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Johannesburg - Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi released road death statistics showing a 51% increase in fatalities during the 2017 Easter period – raising concern for safe driving on the roads.
The role of dashcams (dashboard cameras) in helping motorists with responsible driving has been much debated around the world. YouTube is littered with dashcam footage revealing road rage, irresponsible driving and crashes.
With the availability of driver behaviour evidence, should dashcams play a bigger role in settling motor accident claims, determining premiums and be used as a tool to incentivise drivers in South Africa?
'Encourage responsible driving'
Lizette Erasmus, insurance expert at IntegriSure notes that unlike South Africa, insurance providers in some countries incentivise motorists who drive vehicles fitted with a dash cam. According to insurance companies in the UK, having a dashcam could reduce the premium by up to 15%.
Erasmus said: “The use of technologies such as telematics and tracking devices has been adopted by the South African short-term insurance industry, and dash cams could be another device to investigate to add to that list.
“When all is said and done, dashcams can encourage responsible driving behaviour. Whether or not South Africa is ready for the wholesale adoption of dash cams in the short-term insurance industry remains to be seen.”
Watch: Why you need a dashcam in SA
Do you think more drivers should fit dashcams to their cars? Have you captured poor road behaviour via a dashcam on our roads? Email us.
Evidence needed
Being able to provide additional evidence that you were not at fault when a crash occurs can be beneficial during the claim stage and even fast track the process. Erasmus adds that many factors are considered when determining a risk profile and setting a premium. She adds that the willingness to install a dashcam is evident of a responsible person and will consequently reflect in their premiums.
She explains: “The willingness to install a dash cam whereby visual evidence can be provided to help prove innocence in the event of a claim could be another element in determining a premium. The bigger picture will always come into play.
“Your credit record, claims history, length of time you’ve had a driving license, as well as the security measurements taken, will influence the premium an insurance provider settles on for a specific client. Even if adopted, the installation of a dashcam will need to be evaluated in light of the other aspects of determining a risk profile.”
Crash for cash scams
Russia was one of the first countries to widely embrace the use of dash cams, mainly as a defence against police corruption, as well as insurance fraud such as ‘crash for cash’ scams. Crash for cash scams happen where fraudsters deliberately cause ‘accidents’ by running or driving into the road as soon as a car approaches, with the aim to claim for insurance.
Erasmus explains: “Economic pressure unfortunately causes fraudulent behaviour and insurance providers have fallen prey to this type of behaviour. To an extent, dash cams provide proof of foul play in the instance of this type of fraud. In addition, dash cams can help avoid the he-said she-said scenario at claim stage.”
Collecting evidence
Erasmus argues that while a dashcam assists with the collection of evidence, it does not eliminate the need for a thorough investigation into an incident. She said: “Dashcams see broadly into the road, therefore other detail on the road may be missed by the camera lens – which is where an eyewitness account is still vital. Insurance providers still have to conduct thorough investigation to assess the incident and the resultant damage. Dashcams do, however, assist in speeding up the process and giving a greater scope of what happened.”
Image: iStock
Insurance providers will have to contend with other unintended consequences when assessing the viability of adopting dash cams.
“There’s also a legal risk to the use of dash cams. While recording via a dash cam is not illegal, sharing such footage may be an infringement of people’s right to privacy. Dashcam footage is commonly shared on social media, which can be seen as violation of privacy, resulting in litigation. Insurance providers must consider the risk of being party to these types of cases when encouraging the use of dash cams, and appropriately educate consumers,” warns Erasmus.
Dash cameras have a number of benefits for motorists and vehicle owners.
“Most dash cams are linked to the engine and are therefore programmed to start recording as soon as the ignition starts which is also beneficial in ensuring the dash cam is always recording which could very well be a prerequisite should the technology be adopted by insurance providers. For fleet owners, dash cams can help them monitor whether their drivers are driving responsibly or not. A vehicle owner who borrows a friend their vehicle is also able to monitor their friend’s driving behaviour through the dash cam footage. Furthermore, viewing footage of your own driving can help improve one’s own driving, as you can watch and review where you need to correct your driving behaviour,” she says.
