By Dave Bean, FMW Associate Editor
NHTSA is recommending a statute that would require vehicle manufacturers to include a warning system specifically directed at riders in both the front and rear seats.
Under the rule, NHTSA would require a visual alert lasting a minimum of 60 seconds be activated when a passenger in the rear has failed to buckle up on start-up. Another 30-second audio and visual alert would be triggered if a rear passenger unbuckles once the vehicle is in motion.
The primary reason for the NHTSA proposal is that, despite the fact that overall seat belt usage is markedly higher than it was ten years ago, usage in the rear seat continues to lag.
By Ted Roberts, President, Fleet Management Weekly*
These days we are constantly hearing about EV adoption strategies for fleets, but it’s important to remember that there are other ways — beyond and in addition to electrification - to 'green' your fleet.
“While EV implementation is great for ESG goals, there are still certain aspects that need to be considered in the cost of adoption, including vehicle price, charging infrastructure and management, range, and more." -- Pam Hackett, Account Manager, BBL Fleet
“Electric is just one type of energy. There are also different fuel types and sourcing, as well as fleet management and telematics that can help you green your fleet." -- Alain Samaha, President, Alternative Energy & Sustainable Fleets, Vontier
Article originally published in July 2023 Edition of Fleet Insight, AFLA's Member Newsletter.
Do cars with advanced safety systems really make everything safer? Most studies suggest they do. For example, the crash involvement rate for vehicles with blind-spot monitoring was 14% lower than the same models without the equipment, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“The same study suggested that if every vehicle sold in the United States in 2015 was equipped with blind-spot monitoring, 50,000 crashes and 16,000 crash injuries might have been prevented,” says David Braunstein, president of Together For Safer Roads, a coalition of companies dedicated to better road safety.
This year's AFLA conference sessions cover a number of key topics to empower your fleet's success.
Safety is a perennial concern, and we're excited to have a session this year presented by Susan Higgs from the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) and Tom Kretschmann from Toyota.
We'll share ideas on how to implement KPIs that effectively inform both your day-to-day and longer-term decisions for your fleet. Join Tadeh Issakhanian from Deloitte and Sherry Calkins from Geotab for this informative and actionable session.
To learn more and/or register, click here.
State EV fees are often comparable with how much owners of traditional gas-powered cars pay in gas taxes. A driver of a typical 2021 model year vehicle covering 15,000 miles annually pays about $227 in state gas taxes in Ohio or $184 in Georgia.
The states charging the highest annual EV fees are Washington ($225), Georgia ($211) and Alabama ($203), Money’s analysis found. Four other states charge $200 extra annually from EV owners: Arkansas, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Most (but not all) of the states with the highest EV fees are red or red-leaning politically. In total, more than 30 states have extra fees for EV drivers, and the list will surely grow as states like Kentucky implement fees in the future.