Dash cams that keep frivolous lawsuits out of the courtroom
Merrell Bros., Inc.
The challenge
Merrell Bros. has spent four decades turning biosolids into something useful for cities, farms, and industry. Its largest trucking operation runs in Florida, which the trucking world half-jokingly calls the "Hellhole of the South" for how its courts treat carriers.
With dozens of semis logging millions of miles a year, the company needed a way to protect itself from attorneys hoping to turn any fender-bender into a multimillion-dollar payday against a deep-pocketed trucking defendant.
The solution
Merrell Bros. equipped its semis, service trucks, and other vehicles with Responsible Fleet dash cams that capture continuous road and cab video, backed by real-time asset tracking. The footage quickly became one of the most valuable tools in the business.
“In Florida, any accident — even one that is not our fault — could cost us $10 million. With our Responsible Fleet dash cams we finally have the video to shut down unfounded suits, and we have already used footage several times to save us from million-dollar nightmares.”
The results
With video showing its drivers were not at fault, the company has kept several high-dollar lawsuits from ever reaching a judge or jury. The clips are easy enough to pull that drivers can hand them to police at the scene, so the footage lands in the official record.
Even with a strong safety score, rate hikes looked all but guaranteed. Because Merrell Bros. can hand its insurer dash-cam video and speed data after any incident, its premiums have not gone up — an estimated couple hundred thousand dollars a year in avoided increases.
Real-time tracking on every vehicle means a much better chance of getting a stolen truck back fast, which matters more than ever when a replacement costs more and takes longer to find.
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