FleetManagementWeekly
November 27, 2018

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Opportunities and Challenges

The Sixth Annual International Fleet Meeting takes place in 2019 on March 6th, the second day of the Geneva International Motor Show. If you are involved with global fleet management, this is an excellent opportunity to hear some top-notch speakers and network with global executives in beautiful Geneva, Switzerland.

Are you wondering how the new tax law may impact you in the area of unreimbursed business expenses? It’s been on my mind and I’m pleased that Motus has published an informative blog that answers some questions specific to mileage.

Bob Martinez, Deputy Commissioner, NYPD, writes a revealing column about the challenges of law enforcement fleet safety. Here’s a fact: from January 1, 2018 to November 13, 2018, there were 120 police officer fatalities, 32.5 percent of them traffic related!

FMW wishes Mary Sticha, a much-admired fleet veteran, a joyful and exciting retirement!

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


Thought Leadership

Customer Driven — Engage your organization to create customer loyalty, trust, and superior service

Disruptive Leadership — Master the principles of disruptive leadership

Fleet Asset Management – Best practices for work truck management

Fleet Marketing – Guiding principles for fleet providers to improve marketing and increase sales

Fleet Spectator A 360 view of the fleet industry

Globally Speaking — Perspectives on the multinational fleet

In the Public Interest — Successfully managing the government fleet

Managing the Reimbursed Fleet — Expert strategies to manage mobile employees

On Fleet Driver Management Solutions to improve your fleet’s accident rate and cut costs on collision repairs

Safety & Risk — Impactful driver safety and risk management tools and techniques

Talent Management — Smart guidelines to help you manage the talent in your workplace

 


VIDEO: A Fantastic Career in Fleet

From customer service to sales to operations, Mary Sticha has had a breadth of experience in her fleet career. Now she’s ready for some fun in retirement, but she’s going to miss her friends in the industry.



VIDEO: NAFA’s Local Chapters


 Great Leadership Opportunities with Local NAFA Chapters
 

Local NAFA chapters offer solid opportunities for involvement, networking and leadership development.


VIDEO: 2019 Geneva Preview

 Sixth International Fleet Meeting at the Geneva Auto Show
 

The International Fleet Meeting is taking place within the Geneva Motor Show, with high-class speakers, an exciting panel discussion and a unique networking platform created by organizer fleetcompetence Group and the Swiss fleet magazine aboutFLEET.





The Fleet Spot



Philippe Stolbowsky Joins the fleetcompetence Group

Due to the ongoing high demand for independent fleet consulting services, fleetcompetence is expanding its international team with the appointment of Philippe Stolbowsky.

During 2018, fleetcompetence has grown significantly, now comprising 55 national and international fleet experts around the globe. In order to keep pace with the growing demand for fleet consulting services, Philippe Stolbowsky will take over in a Partner role within the international team.

READ MORE

International Fleet Meeting 2019 in Geneva

The International Fleet Industry Meets at the Geneva International Motor Show — March 6, 2019

For the sixth consecutive year, The International Fleet Meeting will take place within the Geneva International Motor Show. The meeting will feature expert industry speakers, an exciting panel discussion and a unique networking platform.

March 6, 2019, the second press day of the Geneva International Motor Show, is fully dedicated to fleet at the International Fleet Meeting, where 250 fleet managers from all over the world will meet ambassadors from the automotive, leasing and service industry. The organizers, fleetcompetence Group and the Swiss fleet magazine aboutFLEET, are offering a unique, English speaking platform.

READ MORE

NETS 2018 Conference Impression: More Fleets Are Taking the Zero Crash Goal Seriously

By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Maybe it’s all the ballyhoo about how autonomous vehicles will make our roads crash-free, or maybe senior management at organizations that have a fleet are beginning to understand the true cost of crashes and expect fleet managers to prevent them.

Whatever the reason, the fleet industry at large is starting to take a zero traffic crash rate as a legitimate goal to talk about.

READ MORE

It’s That Time of Year

—that many fleet safety professionals dread

By Art Liggio, President and CEO, Driving Dynamics

For most of my adult life, I’ve been a huge fan of Frank Sinatra’s music. One of his big holiday hits is a song written by Sammy Cohn and Jule Styne called the Christmas Waltz. Having recently heard the song one of the themes, “It’s that time of year,” kept playing over and over in my head. While the song is a romantic offering of the Christmas season, these lyrics resonant with me for much more serious reasons.

READ MORE

In the Public Interest


By Robert Martinez, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Police Department

When we think of the safety of law enforcement officers, we usually think of the dangers they face from armed criminals.

But when they drive a department vehicle, they also face the same kinds of dangers as every other fleet driver, with one difference: to do their jobs properly, they are forced into high-risk behaviors, like high-speed chases and interactions with drivers on the shoulders of roadways with fast traffic, often at night.

So, whether a law enforcement fleet is managed on a stand-alone basis or by an administrator who also handles civilian fleets, law enforcement fleet safety represents a greater challenge than the average fleet, often further complicated by politics and bureaucratic pecking order priorities.

How big is the challenge? READ MORE

 

Talent Management


By Dr. Jan Ferri-Reed

When a new year arrives it becomes customary to formulate some resolutions for the next 12 months.

But rather than wrestle with the usual goals about of money, health, or relationships, managers may wish to consider resolutions dealing with ways to improve their supervisory skills and maximize success for themselves and their employees. Below are goals to consider for a productive, successful year ahead. So, for 2019 leaders should consider the following resolutions:

READ MORE

 

Managing the Reimbursed Fleet


By Ben Reiland, Motus

How Does the TCJA change old tax law?

Well, as we said in our previous blog on this topic, it doesn’t change a whole lot.

Effective January 1, 2018, an employee no longer has the ability to claim a business expense deduction for unreimbursed business expenses that exceed 2% of their adjusted gross income via Schedule A and Form 2106.

To put that into perspective, in 2016, over 5 million tax payers claimed mileage as unreimbursed business expenses. This amounted to $35 billion dollars in deductions. If you aren’t self-employed and you previously claimed your mileage as a business expense deduction on your taxes, unfortunately, you can’t do that anymore.

How does the TCJA directly impact you?

That depends on the reimbursement you’re currently receiving. Let’s look at an example: READ MORE









Fleet Trends & Issues


Distracted Driving is 100 Times Worse Than We Thought

— and the costs associated with it are just as troubling

In a study conducted earlier this year, Zendrive found that 69 million drivers use their phones each day (100 times more than NHTSA estimates). With distracted driving becoming the new drunk driving, what are the cost implications for fleets?

This 65-page eBook serves as an ultimate guide for fleet managers who want to cut costs, differentiate and win. Although distracted driving has been fueled by the rise of mobile devices, Zendrive has transformed ordinary cell phones into super-accurate safety tools capable of helping your fleet save millions. Download “Winning in the Era of Distracted Driving” to learn how new driver safety technologies can protect both your drivers and your business bottom line!

Get Your Free Copy

Study Says Self-Driving Cars Will Likely Lead to More Sex on the Road

USA Today

Self-driving vehicles have been expected to bring all kinds of futuristic benefits, including smarter cities, safer streets and highways, helping travelers avoid driving when they’re tired or unfamiliar with their travel destinations or local driving rules.

But some U.K. researchers have identified a potentially more risqué repercussion of the autonomous vehicle revolution: more sex in cars since no one has to be behind the wheel. “Such private (connected and autonomous vehicles) may also be put to commercial use, as it is just a small leap to imagine Amsterdam’s Red Light District ‘on the move’.”

Read the article at USA Today.

Measures Approving Self-Driving Cars and Extending EV Tax Credits Presented to Lame Duck Congress

The Detroit News

Transportation advocates are hoping a pair of measures that would allow automakers to sell more than 80,000 self-driving cars per year and extend tax credits for electric vehicles, will finally pass in the upcoming so-called lame duck session after a year-long wait.

General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Tesla Inc. have joined forces with environmental groups to form a new coalition that is pushing to remove a cap on a federal tax credit that provides up to $7,500 to buyers of electric cars.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Getting Behind The Wheel With Less Than 6 Hours Of Sleep Dramatically Increases Chances of Accidents

Forbes

Results from a recent US DOT study showed that compared to drivers getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night, those who reported getting six hours of sleep had 1.3 times the odds of causing a crash.

Drivers who reported getting fewer than four hours had a startling 15.1 times the odds of causing a crash, which is comparable to the risk of a driver with a blood alcohol level 1.5 times the legal limit (that’s about nine drinks for an average-sized person).

Read the article at Forbes.

The Autonomous Travel Suite


The Detroit Bureau

The idea of an autonomous vehicle being just a car doesn’t fit Aprilli Design Studio founder Steve Lee’s sensibility, especially if you’re going to be in it for any length of time.

His lengthy experience in hotel architecture and design, along with a fascination with technology resulted in the creation of the Autonomous Travel Suite (ATS).

The ATS is essentially a self-driving hotel suite, complete with a sleeping area, bathroom, work space and small kitchen. All of that would be encased in a clear exterior that could be dimmed for privacy. The ATS received the Radical Innovation Award 2018.

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.

 

Job Cuts at GM


The Washington Post

In announcing it is cutting 15 percent of its North American workforce, General Motors underlined a hard truth economists have long acknowledged: The factory jobs that Trump carried the Rust Belt vowing to restore aren’t magically coming back.

To those at an October 2016 campaign rally in Warren, Mich., where GM announced it is closing a transmission plant, Trump said if he won, “you won’t lose one plant, I promise you that.” He made a similar pledge last year in Youngstown, Ohio, near the Lordstown facility GM is shutting.

Read the article at The Washington Post.

 

 

The Power of Kindness


Harvard Business Review

Just as bad behavior tends to spread, so too does good behavior. Kindness, it turns out, is contagious.

Research by Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki, documents what he calls “positive conformity.” “Participants who believed others were more generous became more generous themselves.” This suggests that “kindness is contagious, and that it can cascade across people, taking on new forms along the way.”

The way to unleash kindness in your organization is to treat it like a contagion, and to create the conditions under which everybody catches it.

Read the article at Harvard Business Review.








Fleet Management Resources
 
AFLA – Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association
Providing the advanced forum for corporate fleet professionals to network with industry leaders.
The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.
ACERTUS
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
Donlen
Since 1965, Donlen has been the fleet management industry’s leading provider of comprehensive, integrated financing and asset management solutions — and that spirit of innovation continues today.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 79 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.



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