Tech proved tipper driver wasn't at fault

Advance Contruction Scotland (ACS), based in Strathclyde Business Park, often have hundreds of vehicles on the road at any one time, making them a prime target for false insurance claims.

It was trialling Brigade Electronics’ new mobile digital recording system when one of the company’s 32-tonne tipper drivers got into an accident.

However, thanks to the new system it was quickly established the other driver was to blame for the crash and a subsequent insurance claim against ACS was dismissed.

The recording system can give operators remote access to footage featuring eight configurable trigger inputs including speed, g-force, motion detection, voltage and video signal loss.

Following the incident, David Sandilands, a director at Banlaw Systems, who had supplied and installed the equipment for ACS, was able to access the data remotely before emergency services arrived.

He could clearly see the damage to the vehicle and the effects of the collision on the tipper driver, who was visibly shaken by the incident.

He was also able to check the speed and positioning of the vehicle and saw a car travelling on the wrong side of the road drive straight into the tipper.

As a result, Mr Sandilands provided ACS with the footage on a USB stick and reassure its general manager, Colin Sinclair, that his driver was not culpable.

Mr Sinclair said: “We recently had an accident involving one of our tippers where the system allowed us to instantly refute the third party claims and showed our driver was not at fault.

“This saved a lot of wasted time further down the line dealing with claims when accident recollections are not as sharp as at the time of the incident.

“The driver must have felt immense relief, especially at not having to wait for the outcome of a lengthy investigation.

“Having this record on film proved to be invaluable and shifted all blame on to the other party.

“Our insurers were able to pursue a claim against them, rather than the situation being clouded by counter claims and resulting in both insurance parties being able to strike a deal to clear the claim off their books.

“It was clearly evident who was at fault, yet without the footage it would probably have been settled 50/50 and our insurance premiums would have risen.”

Mr Sinclair hopes that the use of this technology will prevent future frivolous legal claims being made against his company.

“He said: “The Brigade 3G digital recording system allows our management team to study incidents in real time, eliminating the need to rely on witness statements.

“Often tipper vehicles are seen as easy targets for claims and we are now more confident that any such claims can be refuted, protecting both our drivers and our company’s reputation.

“The recording system is an invaluable addition to our management systems and we expect to see a decline in spurious third party claims involving our vehicles.”