The firm originally installed cameras from SmartWitness across its 110-strong mostly 38-tonne truck fleet three years ago, and transport manager Richard Brown says they have been “amazing”.
Says Brown: “They have made such a difference to us and pretty much ended those 50:50 debates you used to have following accidents. 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.
“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,” continues Brown.
“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 blameless. The Russian police viewed the footage and simply said: ‘Russian drivers - what do you expect!’.”
Fly By Nite’s dashcams have also been used to help solve a “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,” states Brown.