With insurance premiums remaining painstakingly high, finding ways to lower costs has become a difficult task for coach operators across the UK.
For BASE Coach Sales, a North West independent coach dealer, which has been trading since the early 1990s, they have seen this first-hand, citing that adopting technology, such as vehicle CCTV solutions, to mitigate and reduce expensive premiums has become vital for any operator.
As importers and dealers for Beulas and MOBIpeople coach products, BASE looked to partner with a vehicle CCTV supplier that not only supplied quality-led products, but also had extensive experience of the marketplace and would act as an ongoing consultative voice for the business.
When sourcing a vehicle CCTV technology partner, BASE Coach Sales was recommended to Tamworth-based Centrad, which has an extensive track record in working with coach operators as a direct result of the company’s Managing Director, Geoff Cross, being a former operator himself.
Fast forward almost a decade, and Centrad still remains a key partner for BASE, supplying camera solutions for the majority of vehicles which are imported year on year, which are then supplied to customers across the UK.
In order to ensure total coverage of their vehicles, BASE called upon Centrad to provide eight and twelve camera systems to capture footage of the rear, sides, and front as well as along the interior, including the stairwells.
Nick Dodgson, General Manager at BASE Coach Sales commented: “With insurance premiums being at an all-time high the importance of having evidence-based solutions retrofitted onto our vehicles has never been more vital. This is further highlighted by the fact that we have had numerous conversations with customers who have been informed by their insurer that without vehicle camera systems in place, they are more or less uninsurable.
“The changes to the driver code in recent years has also brought about a new hierarchy of road users, meaning drivers who operate vehicles that can cause the greatest harm in the event of a collision bear the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger they pose to others. With greater expectation and responsibility on drivers to ensure they are operating safely on the roads, technological support, such as CCTV camera systems, is required in order to mitigate the threat of unsolicited claims or claims where the coach driver isn’t at fault.
“This has caused a huge paradigm shift in driver attitudes towards cameras, as where previously they felt such solutions evoked a Big Brother feel, many who drive for our customers now claim they feel they cannot carry out their role without them – largely because they know they have a safety net at all times if an incident does occur, whether that involves passengers, other vehicles or vulnerable road users.”
Nick continued: “CCTV has become a fundamental tool for operators, which is why aligning ourselves with the right partner was vital, not simply for us as a business but to also ensure our customers are adequately protected at all times. With Centrad we have found a provider that is well-respected within the bus and coach industry, quality-driven, and receptive coupled with an exemplary aftersales support.
“Camera systems ultimately remove the debate in identifying who’s at fault in the event of an incident as operators can use footage as clear tangible evidence. Without such solutions in place, insurers openly state that fighting against insurance claims would be extremely difficult – highlighted by the fact that the vast majority of customers now request to start day one with their vehicle having a camera system installed, nor would we recommend otherwise.”
