What Is Video Telematics | How Does Video Telematics Work

With technology, the practical application of tech is also growing across industries. Video telematics is the by-product of evolving fleet management software.

Enterprises demand holistic fleet management solutions that offer video data, vehicle insights and geospatial data. 

Software-enabled fleet management has increased fleet transparency. Fleet managers get insights into vehicle performance, driving behaviour and location data. Video Telematics took the game to another level by providing visual data and making the fleet safer.

What is Video Telematics Software?

Video telematics is the updated version of vehicle telematics that includes video data, vehicle analytics and geospatial insights. Vehicle telematics software sends textual alerts to inform the manager of the events, whereas, video telematics software fetch visual pieces of evidence.

With video telematics joining forces with fleet management software, the monitoring superpowers of fleet managers have doubled. It collects information beyond real-time location and vehicle insights via sensors. A dashboard camera faces the driver, and another video sensor captures the surroundings. The surroundings include the movement of nearby vehicles, driving behaviour and the surroundings.

DMS – ADAS: The Heart and Soul of Video Telematics 

Driver Monitoring System  & Advanced Driver Assistance System

Video Telematics is bifurcated into two solutions – DMS & ADAS. As the names suggest, Driver Monitoring System enables tracking of driver behaviour, whereas the Advanced Driver Assistance System helps monitor the surrounding movements on the road. 

The software does not understand actions; it understands events. Therefore, possible actions of a driver are categorised as events such as smoking, yawning, being distracted and more. A dashcam captures the driver’s movement, matches it with an event, and generates alerts. 

ADAS ups the game a little more. It captures the movement in the outside environment and triggers an alert as it spots an event. The technology comes in handy with insurance claim settlement, driver training and safety.

How Does Video Telematics Work?

The functioning of a DMS and ADAS system is similar to any sensor. The camera captures visuals of the surroundings all the time. Every time an event occurs, the camera detects it and notifies the software. The camera sends the picture or a video clip to the server. The software sends the same picture attached in an alert to the manager.

The primary role of video telematics software is to respond to the driver’s behaviour and other dangerous activities, such as collisions, overspeeding, distracted driving and more. A manager can monitor, manage and control the entire fleet remotely without skipping any dangerous event, helping managers make informed decisions.

 

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What are the Benefits of Video Telematics?

Driver and Consignment Safety

The combined data of vehicle telematics and video telematics provide comprehensive safety to the fleet, drivers or consignments. You may keep tabs on vehicle health, driving behaviour, external factors and consignment status. In emergency cases, an alarm goes off, informing the manager of the possible danger. 

Better Driver Behaviour 

When a manager gets the report of every move of the vehicle tracking software it becomes easier to find anomalies in the operations. Every event that occurred due to the driver’s negligence also gets reported. You can plan driver training sessions according to the data gathered. How? Address the major problems first. Sort drivers as per their problem areas, and create a plan of action for better efficiency.

Reduced Risk of Road Accidents

Distracted driving accounts for nearly 10% of fatal crashes in the U.S.A. Studies show that video telematics can result in fewer road accidents and help in investigations too. This is the reason why so many fleet owners are turning to video telematics to slim such risks. 

Reduced Costs and Liabilities

Video telematics not only helps in reducing the risk of accidents but also in reducing unnecessary losses and liabilities. Insurance companies reduce insurance premiums when they know an advanced security system is preinstalled. Claiming insurance also becomes easier when you have video proof of the accident happened. It also reduces liabilities in case of legal matters.  

Improved Customer Satisfaction

With more security comes more trust. If the customers are content that their goods are in responsible hands they feel more secure. Even in case of an accident or unforeseen emergency, you can provide the customer switch them the recorder clip. You can share live streaming with your customers when the consignment is of very high value.

Alerts and Events you get with DMS

Driver negligence is one of the biggest concerns of the transportation industry. DMS is the solution to this problem. The risky driver behaviour actions are called events in the software world. The dashcam detects these risky events with the help of AI and notifies the manager in real time. So what are the common events you get in a Driver Monitoring System?

Smoking: When the driver is caught on camera smoking while driving this event is triggered. 

Distracted: The driver is not driving attentively. He/she is looking everywhere but in front, in such cases, this event is triggered. 

Drowsy: Driving a trailer loaded with goods for long hours on a deserted highway can be a tedious job. This event deters the habit of driving while feeling sleepy.

Yawning: If a driver is yawning it means they are tired and needs rest. When an alert is triggered for yawning managers can ask the driver to stop then and there to take a power nap.  

Driver Absence: If someone other than the assigned driver is driving the vehicle, the driver’s absence event is triggered. 

Camera Blocking: Sometimes drivers cover the camera intentionally or unintentionally, in such cases the manager receives an alert for camera blocking. 

Alerts and Events you get with ADAS

Advanced Driver Assistance System has many use cases. You get custom events. You may keep the ones you need in your library and leave the ones you don’t. The following are the most common events offered by the ADAS system.

Forward Collision Alert: When the driver gets too close to the vehicle in front that they may collide, the sensor beeps, warning the driver to watch out. An instant alert is also sent to the manager, notifying him of an event. The alarm goes off in case the vehicle collides.

Signal Violation: Violating signals can cost unnecessary challans and risks to the driver’s life and consignment. Get alerts every time the driver violates the red light signal. 

Lane Switch Warning: Drifting between lanes can be dangerous, especially for commercial vehicles, yet drivers tend to take the risk. Therefore, fleet owners and managers rely on video telematics.

Overspeeding: Overspeeding on a broad and vacant highway and busy city roads are two different things. However, in both scenarios, it is unsafe to Overspeed. Managers receive alerts every time the vehicle exceeds the set limit.

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