By: Ben Langley, Director of Training Development and Innovation at Driving Dynamics

Maintaining a safe fleet is an ongoing process and there’s no one-size fits all solution for improving drivers’ skills and behaviors.

And it’s certainly not uncommon to believe that training and coaching are interchangeable forms of instruction. However, while different, both methods are necessary for reducing incidents, injuries and fatalities, because each has its strength when it comes to addressing specific aspects of driving safety. Understanding the distinction will positively impact the effectiveness of your driver safety program.

The drivers in your fleet have different backgrounds, life histories, and are at different levels of driving experience and each company also has its own unique set of circumstances. All these factors can help determine when training or coaching courses or a blend of both, is the right fit for your organization and the best approach for addressing specific driver deficiencies and enhancing overall competencies of the fleet.

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By Adlore Chaudier, Associate Vice President, Mercury Associates

The rapidity with which technological advancements occur and studies produce important insights increasingly requires professionals to invest significant time in continuous education.

Fleet managers are no exception. Failure to make such an investment will inevitably result in falling short of achieving job goals and objectives and present an unnecessary barrier to professional advancement and personal success. Just as continuous improvement is the key to organizational progress and success so too is continuous education essential to personal success and growth.

The fleet industry continues to face rapid technological developments and corresponding knowledge challenges in many areas, including:

• Vehicles – three primary forces are irreversibly transforming the transportation industry: 1) electrification, 2) connectivity, and 3) autonomous driving.
• Software – from inputs to outputs, the data ecosystem is introducing new areas and degrees of complexity that fleet managers must master, ranging from information- capturing to analysis.

These challenges offer opportunities to fleet managers because they are the hub of transportation knowledge within their respective organizations. They are the experts who can become the technology and analytics translators and communication conduits who will contribute to ongoing organizational success.

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Fast Company

Modern car safety technology has gotten very good about warning drivers before they hit other cars. This startup wants to add warnings before you hit people.

It’s one common scenario in car crashes: a pedestrian approaches an intersection, hidden from an oncoming driver by a building or trees, and steps off the curb. The driver can’t stop in time. It’s a problem that new sensors on vehicles can’t avoid, since someone behind a building isn’t any more visible to a sensor than to the person behind the wheel.

New technology now in development aims to use mobile phones to help. The tech uses new AI—designed to be embedded in phones and cars—to predict an accident before it happens. “We have a mathematical model that resides in the mobile phone that has the ability to predict human behavior several seconds ahead,” says Gabi Ofir, CEO of Visiblezone, the Israel-based startup building the technology.

Read the article at Fast Company

The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and self-driving software company Argo AI have created a new alliance.

The automakers plan to share electric-vehicle platforms and autonomous-vehicle software, potentially saving them hundreds of millions of dollars and laying the groundwork for more partnerships on vehicles of the future.

The moves “instantaneously” create one of the largest partnerships on electrification and self-driving technology, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said Friday in New York. In doing so, it shakes up the present-day electric and autonomous-vehicle landscape.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Fortune

Waymo thinks a new test service of their driverless taxis will help riders make the most of their commute or other rides.

The aim is persuading passengers that the company’s ride service, dubbed Waymo One, is less stressful than driving their own cars or riding with its rivals.

Passengers in a Phoenix test group can now use complementary in-car Wi-Fi. The test group will be part of a study to determine if employees riding in the driverless taxis are more productive than they would be if driving in their own vehicles.

Read the article at Fortune.

Identify inefficiencies, set performance standards and measure success

By Lynne White, Chevin Fleet

On a regular basis, fleet managers need to address a range of responsibilities such as vehicles and equipment, maintenance operations, drivers, fuel, and safety.

The ability to collate and analyze quality, relevant data can lead to better asset and operations management.

Such data can also help drive an informed approach to identifying inefficiencies and create opportunities to set performance standards and accurately measure success.

What data do I need?
The key to efficiently and effectively utilizing data begins with two key steps:

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By Andrew Boada, Editor at Large

In the battle to avert climate change, vehicles powered only by electricity — EVs — are being heralded around the world as the ultimate transportation solution for a“zero emissions” future.

While it’s true that EVs generate no CO₂ at the tailpipe, a closer look that includes embedded emissions suggests that, at least in the near term, hybrids – vehicles that combine a fossil fuel powertrain with one powered by electricity – may, in fact, be the better alternative.

Why? In a nutshell, because in the US EVs offer, at best, a small extra environmental benefit beyond that offered by hybrids, and getting that marginal extra environmental benefit comes at a significantly higher acquisition cost.

Given the fact that passenger vehicle CO₂ emissions account for only about a quarter of Americans’ CO₂ emissions, it’s entirely possible that the money saved by opting for a hybrid instead of an EV could be spent in other ways to achieve even greater benefits for the planet, while keeping fleet costs lower.

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The Washington Post

Governors from 22 states and Puerto Rico joined California in the latest effort to pressure the Trump administration into a “common sense” national approach to embracing more stringent gas mileage requirements.

Strong vehicle standards would provide the auto industry with regulatory certainty while also helping to combat climate change.

“We’ve doubled our support,” Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), said in an interview. “We’re seeing an awakening of interest on the part of other states that recognize the need for cleaner cars. This is not just about climate change, although that is certainly the major thrust of the regulations we’re fighting to maintain.”

Read the article at The Washington Post.

Businesses that grow comfortable with their own solutions are often blind-sided by new solutions they never imagined, which were hidden in plain sight

By John Wysseier, CEO and President, The CEI Group

Last month, I wrote that for an organization to embrace disruptive innovation for long-term survival, it takes leadership — not just from the CEO, but from the entire C-suite of senior executives. Today, I want to consider another essential ingredient: a Chief Disruption Officer or CDO.

I want to start by pointing out that there is some ambiguity about this title.  For some, CDO stands for Chief Digital Officer, more of a
technology-focused position, while for others, the Chief Disruption Officer is a position that combines equal measures of expertise in sales, marketing, operations and strategy in addition to a grasp of digital technology.  Yet, others bridge this divide by adding another D, and calling the position Chief Digital and Disruption Officer, or CDDO.

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Bloomberg Business Week

In an attempt to draw in new members and make it easier to sign-up, the car-sharing service Car2Go waived the manual back-ground check. In Chicago, this resulted in fraud and the theft of 75 higher-end cars – Mercedes CLA sedans and GLA sport utility vehicles.

A group of thieves claimed the vehicles as their own and Car2Go employees were unable to retrieve the vehicles.

Chicago Police were enlisted to assist in the recovery of the vehicles, many of which were stripped of doors, seats and other parts. Car2Go quickly reverted to manually reviewing new accounts and hasn’t had any serious issues since then.

Read the article at Bloomberg Business Week.