Recorded footage provides protection after fleet traffic collision
July 6, 2018 | By MRO Magazine
When one of Ontario-based recycling collection firm, Advantage Waste’s front loader garbage trucks was involved in a traffic collision with a reckless car driver; a lack of witnesses meant local police had little choice but to write off the incident as a no-fault.
That was until Advantage produced pre-recorded footage from its Mobile Digital Recorder (MDR) – which ultimately saved the company more than $10,000 CAD in repairs – and ensured the third party driver was penalized.
This particular incident occurred when an speeding driver attempted to pass one of firm’s garbage trucks on a small road; just as it was turning. Local police were reluctant to take any action at first. But upon reviewing footage taken from the MDR system, Advantage was able to provide evidence to the police; which resulted in blame being passed to the third party.
Advantage has been working with vehicle safety solutions provider, Brigade Electronics, for several years, and currently has a number of its cameras, MDR, radar, and white noise backup alarms installed on its growing fleet.
“It’s times like these when an investment in safety equipment pays for itself,” Tino Ciccaglione, operations manager of Advantage Waste. “In waste collection there are sometimes claims of damages to property, or that a person’s recycling has not been collected. Using the recordings, we can check reports – which usually exonerates our drivers. But in this particular case, we also saved thousands of dollars.”
“Accidents cause our drivers a great deal of stress, especially if someone is injured. Providing them with peace-of-mind protection is highly valuable for them and our company. Thankfully no one’s ever been hurt by one of our vehicles, but if that did happen, it totally would make sense to have all of the safety equipment. For me, it’s an acceptable cost. We kit out three vehicles a year and we’re getting more this summer – and we have plans to do all the fleet with camera systems. You can’t fault a system like this: it’s a witness to the accident that has pinpoint accuracy.”
For information, visit www.brigade-electronics.ca.
