PRECO’s Preview Side Defender II: An Advance in Truck-Pedestrian Safety
Fatal accidents with trucks hitting cyclists and pedestrians are showing an alarming increase
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, from 2009 through 2017, the latest period for data on the subject, the number of pedestrians killed in collisions with big trucks has increased by 44 percent, and those with cyclists by 36 percent. Meanwhile, independent research indicates the numbers have been increasing recently by nearly 10 percent a year.
While the advent of smartphones may be partly responsible – it’s given rise not just to distracted driving, but distracted walking as well – it doesn’t seem to explain the increase in cyclist fatalities. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that truck drivers need more help avoiding collisions with vulnerable road users (VRU), particularly those in trucks’ right-side blind zones as drivers make a right turn.
J.D. Power: Appeal of New Vehicles Improves for Fifth Consecutive Year
Improvements in infotainment systems and increased availability of advanced driver assistance systems are making customers increasingly satisfied with their new vehicles, according to the J.D. Power 2019 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL).
“Every automaker is producing vehicles that consumers like, but some of them are doing it at a higher level than others,” said Dave Sargent, Vice President of Global Automotive at J.D. Power. “Satisfaction with new technology is improving, but infotainment remains an area where automakers can get better. Owners have higher satisfaction if their vehicle is equipped with safety features such as blind spot monitor, collision avoidance and lane departure warning. This should serve as a positive sign for manufacturers, as these features are some of the early building blocks for fully automated vehicles.”
Read the article at J.D. Power.
Fleets See Keeping Up with Technology Their Biggest Challenge, TD Bank Survey Finds
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
Keeping up with rapid changes in automotive technology is the greatest challenge facing the transportation industry this year, according to a survey of 120 fleet managers conducted by TD Bank at the NAFA Fleet Management Association Institution & Expo held in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this year.
Some 52 percent of the respondents identified technological change as their biggest challenge, compared to 21 percent who said it’s the driver shortage. These concerns dwarfed others that have grabbed headlines recently: just 13 percent said their biggest worry is a potential economic slowdown, while only 8 percent pointed to disruption caused by e-commerce, and 6 percent said it is changing foreign trade policies.
Connecting Mobile Fuel Payments to Shell, EV Fleets to ChargePoint and Dashboards to Dashboards
By Bernie Kavanagh, Senior Vice President & General Manager, WEX Fleet
With 28 years in the fleet business, I’ve observed how technology has evolved and expanded to meet the diverse needs of businesses with vehicles.
But as we dive into the second half of 2019, one thing is plain: The pace of change in fleet is as fast as it’s ever been… and as slow as it will ever be.
In the span of about three weeks this summer, WEX rolled out payments for EV charges to its 11 million US fleet card holders, doubled its mobile payments network to 25,000 accepting sites and pondered what will happen “When the Car Becomes the Card” at an automotive tech conference in Southern California.
As work to connect the vehicle – and all its data -- to your back office continues, the job becomes one of connecting dashboards, giving you an ever-more complete view of your fleet as it operates, visually, in real time.
We’re just getting started. READ MORE
Nauto: What May Be the Only Robust, Broad-Spectrum Anti-Distraction Solution
One last mile delivery service fleet achieved a stunning 81 percent reduction in collisions
By Mark Boada, Executive Editor
The war against distracted driving has largely focused on cell phones and fleets have taken a variety of approaches to prevent it, from changing their policies to ban cell-phone use, to intensive messaging on its dangers, classroom and online driver training, and cell-phone blocking technology. To some extent or another, they all may have some effect, and all fleets need to pursue them. One big problem, though, is that using a cell phone to talk or text isn't the only form of distraction.
One thing going for fleets that ban cell phone use while driving is that when someone is on the phone, there's a record at the service provider that can be checked.
