New additions to Midlothian Council’s fleet of vehicles have recently been installed with Sentinel Systems’ complete four-camera technology.

The commercial vehicle safety specialists installed rear, forward and side-scan cameras to the council’s new food waste collection vehicles, to offer an enhanced view and improve the driving conditions for its drivers. The four cameras are all connected to an in-cab monitor for live surveillance of the vehicle’s surroundings, with the ability to record and extract footage to be viewed at a later date, allowing the council to monitor the service.

The new food waste collection service runs five days a week to collect from homes in the Scottish county. As a result, drivers are faced with constantly challenging driving conditions in and around residential roads, which are frequently congested with cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

Trevor Docherty, travel and fleet services manager at Midlothian Council said: “Having Sentinel’s four-way camera system installed on our new food waste collection vehicles not only offers the ultimate protection for our drivers but allows us to monitor the services they are performing and to use the captured footage to settle any cases that may occur with residents.”

“As an everyday service, these particular vehicles are also subject to difficult driving conditions and by installing the cameras we can improve these for our drivers, including the crucial warning of approaching cyclists and pedestrians. Sentinel’s solutions were not only right for what we wanted to achieve but also fairly priced making it the best package for our requirements.”

Sentinel Systems safety camera package can be customised to meet the requirements of each fleet, depending on the size and operations of each vehicle. The complete camera system can be created using any number of Sentinel’s highly efficient cameras, including forward, rear and side facing cameras for a 360° view of the vehicle’s surroundings.

The rear facing camera, also known as a reversing camera, is particularly beneficial to drivers as it offers a better view of behind the vehicle whilst it is reversing. This then gives the driver a visual warning of any obstructions to prevent potential injury to pedestrians as well as damage to the vehicle and third party vehicles and properties.

Similarly, Sentinel’s side scanning cameras are a great benefit to the drivers in enhancing their view of the vehicle’s blind spot, a particularly dangerous zone for cyclists and pedestrians. In being able to see the nearside of the vehicle, which would usually be completely hidden, drivers are able to notice cyclists and pedestrians approaching and allow them to take caution when manoeuvring. 

David Paulson, managing director at Sentinel Systems added: “Having recently appointed a dedicated resident sales and engineering team in Scotland, it is great to see that they are having a positive impact on the market, particularly with the success of Midlothian Council. With the team being permanently based locally, our customers in Scotland can be confident they will receive the same efficient service that we deliver across the rest of the UK.”

Sentinel Systems has been designing and manufacturing vehicle safety systems for 30 years and has developed many solutions for commercial vehicles of all sizes. Each of the company’s systems can be developed to create bespoke product packages to meet the safety requirements for each fleet. Its range of cameras, radar systems and recording units are all installed by the company’s team of nationwide engineers throughout the year, with 24/7 maintenance support available to ensure vehicles and system downtime is kept to a minimum.

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