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SAIA | DriveCam ... By Lytx

runawaytrain said:
Without going into great detail I can tell you that you should stick around. This company is on the verge of becoming the the Old Dominion. And in case you don't know OD is the most profitable LTL company in business today with a business model that is unparalleled. SAIA is growing and hopes you stick around but SAIA would rather you move on if you don't want to be part of what the leadership team is building. If you have a great run you would be a fool to quit In my opinion. Many of the lifers on here hate me because I'm so pro-company and anti-union .. You know the company ass kisser? Honestly I don't give a rats ass. Maybe my cavalier attitude comes from the fact that I could retire now debt free with a pretty big IRA. Maybe it comes from having worked for the Teamsters in the early 70's and have seen what they have devolved into. It's probably a bit of both. As far as DriveCam goes don't buy into the hype. It's not big brother trying to terminate you. Those cameras can also save your ass. I've always said if a company wants you gone they will find a reason. But if you do your job they will never find a reason. The worst thing any company can do to any employee is terminate them I suppose. I've never been afraid to speak my mind to any supervisor and let the chips fall where the may. If I thought DriveCam was wrong I would say so. Its technology evolving and sometimes that's not always bad.
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We are on the way!!!!
 
So you pretty much have to be a robot to drive for Saia? Are you allowed to blink your eyes? Unfortunately I also believe this will be an industry standard :-/. I'm with Estes and this week an outward facing camera was installed in all the line haul trucks at my terminal. So the next step is the inward facing camera. This is all very disheartening that the industry is becoming this way.
 
Not just our industry. THE WORLD... My wife is an elementary school teacher and she is under surveillance 10 hrs. a day. So don't just think it's just us, it's pretty much EVERYONE. We All have to realize that when you work for someone one else, we have to be good little boys and girls and do as we're told... But the great thing about the country we live we ALL have options.
 
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Buggybruiser said:
Not just our industry. THE WORLD... My wife is an elementary school teacher and she is under surveillance 10 hrs. a day. So don't just think it's just us, it's pretty much EVERYONE. We All have to realize that when you work for someone one else, we have to be good little boys and girls and do as we're told... But the great thing about the country we live we ALL have options.
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Very true, as truck drivers we can buy our own rig and assume all the responsibility of paying taxes, maintenance, fuel, insurance ... and so own. No thanks, I will just work part time somewhere to stay mentally engaged and get out of trucking all together when I retire. Cameras everywhere these days. I knew an ole boy that recently got fired from an LTL outfit for pissing out of site (so he thought) behind his trailer. Little did he know that the camera on the building he was next to was recording him. It was sent to his corporate and he was fired. That's messed up. How many times have we took a leak behind our trailers, tree or whatever what was available at the time when a pisser wasn't available. Come on now, don't lie.
 
Everyone is different and no opinion is wrong, unless it is mine and my wife doesn't agree with it. My personal opinion on these cameras is that I don't like them BUT I like my job situation much more. A stable company, pays well, regular raises, max vacation, insurance, and 401-k packages. A regular five day work week, no weekend work, and off on the holidays. For a blue collar guy like me, it doesn't get much better. I'll put up with the cameras until I retire. Sorry bruiser, if you are waiting on me. you'll have to wait a while longer.
 
Buggybruiser said:
Sit tight,don't do anything rash, and think about your motives... Don't jump out of the pot into the fire, unless you're at my terminal then I don't mind because I'll just move up the ladder.
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I'm not going anywhere, I was in HST the other night I seen some 18xxxx Freightliners behind the shop. Then on twitter I seen where terminal mangers where getting trained on the cameras. The latest pet peeve I guess? Remember the progressive shifting score? Hard braking? Idling time.
 
runawaytrain said:
Very true, as truck drivers we can buy our own rig and assume all the responsibility of paying taxes, maintenance, fuel, insurance ... and so own. No thanks, I will just work part time somewhere to stay mentally engaged and get out of trucking all together when I retire. Cameras everywhere these days. I knew an ole boy that recently got fired from an LTL outfit for pissing out of site (so he thought) behind his trailer. Little did he know that the camera on the building he was next to was recording him. It was sent to his corporate and he was fired. That's messed up. How many times have we took a leak behind our trailers, tree or whatever what was available at the time when a pisser wasn't available. Come on now, don't lie.
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Yesterday behind my house.
 
joes bar and grill said:
The camera may also be your worst enemy, most everybody is puffing their chest out saying it's not us it's the 4 wheelers fault, that is not the case. Everybody, including the million+ safe milers make mistakes. Inward facing cameras are personal injury lawyers wet dream, the company will have to supply them on demand.
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While I don't like the idea of someone looking over my shoulder all the time (one of the multitude of reasons I left Con-way), I am afraid it is the way of the future, especially with the litigious society we have nowadays. Yes, we all make mistakes, but to be the devil's advocate, if the camera can help you if you do your job right, would you rather have that insurance policy in your back pocket and rely on your skill and experience as a professional driver or not? If the answer is no just how professional is someone who has to rely on being able to hide in the shadows because all data isn't available?

All this being said, I think your problem (and frankly mine) is the rear-facing part of the drive cam. If this is to be the way of the future, I guess all of us are going to have to make the decision as to whether we can continue in the industry if it becomes a reality.
 
nobodysboy said:
Your accepting it is fine. Don't pat Saia or the technology on the back. It's something you do to be you. That's fine. That blue button doesn't do squat for you when it's life or death and no time to react. Like I said if they put the same technology in company cars I'll be on board.
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I do agree with this post. It should be in ALL company vehicles if it's in the trucks.
 
PistonRing83 said:
If the lane departure alarm goes off more than once in a 20 second period, the DriveCam stores a video. It also goes off if you don't react to a vehicle in front of you within 5-6 seconds. They are set way too sensitive.

Yes you are correct, they are over the top. It remains to be seen how they are going to proceed with the camera systems. Only 200 trucks in the fleet are equipped with them and they have already caused a huge uproar.
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Got to disagree with you there, if you set off the lane departure more than once in 20 seconds you're distracted, and if it takes longer than 5-6 seconds to react to a vehicle in front of you I would say the same. We have lane departure at OD and I dealt with the Bendix system at CW.
 
I never noticed an abundance of LTL trucks being involved in rear ended collisions, what was the reason for the supposed need of all this radar equipment ?
 
Frootloop said:
Aren't most major companies self insured?
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The term "self insured" needs clarification. That refers to companies whose insurance doesn't kick in until a pretty high number...lots of times in the millions. Last I checked, Saia was self insured to $2 million, meaning Saia pays everything until that number is reached, then insurance kicks in. Saia runs a lot of equipment down the road, so their exposure is pretty high. The correlation between insurance and the technology in the cab is so that Saia can potentially use that data in court in order to assign fault. Also, in the event of a catastrophic accident, where property and life loss is substantial, the EOBR can provide lawyers and the insurance companies they represent with ammunition in a courtroom.
 
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