Intelligent Telematics, the leading provider of connected vehicle camera solutions, has released a series of video clips to demonstrate the added risk of driving on rural roads. The footage, captured by vehicles using the IT1000 3G camera, highlights some of the dangers faced by fleet drivers resulting from excess speed, lack of concentration and even local wildlife. It follows the recent publication of the Department of Transports’ annual report on road casualties, which showed that over half of all fatal collisions last year occurred on non built-up roads.
“Despite often being more hazardous than urban roads, the national speed limit still applies for much of the rural road network,” explains Sam Footer, Director of Intelligent Telematics. “The narrow nature of many rural roads, combined with blind twists and turns and other distractions, means there is greater risk of losing control if not driving with due care and attention, especially when travelling at higher speed.”
One of the videos shows an oncoming car spinning wildly out of control before slamming into the commercial vehicle, with only good fortune averting serious injury or loss of life. In fact, speeding plays a key role in a number of the recorded incidents, even when the vehicle involved is travelling within the legal speed limit. In another clip, a van loses control on a bend and only narrowly misses a tree having crashed into the hedgerow. However, not all risks and hazards are the result of driver error as another video captures the moment a deer jumps out in front of a vehicle causing the driver to brake sharply.
“What these videos show is the need for fleets to educate their drivers on the dangers they face when travelling on rural roads. These incidents are putting lives at risk as well as causing significant operational disruption, but in most cases, they can be avoided with lower speeds and greater levels of concentration. By adopting a connected camera solution, fleets are now able to monitor all collisions, near misses and harsh driving events, which is helping to identify potential issues and encourage a safety-first approach.”
Intelligent Telematics’ IT1000 and IT2000 3G devices are the leading single and dual camera solutions for vehicle operations. They use the most sophisticated 3G and 4G technology so that HD footage of any collision, near miss or harsh driving incident is captured and automatically transmitted within moments of it happening. Unlike other systems in the marketplace, the videos and supporting data are uploaded to a secure server network with no user intervention required, making them the only truly effective 3G vehicle cameras for First Notification of Loss (FNOL).
