C.R. England will install Lytx driver-facing cameras across in the more than 3,500 trucks in its fleet, the companies announced March 17.
The Salt Lake City-based truckload carrier will use Lytx’s AI-powered DriveCam Event Recorders to monitor driving risks such as distracted driving, handheld cellphone use, unworn seat belts and close following.
“Nothing we do is more important than making sure our team members and the public return home safely,” said Chad England, C.R. England CEO, said in the announcement. “It’s why we invest heavily in driver training and top-tier technology from innovative companies like Lytx.”
The carrier’s selection of the technology vendor followed a three-month evaluation of Lytx’s and two other vendors’ offerings. Performance and accuracy, as well as a demonstrated history of innovation, were among the success criteria, according to the announcement.
“For years, we’ve admired C.R. England and the England family for their leadership in safety and their commitment to exceptional service,” Lytx EVP David Riordan said in the announcement. “We are honored to have the opportunity to help protect C.R. England’s people, its equipment, and its century-long heritage and storied reputation.”
Many drivers consider being monitored by camera while behind the wheel to be an invasion of privacy, and union contracts at ABF Freight and TForce Freight ban the carriers from using the technology.
But other large carriers, such as J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Prime Inc., have taken the driver-facing camera plunge.
However, Tyler Hayes, associate general counsel at C.R. England, said the company will not be “enabling video or audio recording or capture in the cab,” despite the fact the cameras have the ability to do so.
“We're using the driver facing equipment in the cab to provide drivers with real-time notifications of distraction or fatigue events,” Hayes told Trucking Dive in an email.
Fleets have found reasons to install cameras: Driver-facing footage exonerates drivers in more than half of insurance claims and almost half of litigation cases, according to the American Transportation Research Institute, an arm of the American Trucking Associations.
C.R. England, founded in 1920, was the first carrier in the U.S. to offer 72-hour, cross-country, over-the-road service. The company has since expanded into intermodal, dedicated, truckload and logistics in the U.S. and Mexico.
“As our business continues to grow, we needed a partner that could scale with us while enhancing our commitment to safety excellence,” Colin England, director of accident prevention, said in the announcement. “Lytx’s dedication to customer success, combined with its significantly more advanced technology compared to our previous tools, made it the ideal choice for us.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include additional information on how C.R. England plans to use the cameras.
