Fleet increases pay for truck drivers using event recorders

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Updated Aug 15, 2015
In-cab event recorder can mean a raise for one company’s drivers.

American Central Transport (ACT) announced a $0.02 per mile raise for drivers, and is tying the pay increase to the use of video event recorders.

ACT began installing the Lytx DriveCam video-based event recording and risk management program in February, 2015, with the goal to outfit the entire fleet by the end of the year.

To date, about 170 of the 390 trucks in its fleet have the technology, including 40 of its 80 contractors.

Company drivers will automatically see the pay raise starting Aug. 24, bringing their maximum pay rate to $0.52 per mile, based on tenure, plus a fuel bonus.

Owner/operators will make $1.05 per loaded mile with a hazmat endorsement. To qualify for the $0.02 per-mile raise, ACT requires its contractors to have the Lytx DriveCam system installed in their trucks. ACT installs these systems for drivers at no cost.

“We told our contractors that we will put the raise in effect as soon as you get DriveCam. That doesn’t mean they can say ‘no, we don’t want one.’ We are still going to do it for everyone,” says Tom B. Kretsinger, Jr., president of the Liberty, Mo.-based truckload carrier.

Management announced the pay increase at ACT’s monthly company barbecue, held on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Immediately following the announcement, Kretsinger says at least six more contractors asked to have the Lytx DriveCam program installed to get an extra $0.02 per mile.

With the majority of drivers in the fleet now using the DriveCam program, Kretsinger says he is encouraged by the amount of positive information drivers are sharing about the technology with their peers.

“The debate that is going on is between them instead of me and them,” he says.

Overall, the DriveCam program has yielded positive results for the company. In the first half of 2014, ACT had 16 DOT reportable accidents. In the first quarter of 2015 it had 4 accidents, but since mid-February when it started installing DriveCam, zero accidents have occurred “until Monday,” he says. “We had a car run into one of our drivers but it was not our fault.”

The company’s CSA crash score has decreased from 70 to 12 this year.

“Our folks feel that it has made a lot of difference,” he added.

Read more about the announcement from ACT.