Mack Trucks has expanded the availability of a pre-wire option for the Lytx DriveCam video telematics system to include the Mack Granite truck.

At an event at TEC Equipment’s new full-service truck dealership Fontana, Calif., Mack and Lytx demonstrated the DriveCam system, showing how it can be used to record accidents or other road issues and be used as a teaching tool for drivers. The addition of Mack Granite models expands collaboration between the two companies that was announced in Oct. 2017.

“Expanding the Lytx offer to our Granite model means customers with on- and off-road vocational applications have access to the latest safety solutions,” said David Pardue, vice president of connected vehicles and uptime services for Mack Trucks. “Whether being used to help drivers become more efficient, or helping prove a driver’s innocence in an accident, the Lytx video-based safety program delivers great value to customers.”

When spec’d with prewiring, the DriveCam system can be cleanly installed to a truck’s windshield to record video both in and out of the vehicle.

DriveCam can be used as a tool to reduce unsafe driving behaviors through video-based driver coaching and predictive analytics. On top of the base offering, fleets can also add Lytx Video Services which adds features such as optional live video feeds, on-demand continually recorded video. The system can also accommodate multiple cameras with up to 4 channels, to be placed around the vehicle where a fleet may desire it.

During the demonstration, Lytx showed how a live feed could be obtained in real time from a specific vehicle through the dashboard. The video was accompanied by an updated location on a map. Video and data is streamed through a cellular connection on the device, according to Lytx.

In addition to coaching driver behavior, some fleets have also used the system to contest accidents where a driver was blamed and even for service or delivery verification. For example, a refuse fleet could use the system to confirm that garbage or recycling pickup was actually made or attempted if a customer complains. From the DriveCam online dashboard, fleet managers can look back through recorded video of a specific truck and find the timestamp of the event in question. They can then save a shorter clip of it for later use or examination.

Video is available for fleets for 90 days and is archived for up to a year, according to a Lytx representative HDT spoke with.

Mack Granite models with the pre-wire option for Lytx DriveCam safety program and the Lytx Video Services enhancement will be available for order beginning in the third quarter of 2018.

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