By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

In August, we quoted blogger Conor Bond’s description of inbound marketing’s value as allowing a company to “build trust with high-quality leads who demonstrate an active interest in your product or service, particularly important if your business has a relatively long sales cycle.”

A strategic, multi-faceted communications program, employing multiple tactics and communications channels, can help companies consistently keep the sales funnel primed and sales reps busy with new opportunities.

We already discussed three tactics — blogging, infographics, and white papers, so here are some other possibilities to include in a comprehensive program:

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Summer is almost over… and that means vacation season is coming to an end. What better time to ensure your drivers have the attitudes and behaviors they need to get back on the road for the busy months ahead.

For many fleets fall is a hectic season, with plenty to accomplish before the arrival of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Encouraging drivers to drive defensively will help them prepare for whatever the end of year has in store.

Until September 30, eDriving is offering 20 percent off all purchases (additional bulk discounts available) of its interactive, two-hour One More Second® driving course to help drivers develop the attitudes and behaviors necessary to be in control behind the wheel and manage all of today’s driving situations in the safest way possible for the benefit of all road users.

Learn more about One More Second® by eDriving

Editor’s Note: FMW first published this article on September 11, 2018

By Bernie Kavanagh

Imagine waking up one day to no fuel, damaged roads, and unknown damage to your fleet.

It’s the ultimate nightmare for a business with any exposure at all to mobility.

Historically, the most damaging tropical storms and hurricanes have occurred in August and September. But officials who manage fleets, fueling systems and transportation networks should be implementing best practices now in order to avoid a doomsday scenario later.

Even in a “normal” year, hurricane damage can be devastating. It only takes one — poorly timed and poorly placed — to crimp mobility, hamstring business operations and leave companies vulnerable to big losses. For small businesses, such losses may not be tenable.

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TheNewspaper.com

According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, US government agencies are finding expensive all-electric cars not worth buying because of the cost and infrastructure challenges involved.

The report found that agencies were not required to track where the electricity used to power plug-in vehicles was generated or the environmental impact of disposing of old batteries.

“The costs of these vehicles and charging infrastructure make it challenging for agencies to acquire them on a large scale,” the report explained. “Second, a lack of fuel and infrastructure availability limits agencies use of alternative fuel, specifically E85.”

Read the article at TheNewspaper.com.

CBS News

The race to create the self-driving car continues at a feverish pace, with major players pumping billions into the effort.

But Kevin Delaney, editor-in-chief and co-CEO of Quartz, said that when it comes to autonomous vehicles, “we’re heading towards hell.”

“These cars are not safe yet,” Delaney said. “There are five levels of autonomous vehicle safety, according to the U.S. government’s certification, and right now, at best, we’re at level two. What this means is that people need to be keeping their hands on the wheel, they need to be keeping alert to avoid accidents.”

That’s not the only potential problem. “What researchers have found is that when people have access to cars driving that require less effort and money, they actually drive a lot more,” Delaney said. “So the traffic that we experience today is likely to get a lot worse.”

Read the article at CBS News.

The Washington Post

Alerts from new driver assist systems can be so annoying that some motorists are turning the features off, according to a new survey.

The 2019 J.D. Power Tech Experience Index study also found that frustrated drivers may avoid the systems in future vehicle purchases.

“Automakers are spending lots of money on advanced technology development, but the constant alerts can confuse and frustrate drivers,” said Kristin Kolodge, J.D. Power’s executive director of driver interaction and human-machine interface. “The technology can’t come across as a nagging parent. No one wants to be constantly told they aren’t driving correctly.”

Read the article at The Washington Post.

Yahoo! Finance

Drowsy driving and falling asleep behind the wheel are dramatically declining among commercial and public sector fleet drivers who use the Lytx Driver Safety Program.

Lytx data reflects a 39 percent reduction in drowsy driving events among Lytx clients from June 2018 to June 2019, and a 66 percent reduction in drivers falling asleep behind the wheel.

“Our cutting-edge machine vision and artificial intelligence technology specifically address drowsy and distracted driving with the goal of helping our clients understand these risky behaviors in their fleets so they can proactively address them,” said Michael Phillippi, vice president of technology at Lytx.

Read the article at Yahoo! Finance.

USA Today

A new tool called the Dräger DrugTest 5000 is available to police, using a mouth swab to determine whether a driver is high on weed.

The device can also detect the presence of cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, amphetamine, methadone, and benzodiazepines in the bloodstream, though it can’t detect the amount.

This may not always matter, as some 16 states have zero-tolerance laws making it a crime to drive with any measurable drug presence in the body, marijuana or otherwise

Read the article at USA Today.

Forbes

More than two people — drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists — are killed every day on U.S. roads in red light running crashes, a 28% increase since 2012.

A new analysis released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 85% of drivers surveyed viewed red light running as very dangerous, yet nearly one in three said they blew through one within the past 30 days when they could have stopped safely.

When properly implemented, red light cameras reduced the fatal red light running crash rate of large cities by 21%.

Read the article at Forbes.

Four leading sponsors, 12 different certifications

By Kevin J Fisher, MBA, CAFM, CTP, Senior Consultant, Mercury Associates

This question comes up often, particularly with more-tenured fleet professionals and frequently with the constant budget pressures in many of today’s organizations, both in the private and public sectors. Today, training is available in the form of webinars, online training modules and testing, live classroom sessions at various industry association conferences, local colleges and universities.

In my experience, an investment in fleet management training and certifications pays dividends in the long run for both the organization and the employee. These dividends come in the form of more engaged and motivated employees, who are better equipped to deal with the constant pace of change and innovation in the marketplace.

This happens not only through training and certifications but by networking at industry association events with both fellow fleet professionals and vendors. Both can provide up to date information on new products and services available in the marketplace today.

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