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NHTSA As a key part of NHTSA’s U Drive. U Text. U Pay. campaign, law enforcement will be hypervigilant, looking for distracted drivers and charging fines. Since 2007, drivers age 16-24 have been distracted by devices at higher rates than other drivers, but we’re all at risk for distracted driving crashes. Consider these tips for safe driving:
* If you must send or receive a text, pull over to a safe location and park your car first.
* If you have passengers, appoint a “designated texter” to handle all your texting.
* If you can’t resist the temptation to look at it, keep your phone in the trunk. Read the article at NHTSA.
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Fleet World The coronavirus pandemic and a possible second wave will actually increase demand for company cars to help ensure continuity of service, including during a possible second wave. A total of 56% of large enterprises anticipate an increase in requirements for company cars New research carried out for the Driving for Better Business (DfBB) campaign among SMEs and bigger businesses has found 56% of large enterprises anticipate an increase in requirements for company cars. Meanwhile, 47% believe they’ll have increased demand for company vans and 70% of businesses say there’ll be a rise in staff using their own vehicles for work journeys (the so-called ‘grey fleet’). Read the article at Fleet World
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Merchants Fleet Release Merchants Fleet is expanding its fleet team offering services to logistics and delivery companies in response to a meteoric rise in ecommerce, and a national increased demand for delivery vehicles, as well as the associated services required to manage and maintain them. Members of the newly expanded fleet team include Mike Gavio, Director, Logistics Sales; Sal Fier, Regional Sales Manager; and Pablo Ruiz, Regional Sales Manager. “Our last mile and logistics clients are describing the period we are in as a ‘never-ending peak’ due to the drastic and sustained shift toward ecommerce as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said John Cail, Senior Vice President of Mobility at Merchants Fleet. “We responded quickly to expand our fleet team focused on logistics companies to ensure our clients can scale their operations efficiently to keep goods moving to meet demand.” READ MORE
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A high-level B2B Sales-Support Marketing Audit can help rebuild your program to achieve growth while ensuring a much higher degree of resource efficiency – dollars and human Ed Pierce, ITA Communications. Fleet. October 2020 The pandemic has forced almost every business to slash budgets and trim staff in order to deal with the abrupt business disruption. While the knee jerk reaction provides a quick fix to improve the short-term financial picture, it also guarantees long-term slowdown of future growth. That’s why many companies are returning to strategic planning. They are updating their SWOT analyses. They are identifying new strategic competencies based on re-aligned internal and market conditions. As a result, they are establishing revised goals or re-confirming old ones. Finally, they are adjusting departmental actions to support those goals. READ MORE
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 By Mark Boada, Executive Editor October 2020 Every session at this years’ Automotive Fleet Leasing Association annual conference, conducted virtually last week, was worth tuning into. But the one I found most compelling was on fleet vehicle electrification. Moderated by senior product manager at Wheels, it featured four seasoned veterans of fleet electrification: Sharon Etherington, senior manager of regional administrative services for Roche Diagnostics; Sila Kiliccote co-founder of eIQ Mobility, a fleet electrification consulting company; Scott Miller, vice president of sales at Charge Point, Inc., a leader maker of electric vehicle charging infrastructure; and Matt Stover, Ford Motor Company’s global director of charging, energy services and business development. READ MORE for a transcript of their conversation that has been edited for clarity and length. AFLA announced that a recording of the session and all others from the three-day conference, will be available later this month. |
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Making Sure Equipment is Safe |
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 By Steve Saltzgiver, Director of Strategic Innovation, RTA Fleet Management Software October 2020 When operating complex equipment, it has been a long-standing fleet management practice (since the invention of personal conveyance and vocational vehicles) to perform daily safety inspections on the assets. Ensuring equipment is safe to operate is an operator’s fiduciary responsibility to both themselves and their company — as well as the general public-at-large. Unfortunately, this responsibility was not taken seriously, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) enacted stringent regulations in the early 90’s as part of the Commercial Driver License (CDL) requirements to ensure compliance. Like everything else, with the advent of new computer applications and technology, the daily safety inspections were reimagined. As smart phones and handheld devices became widespread, eDVIR applications were created to streamline the process for both drivers and the shop. READ MORE |
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 By Mike Sheldrick, Senior Editor October 2020 Last week, Amazon’s electric delivery van supplier, Rivian, demonstrated its first operating unit, with plans for 10,000 to be delivered in 2022 and 100,000 by 200, as 2030 part of Amazon’s pledge to achieve carbon-free by 2040. Rivian’s demonstration caps a months-long surge in announcements and demonstrations of promised commercial vehicles: from pickups, to work trucks, to delivery vans, to Class 7 and 8 behemoths. How long it will take for this activity to reach high tide can only be a guess. Nevertheless, as an accompanying piece in this issue — an electrification panel at the recent AFLA conference makes clear– all the signs point to the likelihood of a strong, even massive battery electric vehicle (BEV) movement to electrification. READ MORE |
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