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Azuga delivers the first affordable live camera solution with a rear facing camera! 44 | Webfleet Solutions
Azuga delivers the first affordable live camera solution
with a rear facing camera!
By Tim Smith — Azuga
Azuga’s path to become Towbook’s preferred provider
Azuga is an award-winning software company offering the best in GPS tracking and camera systems for the Towing industry. In 2013, Azuga shook up the traditional GPS vehicle tracking market with industry-first price points, a social approach to Telematics, easy-install hardware, lifetime warranties and no contract terms. The company’s plug and play GPS technology can begin tracking fleets in as little as 30 seconds and for less than 70 cents per day per vehicle. Recently acquired by Bridgestone, the future for Azuga includes offering their best-in-class products and services at preferred rates to users.
Now, Azuga is taking the Towing industry by storm with their industry-specific solutions and collaboration with the #1 name in tow management software, Towbook. Together with Towbook’s dispatching and scheduling capabilities, the Azuga GPS tracking and safety camera system adds a whole new layer of visibility and control. By integrating directly into the platform, users of both Towbook and Azuga will have one “home base” to manage all of their operations and data. Towbook and Azuga are committed
to delivering a seamless and robust integration to give towers all the tools they need to be as successful as they possibly can.
The evolution of dash cams in towing
Azuga is not only a leader and innovator in the telematics world but is also leading the charge with dash cams and video. Cameras in towing have been around a while and have
evolved quickly as need to reduce liability has grown. Remembering the first versions.. they looked like a sewing machine hanging from your windshield; they were plugged into a cigarette lighter; the picture quality was sketchy at best and you never really knew if it was working until you pulled the SD card and checked. Not a great fit for towing... blocked view of the road, drivers can unplug and you never knew if you had a video or if you could make out what you needed to. Nothing like paying for something only to find out it when you need it that it wasn’t working the whole time…huh?!
Next came the ability for these cameras to capture events. An accident or harsh driving could trigger the camera to save a clip. Some of these versions were even hardwired to reduce tampering and you could order additional cameras all though wiring them back to the lead camera was a major pain in the butt. The cameras got a little smaller and the picture got a little better. The major issue was the expense and accessibility. You had to buy hardware from between $700 -$1500 per truck and you still had a small sd card you could go pull but you could also subscribe to a service that would save those events for an additional $20 -$30 per month per truck.
Around this same time came the first “live cameras” in towing. They required minimum of 5 cameras per vehicle and while the towers loved the idea of a live view... the cost was just too high for the towing industry. Hardware cost averaged around $2500- $3000 per truck and because the cameras had a live feed each vehicle required a separate
data plan costing an additional $30 dollars per month.
The Azuga/Towbook solution..
Azuga’s cameras offer you a choice of events based or fully live/AI camera system so we can fit your business based on its needs. Either option is smaller than a cell phone, hardwired to prevent tampering, very affordable and allows you access in our platform to events and general video without having to pull an SD card. Azuga is the first to deliver an affordable, fully live AI camera system that also has a rear camera! As stated above, there have been other systems that you could view the rear of the truck but it was either too expensive or not reliable. Let’s face it 85% of a tower’s job takes place behind the truck. Bumper claims, roadside events, improper loading and unsafe roadside habits are just the beginning of what they can help limit.
How much time and money do you spend training your drivers to work safely and to do their job correctly only to find out that they do it “their own way” at the risk of themselves and to your business? Do you think your drivers would follow your procedure and their training better if you were riding in their truck all the time? Of course they would! With this rear camera, you can have access to and/or view live each time they are working on scene. How many times have you been called in the middle of the night to wake up and go to a scene so you can instruct a driver on how to recover a certain vehicle. Let’s face it, sometimes it’s necessary and you want to be there... but what if you can just grab your tablet or laptop and look live at what they see? Are there times that you could help them without having to drive down to the scene or things that you could instruct them to do while you are on the way? Most owners and managers of towing companies have several things in common. They work crazy hours and are always on call, their insurance cost and claims are generally higher than most other businesses and like most first responders their job can be dangerous. In today’s climate it is more important than ever that you protect yourself and your business as much as possible.
Azuga is working closely with Towbook to deliver even more benefits to their users in many different areas with the goal of just making your Towbook work even better. Towbook is the overwhelming choice of towers when it comes
THE UNDERLIFT THAT HANDLES LIKE A SEMI-TRAILER
• Attaches in minutes • No Permanent Connections • 32K Lift Capability • Safely Tows Up To 140K GCWR • Distributes Weight Properly • Scales When Others Can’t • Economical To Operate
Tru-Hitch Inc.
16 W. West Hill Road Barkhamsted, Ct. 06063 Toll Free 1-800-450-8659 www.truhitch.com
to towing software. Their software is robust, affordable, scaleable and easy to use which is why they are #1. When it comes to our integration benefits... the “top of the list” for Towbook users is video. Imagine if you could access all your video directly inside the Towbook platform and if every event that happens while doing a call on a call could be automatically saved and stored with that case. Also, if every time your PTO is engaged, the camera could automatically save a clip of the rear and forward the video to that job. Would that reduce the number of bumper claims and driver excuses? This is the tip of the iceberg of what you can expect when Towing’s #1 software company and North America’s best telematics provider team up.
Choose the option that is best for you
At Azuga, we offer the Fully live/AI cameras with rear and AUX cameras available upon request and we also can offer an events-based camera which stores all driving events inside Azuga. In both cases, Azuga offers free hardware and a very affordable monthly fee. To learn more about which system maybe right for you please go to www.offer.azuga. com/towbook or call me directly at 205-728-9135.
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ARE YOU EXPERIENCING ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS?
• Lack of tow jobs from motor clubs • Low Profit Margins • No revenue for expansion • Lack of calls due to COVID-19 ATTENTION TOWING COMPANIES!
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