August 20, 2019

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Editor’s Analysis & Top Industry News



Unforgivable Denial

This article in The New York Times today caught our attention: Trump’s Rollback of Auto Pollution Rules Shows Signs of Disarray. California’s recent pact with Ford, Honda, VW and BMW has reportedly “enraged” Mr. Trump. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz and a sixth automaker intend to join with California.

What’s at stake? “The Trump administration’s proposal would significantly weaken the 2012 vehicle pollution standards put in place by President Barack Obama, which remain the single largest policy enacted by the United States to reduce planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions.”

The Editorial Board of the Washington Post decries Trump’s rejection of reality in: Global warming is already here. Denying it is unforgivable. They warn: “Global warming’s consequences are various, pervasive and not always obvious when people consider how their lives will be directly affected — until they are.”

The past five years have been the warmest years ever recorded and July was the hottest month on record in the world. What is it going to take for the Trump administration to acknowledge and act on the most urgent challenge facing the world?

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


VIDEO: The Right Way to Encourage Drivers to Be Safer

Driver Insight is an innovative program that helps drivers see their own risky behaviors, and encourages them to create their own solutions for improvement.

VIDEO: AFLA’s 50th Anniversary


 AFLA’s Fantastic Speaker Lineup Includes Rainn Wilson
 

The AFLA Conference is known for having top-quality speakers, and this year’s attendees are being treated to Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight on “The Office.”


VIDEO: Telematics and EVs

 Providing Telematics Data for Fleets with Electric Vehicles
 

Geotab has been working hard to offer the telematics data you need to run a fleet that has electric vehicles.


The Fleet Spot



ARI Launches Interactive Video Series

The dynamic video series explores complex business challenges throughout the vehicle’s lifecycle to help viewers maximize their fleet’s revenue-generating capabilities

ARI® has launched an all-new interactive video experience designed to help fleet stakeholders successfully navigate their complex business challenges. The eight-part video series, highlights how an organization’s fleet investment can influence the company’s overall success, providing insight that allows viewers to maximize their fleet’s revenue-generating potential.

“For most organizations, fleet represents a significant investment but all too often, fleet is viewed as a cost center with a myopic focus on simply containing costs,” said Rick Tousaw, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, ARI. “One of the goals of this video series is to change the lens through which fleet is viewed and help stakeholders solve their real-world business challenges that transcend fleet.”

READ MORE

Boots & Bowties: AFLA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

Join the fun for the AFLA 50th Anniversary Boots & Bowties Celebration – being held at Rustler’s Rooste, an outdoor steakhouse adjacent to the Arizona Grand Resort. Dress code for this event is casual and feel free to wear your best cowboy hat, boots and/or bowtie to the cookout. Live music, fun, networking and fireworks will fill the night!

Be sure to include this special event in your conference registration or purchase individual tickets for $75. CLICK HERE to add tickets to any existing registration (by clicking on “modify existing registration”), or you can call the AFLA office at 414-386-0366 for assistance.

eDriving wins Gold Stevie® in 2019 International Business Awards®

eDriving has been named the winner of a Gold Stevie® in the 16th Annual International Business Awards®.

eDriving won in the Governance, Risk & Compliance Solution category for its patented driver safety program, Mentor by eDrivingSM.

“This is proving to be quite the year for Mentor; our third award in four months,” said Ed Dubens, Founder and CEO of eDriving. “I’m ecstatic that Mentor has been formally recognized at an international level for its ability to help drivers all over the world manage, control and reduce their risk of crashes, change their behavior when behind the wheel and ultimately return home safely to their loved ones at the end of each day.”

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Chevin Appoints Two New Board Members

Chevin drives global growth with two new board member appointments

Chevin Fleet Solutions today announced that Will Wycks, former Head of Transformation, Data & Customer Excellence at BT Fleet Solutions, and Ray Creamer, Jaguar Land Rover’s previous International IT Demand & Operations Manager, have joined its board of directors.

Wycks joins the company as Global Marketing Director, while Creamer will take on the role of Global Delivery Director.

Speaking on the new senior appointments, Ashley Sowerby, Chevin’s CEO and Founder, said: “Both Will and Ray bring with them skill sets that will add tremendous business value. With over 24-years combined experience in their respective business areas, they have a high level of credibility and we are very excited to welcome two industry leaders to the board.”

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Safety & Risk


By: Tony Vinciguerra, Chief Operating Officer at Driving Dynamics

Despite 77 percent of fleets using telematics, most are not taking full advantage of the benefits offered by these systems.

Since the technology is embedded in the vehicle, the system provides fleet managers real-time information which can be used to improve more than just vehicle efficiencies and lower fuel costs. A somewhat known, but not yet fully understood area for this technology, is that it can be used to support companies’ safety initiatives. The telematics devices actually allow fleet managers to analyze drivers’ performances more accurately than ever before.

However, according to a 2018 survey, only 43 percent of fleet companies use telematics systems to measure performance. That means more than half of corporations are missing out on an opportunity to further elevate their fleets’ safety.

READ MORE

 

The Mobile Workforce


Motus

Motus released its 2019 Mobile Workforce Benchmark Report, which identified rising costs, increased business mileage and volatile fuel prices as key trends that affected the mobile workforce in 2018.

Motus found that the average business mileage per mobile worker increased for the fourth year in a row. Americans drove 20 billion more miles than a year ago, despite higher average fuel prices, which accounted for 25 percent of the total cost to own and operate a vehicle in 2018. These were the key factors that influenced a five percent year-over-year increase in the average annual vehicle program cost per mobile worker.

The report also found that driver safety is often overlooked by companies and that mobile workers continue to drive more miles for business than ever before.

Read more at Motus.

 

Fleet Spectator


Trade shows are often so jam-packed with events and information, they can be a dizzying experience, and it’s a certainty that you’re going to miss most of the content.

But there are things you can do to be sure you get the most out of them that’s humanly possible, and it starts with preparation before you go.

If it isn’t already, this article – “18 Helpful Tips for Getting the Most Out of an Industry Conference” – should be a classic. It’s a handy check list for even the most seasoned trade show attendee.

“Review the agenda. Set a goal for what you’d like to learn at the conference, and use the agenda to devise a plan specifically tailored to that goal. Make sure to attend conference-wide events like keynote addresses…When it comes to smaller sessions, consider both the speaker and the subject matter. Highly tactical sessions are generally useful to attend regardless of who leads them. However, sessions less directly related to your profession can be valuable as well if they’re led by an industry figure you’re angling to meet.

“Divide and conquer. If you’re attending with coworkers…splitting up for sessions will maximize how much you’re able to learn and ensure that each of you has unique insights to take back to your company…Huge conferences can foster pack mentality, but the more attendees you can meet and speak with, the more of an asset you’ll be to your sales team…A conference is an unparalleled opportunity to pick the brains of your competition and your market. Don’t waste it.”

Read the article at Hubspot.com.


Fleet Trends & Issues



Five Myths About Autonomous Vehicles

The Washington Post

Self-driving cars could change our lives, announcing an era of greater convenience, improved productivity and safer roads.

Driverless cars are attracting huge investment from traditional automakers, established tech giants and smaller start-ups with promises that may or may not be kept.

Autonomous cars will mean fewer private ones, is just one of the most persistent myths.

Read more at The Washington Post.

Pop-Up Chargers Bring Practical On-Street Charging Solution

International Fleet World

Pop-up charging hubs are to start springing up on curbs in the UK – and potentially globally – to provide a unique solution to the issue of on-street charging.

According to research, 50% of urban drivers in the UK park on-street at night.

The UEone from British charging start-up Urban Electric Networks solves this by providing fast charging hubs in residential streets and on-street public parking bays that can facilitate overnight smart charging to minimize impact on the grid while retracting during the day to avoid impacting pedestrians and other road users.

Read the article at International Fleet World.

Surveillance Detection Scout for the Paranoid Tesla Owner

Car and Driver

What to give the Tesla driver who has everything: technology that watches to make sure they’re not being followed and the car isn’t getting stolen.

Surveillance Detection Scout taps into three camera feeds in any Tesla electric vehicle and processes the visual data in real time to identify if someone is trying to steal or break into the vehicle.

Scout does this by using facial recognition software and an automatic license-plate reader, both of which are outlawed in some states.

Read the article at Car and Driver.

Auto OEMs to Support Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

USA Today

New in-car multimedia systems are beginning to offer wireless integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – first among aftermarket stereos, but more recently from a few factory systems.

The vast majority of both platforms today still require a physical USB cable.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can take such a heavy drain that phones tethered to older-generation USB ports lose their battery charge while using the systems. Wireless charging pads have answered the call.

Read the article at USA Today.

Climate Change


Forbes

Federal inaction on climate change will lead to hundreds of billions of dollars in damages, by the federal government’s own estimates.

But there are less obvious costs Americans face because we lack a stable climate policy.

Interest rates paid by renewable energy developers in the U.S., China, and Germany were analyzed, and found that U.S. developers pay much more. Why? Because there’s so much policy uncertainty that financial investors perceive them to be risky and are much less likely to give low interest rates.

Read the article at Forbes.

 

Customer Driven


By Laura Jozwiak, Senior Vice President of Sales and Client Relations, Wheels, Inc.

If you fly, you know the familiar safety speech given by the flight attendant. You can probably recite most of it with me:

“All carry-on items should now be stored securely, either in an overhead bin or under the seat in front of you. All aisles, exits, and bulkhead areas should now be clear. If there is a drop in cabin pressure, panels above your seat will open, revealing oxygen masks … Breathe normally and note that oxygen is flowing, even if the bag doesn’t inflate. Be sure to adjust your own mask, before helping others.”

Wait—what about that last instruction? Be sure to adjust your own mask before helping others? Why is this included?

READ MORE

 

Disruptive Leadership


“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” – Steven Covey

By John Wysseier, CEO and President, The CEI Group

It’s a given that companies that want to become disruptive forces in their industry and avoid becoming a victim of disruption need, first and foremost, to understand and figure out how best to utilize emerging technologies.

But there’s another essential ingredient that can give them an advantage that may be easily overlooked: a diverse workforce. Why?

READ MORE





Fleet Management Resources

 

ACERTUS
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.

eDriving
eDriving partners with its clients to engage with drivers and their managers to create a culture that supports lasting behavioral change to reduce collisions, injuries, license violations as well as a fleet’s total cost of ownership.

SuperVision
SuperVision is a fleet driver management solution for MVR & license monitoring, fleet management, fleet safety oversight and driver performance and retention.

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.

WEX
WEX fuel cards and fleet management solutions give you powerful tools to reduce spending — for any business, any fleet, any size.

Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.

PARS
PARS’ mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.

Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 79 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.




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