Something to think about: a haulier's front-mounted camera has proven his innocence following a collision. The footage – that was recorded via a Smart Witness system – shows the lorry travelling on the inside lane of the M25. Its speed was 50mph. Moments later, it was passing a slip lane on the left from where traffic was joining. One of these cars was a Honda Civic but its driver waited to long before moving right onto the motorway. As such, the slip lane started to vanish leaving him short of space. At this point the motorist might have avoided the collision by braking and moving in behind the lorry, or accelerating hard and manoeuvring ahead of it. Unfortunately, the driver hesitated and – as the lane vanished completely – struck the front corner of the heavier vehicle. The car was then pushed sideways down the road on the nose of the lorry until the whole lot came to rest on the hard shoulder. No other vehicles were involved and nobody was seriously hurt. Now, it can be tricky to establish who is to blame following traffic incidents as both drivers tend to blame the other. However, the on-board camera clearly established the facts - and minimised the risk of the innocent party being blamed.
Benefits of Smart Witness Camera System
Smart Witness cameras come in various shapes and sizes for lorries, cars and motorcycles. Other companies supply similar products – some of which monitor speed, g-force, audio and the vehicle's location then create a file for the insurer following an incident. The main benefit, of course, is that a camera might prove its owner innocent following an impact. And that is becoming increasingly important as fraudsters now deliberately cause collisions then cash-in on the aftermath. But how? The fraudster travels (say) on a main road that has a smaller route joining on the left via a t-junction. The criminal, of course, has right of way as defined by the rules of the road. He then spots a vehicle waiting at the junction and flashes his lights to indicate he will allow it to move safely onto the main road. However, the moment the innocent party commits to the manoeuvre the fraudster accelerates and causes a collision. He then claims that he did not flash his lights, the innocent party is blamed for moving into oncoming traffic, and the crook makes an insurance claim for whiplash, etc. Something else to think about.
