Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 05, 2026

Amazon is putting cameras in its delivery vans and some drivers aren't happy

Amazon is putting cameras in its delivery vans and some drivers aren't happy

For Kamille Elizabeth, delivering Amazon packages in Wilmington, Delaware feels carefree and comfortable. She has deliveries to make and rules to follow, but says she enjoys being on the road by herself with what she calls a "limited freedom."

But Elizabeth's work environment is set to change as Amazon announced this month that it has begun to roll out cameras inside its delivery vehicles that monitor both the road, and its drivers.

Road safety experts say Amazon's driver monitoring should bring safety benefits for the company and everyone it shares roads with. At the same time, drivers like Elizabeth are bracing themselves for what happens when cameras can scrutinize their every move, delivering feedback that could impact their livelihoods.

Amazon (AMZN) said in a recent video that it hopes the new system gives drivers "peace of mind" while delivering packages, but drivers like Elizabeth say they're nervous.

"If one thing messes up, I'm going to freak out," Elizabeth told CNN Business. "That's my job, it's over. They're going to see it on camera."

Amazon spokesperson Deborah Bass told CNN Business that drivers could not lose their jobs for a single mistake, but declined to detail how Amazon recommends the partner companies that make its deliveries handle feedback, coaching and discipline. Amazon has said video footage from the cameras will only be sent to it in certain circumstances, including hard braking, hard acceleration and U-turns.

"Safety is Amazon's top priority," Amazon's Bass said in a statement. "Whether it's state-of-the art telemetrics and advanced safety technology in last-mile vans, driver-safety training programs, or continuous improvements within our mapping and routing technology, we have invested tens of millions of dollars in safety mechanisms across our network, and regularly communicate safety best practices to drivers."

Amazon is rolling out AI-powered cameras that monitor its delivery drivers.


Companies monitoring commercial drivers isn't new. Businesses like UPS and DHL rely on telematics systems that track driver behavior such as seat belt use, speed, acceleration and braking. UPS says it's relied on telematics for more than 20 years. Amazon is going further and embracing cameras consistently pointed at drivers, which rely on artificial intelligence to voice real-time feedback. Drivers will get real-time warnings if they run a stop sign, tailgate, or are distracted.

Amazon drivers say negative experiences with the company's existing driver monitoring system contribute to their concerns.

Drivers already use an app called Mentor that scores driving by tracking braking, acceleration, cornering, speeding and distraction. But drivers interviewed by CNN Business say the app can unfairly penalize them as it misinterprets reasonable driving behaviors. Their smartphone falling on the floor, or sliding around their vehicle can be interpreted as hard cornering or harsh braking, they say. Receiving a text message can be considered distracted driving, they say, even if they don't check their phone to read it. Mentor scores can impact a driver's compensation.

The app has a 1.2 rating out of 5 on the Apple App Store, and a 1.3 out of 5 rating on the Google Play App Store. Many reviews of the app say that it causes fear, as the scoring can feel unpredictable.

"This app has given me nightmares!" said one reviewer on the Apple App Store.

Bass told CNN Business that Amazon works with vendors to continue to improve their products, but declined to comment on whether it is satisfied with the quality of the Mentor app, and if it feels the reviews reflect the quality of the app. Amazon also declined to share data on if its new camera monitoring system has been shown to improve safety.

But "the potential is huge," said Matthew Camden, a researcher at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute who has studied driver monitoring systems.

Camden's research has found that legacy driver monitoring systems reduced crashes by 38.1%. The addition of AI-powered abilities should add to the benefits he said, as real-time feedback can coach drivers to improve. Companies that offer AI-powered driver monitoring systems have reported collision reductions of more than 50%, but independent researchers haven't yet studied the systems, according to Camden.

Elizabeth said there are some positives, such as drivers' security and safety. She said she's had colleagues who have been robbed, or had a gun pointed at them. (Amazon says in its video that drivers can upload footage in the case of someone approaching their vehicle.)

Juan Ramos, who delivers for Amazon in Garland, Texas, told CNN Business that he likes some of the cameras' new safety features, such as tracking distracted driving, speeding and following distance. The cameras could clear drivers of trouble if they're in a crash, he said. But he's heard from drivers who think the cameras will micromanage them, and worry about getting in trouble or losing their jobs for what seems like a small infraction. He said he knows of drivers who have covered the cameras facing them, out of concern.

Victor Fuentes, an Amazon driver in California, has said on YouTube that he hates the cameras, as he sometimes needs to bend or break rules to get his work done quickly.

"In order for me to be fast, I gotta do some stuff that I should not do," said Fuentes, who cited the example of often not wearing his seatbelt, but plugging it in behind him. He declined to comment on this story.

"If a driver needs to do a U-turn or needs to back up or do something to keep the deliveries going and they're going to get scored or talked to about that, I feel like that's not fair," Ramos told CNN Business.

Still, Amazon may be on the frontier of a new trend.

The market for automated cameras is expected to triple over the next five to seven years, according to Jason Palmer, an executive at Omnitracs, which offers a driver monitoring system. Amazon relies on a system from Netradyne, which declined to comment for this story. Its competitors include Omnitracs, Lytx, Jungo and Samsara.

Amazon's largest delivery competitors, UPS, FedEx and DHL all declined to say if they've considered using AI-powered driver monitoring systems. FedEx has worked with Lytx before, but declined to comment on the arrangement. UPS said it had briefly tested a camera unit, but hasn't decided whether to adopt it.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spain and Morocco Trade Blame After 72,000 Migrants Enter Ceuta
Met Police Investigated Journalist Who Questioned Cambridge Professor
Badenoch Defends Tory Candidate Jailed for Antisemitic Abuse of Luciana Berger
NHS Spends £240m a Year Storing Paper Records Despite Digital Push
Apple Seeks Court Order to Stop OpenAI Using Alleged Trade Secrets
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Comcast: Tied to a Chair and Hit in the Face With Cake: The Regular Humiliation Ritual at the US Corporate Giant
Aston Martin Faces Legal Threat Over £550m Rescue Deal
Reform UK Wants the Royal Navy to Return Channel Boats to France
US and Japan Step In to Support the Yen in Rare Joint Intervention
The AI Pricing Problem: Companies Cannot Predict Their Own Bills
Europe’s Heat and Drought Are Now Disrupting Power, Shipping and Tourism
Apple’s OpenAI Lawsuit Becomes a Public Fight Over AI Hardware
UK Man Jailed After Keeping His Mother’s Body in a Freezer and Claiming £78,000
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
World War II munitions discovered after wildfires in southern France
BP profits reach four-year high amid Middle East conflict
Europe’s Drying Rivers Trigger Power Cuts, Factory Shutdowns and Wildfire Emergencies
Nigel Farage Expresses Openness to Potential Alliance with Restore Britain
Triple Lock Lifts UK State Pension but Leaves a Wider Retirement Gap
Danube Drought Forces Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Plant Into Full Shutdown
Ceuta Death Toll Rises as Spain and Europe Clash Over Border Response
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Two Firefighting Crew Members Die in Helicopter Collision West of Athens
Ceuta Border Surge Recasts Europe’s Migration Debate
Burnham Promises a Harder Channel Response as Crossings Test His New Government
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Zuckerberg Opposes US Ban on Chinese AI Models and Warns of Regulatory Capture
Massive Wildfires Ravage Southern Europe: Fatalities in Greece and Evacuations Across France, Spain, and Turkey
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
France Evacuates Atlantic Coast Resorts as Wildfire Risk Rises Again
Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Kumamoto as Rescuers Search Collapsed Buildings
×