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Source: ONE News -
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Video released by trucking companies using onboard cameras show just how dangerous New Zealand roads can be.
With 95% of all crashes involving driver error, the companies behind the cameras say they are capturing an accurate record of incidents and improving driving standards in the process.
Importer of Smart Drive, Haydn Bowbyes says it could help to lower the number of crashes on our roads.
"Ninety per cent of the clips we saw were people in cars who just don't know how to drive around trucks."
Bowbyes has installed more than 1,200 cameras into truck fleets all over the country.
The camera continually records, but when the truck brakes heavily, the previous 10 seconds and the following 10 seconds are saved permanently to the hard drive. The vision is then used to improve driver safety through extra training.
But the videos are also effective at protecting companies against incorrect blame after a crash.
"Working out who is at fault in an accident, as we know truck drivers are often blamed for an incident when really they are not at fault. So the camera has proven the actual cause of the accident."
The trucking companies say it is a strategy that works.
