OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. and SAN DIEGO, March 17, 2006

Tape Of Awful Crash Showcases New Tech

Somehow, Driver Survives; 'DriveCam' Caught Incident, May Help Probes

  • Play CBS Video Video Highway Accident On Tape

    Footage from an accident this week on the Long Island Expressway in New York shows just how lucky one man is to be alive. Hazel Sanchez of CBS station WCBS reports.

    • The view from a bus of the 18-wheeler a bus was about to hit, in a video caught by DriveCam

      The view from a bus of the 18-wheeler a bus was about to hit, in a video caught by DriveCam  (CBS/The Early Show)

    • DriveCam CEO Bruce Moeller, on <i><b>The Early Show</i></b> Friday

      DriveCam CEO Bruce Moeller, on The Early Show Friday  (CBS/The Early Show)

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  • Interactive Motor Away

    Things to know before hitting the road.

(CBS)  "If I were an insurance company, I don't think I'd have any vehicle out there without this on it, because there are millions of dollars at stake here in accident reconstruction and litigation costs, and to try to decide who is at fault and, more importantly than all of that, it's to avoid the next the first place.

"That isn't the first time, anytime an accident happens that the behavior, the risky driving behavior would happen. If everyone had these and were being coached and staying in the moment in their driving, those accidents can be cut down in all of our experiences by at least 30 percent and up to 90 percent."

Moeller says it's feasible to mount DriveCams in passenger vehicles, not just in commercial ones: "The camera itself and the software would sell for about $1200. But we've recently introduced a new program where we're targeting teens as well as commercial drivers, and just everyday people who want to have the truth when something does happen. And we charge $60 a month for everything. For as long as you want to keep it on and it will keep your child or your husband or your wife safe and keep them focused in the moment and avoid the things we just saw in this video."

Storm noted that Drive Cam not only shows what the drivers are looking at, but the drivers themselves, and Moeller said, "The view of the driver is what allows us to change their behavior. If we're looking at what the driver is looking at, we see the same things and hear the same things the driver is involved with, then we can tell if the driver has a tendency to follow too closely, or not leave an out, or get into a jam, or any other behavior that's going to result in an accident.

"We consider those all accidents waiting to happen, and on American roads every year, there's 44,000 fatalities, and we can cut that number way down.

"When you're behind the wheel, you're really driving a potential weapon of mass destruction and we can save you from yourself and from others by virtue of keeping you in the moment and keeping you focused on your driving behavior."


©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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