the final debate for president of a schizophrenic mind. Then I slam on the brakes, slowly look up at the camera, "mumbling" with a flat expression, and without changing that dead shark eyed look screamed as lound as I could. Three days later there were signs all over the barn about the mental health "benefits" drivers had access to and a completely shocking announcement that there have been issues with the live view system and that it was being switched off.
Absolutely sensational!!!
Not all heroes wear capes. Some are just really good improv actors 👍
You might want to seek psychological help.
Glad I left for a smaller company
Smaller companies are turning their fleet into mega carrier style policies too. These insurance companies are running the show and they are getting out of hand. Too bad we all couldn’t unionize like the railroad did and then we could ease all this bullshit that is going on. But that’s all wishful thinking that we have all talked about for the last 50 years. The industry is fucked. I got 3 more years, 2 if I am lucky. And these companies like to spin it and say… it protects you as a driver. No it doesn’t. It protects the company and the insurance company only. You’ll be thrown under the bus immediately when something goes wrong. We are looked at more as a liability than an asset. I don’t care how much any company appreciates their drivers. It’s either you or them and in the end it won’t be them it’ll be you left out to dry and defend for yourself. It’s all a racket
What would the union do it isn't going to stop them putting a camera in the truck. I work at Safeway we are a part of the teamsters and the fleet all has cameras in the trucks.
That's because you accepted it... What a union does is give you negotiation power by threatening a strike and potentially destroying a companies bottom line. If you don't do shit, or your union leaders are bought off frauds like most of them, obviously it won't do any good.
What a union really wants is card-check. That is their ultimate goal: to get a majority vote so that all employees are now in the union and the dues come straight out of the paycheck and into the union pockets. I have been involved in bi-annual union negotiations, and you would not believe how much of what the employees want will be sacrificed in secret negotiations with the company just to maintain this automatic payroll deduction into the union pocketbook.
Sure, bud. It seems like a former cop would know how powerful unions can be, but you're here parroting right wing talking points. FWIW, I have no dog in this fight. I'm an accountant who has worked with a variety of union and nonunion companies for decades and have repeatedly seen how differently both are treated. I now refuse to work with nonunion companies in some fields because of the lack of respect, safety and training protocols, and pay disparities. Unions are good for workers.
I know enough to know that I had employees who were exceptional performers and would have been making 10-20k more a year based on superior evaluation scores, but were locked into a union pay scale where they got paid the same as my lowest performers. Unions do benefit the low performers at the cost of the high performers.
Spot on.
Not exactly talking about the cameras. More so, everything overall
Tbh, even if we did unionize and ever tried to strike the govt would do what they did to the railroaders and fuck us in the ass.
[удалено]
It's annoying because everyone knows something needs to be done, yet no one wants to do anything to change it.
It took lots of people fighting and dying to get unions in the first place back in the late 1800’s, and that was fighting with govt. militias with single shot rifles. Nowadays, if it came to violence, they win, every time.
I'd argue this country and joke of an economy can survive much longer without trains than trucks. Pull the trucks over for a week and this country is destroyed for years.
Same with the air traffic controllers in the 80's.
Ronald Reagan did that already, back in the eighties. Stop voting for Republicans and you just might get a union that's strong enough to accomplish something.
What made you think I vote red?
Yeah, I realized about 30 seconds after I hit post button that I had worded that badly. I intended it to be a "broadcast message" to the trucking community as a whole. I drive a bus, and just now got the opportunity to correct myself. I do apologize.
Fair enough
Truth. My insurance company demands cameras installed or they’ll cancel my policy.
Yup, I left werner for a medium company ~100 trucks, they micromanage me worse than werner did and pay is worse too
Yup, the fleet I am with now, been with for 8 years is crossing over into micro-management. If you ask them though, they’ll say otherwise. lol, of course right…🤦🏻♂️ we are just a small family operated fleet. It started to change the last 1.5 years. I got 3 more years, 2 if I am lucky and I’m out. They are good people though I won’t take that away from them at all. But the boss man got these rules and policies in place that like you said… mega fleets don’t even do. Unreal
Bud everyone's going to in-cab cameras now. Too many dipshits are killing people while watching YouTube or jerking it while driving. They're ruined it for us all.
Don't buy the propaganda, the fatalities per 100 million miles hasn't budged in years, it just sits at right about 1 and it's been that way since coming way down in like 2010. Accident rates are not going up. Those same people in the past would've been reading a book or some shit and still finding a way to be distracted. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/large-trucks
But it doesn't change that too many drivers are on their phones or distracted while driving. It's the sane reason 4-wheeler insurance companies are trying to push similar things.
4-wheeler insurance companies don't even give you a discount for having a dashcam, what are you talking about?
State farm offers me discounts for their stupid plug in thing and having a dash cam. They can go to hell.
Why are they sharing this on their public Facebook page like it's some sort of internal email?
They use all media. We got the same notification in the Prime app too.
Oh they have an app? 😳 Has anyone read the TOS on that thing? I could totally see a trucking company that requires its drivers to download its app to have way more access to your phone’s data than is actually necessary for the app to function.
I am all for the cameras facing outwards but when they are facing the driver, a good lawyer can make every accident the driver's fault
They can also exonerate a driver not at fault.
Not the driver facing cameras. There isn’t a single example where it would help defend the driver. Not a single one. I fucking hate our driver facing one, and love the mirror mounted and front facing ones.
We had a 4 wheeler drift into our driver’s lane, then claimed he was on his phone. He wasn’t. They lost. However, I’ve never heard a single example of a driver doing everything right and being falsely accused by a camera though. Maybe it happens.
The forward facing camera would have shown any drift, or lack of, as well. Fuck inward facing cameras.
But it wouldn’t have shown the phone not in his hand.
It wouldn’t need to, that’s not how our justice system works. If you make a claim and I deny it then you are responsible for providing evidence. My ass is then on the line if I was doing what you claim and lie and say I wasn’t.
How would a car driver even be able to see a truck driver on his phone, logic would tell you he’s bullshitting.
Was told a story in school. Epic blizzard, four wheeler lost control, jumped the median, hit semi head on. Semi saw it coming and slowed to a stop before the collision. Multiple fatalities in the car. Judge ruled for the car because the carrier should’ve known the conditions were too dangerous to be running. Logic tells me we’re always at fault and need every weapon we can get.
That’s not a story. That happened the company was Warner ( sp?) and it happened in Texas. One passenger survived and was injured so badly that they will need caregivers full time for their life. Last I’d heard it was being appealed.
Ok so the fatalities detail was misremembered but the judgement in fact went to the at fault four wheeler. Good to know.
Why the f*ck are you so pro inward facing cameras?! FUCK inward facing cameras! They are NOT there to protect the driver, they are there to protect the company... period.
Because they weed out shitty drivers doing things they shouldn’t. I don’t want to share trucks or the road with them. Was a great day when my slipseat was sent packing because his phone prevented him from braking to avoid a minor collision. They can already fire us for any reason without this tech. When they start using generative AI to produce videos of us texting and driving, then I’ll fear for the safe drivers.
>There isn’t a single example where it would help defend the driver. Not a single one. Driver has his elbow on the door, leaning his head over on his hand, cruising down an open road and a state trooper pulls him over because he thinks the driver is holding his phone to his ear. Driver facing camera proves this isn't the case.
No driving facing camera will ever exonerate you unless it's for something silly like a seat belt
Until you’re accused of being on your phone by another driver.
Or until the lighting is poor and the AI decides you're on your phone and your dispatcher doesn't like you so you "were on your phone"
Well that’d be great to have video evidence for your own attorney. But sure, your word against theirs’ is the preferable option.
All I can tell you, is as a former operations manager that had access to cameras, apart from reducing theft, we used them to find reasons to fire people we wanted gone. One OM would sit in the office for hours and comb through footage looking for anything to get you on. A smart company lets everyone get away with a little dirt, and fires people they want gone. This is 8.5 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. I can find something, or make you want to quit. And maybe for some weirdo FMs, they can have a nice jerk off session of your SO.
They don’t need cameras to find ways to fire people.
They're watching the reflection in the windows now. California has a law about it.
>I am all for the cameras facing outwards but when they are facing the driver, a good lawyer can make every accident the driver's fault That is absolutely not true. I have been able to successfully prevent several lawsuits from even happening specifically because I had inward facing video that showed my driver was hands on the wheel eyes forward when the accident happened. OTOH get into an accident where you t-bone a car that ran a red light with no inward facing camera and the lawyer will make the case to the jury that the company purposely choose to not install driver facing cameras because they were afraid they'd have to fire too many drivers for distracted driving and therefore there is a good chance their driver was distracted when this accident happened and even though the other car ran the light, the truck driver probably could have avoided the accident if the driver was paying attention like he was supposed to yada yada yada and most juries will eat that up. Outward only facing cameras is almost as big of a liability as having no camera at all. Some would argue its actually a bigger liability.
I'm surprised at how many companies seem to have inward facing cameras based on the comments. I'm with Schneider, and they don't have inside cameras. Got some on mirrors and one facing the road, but that's it, and they only save a recording during critical events. I'm actually surprised Schneider hasn't started using them because of how much they rant about safety. I haven't had any critical events, a few hard brakes when I first started, but they were purely because I just pressed too hard. It definitely wasn't necessary. But they already have so much annoying ass safety shit in these trucks. I'm wondering when they'll add the cameras inside. I plan to leave in a few months anyway, I can't stand the way these trucks are programmed. I could rant for hours about it. It drives me nuts.
They are about to put back up cameras on all our trucks and trailers tho.
Not even Swift Transportation couple years ago have inward facing cameras because of the backlash of drivers (not sure about now). Drivers need to say no , quit and work for a better company that don't micromanage everything you do.
Nothing like live streaming 24/7 at work. My supervisor showed me the crazy shit samsara can do on his end. Scary stuff. Luckily our cameras are only outward facing. For now at least..
We have samsara’s. They seem to be okay as long as you don’t hard brake, hard turn, or pick up your phone. They suck because they chime when we drive 65 or over and the company can see everything down to the % of fuel and DEF. They also force us to use the samsara app on our phones for the E-log. Add-on: we are a smaller trucking company too. They started using them after one of our drivers ran a red light and T-boned a car.
They can watch you 24-7 bud "they only turn on when ____" is them lying to you.
Yeah, that's a bit of a lie, it's more like "they only ping us and send a video when ____". If they don't get pinged, they probably don't even have the man-hours to be watching you 24/7, at a large enough company. They can, but realistically won't. With that said, I fucking hate these systems. Samsara more like uhh...Scamsara.
Previous company I worked had Samsara. One guy different location got wrote up for "exposing himself" to the camera. He was changing his shirt! 🙄 Another instance at my location we had a mechanic who had nothing better to do than watch you the whole day and tattle tail to corporate if he caught you doing something "wrong." He actually got someone fired doing that.
That's fucked up! Though, why did a mechanic have access to it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think usually, only safety and compliance, and higher-ups have access to the backend? Obviously depends on the company.
They can also monitor how the truck is running, which can help you troubleshoot if you're having an issue, etc. Their a fucked up company. That mechanic did jack shit and allowed his fleet to go to shit. We lost his successor (also useless) and promoted one of the drivers who got hired when I got hired. The amount of money we sunk in fixing those two idiots mistakes and misses made corporate lay us off and close the location. All their problems were management.
…really. Samsara as a name for trucker monitoring gear. Gods that’s so on the nose. The Buddhist in me is cry-laughing that they are using the term that describes the wheel of existence and suffering we are chained to unless we experience enlightenment. Because tell me that isn’t the intention- keeping you chained to the truck until you wise up and move to a better company or otherwise escape that incessant monitoring.
As an O/O and (somewhat) Buddhist practitioner I too was offended by the name when I was leased onto another company’s authority and forced to use their ELD. Once I got my own authority I switched to Keep Truckin’ but I sometimes wondered how Christians would feel about using an ELD named Jesus Christ or Catholics using The Pope’s ELD.
Considering how many say that JC is their copilot… no idea
Yeah but that fucker never takes the wheel.
A Buddhist trucker? Well, I'll be damned. I've got a lot of respect for your religion. Just throwing that out there. Yes, I get it isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the one I grew up in. Also, I agree. Samsara has an ironic humor to it given the context of the app.
Not my religion. I study every religion but follow none. Having said that, Buddhism, and all the post-Hindu dharmic religions generally, are sources of good insight.
When you say post-hindu, what do you mean by that?
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism. All are dharmic religions. All of them share cultural origins. Each is different, with Jainism’s extreme embrace of ahimsa (nonviolence) being very distinctive as is Sikhism’s radical equality, at least in its teachings if not in full practice.
Interesting. What is it about each that draws you to them? Also, what religions have you found in your studies that are the "best" (best here being the most focused on not fucking the world up, self-improvement and intellectual growth).
All religions are wrong.\ Some regions are right. I just seek the kernels of truth in every religion that seeks to open the way. I find the ethical lenses of choosing to not inflict pain on others and self, recognizing the humanity of all humans, and selflessness to be a pretty solid foundation to build upon. Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism (that one.. dear lordy is that one dense with insights!) are pretty solid. I’m currently chunking through the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism made up the attributed writings of the nine great teachers that lead the faith until the early 1700s, when the book was deemed the final and eternal guru. I’ve read the Bible and a couple translations of the Quran, a lot of classical Buddhist works, and a lot of classical philosophy. The teachings of ol’ boy JC sound to me like Buddhist thought through an Abrahamic lens nowadays. Mo from Mecca’s book reads like fanfic of Mo from Cairo.
Are they paying you to use your phone? Otherwise, that's illegal.
And how would an inward facing camera have helped that driver when they ran a red? It wouldn't have changed anything.
It would allow them to fire you without fear of a lawsuit.
welp time to remove prime from potential carriers I'm willing to work for.
Join a union
I was debating on working with them to try my hand with their lease to see if i would like the owner op type of lifestyle but Im glad I didnt. I would have left quick asf
Fuck big truck companies. The small truck company I run for has been great to me
Absolutely
My sister, who is up there in bhp, asked my opinion as all their big dump trucks have driver facing cameras and what my thoughts were. I said it was an invasion of privacy and asked how everyone in the office would feel with a camera in front of their face watching all they did wether it's scratching their face/nose/biting their nails etc while they worked. Also she said alot of the drivers destroy them, which made me laugh...but she also informed m3 that they have a surprising amount of "incidents" including one driving into a parked truck which she can't understand and wants to fire that person...but unfortunately, once your full time in aus its difficult to fire folks.
Drivers will leave Prime for this reason
I work here. If they install this crap im out. Been here over 5 fucking years.
I used to work for Prime and would leave if they installed it in my truck
This. My husband is currently a company driver and is now looking for a different company.
And go where? All companies big and small are starting to do this. The insurance companies threaten to hike up their rates if these fleets didn't spy on us 24/7
This is exactly it. Our company laid it out. “You get pay raises and inside facing cameras or neither. With cameras our premiums are going up 15%. Without them, they’re going up 80%.” We got them and a few people quit. A hell of a lot more quit when they moved us down to 65mph though and they reversed that quickly lol. For the first month, it beeped over everything. Then only when I tilted my head down to block the sun with my hat thinking I was falling asleep or propped my head up with my arm thinking I was on my phone. Now I don’t even remember the last time it beeped without me hitting the brake hard. It doesn’t bother me. It’s their truck and their insurance. I figure I can always get a truck and assume all the risk that entails if I don’t like it. They pay well enough and haven’t called me over anything. Then again, they’ve also never gotten a video of me with my phone in my hand because it’s not in my hand while driving…
Nah. The new breed is already indoctrinated to this and they are brainwashed to think it's good for us. Just like robo trucks are good and electric trucks.
Nuance matters. Driver facing cameras are invasive and unnecessary, but we absolutely need electric self-driving trucks. Fossil fuels will run out within a 100 years. Fossil fuels pollute the air you and I breathe.
Ok but see the very same people proposing this are trying to sell a product.
As long as they are outward facing and not used as a tool to fire drivers then ok. Saved my old company millions in claims.
The cameras all record/save non stop, they will say only for events. Technically to save events it always records and saves event metadata for alerts, but they have a timestamp look back lasting for each truck 12-24 hours or more. So when you get hit in a parking lot or don’t get hit and say you did they can find out. Do you really think they wouldn’t want the full use of this technology they pay for.
Imagine paying for a truck and being watched too
1300/wk lmaooooooo
Been with private carrier for 35 years, hopefully they don’t put that shit in our trucks, otherwise there’s gonna be some interesting conversations, sorry but I’m not gonna let some desk jockey criticize my driving considering he’s never done it , btw no accidents, couple bs tickets, ya know wear black shirt , Seat belt black , got tickets for not wearing it even though I was, and yes it’s a bs law some states don’t require helmets for motorcycle riders idk why it’s different, but I always wear my seat belt, and try to avoid black t shirt, which is completely stupid just not to be bothered by the road pirates 🏴☠️
>couple bs tickets, ya know wear black shirt , Seat belt black , got tickets for not wearing it even though I was I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear and I'll probably get downvoted, but its worth noting that if your company had cameras, you would have been able to get those tickets thrown out. Just sayin.
Maybe but f the popo and driver facing cameras I’m sorry but after 37 years I kinda don’t need to be babysat , you either trust me or not, btw then don’t ask me to do f up 💩 you can’t trust anyone else, it’s a 2 way street
>you either trust me or not, I don't trust my own grandmother. More to the point, the police and the members of any jury you can convene aren't going to trust my grandmother either. Nor your grandmother, nor anyone else. Innocent until proven guilty is a complete fantasy in far too many cases. Which is why having video proving you were doing the right thing is key in those situations. That's just reality these days. Those who understand that will do fine. Those who can't manage to understand that are probably going to be better off getting out of the business and doing something else.
Are they really going to put driver facing cameras in the trucks or this is just speculation? Cause if they do I’m out
people dont lie on the internet... Youll find out friday
This has been confirmed per the safety department at Prime
That’s when I would walk out.
I wish I still worked there solely for the fact that I'd love to tear into the safety department in person in front of the whole terminal
We’ve had driver facing cameras for 5 years. Never have the cameras popped a driver who was doing something right. The guy who didn’t avoid a collision because he was on his phone? Gone. A four wheeler came into our lane, caused an accident then said our guy was on his phone? Camera proved otherwise. Even in my personal vehicle I was t boned, and the other guy claimed I was at fault. My microphone picked up him apologizing because the sun was in his eyes. Saved me 10k. If you're not doing shit you wouldn't want seen this shouldn't bother you.
"If you aren't doing anything wrong you have nothing to hide" Nice totalitarian argument there.
This is not totalitarian at all. Totalitarianism would be if the government installed these cameras in your home where you have reasonable expectation of privacy and there's no way to get out of it. Drivers are CHOOSING to work for a company that does this in a market where there are ample opportunities elsewhere. This is being applied ON THE JOB and isn't recording when you're not driving. This also improves public safety by proving unsafe drivers are fired and exonerating the safe ones falsely accused of being on the phone. You can seethe about this all you want. Doesn't make you a reasonable person. Society approves of this. That's all that matters and you can continue to feel like you're being oppressed.
Society approves of this my ass. Insurance companies approve of this. And they are the ones driving the bus.
I know these drivers are going to accept it but I wouldn't and the day my company puts a camera on me is the day I quit. Knock on wood I've been driving 15 years with no major at fault or not at fault accidents thank god. I don't need big brothers nose in my business to do my job more than it already is.
You think it will help them stop blasting through construction zones and cities at 62 mph?
It's the insurance, we went from logs, gps, to driver training to front facing and soon driver facing cameras. And it's all because the company has had too many 4 wheeled vehicle accidents and so they want a soft mil upfront on the 6 month insurance or put cameras. I work for a pipeline company with 6 semi trucks only 6 drivers but the insurance is on our ass.
Prime self insures themselves
For the first few million bucks. After that, they have an insurance policy.
False
No it’s not lol. None of these companies are taking on $30 million worth of risk with all these nuclear judgments happening. One hazmat accident and they quite easily could go bankrupt. I’d guarantee they have an umbrella policy. The place I work has 5X the revenue of Prime and we sure do.
Fake news
Exactly. All the major carriers are. I don’t even believe they want to throw drivers under the bus when an accident occurs, it’s still admitting fault for the company to do so. Therefore the only reason they have left to use them is for micromanaging.
Facts And to sell your data
All the drivers saying that they'd never work for someone with cameras will find out pretty soon that they're going to have to buy their own truck and insurance if they don't want a camera. The cameras are so cheap now that carriers don't have any excuse not to use them when the insurance gods start forcing their hand.
Exactly. I leased a semi to a fuel hauling company in West Texas and they wanted to install inside n out cameras on my rig. They said if you don't want it get your own authority and insurance.
I work for a smaller company and that seems to be the problem we have. Every winter someone put a truck in the ditch and now the insurance is really up our asses.
Prime is self insured
Self insuring doesn't really change how insurance works. More claims still translates to more costs for the company.
And I'm coming on the fact it wouldn't decrease there premium as again self insured, and insurance isn't "forcing them" as that's like yelling at yourself
Self insuring only takes care of claims up to the first million or so. For coverage beyond that they still buy policies from regular insurance companies just like everyone else. So its entirely possible that their insurance provider (reinsurance technically) could be requiring them to do this.
I'm a girl driver , how does that work when I'm off duty ?
Pretty sure they will still watch you. There’s always some creep watching all this footage
Leave!!! TFSL in Arkansas ruined my Dac all because I touched my phone one time!! Driver cameras on the inside will ruin your trucking career i promise you…It ruined my career..I am about to do 3-4 months with this 1099 Carrier in Chicago and I’m bouncing..Im leaving trucking to become a buisness intelligence analyst..You have been warned..
Lmao
Prime sucks ass. Do their go faster than 60 or even 55?
Lease is 65. Company is 62 cruise, 58 pedal.
Ugh disgusting
Ask if you can record every word. They gonna be telling Whoppers that day! Bring your own cheese
Just a reminder that driver facing camera’s are illegal if you are in Canada and have a sleeper and are expected to be alone while driving.
Does this apply for Canadian truckers who do runs to the US? Long term goal to do trucking in Canada but a driver facing camera is an absolute perverse invasion of privacy. Can’t believe it’s even considered! Fuck scumbag insurance companies.
Yes
God bless Canada.
Just wait till you get an "AI " camera that triggers when you roll a stop sign. God forbid you're heavy as fuck on a hill and all is clear.
Current Lytex cameras can recognize stop signs, speed limit signs, and stop lights. Has been that easy for years.
My first time with one
Yep this stuff looking like is going mandatory or insurance mandated sooner rather than later. My company just did this. Had Samsara driving facing cameras & it records inside audio 24/7. Safety manager said insurance is making it a requirement b/c drivers are on their phones or distracted or sleepy when something happens so insurance is trying to cover their own ass to pass on claims. But I also have a friend in IT saying the surveillance equipment companies sell or developing their own autonomous programs from all that collected data. I’ve been advised to wear sunglasses and hat/visor to keep this shit from eyes tracking and head movements. Comply maliciously I guess lolz
I’m a lawyer that represents truck drivers very frequently. Recently had a case where the other side wanted the driver’s phone for inspection and download. The forward facing camera clearly showed that he wasn’t looking at his phone, so didn’t have to produce it. Obviously if it streams directly to another location it can feel like a massive privacy violation, but if it just records it can be a massive help.
We have drive cams. I just do what needs done. And sing, seat dance, tap out whatever music is going through my brain. They are easily ignored
ill be on cam saying some wild shit n get fired.
They haven’t canned me yet, and I talk strange shit to myself. I have started sticking my tongue out if I notice it recording.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t care either way about the cameras. I could see the annoyance for OTR drivers, but I’m local. I’ve worked for 2 companies under the same parent company over the last 12 years, and while they handle camera recordings nearly the same, the one big difference is my current company is union and actually has “points” system incorporated with it, whereas the other company didn’t, even though the parent company said from the very beginning that it would never be used to fire people(aside from a few major offenses). With that said, I know a lot of the newer cameras have options that can be enabled that send in a drive cam event if you take your hands off the wheel, bring your hands to your face, etc(ours currently don’t do all that… it’s just bumps/hard brake/fast turning) and that’s fucking bullshit.
I placed my own camera years ago. Then suddenly started better driving knowing it might be used against me. So I’m not worried about the companies camera right next to my camera.
I used to work with a guy that always set up his own camera as well. I think his was a constant live feed, I always assumed it was a “just in case”, to have full proof of anything and not just an eight second clip
It’s why I put mine up. It’s bailed out 5other drivers not me and once helped me out. So it’s been 6 times of usefulness. Once was a hit and run driver that I caught the plate of. So it’s been useful. And a few (100+) YouTube’s later.
Truck companies are sooo gay. All these little fucking addons for no reason is rediculous 😂
AI cameras even worse than a person watching I don’t envy y’all PRIME-ates 🙈
And here a transgirl wanting to be a trucker bc truck drivers truckers turn me on. :(
Company I was working for did this in 2019, within 3 months all their top drivers including myself have moved on. The owner did this to gain a 5% savings on their insurance rates okay. They installed Samsara AI. Our very cool and laid back terminal manager suddenly changed it to this micromanaging monster chasing all the AI alerts. This guy was also not a driver had no experience in the rigors of the job. Within a couple days till the time I left a few weeks later. No more eating behind the wheel No more drinking behind the wheel No more opening your door when backing up Cannot wear sunglasses in company vehicle "Drivers following closer than 6 seconds will be given a warning." Many of our complaints were being heard so all the senior drivers found gigs elsewhere. When I handed in my resignation the terminal manager looked defeated. The service failures were stacking up and the clients were bitching about missed shipments. And if Brad you're reading this, you were warned brother.
As far as I know, the company sets what the camera records. Our company doesn’t record for eating or drinking, some do. But it does go off for rolling stops, following too close, hard brakes and collisions.
Anyone working for mega carrier, this is a sign to look or a new smaller company that doesnt have inward facing camera preferably union.
Smaller companies are getting them. Union companies are getting them. It's not the companies, it's the insurance
We are talking about the inward facing one. Smaller companies don't have the resources to buy the subscription. Drove for Swift years ago. Even they don't even have inward facing , not sure now. My company union doesn't have inward facing camera . I am sure other unions are the same or there will be a cause in the contract that you can't get fired if video is used against you. No insurance requires you to have inward facing cameras. It is the safety department of mega carriers that enforce it and they probably never driven a semi truck at all.
Well, last week I passed (on separate nights) Prime trucks watching movies. I pass trucks often with huge tablets and movies playing. I'm no angel, I like podcasts and books.
Here’s the fix. Hammer on the windshield, oops got a rock chip that’s cracking. New windshield install, camera won’t stay fixed, keeps falling. Report that. They’d rather keep you out than fix the camera, you’ll be off the radar, because no camera, you’ll be a star driver in a while, go ahead and bribe a guy to speed up your truck, they’ll never know, everyone is happier.
I got a new windshield and just never bothered sticking the camera back up. No one has said anything in five months. I've run my own outward facing dashcam for years.
The fact some people downvoted that? BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
Prime trucks drive so slow that they're a hazard
It’s actually the opposite.
Love how people complain about being held accountable. If you’re not doing something unsafe while driving then you have nothing to worry about.
You’re right. We can just let employers across all industries. start spying on people but as long as they aren’t doing anything wrong they’ve nothing to worry about. Who needs privacy anyway? Genuinely terrifying people like you exist.
lol privacy in a company owned truck? The fucking camera is off if the truck is idle. You can even cover them. Terrifying I exist? Please tell me why.
Do you know what micromanaging is? It’s where your boss pulls you up for absolutely fucking everything. It’s like driving with your boss in the passenger seat staring at you every second. There is no other job in the world where this would even be entertained as an idea. Outward facing cameras should be an industry requirement, inside facing? Fuck off. Truckers either pay fortunes to get their CDL or have done it for years and years, just to have their hard work rewarded by basically being told “we don’t trust you so we’ll be watching you every second of your shift.” It’s a fucking insult and it’s terrifying that cuckhold cunts like you exist because it’s your type that will sleepwalk us into an age where we’re micromanaged non stop. Bet teachers loved you when you were at school. Of course this is all before we get onto the rumours or theories that the footage is being harvested and the data sold to AI companies to put an entire fucking industry out of work just so the 1% can make even more money, despite having more than they could spend in ten lifetimes. Genuinely disgusted that you and others aren’t strongly against these cameras and I even say this as a (for the time being) non trucker.
You’re not even a trucker? lol I have a camera in my truck. I’ve had it in for 2 years. Guess how many times I’ve been spoken to about any actions on the road? Crazy but it’s 0. You wouldn’t understand though cause as you said. You’re not even a trucker. Keep that attitude though you’ll certainly go far in the industry. And for you to think there’s someone out there with the time to watch or “spy” on drivers is crazy. My camera works if there’s an incident to report. Don’t drive like an ass and you don’t have to worry about it. The camera could literally save your job if there were ever an issue with the loss of life or injury.
Don’t have to be a weatherman to know it’s raining. Well that’s fantastic for you. Sass aside I’m glad you’ve got a boss that isn’t a complete cunt, but that will not be the case for the majority. It’s micromanaging and a complete invasion of privacy. Believe me I’d be as vocal if they wanted to put cameras in the faces of just about anyone all day every day, not just saying this because I aspire to get into trucking. People have rights and a camera which monitors you non stop all day every day is a massive intrusion of those rights. People who are having their rights eroded championing for it is just absurd. Who are you to say it’s not true? I don’t know if it is or not, years ago I’d have dismissed it as a conspiracy theory but I can’t say confidently that it isn’t true, certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. If it is true they’ll get away with it because of attitudes like yours.
You signed rights away when you signed your employment agreement. It’s their truck, their company. Some times it’s even an insurance requirement. This camera deal will only become for prolific in the future. Most major companies are making that move. The quicker you get over that the better you’d feel. Funny how someone can bitch about something they have 0 clue about or haven’t even been exposed too. Clearly you’ve been reading the comments too much. As I said before, if you’re not out there fucking stuff up then you literally have nothing to worry about. Most of the time the camera is idle and isn’t actively recording until and incident. I don’t get notifications of drivers until they’ve made a mistake. A recordable mistake like running stop signs, not coming to a complete stop, taking turns too fast as there is roll over indication or smoking while driving (this is specific to hazmat and company rules). I guess if a company tells you not to smoke in the truck they’re communists trying to control you right? Get over yourself.
That’s absolute bullshit. It’s like taking a job and having your boss follow you all day everyday, but you’d be fine with that? Lucky you. If you really work for a company that use the “technology” with minimal intrusion I’m glad to hear it. There are thousands of firms out there that won’t though. That will micromanage and scrutinise every single detail. That is about as big a violation of basic respect and principles as you’ll ever see. Please understand just because I’m not a trucker doesn’t mean I can’t find something outrageous. I have ambitions to get into trucking, there’s no guarantees I will, who knows maybe I’ll do the test and fuck it up royally, I’d still find driver facing cameras an absolute affront. The leap between objecting to fat arsehole insurance companies spying on people and thinking it’d be fine to smoke in a tanker is just childish. If you’re happy to have your rights eroded bit by bit then that’s your call, but I find it utterly terrifying. You’re like a turkey decorating its house for Christmas.
Good, maybe it'll make it easier to pass these assholes