Drivers Want Safe Automation and Driver Monitoring, Survey Shows
June 23, 2022 - A new report from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that drivers are aware of the risks of driver distraction and want help staying engaged while their cars automate some tasks.
When the road safety advocacy group asked drivers about advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) such as lane centering assist (LCA), automatic lane changing, and driver monitoring, respondents said they wanted the features—but they also indicated that they wanted to remain engaged behind the wheel.
These results are in line with Consumer Reports’ own findings on the topic. When CR surveyed over 47,000 members about their vehicles’ ADAS features, they learned that drivers prefer systems that relieve stress and help them drive more safely—and that they don’t like features that interfere with the driver’s intentions.
EV Fleet Management Startup Synop Steers its Way to $10M Seed Round
June 23, 2022 - When it comes to moving the transportation sector over to EVs, commercial fleets are probably some of the lowest hanging fruit. More often than not, they have consistent routes, reserved off-hour parking, and cost a lot less to drive and maintain.
But for many commercial operators, EVs are still a wildcard. Gagan Dhillon and Andrew Blejde co-founded Synop to minimize the unknowns and accelerate the adoption of EVs in commercial fleets.
One of the company’s first customers is Highland, an electric school bus fleet provider based in Beverly, Massachusetts, that raised a $253 million Series A round in early 2021. The company offers bus fleets through a subscription model that includes charging infrastructure, operating electricity and maintenance. Synop is working with Highland to optimize charging and routing.
Here’s How Much Precious Metal Thieves Can Take From Your Catalytic Converter
June 23, 2022 - According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, catalytic converter thefts saw an incredible 325 percent increase from 2019 to 2020. Much of it can be related to the state of global supply chains and the prices of the previous metals that allow a catalytic converter to function.
The three precious metals that are most commonly contained inside of a catalytic converter are platinum, rhodium, and palladium. All three have seen spikes in prices as the pandemic surged and as global supply chains slowed.
The spot price of Rhodium went from $2,300 per ounce in January of 2019 to over $14,000 per ounce by December of 2020. The price increases of Rhodium didn’t stop in 2020 as it peaked at a price of $27,000 per ounce in April of 2021 and still remains well above those 2019 levels with a current price over $11,000 per ounce.
What is Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Technology and How Does It Work?
June 22, 2022 - Dubbed vehicle-to-everything (V2X), It's the on-road extension of "the internet of things," which is the term for a group of physical objects interconnected through a computer network. In this case, its cars operating within a certain distance from one another.
Vehicle-to-network (V2N) technology expands on V2V and V2I by adding a layer of connection between the car and data centers and cellular networks. This can reduce the delay in information transmission, showing a driver real-time traffic information.
Cars with vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) capability can communicate with a pedestrian's cell phone to alert them of any traffic problems, such as if nearby walkers need to wait before crossing an intersection, for example.
NAFA Still Basking in Afterglow of Successful I & E
By Tod Trousdell, Contributor
A full two months after it wrapped perhaps its most successful expo in a decade, the afterglow of this year’s NAFA I & E is still shining brightly as exhibitors and participants continue to buzz about their positive experiences at this year’s conference.
For many, the 2022 I & E was the first trade show they’d attended since Covid restrictions kicked in over two years ago. Excitement was palpable as masks were few and hugs were plenty in what seemed to be a jam-packed two days on the show floor.
As it did at this year’s NTEA Work Truck Show in March, EV’s and all things electric took center stage with a plethora of new exhibitors supremely focused on electrification. This included everything from vehicle manufacturers to charging providers to a veritable smorgasbord of allied service providers peddling everything.
