By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Alongside COVID-19, distracted driving is an on-going plague that fleets around the world are struggling to fight.

Among the approaches are changes in fleet policy that prohibit various forms of behind-the-wheel distractions, on-line lessons and videos that educate drivers about the dangers, and even systems that use dashboard cameras to detect and warn a driver when he or she isn’t watching the road.

While these all have demonstrated value and effectiveness, the one thing none of them do is to actually prevent distraction. That’s where cell phone blocking technology steps in. And while it deals with only one form of distraction – the use of mobile devices – the technology has been found in the field to have dramatic results. At least, that’s what a study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by one cell-blocking system provider, TRUCE Software, last year has documented.

READ MORE

Car and Driver 

Let’s say you need to flee civilization, or maybe just outrun the miasma of cable news and social media. Either way, when it’s time to bug out, a vehicle is your ticket to escape from reality.

And of course, once you’re out there, out on the road or in the wild, plenty of things could still go wrong. You’ll need a few skills, just in case.

Do you know how to change a tire? Not just replacing it with a spare, but replacing your worn rubber in a world without Discount Tire. How about siphoning fuel without getting a mouthful? Would you know how to hot-wire your vehicle if you lose your keys?

Read the article at Car and Driver.

Because of COVID-19, many fleets are seeing operational expenses go down because they’re racking up fewer miles, and fleet managers may have more time on their hands than usual.

But once the pandemic passes, that’s all going to reverse, and fleets may be struggling again to find savings in the face of even tighter budgets.

That’s why Verizon Connect, one of the world’s biggest providers of telematics services, is urging fleet managers to take advantage of any new-found downtime to take a closer look for any operational inefficiencies their telematics systems data can reveal.

“According to Kevin Aries, Leader, Product Success, Verizon Connect, ‘Now is the ideal time for fleet owners to constructively take stock of existing processes and establish new procedures to help strengthen the business to emerge stronger in the post-COVID-19 world. Especially for companies that are existing Verizon Connect customers, but aren’t as close to the product as they want to be or want more training to create different reports.'”

READ MORE

USA Today

Looking for a deal on a car in the midst of the pandemic? There are some to be had, but don’t expect everything to be on sale just because the economy is sputtering.

Automakers dialed back discounts in June after ramping them up in May, and interest rates have ticked upward after reaching historic lows. But deals are still better than this time last year.

One of the questions asked by car buyers includes wanting to know if dealers are trying to sell off 2020 models before the 2021 cars and trucks arrive.  Not yet. About two months of downtime at most manufacturing plants due to the pandemic means that dealers don’t have a surplus of vehicles.

Read the article at USA Today.

CNN

In an effort to appeal to customers worried about the uncertain economy, Ford will allow anyone who loses their job within a year of buying a new Ford car, truck or SUV to return it at no cost.

Under the terms of a new financing program called the Ford Promise plan, Ford Credit will pay for the difference between what the car is worth at that time and what the customer still owes, up to $15,000.

There are numerous restrictions. For instance, the job loss can’t be within 30 days of signing the purchase or lease contract and it must be involuntary. Self-employed Ford buyers can take advantage of the program if they’re forced to declare personal bankruptcy. The offer only applies to those vehicles purchased or leased on June 26, 2020, or later.

Read the article at CNN.

Autoblog

Amazon.com is launching a new fleet of bigger, boxier trucks like those favored by rival package carriers UPS and FedEx, as it fights to fix widespread pandemic-fueled delivery delays that sent customers into the arms of competitors like Walmart.

More than 2,200 heavy-duty Utilimaster “walk-in” delivery trucks have been ordered from Shyft Group, a Michigan-based speciality vehicle company. The new vehicles can carry more and bigger packages than the Mercedes-Benz, Fiat Chrysler, and Ford vans Amazon contractors dispatch around the country.

Amazon is under pressure to make good on one- and two-day deliveries promised to customers who subscribe to its $119 annual Prime service. Orders for food, computers, toys and exercise equipment surged after states issued stay-at-home orders to battle the pandemic, overwhelming Amazon’s network and adding days and even weeks to delivery times.

Read the article at Autoblog.

NBC Newa

Ford is embroiled in an internal dispute over whether to continue producing vehicles for U.S. law enforcement in light of the broader national debate over police brutality. As many as 100 Ford employees have raised the question in letters to senior executives.

Were Ford to pull out of the specialized market it could have significant ramifications, as the Detroit automaker currently produces about two-thirds of the vehicles used by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

While some Ford employees have been pressing for the automaker to abandon the police vehicle market, others are proposing alternatives, calling on the company to sell vehicles only to law enforcement agencies that have undergone reforms.

Read the article at NBC News.

Forbes

The official word, according to the Centers for Disease Control, is that travel of any kind can be risky business these days – make sure you’re not headed for a hot spot where COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on a rapid upswing.

If you do travel, plan to bring an ample supply of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes along with you. If you take medications, remember to bring along enough to last for the entire trip, and perhaps more to cover an unforeseen delay.

Highway rest areas are an obvious hazard, so take extra precautions should you need to stop while en route. Pack your own food so you can minimize exposure from restaurants and grocery stores, or use a drive-through window. Pay for all transactions with a debit or credit card instead of making face-to-face cash purchases. Whenever and wherever you stop, sanitize everyone’s hands before reentering your car.

Read the article at Forbes.

E&E News

Following its announcement of an upcoming battery that can deliver a range of 400 miles on a single charge and last 1 million miles, Tesla’s stock jumped 13% on July 13 amid a resurgence of investor interest in makers of all-electric vehicles, also known as BEVs or Battery Electric Vehicles.

“Electric vehicle makers with names like Fisker, Karma and Rivian got jolts of new investment last week, at a time when Tesla’s rampaging stock price has made the sector unexpectedly hot. Analysts said the level of these investments — especially in the relatively untested Karma and Fisker — smacks of a hype cycle.

“‘The EV uprising is real, but the scale of investment into what I would view as fledgling companies is staggering,’ said Ram Chandrasekaran, a transportation analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.”

Read the article at E&E News.

By Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving

While some companies have had no interruption in service, others have been in complete shutdown over recent weeks.

Now, as the world moves towards a new normal, what additional precautions do businesses need to take to protect those driving for work?

While specific advice exists for some industries (for example there is official guidance for people who work in a vehicle, such as delivery drivers), for others, there is likely to be confusion about exactly what steps they need to take to keep employees safe who need to drive for work at this time.

READ MORE