By Trent Dressen, Director of Sales, SuperVision

In North America, at any given time, 7% of all drivers have a suspended license. Of those drivers, 75% of them continue to drive on a suspended license. When an employee with a suspended license continues to operate a vehicle, the risk to the company grows exponentially.

License suspensions in relation to non-driving offenses are oftentimes unknown and can be missed by employers. It is also not uncommon for a driver to be completely unaware of his or her non-driving license suspension.

Driving-related suspensions are significant red flags that can indicate a risky driver; however, non-driving suspensions do not always imply higher driver risk. Should a fleet manager act on a driver with a non-driving license suspension?

An unlicensed driver that continues to operate puts an organization at risk for a Negligent Entrustment Lawsuit, regardless of the reason for suspension. Employers have a duty to know what is in their driver’s history prior to putting the driver on the road.

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Accident damage assessment, visual capture of violations, and tool tracking to cut theft and loss among them

By Mark Boada, Executive Editor

Fleets have dozens of telematics companies to choose from these days, and the competition is fierce. That’s why systems makers are adding new features to their offerings every day. But one in particular fleet managers should take a closer look at – especially those who manage service and construction fleets — is CalAmp.

CalAmp, the parent company of LoJack, the proven stolen vehicle recovery system, is a global telematics provider but not the largest player in the market, and so seeks leading-edge features to differentiate itself. And this year, the company came out with some compelling new services that add to an already attractive suite of functions.

As with most telematics systems on the market, CalAmp’s helps fleets track vehicle locations, optimize routes, monitor compliance with scheduled preventive maintenance, manage fuel consumption and expense, and enables them to detect high-risk drivers through driver behavior score cards that count the number of times a driver exceeds the speed limit, engages in jack-rabbit starts and harsh braking. The company markets its technology both directly to fleets as well as through telematics firms.

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IIHS

Alcohol-detection systems that stop people from drinking and driving could prevent more than a quarter of U.S. road fatalities and save upwards of 9,000 lives a year, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.

Alcohol has been a factor in 30 percent of U.S. roadway deaths every year for the past decade, and police arrest about 1 million people a year for alcohol-impaired driving. Systems that can detect the percentage of alcohol in the driver’s blood and prevent the vehicle from moving if it is higher than a predetermined limit could slash those numbers.

If systems blocked drivers with any alcohol in their blood from driving, requiring them for those with alcohol-impaired driving convictions would save 986 lives. Requiring them for fleet vehicles would save 465 lives.

Read the article at IIHS.

The Detroit Bureau

Through a meeting with its lenders, Hertz Global Holdings struck a deal that will allow it to pay $650 million in cash in monthly installments for the rest of 2020. In return, it can sell off at least 182,521 leased vehicles between now and December.

Hertz is only allowed to keep $900 from each car sold, the Journal reported, noting the company is attempting arrange $2 billion in new financing to help get through the bankruptcy.

The number of vehicles it plans to sell has risen since a filing last month in which the company said it wanted to sell about 144,000 vehicles during the restructuring process.

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.

MSN

Features that promote safety, whether through improved driver visibility or collision avoidance, have been trending upward in AutoPacific’s Future Attribute Demand (FADS) research for the past few years, but security-focused features like a dash camera, have not historically shown the same demand.

Very few cars come standard OR optional with any sort of dash camera today, but according to FADS,  70% of car buyers want this feature in their next car. Airbags came in at 66%,  which is strange because they’ve been mandated for years—a head-up display in third, then over-the-air updates and a 360-degree or bird’s eye view camera.

“Consumers have experienced an influx of personal video in social and news media in recent years and are very familiar with the potential security benefits of camera footage from dash cameras, body cameras, cell phones and doorbell cameras. It’s really not surprising to see such high interest in an in-vehicle recording device,”  says AutoPacific research analyst Deborah Grieb.

Read the article at MSN.

Forbes

Waymo is forming a broad partnership with Fiat Chrysler to get self-driving cars, pickups and SUVs to market and will focus on developing robotic Ram-brand light commercial vehicles.

FCA now says it’s working exclusively with Waymo on Level-4 self-driving tech for all its brands, including Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Fiat and Ram, and will integrate its software, computers and sensors into Ram commercial vans for use by the new Waymo Via autonomous logistics service.

“Adding Waymo’s commitment to partner with us to deploy its L4 fully autonomous technology across our entire product portfolio, our partnership is setting the pace for the safe and sustainable mobility solutions that will help define the automotive world in the years and decades to come,” said FCA CEO Mike Manley.

Read the article at Forbes.

CNCB

Ford Motor Co. and Intel’s Mobileye have worked together previously, but this is the first time the automaker is committing to use the company’s technology for the entire lifecycle of its next-generation cars and trucks, including vehicles such as the new Ford Bronco, all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover and next-generation F-150 pickup.

The deal reached by the two companies includes Ford using Mobileye’s “EyeQ” camera-based detection technologies for features such as forward collision warning and of vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist detection. They’ll also be used for Ford’s forthcoming hands-free driving system.

Camera-based technology systems such as Mobileye’s are critical for active safety features to prevent crashes as well as driver-assist systems like Tesla’s Autopilot and General Motors’ Super Cruise.  Mobileye’s customers include 13 of the world’s top 15 automakers

Read the article at CNBC.

J.D. Power

The J.D. Power 2020 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, measures an owner’s emotional attachment to their new vehicle and in what areas that vehicle may not be delivering on all of the positive experiences that were hoped for.

Understanding this is valuable to automakers, as well as knowing about quality issues and owner acceptance of new technologies. The goal for automakers is to delight customers on all these dimensions. Some are better than others at doing this.

The study measures owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement with their new vehicle across 37 attributes, ranging from the sense of comfort and luxury they feel when climbing into the driver’s seat to the feeling they get when they step on the accelerator. These attributes are aggregated to compute an overall APEAL index score measured on a 1,000-point scale.

Read the article at J.D. Power.

ARI

Raise your hand if you’re ready for this year to be over.

We’re already into Q3; even “essential” personnel have barely seen many of our coworkers in person since Q1, and it feels like with every two steps forward, we’re taking one step back. But that still proves we’re making progress.

We’ve gone too many steps forward to hit “ctrl+Z” on 2020. Look at some of the improvements in our work lives we’ve gained because of the pandemic:

• Much warranted appreciation for workers whose jobs were taken for granted for so long. The people who selflessly continued to show up at work to serve others during the pandemic.
• More streamlined workflow and productivity thanks to technology such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Also less commuting and work travel gives us back more time for ourselves.
• Learning new skills and technologies, expanding our personal development and creating more brain power.
• Implementation of safety measures in facilities for employees who cannot work remotely.

See, you’re feeling better already.

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As a fleet operator, it is your job to ensure company drivers remain informed about new and common hazards faced on the roadways and provide those employees an opportunity to learn and practice corresponding safety measures to keep themselves protected.

Due to the ever-changing driving landscape, the unpredictable nature of other ‘untrained’ drivers with whom your drivers share the road, and heavier traffic patterns, the risk of a crash is higher than ever before. For example, more than 70 percent of individuals consider themselves to be an above average driver. This statistic is concerning considering most drivers haven’t participated in a proper safety training course since receiving their license.

While each fleet has its own unique set of challenges, understanding the risks drivers face on a daily basis is one of the most critical objectives for fleet and safety professionals. By obtaining this information and combining it with a company’s own risk-data, MVRs and telematics reports, fleet operators will have the insight needed to develop and implement appropriate safety plans, adjust communications accordingly and adopt effective training programs that address current safety concerns and result in reduced incident rates.

Are you ready to test yourself and how much you know? See how in-tune you are with the issues and challenges your drivers face every day and the advanced performance techniques used to handle and avoid risky situations.

Take the quiz!