Uber Releases Safety Report Disclosing 3,045 Sexual Assaults And Nine Murders
For the first time in its history, Uber has released a comprehensive safety report about its rides in the US spanning the full length of 2018 and part of 2017 and how it compares to national US averages.
The report discloses that 3,045 sexual assaults occurred during Uber trips last year. Additionally, Uber says nine people were murdered during Uber rides and 58 people died in auto-related crashes.
Uber says users took 3.1 million trips per day on the its platform during the period between 2017 and the end of 2018 in which it was gathering data, and there were also 1.3 billion trips in total in the US last year. Uber says there were 36,000 auto-related deaths in 2018 and 20,000 homicides in 2017, to put the company’s incident numbers in context.
Read the article at The Verge.
U.S. Fleets and Marijuana: Cutting Through the Confusion
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
I've attended and tuned into several presentations about fleets and marijuana recently, and the overall impression I was left with was that U.S. fleets have been thrown into a confusing mess and dilemma when it comes to handling the issue with their drivers.
The big questions that the conversations have raised are: is it legal for fleet drivers to use marijuana in states where it's been legalized and can fleets legally test their drivers for marijuana use without violating their privacy?
But on further review, it looks, at least to me, a lot less confusing, if not pretty simple. Still, that's with the proviso that fleets need to be careful about their fleet driver policies and practices, and so should double-check with their legal and HR departments on some details.
But before clarifying the issues, first, let's look at reasons why fleet professionals may be confused. I count six:
GM At Center Of Political Fight Over MPG, Electric-Vehicle Tax Credit
General Motors is lobbying for an extension of a federal tax credit that provides up to $7,500 to buyers of electric vehicles, but GM has angered some Democrats by siding with the Trump administration in a fight with California over fuel-economy regulations.
Automakers are pushing Congress to raise a lifetime ceiling of 200,000 electric vehicles per manufacturer that qualify for the tax break. The electric-vehicle tax credit has been a point of contention since it was established in 2008. GM nd Tesla both hit that ceiling in 2018.
GM argues its decision to intervene in a lawsuit filed by California over the mileage rules was an effort to ensure there would be one national standard for fuel economy that all automakers could follow.
Read the article at The Detroit News.
The Missing Piece in Fleet Management
Motor pools are often seen as the missing piece in fleet management, and they frequently result in better vehicle choices across departmental boundaries.
2020 Foresight
Just as many other traditional business practices have been disrupted by the Internet and social media, so has marketing. In his latest Disruptive Leadership column, John Wysseier, CEO and president of The CEI Group, presents an intriguing look at both traditional and disruptive marketing. Here’s a quote that startled me: 84% of Millenials don’t trust traditional marketing!
Anthony Sasso, Head of TD Bank Equipment Finance, notes that TD Bank has been advising clients to stay “downturn ready” in 2020 as economists have begun to see warning signs of a recession on the horizon.
Read Preparing Your Fleet for 2020 to learn about the catalysts driving change in the industry and how best to protect your business against a possible downturn -- and stay ahead of the competition.
The Story is in the Data, says Kurt Thearling, VP, Analytics at WEX, and Kurt is just the guy to tell that story. At WEX, data collection starts right at the fuel pump. And that data can give fleets the confidence to address negative fuel purchase behavior, reduce fraud and theft, and help fleets make informed decisions.
Enjoy this issue and we’ll see you back here next week. In the meantime, be sure and check in with FleetManagementWeekly.com for daily updates/
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