CJ Auto Parts captures proof of road rage and dog bites with easy-to-install Verizon Connect dashcams

Though he works in the auto parts business, Eli Rodriguez would be the first to tell you—he’s not the handiest guy when it comes to upkeep on his personal vehicle.

“If I have any issue with my car, I take it to a mechanic,” Rodriguez said.

Still, as the person in charge of monitoring the delivery fleet for CJ Auto Parts—a Kalispell, Montana-based parts distributor—Rodriguez wanted to enhance its capabilities by outfitting every delivery vehicle in the fleet with dual-facing dashcams, an installation project Rodriguez decided to take on himself.

That decision fell into line with the company’s adding a cost-effective fleet management system that could track the location of delivery vehicles in the field, monitor vehicles for fuel use and maintenance needs, and deliver reports on how the fleet was being operated in terms of road safety and reliability.

Rodriguez figured he’d be facing a big challenge by self-installing the dashcams. “I was a little intimidated because we have close to 40 vehicles to take care of,” he said.

But, it wasn’t too far into the installation process that Rodriguez knew he had chosen the right solution to tackle CJ Auto Parts’ fleet management challenges without creating more work and headaches for himself—Verizon Connect Reveal with Integrated Video and dual-facing dashcams.

Company needs more data than trackers can provide

CJ Auto Parts serves as a supplier to auto parts stores and repair shops in northwestern Montana in an area known as Flathead Valley. Rodriguez’s role in the company involves a lot of multi-tasking, but it’s “basically, just monitoring a lot of different aspects of our delivery operation.”

While the company’s drivers work with hand-held trackers that help confirm deliveries are being made and orders are being fulfilled, Rodriguez realized he needed more data than the trackers could deliver to keep the delivery operation moving smoothly.

He wanted to know where the vehicles were in the field to make sure deliveries were made in a timely fashion, and that company sales representatives weren’t spending too much time at one location on their daily routes.

Rodriguez also needed a way to conveniently track the maintenance needs of each car, SUV, pickup and box truck in the fleet. And when it came to understanding how the vehicles were being operated, Rodriguez wanted a way to prove CJ Auto Parts’ delivery and sales crews were driving safely, and if they weren’t, to have the data to show drivers when they needed to improve their habits.

“We needed more accountability and more visuals on what’s going on out there in the field,” Rodriguez said. “A scanner and a phone can only tell you so much.”

Also, if a CJ Auto Parts driver was in a traffic accident, Rodriguez wanted as much information as he could gather in terms of what happened, who was at fault and whether or not the accident could have been avoided.

“Basically, to help with any liability issues,” he said.

Fleet management with video provides insights into delivery operations

CJ Auto Parts met its fleet-related challenges when it adopted, installed and implemented Verizon Connect Reveal with dual-facing AI dashcams on nearly every vehicle in the fleet.

Verizon Connect Reveal is an intuitive, cloud-based fleet-management system that delivers a near-real-time, 360-degree view of a fleet’s daily operations. The high-resolution maps and easy-to-use dashboard allow Rodriguez to keep track of the company’s delivery and sales fleet in the field. Reveal also gathers data on how the vehicles are being operated, and keeps digital maintenance records for every CJ Auto Parts vehicle.

Verizon Connect Reveal offers easy-to-access reports for individual vehicles and overall fleet activity, and provides alerts for poor driving behavior such as cell phone use, failure to use a seatbelt, hard-braking, speeding or quick starting.

“The speeding reports, we keep an eye on that,” he said. “A few weeks ago I got a speeding alert and when I checked the report, the driver was going 63 in a 35 MPH zone.”

With the maintenance reports and alerts delivered by Reveal, Rodriguez is able to stay ahead of potential problems with the vehicles. He said it’s taken a big load off the company’s dispatcher, who leaned on the drivers to provide maintenance information that was sketchy at best.

“It tells our dispatcher when the cars are up for maintenance,” he said. “An email will go out to her that says, ‘Hey, you’re getting close and you need to get this car serviced.’ That’s a really cool function.”

Of all the solutions provided by Verizon Connect Reveal, the Integrated Video from the dual-facing AI dashcams has proven most impactful to CJ Auto Parts. But to get it up and running, Rodriguez needed to install the dashcams—a project that seemed daunting to him.

“At first, I was pretty intimidated,” he  said. “I was like, my gosh, I have this big project to get the dashcams on all these vehicles. But I watched the Verizon tutorials. I learned which tools I needed for each type of vehicle, and then I had a method. After I installed a few, it got easier. Once you have a system going, it’s pretty easy.”

Video helps drivers avoid danger on the job

Installing the dashcams proved helpful on numerous occasions when a CJ Auto Parts representative faced a dangerous situation during work. For example, Rodriguez shared a story.

“We had a road-rage incident where one of our drivers was trying to merge into a lane and two people in another car didn’t like the way he was merging,” Rodriguez said. “One of the guys actually got out of the car and wanted to fight our driver, and that was all caught on video.

“I believe the dashcam helped keep our driver in check because he was going to undo his seatbelt, but he put it back on. Then this guy jumps out of the passenger side of his car and starts walking toward our guy. But our driver stayed cool, pointed toward the dashcam and basically said, ‘Dude, you’re on camera.’ I think it helped prevent further escalation between our driver and the passenger from the other vehicle.”

On another occasion, a CJ Auto Parts driver was bitten by a German Shepard while making a delivery. The customer claimed their dog “wouldn’t bite anybody,” Rodriguez said, but CJ Auto Parts had video of the dog doing just that. The customer now has been asked to make sure the dog is penned or leashed if they want deliveries to be made to their site.

“We just couldn’t be happier with the Verizon dashcams,” Rodriguez said. “I think it’s going to help out tremendously. I mean, it already has but even more so in the future. It has tremendous potential for us, especially as we look into things like mileage and gas use.

“It’s been a godsend. We’ve been really, really pleased with it.”