What if one video could save your company thousands of dollars - AND prove your driver's innocence?
When unexpected incidents happen on the road, it's all about the facts. With fleet cameras from AllConnects, you'll know exactly what happened, so you can protect your drivers from false accusations.
In this article, a client of our software partner Mapon shares how video footage has been crucial to treating their drivers fairly and how it has strengthened the safety culture within the company. One piece of video evidence can save the company up to 15 work hours and €5,000 - read on quickly to find out how!
The customer - Lähivaara Oy
The family business Lähivaara Oy, based in Kuopio, has been in business since 1959, when Lassi Lähivaara began authorized freight transportation. The company started out transporting logs, but has since expanded into factory and terminal operations within the wood processing industry.
Safety as a core value thanks to video telematics
"At Lähivaara Oy, safety is not a priority, it is the basis of everything we do. We actively listen to our drivers when introducing new technologies and processes so that their needs are truly heard," says entrepreneur Kari Lähivaara.
Over the years, some of the company's drivers were wrongly accused of accidents that were actually caused by other road users. These experiences prompted the decision to equip the entire fleet with camera systems.
In one serious incident, a company vehicle was involved in an accident that could have led to serious charges against the driver. Fortunately, cameras captured everything, providing irrefutable evidence that exonerated the driver and ensured a fair trial.
After this incident, the company's occupational safety committee decided to equip all vehicles with fleet cameras to protect the rights of their drivers. Today, the entire fleet of 26 vehicles is equipped with Mapon's fleet monitoring system and camera solutions.
Front and rear view, with beautiful transparency
AllConnects strongly committed to continuously improving our safety culture and promoting transparency.
"The video data we collect not only helps increase safety within our transportation company, but is also valuable for forestry companies looking to improve their safety standards," says Kari Lähivaara.
He adds, "We have also shared video footage with SKAL (the Finnish transport and logistics association) to raise dangerous road conditions - this benefits all road users and is part of our broader safety efforts."
Cameras provide security, honesty and savings
Since implementing the video tracking system, Lähivaara has experienced significant financial and operational benefits. For example, last winter a vehicle went off the road due to poor road maintenance. Thanks to the video footage, the company was able to prove that the cause was not the driver, but the poor condition of the road.
"The savings from this camera system are significant. Solving one false claim quickly saves our management team 10 to 15 working hours - apart from the deductible, higher insurance premiums and other unnecessary costs," says Kari Lähivaara.
"In cases like this, the savings add up to between €2,500 and €5,000. One handled case already pays for itself in the installation of cameras on 15 vehicles."
Ease of use and automation are key
For Lähivaara, it was essential that the cameras work automatically, without driver intervention. The video solution excels in ease of use and makes it easy to retrieve exactly the right images. Users can watch along live, automatically recorded events or request images from specific times.
Protecting drivers, vehicle by vehicle
Over the past few years, poor winter road conditions, reckless driving by other drivers and all sorts of safety concerns have become bigger and bigger problems for Lähivaara. The drivers themselves support the use of cameras because they know that these systems protect them in the event of accidents or arguments where the word of one is against the other.
"It gives peace of mind that our employer is behind us and provides legal protection if something unexpected happens on the job," says driver Nate Ruuskanen.
Do you also want to protect your fleet and employees while saving costs? Contact us - we will be happy to help you find the ideal camera solution!
