Imagine a scenario where a school bus and another vehicle are involved in a head on collision. Everything at the scene points to the other vehicle being at fault. The driver of the other vehicle even admits they weren’t paying attention. However, over the next few days, stories change and now the driver of the other vehicle claims not to be at fault and even commences a social media campaign against your driver and the school system.
In the absence of video this could be a real problem. It essentially boils down to one person’s word versus another. Circumstances change however when we have video. In this instance this case proceeded to trial. The video cameras on the bus were operational, and the member preserved the video. We prevailed at trial because according to the Judge, “the video was the most compelling piece of evidence” when weighing fault.
Here are some of the advantages of video:
- It is unbiased
- It shows an accurate reflection of the facts of an incident
- It allows TNRMT to make a faster, more accurate liability decision
Please consider the following when developing a procedure around your video operations:
- Make sure all cameras, whether on buses or at a location are operational.
- Immediately retain any video of incidents out of which claims may develop
- As soon as practical, inform TNRMT of the video an provide a copy.
Working together we can investigate and conclude claims in a more timely and economic manner.