Jaguar Land Rover, BMW Team Up On New Electric Drive Technologies
Jaguar Land Rover and BMW will work together on new electric drive units to share costs and accelerate development of future models.
Teams of JLR and BMW experts will engineer the electric-drive units. Each partner will be able to customize and manufacture its own.
“The transition to automated, connected, electric and shared transportation represents the greatest technological shift in the automotive industry in a generation,” said Nick Rogers, JLR engineering director
Read the article at Forbes.
Texas Starting to Deactivate Red-Light Cameras
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made Texas the latest state to ban red-light traffic cameras, joining at least seven other states that already have statutes prohibiting the cameras.
The Texas ban takes effect on Sept. 1
Opponents of the cameras say that the cameras contribute to rear-end collisions caused by sudden braking and that the enforcement is not transparent.
Supporters say the payments for the tickets contribute to government coffers, and use of the cameras reduces serious traffic accidents, such as front-into-side, or “T-bone,” collisions.
Read the article at The New York Times.
Motus Report Predicts Highway Travel Will Increase 1.3% This Summer
U.S. Appetite for Fuel Approaches Historic Levels; Americans to Travel a Record Number of Miles in the Months Ahead
Motus has released its 2019 Summer Fuel Outlook Report, which reveals key data related to fuel price fluctuations with a look towards how these changes will impact the summer driving season. One trend that stands out is that as employment and population grow, Americans are anticipated to drive a record number of miles in Q3. As such, U.S. highway travel is anticipated to increase 1.3% this summer.
“Taking a variety of factors into account, we expect the national average fuel price to fall between $2.90 - $3.15 for Q3 2019. We expect prices to peak in June during the beginning of the summer and unwind throughout July and August,” said Ken Robinson, market research analyst for Motus.
Google’s New Speedometer Feature is Rolling Out to Maps
Google has been busy updating Google Maps in the past month, first rolling out speed limit indicators and then speed camera alerts. The latest feature to join Google's map navigation app is a speedometer.
If you're already looking at the app to check on directions, you can see your speed in a glance and keep your eyes on the road rather than darting back and forth between the app and your dashboard.
With the speedometer feature, you can also report a speed camera trap or an incident, like a car crash or a traffic jam.
Read the article at CNET.
Driving Dynamics Modernizes its Flagship Hands-On Training Course
Releases Updated 2019 Open Enrollment Schedule
Driving Dynamics Inc. announced enhancements to its legacy advanced performance behind-the-wheel safety training program, DriveReady Advantage™ (DriveReady) and publication of the summer-fall open enrollment schedule for the course.
DriveReady, a foundational skills safety training course, has recently been updated to address critical factors affecting today’s fleet drivers, while continuing to reinforce the company’s cornerstone One Second Advantage™ fundamental safe driving principles.
Along with the enhancements, Driving Dynamics has published its latest open enrollment schedule. The company has been offering its DriveReady class through a year-round, open registration format at more than 200 locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. This gives fleet operators the option to send only one driver to a class, or many, at dates and locations that are the most convenient for each driver.
