Video Recording Driving Lessons - Interview with Alan Franklin

Jamie Daly - Mar 30 2022 2:15PM
Video Recording Driving Lessons - Interview with Alan Franklin img

Learner Drivers have a new opportunity to improve their driving tuition. ‘Franklin & Morville School of Motoring’ (who also featured in our Great Driving Schools in the North post) are among a new line of driving schools who use CCTV black box technology to offer students an opportunity to get a video recording of their driving lessons. Students can then re-watch the footage and use it to make improvements in their next lesson. Recording software is becoming a norm for many young and learner drivers. Telematics is commonly offered to customers by insurance companies, to monitor and rate a driver’s performance. These recordings can then help to reduce a driver's premium price when they come to renew their policy. More recently, drivers have been fixing video recording software to the inside and outside of their cars. If an accident should happen, this footage can then be used as evidence for their insurer, to accurately show who was at fault. However, this same technology can also be used to improve a learner's learning experience. We caught up with Alan Franklin from ‘Franklin & Morville School of Motoring’, to ask him about his CCTV black box…


Starting Video Recording

Why did you decide to start offering the opportunity to video record lessons? "It wasn't so much offering the pupil this service in the first instance, it was more to do with protecting ourselves from unnecessary hassles ... later we thought it would be a great way to publicise our business and also a great way for the pupil to review their lessons."

 

Do Video Recordings Help?

What areas of driving do you feel watching back a video best aid learning? "All areas ... Watching the video without any distractions lets you see exactly what's been going on, with any situation." Do you find when students watch back their performance they perform better in the next lesson?  "Those who actually watch them do perform better next lesson." Are there any limitations to what the CCTV black box system can capture? E.g. certain angles it can’t see, perspectives you wish it could provide? "With the system I have, there are no limitations. I have 4 cameras around the car. 1 rear, 1 interior and 2 forward cameras (one being for numberplate recognition)."  

Insurance Claims and Video Recording

Video recordings are helpful for insurance claims. They are argued to accurately record an accident, providing evidence for when a person puts in a claim. Do you think more cars should have video recording devices installed? "Yes, I believe more people should have CCTV, as it's invaluable in the event of an accident ... Our system is fitted with GPS and G sensors so sophisticated it can even calculate how fast another vehicle was travelling when it hit you, plus the angle. In the event of an accident, it's a simple one button click for a full report for the insurance company, which includes still pictures from before and after the incident."


We’d like to thank Alan Franklin for taking the time to answer our questions and giving us an insight into the practicality of video recording software in cars.