As a professional HGV or LGV driver (though the LGV/HGV meaning is virtually the same), chances are you spend most of your time on the road, which means you’ve seen your fair share of accidents – hopefully, you haven’t been involved in one yourself. While most road accidents are avoidable, some are not; and none of them is pretty.
A majority of HGV drivers have a kit of essential things that they cannot do without while on the road. However, there is one thing many drivers don’t consider ‘essential’, and that is a dashcam.
Although tiny, these gadgets are a must-have for any HGV driver who values their safety – and there are several reasons why. In this article, we will be looking at why dash cams are vital and why every HGV driver needs to have one in their cab.
Record Accidents
There is no telling when an accident will happen while on the road. One thing about accidents is that they happen so fast that most drivers do not know what exactly happened. Apart from the damages and injuries they cause, the problem with accidents is that it can take insurance companies a fair amount of time to determine what happened and who is to blame. While dash cams cannot stop an accident from happening, they can make handling the aftermath of a collision a bit easier.
Considering that your yearly insurance premiums as an HGV driver are relatively high, the last thing you want is being blamed for an error that you did not make or an accident you did not cause. The good thing about having a dashcam is that you have impartial proof of what exactly happened – the events that led to the collision and the steps you took to avoid the crash. That makes these little gadgets very useful, especially when it comes to handling insurance claims.
Dodge ‘Crash for Cash’ Scams
Sadly, there are people on the roads who purposefully cause accidents with ill intent. These are people who deliberately cause accidents and stage them to look like it’s the other driver’s fault so they can file insurance claims against them. The scam usually involves fraudsters intentionally slowing down their car on a busy road or braking suddenly and unnecessarily. While the accident might still happen, having dashcam footage as evidence can help you prove that someone staged the accident. As you can see, dashcam footage can help protect you against crash-for-cash scams. Having irrefutable evidence allows you to fight off insurance claims filed against you, making it impossible for scammers to benefit from you.
Reporting Bad Road Drivers
Spending time on the road means that you get to see many amazing things – and that includes a fair share of drivers who flout traffic rules wantonly. Whether it is stupid driving, cutting someone off, speeding, road rage, or tailgating, each action a reckless driver makes puts other road users at risk. And it is even worse if the person is driving a commercial vehicle. Dash-cams are the perfect tool to catch such drivers in the act. Video evidence makes reporting such reckless behaviour to the relevant authorities – be it the police or even their employers – easier. The fewer bad drivers on the road, the better.
For a small fee, you can have a dashcam sitting on your cabin, silently protecting you from many of the issues that arise after an accident and the impact they, and scammers can have on your insurance. Not having a dashcam isn’t an option for any professional commercial vehicle driver, and we recommend that you get one as soon as possible.