Where a van CCTV system starts to matter
A CCTV system for your fleet may be needed when your vehicles are regularly reversing onto customer sites, carrying valuable tools or stock, or returning with unexplained damage.
Unlike a standard dashcam, a van CCTV system can give you coverage around the vehicle, including the nearside, offside, rear and load area, as well as the road ahead.
A forward-facing camera will not capture incidents at the side or rear of the van. Dashcams are useful, but they only show what is happening in front of the vehicle. If your drivers are manoeuvring in busy yards, making deliveries, parking in tight spaces or leaving vehicles unattended with equipment inside, additional cameras can provide evidence from areas a dashcam cannot see.
The cameras need to cover the areas where incidents are most likely to happen.
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The blind spots a forward facing camera never sees
A panel van has no rear window, solid sides and a nearside the driver cannot see from the driver’s seat. Add a bulkhead and a full load and it gets worse. A dashcam sees none of it.
Much of the damage to vans happens at low speed rather than on the open road. Marsh identifies low speed manoeuvring as a major source of claims costs for commercial fleets, particularly where larger vans have restricted rear visibility.
Reversing is a common cause of commercial vehicle accidents, and even a relatively minor incident can be costly. Repairs, insurance excesses and vehicle downtime all increase the cost to the fleet operator.
Signs your fleet has outgrown a dashcam
So when does a fleet need a van CCTV system? There is no set fleet size where a CCTV system becomes necessary. It depends on how the vans are used. A van CCTV system is more likely to be useful if several of these apply.
- Drivers reverse onto customer premises, sites or driveways every day
- You are settling damage claims where nobody can say what actually happened, or the same vans keep picking up unexplained damage down one side
- Vans carry tools or stock and you are absorbing losses you cannot account for
- Drivers are being blamed for manoeuvres or near misses that may not have happened
- A tender or accreditation asks what safety equipment is fitted
If two or three of these apply, a single forward-facing camera may no longer be enough.
What a van CCTV system adds
Vehicle CCTV systems are multi-camera installations recording to a DVR, rather than a single camera recording to a memory card.
Multiple channels cover the front, nearside, offside, rear and, where useful, the load area or cab interior. On many systems recording continues after the ignition is off, which can record incidents while the van is parked. Remote access means footage can be retrieved without accessing the vehicle. Plataforma LiveDrive de TrafficAngel lets fleets pull clips without sending someone out with a laptop.
An in-cab monitor also gives the driver a live view while manoeuvring. Under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 a driver must not be able to see a screen while driving unless it shows vehicle status, location, or a view helping them see the road. A reversing or nearside view is fine, but screen position needs to be considered when the system is specified.
TrafficAngel’s Van Camera Systems
Where sensors do a job cameras cannot
Vehicle CCTV systems document what happened. They do not stop it happening. A camera only helps if the driver happens to be looking at the monitor. Sensors do not rely on that.
Proximity sensors, reversing sensors and turn alarms all work on the same principle, getting the driver’s attention before contact rather than documenting it afterwards. TrafficAngel supplies sensors as well as camera and DVR systems, including the StepProtect sensor range. This system can distinguish between a person and an object, reducing unnecessary alerts.
Getting hold of the footage when you need it
Consumer dashcams loop. Once the card is full, the oldest clips are overwritten. On a busy van, that can happen quickly. That becomes a problem when a claim is made days or weeks later.
Storage capacity is only part of the issue. The ICO says several weeks of routine footage may be longer than necessary, and footage should not be kept for longer than needed. The important part is being able to retrieve the right footage quickly. Remote download makes that much easier than retrieving footage manually from a memory card.
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What the ICO expects from you
Footage that can identify someone is personal data, including faces, number plates and your own drivers. The business is responsible for how that footage is collected, stored and used.
Have a lawful basis and tell people about it
You need a lawful basis and a record of why you chose it. Legitimate interests may be appropriate for fleets using cameras for purposes such as claims defence and driver safety. Then tell people. A sticker on the vehicle can be enough for the public, pointing to a privacy notice setting out how footage is used and who sees it.
Do the impact assessment
If cameras are being used to monitor drivers, a Data Protection Impact Assessment is required. Write down what you record, why, who sees it, how long you keep it and what protects driver privacy. The ICO also publishes guidance on completing a DPIA.
Get the driver side right
Drivers need to know before the cameras go live. If you later change the reason for recording, say from claims evidence to monitoring performance, update the policies and tell staff first. Audio should be off by default because it is intrusive and needs strong justification. Where vans are used privately, drivers should be able to switch the cameras off outside working hours.
Register and be ready for requests
A business running cameras in work vehicles needs to register with the ICO and pay the data protection fee unless an exemption applies. The current fee is £52 a year for organisations with turnover of no more than £632,000 or no more than 10 staff, and £78 for organisations with turnover of no more than £36 million or no more than 250 staff.
Anyone captured on camera can ask for a copy of footage featuring them, so somebody needs to recognise that request.
FORS, DVS and what clients ask for
El Estándar de visión directa applies to HGVs over 12 tonnes operating in Greater London, so standard vans sit outside it. That does not mean there are no other fleet safety standards to consider.
FORS covers vans as well as HGVs and other commercial vehicles. Its requirements build through Bronze, Silver and Gold, with additional safety requirements at Silver, so operators should check the current FORS Standard against their vehicles. Principal contractors and larger clients may also specify FORS accreditation or particular safety equipment as part of a contract.
Specifying vehicle CCTV systems around your vans
Vehicle CCTV systems need to be specified around the vehicle, rather than bought as a standard kit. A Luton with a tail lift and a long wheelbase panel van need different camera positions, so these should be agreed before the system is ordered. Our guide to picking the right van camera system covers the wider decision.
1. Channel count
How many channels each body type needs. A mixed fleet may need different channel counts for different vehicles.
4. Cable routing
Runs through bulkheads and rear doors, with particular attention to areas where cables are more exposed.
2. Mounting positions
Where cameras sit so they are not damaged by shutter doors, tail lifts or pressure washing.
5. Load area cameras
Whether they are needed, and how their use will be explained to drivers.
3. Night performance
A lot of reversing happens in unlit yards in winter, so check how well the cameras perform in low light.
T & M colabora con Traffic Angel desde 2017, cuando comenzaron a suministrarnos equipos de grabación para nuestra extensa flota de cisternas para camiones pesados. Esta relación se ha consolidado con el tiempo y el apoyo y la orientación que recibimos son fundamentales. El personal es atento y siempre está disponible para hablar y solucionar cualquier problema técnico. El hardware suministrado es robusto y de la más alta calidad; podemos confiar en la integridad y fiabilidad de los sistemas.
When does a fleet need a van CCTV system
Some fleets may only need dashcams. If your vans spend most of their time on motorways and are parked overnight in a secure yard, a forward-facing camera could provide enough coverage.
A van CCTV system is more useful when damage is happening during low-speed manoeuvres, on customer sites, in yards or while parking. If incidents regularly take place outside the view of the windscreen, a single forward-facing camera is unlikely to capture what happened.
TrafficAngel supplies and installs camera systems and proximity sensors from its base in Uckfield, East Sussex, holds vehicle-specific stock for vans, and checks compatibility, wiring and positioning before anything is fitted. For advice on van CCTV, camera positions or a system specified for your vans, call us on 01825 768 555 o correo electrónico ventas@trafficangel.co.uk.
Preguntas frecuentes
It depends on the channel count and how much cabling needs to run through bulkheads and rear doors. TrafficAngel prepares the kit before installation, so the vehicle is only needed for the fitting itself. We can give you an estimated fitting time for each body type before the rollout starts.
Not necessarily. Some insurers offer discounts for camera systems, while others take them into account when assessing a fleet, so ask your broker rather than assuming. The main benefit is the footage available when a claim is disputed, which can help establish what happened and who was liable.
It does not have to, but the installation and removal need to take the lease terms into account. Cameras and the DVR can be removed, but cabling and mounting points need to be planned so the van can be returned in the required condition. If your vans are on contract hire, agree the installation and removal requirements before fitting.
During working hours, a DVR-based system can record automatically without the driver having to switch it on or off. If a business van is also used for private journeys, drivers should have the option to switch recording off outside working hours.
