We didn’t get into vehicle CCTV because we thought cameras were an interesting piece of technology. We got into it because we needed them ourselves. Before Centrad became what it is today, our Managing Director, Geoff Cross, spent 15 years running his own bus operation. And one of the biggest lessons from those years was just how quickly an incident on the road can become something much bigger for the business.
It’s an experience that still shapes how we think about vehicle CCTV and fleet safety today.
The Incident that Changed Our View of Vehicle CCTV
Back in 2008, one of Geoff’s buses went into the back of a hire car. There was around £500 worth of damage and two people in the other vehicle. It seemed relatively straightforward. A couple of weeks later, the insurer called.
There were 26 injury claims relating to the incident.
It wasn’t the only claim the fleet experienced around that period either. By the time insurance renewal came around, those claims and the reserves attached to them were having a serious impact.
Geoff remembers insurance increasing from around £4,000 per vehicle to £12,000.
For a fleet operator, that’s not an abstract number on a spreadsheet. Insurance, fuel and labour are some of your biggest costs. A significant increase in any one of them can quickly wipe out already tight margins. That was the reason we started looking seriously at CCTV.
Not because we wanted more technology on the vehicles, but because we needed reliable evidence of what was actually happening on the road.
Looking back on that period, Geoff puts it very simply:
“We would have been out of business without CCTV.”
That is probably the clearest way of explaining just how important the technology became to us. Sometimes, knowing what happened is enough Vehicle CCTV has changed enormously since then, but we still think its most important job is one of its simplest. Be there when you need it.
When something happens, operators shouldn’t have to rely entirely on conflicting accounts or spend days trying to piece an incident together. Good footage can help establish liability, investigate complaints and, importantly, protect drivers when they’ve done nothing wrong. Geoff learned that side of CCTV as an operator too.
On one occasion, a serious allegation was made that one of his drivers had grabbed a girl. The CCTV was reviewed and showed that it simply hadn’t happened. But looking back, Geoff believes there was something the business got wrong. They dealt with the complaint internally and cleared the driver, but never told him. The driver only tended to hear about CCTV when footage showed he’d done something wrong. He didn’t hear about all the times it had protected him.
That’s something we think fleets should approach differently today.
Cameras Shouldn't Just Create 'Gotcha' Moments
Drivers have a difficult job. They’re spending hours behind the wheel, dealing with other road users, passengers, traffic and situations they can’t always control. If the only time CCTV is mentioned is when a driver is being challenged about something, it’s understandable that cameras start to feel like they’re there to police them.
We think operators should talk about the other side too.
When footage disproves an allegation, establishes that another road user was responsible or simply gives the driver an independent witness, tell them. Used properly, vehicle CCTV should support good drivers just as much as it helps operators manage risk.
AI is taking that one step further
For years, CCTV primarily answered one question: What happened?
AI vehicle cameras are starting to help fleets ask another: Could we have done something before it happened?
Geoff has personal experience here too. Not long before he sold his bus operation, there was a serious incident involving a driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel. Thankfully there were no fatalities. The investigation later found that the driver had been gaming through the night.
The technology available at the time couldn’t identify that risk beforehand. Today’s AI driver monitoring systems can detect indicators such as fatigue and distraction and alert the driver, while also giving the operator information about higher-risk events.
Geoff believes that, had today’s technology been available then, that incident could have been prevented.
That’s where we think AI becomes genuinely useful.
Not because fleets need more alerts, reports and data, but because the right information can give them an opportunity to act sooner.
More Data Isn't Necessarily the Answer
This is also where we think fleet technology needs to go next.
Operators already have plenty of data. The challenge is finding the small amount that actually deserves their attention. Rather than giving a fleet manager ten more reports to review, technology should be helping answer questions such as: What are the two or three things I need to look at this week?
If the same driver is repeatedly triggering fatigue events, if particular vehicles are generating recurring incidents or if the same type of risk keeps appearing across the fleet, that’s useful information.
The technology should help operators find those patterns quickly, coach where appropriate and then get on with running the fleet.
Bringing the Information Together
Increasingly, we see the answer being connected platforms that bring video, AI events, vehicle location and other fleet information together in one place. The aim isn’t to give operators another system or even more data to manage.
It’s to make the information they already have easier to understand, identify what actually needs their attention and act on it quickly.
That’s the direction we’re taking with the Centrad Platform. The value isn’t simply having footage, alerts or tracking data available. It’s being able to connect those pieces so an operator can move from an incident or event to the information they need without jumping between different systems or spending time digging through reports.
For us, that is where connected fleet technology becomes genuinely useful: less time finding information, more clarity on what matters, and a quicker route to action.
Built from the Operator's Side of the Desk
Our experience of vehicle CCTV started from the same side of the desk as our customers. We know what it’s like when insurance costs increase, when a serious complaint lands, when you need footage urgently or when you’re trying to support a driver while also protecting the business. That’s why we don’t believe the answer is simply fitting as much technology as possible.
Different fleets have different risks. The important part is understanding what you’re trying to solve and then using vehicle CCTV, AI and telematics where they can genuinely make a difference. Because ultimately, the technology only matters if it helps you run a safer, better-informed fleet.
If you’re reviewing your current vehicle CCTV or looking at where AI could help your operation, speak to us about what you’re trying to achieve.
