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January 14, 2022 – Municipal leaders across the country are warning drivers not to use QR codes stuck on to parking pay stations. Such QR codes are easily faked, and it seems scammers used them to soak up unsuspecting people’s parking fees, along with their credit card information, in some of the largest cities in the U.S.
The easiest way to protect yourself from such a scam is to never enter credit card information into an untrustworthy website, and that includes ones that you’ve reached via QR code. QR codes are ridiculously easy to fake, which is why you won’t find any city using them to accept payments.
Most cities have specific secure parking payment apps as well as kiosks that accept payment. It’s such an easy scam that police are already alerting the public to the possibility that it might pop up in their city.
via Jalopnik
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January 15, 2022 – Mayor Eric Adams wants to see the free rides given to many city employees come to a stretching halt. Adams said the city’s fleet of nearly 30,000 vehicles – the largest of its kind in the nation – needs to be stripped down to a “bare-bones minimum.”
He also said he supports reducing the number of take-home cars driven by city employees – which totals 2,857 – and plans to evaluate where cuts could be made. The gratis vehicles come with free gas and sometimes free tolls, and it’s a benefit that has historically led to widespread misuse.
Adams has spent most of his first two weeks in office relying on mass transit to commute to work – even biking at least once. He said he plans to encourage city workers to use mass transit and “ride-sharing” vehicle programs.
via New York Post
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January 16, 2022 – Automakers have been installing increasingly high-tech features and infotainment systems in vehicles, but that doesn’t mean they’re becoming safer. The most recent statistics show that as of 2018, distracted driving contributes to one in four fatal crashes.
More complex infotainment systems could be contributing to the problem. Research found that infotainment systems in the vehicles from the 2018 study often put a very high demand on drivers through a combination of visual, mental, and time demands, with some tasks taking upwards of 48 seconds.
“Drivers often end up taking their eyes off the road to look at the technology and are frustrated as to why it’s not doing what they want it to do.” said Robyn Robertson, chief executive of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. ” Automakers have been working to address distraction issues, such as improvements to voice commands, but those can pose their own risks.”
via The Globe and Mail
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January 16, 2022 – Every major mobile carrier plans to shut down its 3G network this year, largely to free up mobile bandwidth for upcoming 5G network rollouts. The 3G shutdown will affect dozens of vehicle models released anytime between 2010 and 2021.
Some cars will lose the ability to update your location and traffic data while navigating. Others will become unable to connect with your smartphone, voice assistants or emergency call services.
Some major auto companies, but not all, have released information on which of their car models will be affected by the shutdown – and what steps owners can take, if any, to ensure that their cars don’t lose certain connected features once the shutdown occurs. You might need to act before AT&T’s 3G shutdown date in February.
via CNBC
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January 16, 2022 – How could Earth’s changing climate impact socioeconomic systems across the world in the next three decades? A yearlong, cross-disciplinary research effort at McKinsey & Company provides some answers.
As average temperatures rise, climate science finds that acute hazards such as heat waves and floods grow in frequency and severity, and chronic hazards, such as drought and rising sea levels, intensify. In this report, the focus is on understanding the nature and extent of physical risk from a changing climate over the next one to three decades, exploring physical risk as it is the basis of both transition and liability risks.
Climate models with economic projections were linked together to examine nine cases that illustrate exposure to climate change extremes and proximity to physical thresholds. Across our cases, we find increases in socioeconomic impact of between roughly two and 20 times by 2050 versus today’s levels. The physical climate risks are increasing across our global country analysis, even as some countries find some benefits.
via McKinsey
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By Bill Bishop, FLD Remarketing
Nearly 30 years ago, the comedian Bill Murray starred in a movie that would become part of the national lexicon. “Groundhog Day,” was the story of a cynical weatherman who kept living the same day over and over until he sees a way of using it to his advantage.
And while our industry might not be reliving the exact same day over and over, a look back at 2021 – and a look ahead to 2022 – gives me one over-riding thought: That fleet, especially from a remarketing perspective, can expect to face many of the same challenges it has the past two years. And that unless something unforeseen happens to change that trajectory, 2022 is shaping up to be quite similar to 2021.
Like most, I had high hopes that 2021 would be markedly different from 2020. And with a new vaccine on the horizon, and nearly a full year of restrictions behind us – why not?
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January 14, 2022 – Fleet Management is the umbrella term that refers to all processes involved in the smooth functioning of a fleet of commercial vehicles. The operations involved are monitoring fleet activities, asset management, route planning, and driving data insights.
One of the most important aspects of a fleet management system is GPS tracking that helps access the real-time location and movement of all the fleet assets – driver, vehicles, equipment, and more. A professional telematics solution can improve accuracy. This data helps businesses to calculate an estimated time of arrival. Fleet managers/owners can get sensors that detect fuel levels, open doors, and more to improve savings.
Next comes the aspect of driver management that includes monitoring and measuring essential driving parameters like acceleration, harsh braking, speeding, and over idling. This data helps improve driver efficiency and productivity, decrease chances of accidents, lower fuel consumption and improve vehicle performance. Maintenance costs and downtimes also tend to reduce. In the driver management module, health and safety are a priority.
via Illinois News Today.
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