AI System Completely Inspects a Vehicle in Seconds
A small Israeli company called UVeye has created a smart-machine inspection service that should help end those nasty damage arguments at the rental-car return counter.
"It started out as a smuggling and bomb-detection inspection system," explains CEO Amir Hever. Then it leapt over to the auto industry. Hever tells us that his artificial-intelligence-based system can fully inspect a moving car in three to four seconds for any kind of fluid leak and for dents or defects as small as 0.08 inch. That's very significantly faster than a human can inspect a vehicle.
So carmakers, fleet operators, suppliers, auto dealers, insurance companies, and rental and lease companies should be very interested in the two-year-old company's technology.
Read the article at Car and Driver
23 States Sue Trump Administration Over Emissions Standards
California, 22 other states and several major cities filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the division of the Department of Transportation that issued the rule revoking California's authority.
Under the terms of the agreement, which the administration says may be illegal, the companies said they'd produce passenger vehicles averaging 51 miles per gallon by model year 2026, a timeline that accords with regulations set by the Obama administration.
Under Trump, the EPA has sought to roll back many of the environmental rules put in place by Barack Obama — not just when it comes to fuel economy standards, but also methane emissions, air pollution and coal plants, among others.
READ the article at NPR
Recognizing the ‘Do as I Say, Not as I Do’ Mentality of Drivers
By: Art Liggio, CEO of Driving Dynamics
As reported by the National Safety Council, the U.S. has experienced three straight years of at least 40,000 roadway deaths.
In 2018, there was a decline of roughly one percent from road deaths in 2017, but a 14 percent increase from four years ago. One of the contributing factors is the continuing increase in the number of drivers on the road and miles driven, which correspondingly increases the crash risks for your driver population.
For the last ten years, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s annual Traffic Safety Culture Index survey identified American drivers’ attitudes and behaviors regarding road safety. The results of this year’s survey, which focused on drivers’ road activity in the 30 days preceding their participation, are consistent with the years prior. Risky behaviors are still taking place, and unfortunately the “do as I say, not as I do” mentality is still prominent amongst non-fleet drivers.
Fleet Right-Sizing: It’s About More Than Just Reducing Vehicle Numbers
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
When you hear talk about right-sizing a fleet, is the first thing that comes to mind getting rid of vehicles?
Often, the prompt for right-sizing is either a directive from senior management in order to cut overhead expenses, a merger or employee layoffs.
But if as a fleet manager, what if you’re not met with one of these challenges? Does that mean your fleet, as it’s currently configured and deployed, is “right” for your organization?
AFLA 2019: Unpacking the Complex Transformation of Fleet Management to Mobility Solutions
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
Editor’s note: Below is an edited and abridged transcript of a panel discussion at the 2019 AFLA conference, held in mid-September. The moderator was Mary Sticha, former AFLA president; the panelists were Brendan Keegan, CEO at Merchants Fleet Management; John Korte, Vice President of Mobility Business Development at Donlen, and Ahsan Rahim, COO at Wheels, Inc. The transcript has been edited for clarity.
Sticha: What are the driving forces behind the movement toward mobility?
Korte: The new mobility is about connectivity, autonomous vehicles, shared mobility and electric vehicles. The ultimate goals for the autonomous electric vehicle are to eliminate crashes, eliminate emissions from the environment and increase vehicle utilization. As we know, typical consumer vehicle utilization rate is in the low single digits and the goal of shared vehicles is to increase that rate.
