Video Device May Help Prevent Traffic Accidents

Nov. 10, 2004 -- -- A new device is on the market, and its developer hopes it will one day provide an eyewitness to every commercial traffic accident in the country.

It's called DriveCam, and it's being installed in buses, vans and other commercial vehicles across the country.

"DriveCam answers the question, 'What was the driver doing?'" says Bill Schoolman, president of Classic Transportation, a ground transportation provider in Bohemia, N.Y.

Last year there were 6 million accidents on the nation's highways, killing nearly 43,000 people, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

DriveCam, produced by a company by the same name, is aimed at lowering those figures, making the roads safer and insurance costs cheaper.

Based on the idea that all accidents are preventable, "we went ahead and developed a DriveCam system that gives feedback to the driver," said Bruce Moeller, president and chief executive officer of the San Diego-based company.

DriveCam records video and audio from the driver's perspective, giving him, his employer and investigators a unique view of his behavior. From there, Moeller says, analysis can be done on what constitutes risky driving, in the hope that some accidents can be prevented.

Moeller said that most drivers aren't even aware of their behavior on the road until they see one of the videos.

"Once their attention is called to that, they will be aware," said Moeller. "They'll be more responsible and the roads will be safer for all of us."

Classic Transportation's Schoolman said the technology has been so effective for his business that he's cut his insurance losses in half during the first year.

"If you can ... catch a bad behavior before it becomes an accident," he said, "then you can be proactive in terms of working with that driver to correct those behaviors."

When veteran Classic Transportation driver Frank Carapazza got into his first accident in 20 years, he was shocked.

"I didn't believe it was happening," said Carapazza. "I kept on asking myself, 'What did I do wrong? Did I do anything wrong?'"

The video produced by DriveCam showed that Carapazza was not to blame. He had been struck by another vehicle after it ran a red light.

In Cincinnati, DriveCam captured the seconds before an airport shuttle bus was involved in an accident.

The driver could be seen frantically turning the wheel to avoid the collision, with no response. DriveCam helped confirm that there was a mechanical error to blame for the incident and that the driver was not at fault.

DriveCam systems can be found in approximately 15,000 vehicles across the country, according to Moeller.

With that said, the question remains: Does it make roads safer?

"It does for those drivers who are getting counseling and are learning to modify their behavior," Moeller said.

Ultimately, Moeller pointed out, it's the responsibility of the driver and his employer to ensure that the technology is not wasted.

If no action is taken, "it becomes a crash recorder," Moeller said.

But in the case of Classic Transportation, they're not only proactive about using Drive Cam, they're promoting it.

"I can't imagine anyone who's in the commercial passenger business being in a vehicle that doesn't have DriveCam," said Schoolman.

Greg Hunter filed this report for Good Morning America.