Developing a Healthy, Productive Relationship with Procurement
It’s important for fleet managers to develop a healthy, productive relationship with procurement - and NAFA offers a fantastic webinar on this timely topic.
Most Americans Haven’t Embraced the Self-Driving Car Idea
A new study shows a gigantic disconnect: while most Americans expect autonomous vehicles to command the road by 2050, they don’t trust them.
The study by the research firm, Morning Consultant, found that there isn’t a great deal of difference of opinion based on age. The company presented its findings at
Autos 2050, a public policy and auto technology conference last month in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the not-for-profit Alliance for Transportation Innovation.
“Some 52 percent say they somewhat or totally distrust autonomous vehicles. There are even higher levels of concern for some specific trust issues, such as technology glitches (79 percent very or somewhat concerned); overall road safety (79 percent); safety of driverless and human-driven cars on the road at the same time (78 percent); and privacy protections for personal data collected by the cars, such as GPS tracking (66 percent).”
NSC: U.S. Traffic Fatalities Still at Elevated Levels
Key to the crisis is distracted driving and people who still don’t use their seat belts.
The National Safety Council estimates that 2017 highway deaths will exceed 40,000 again for the second year in a row.
Official figures are kept by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued a report this month revealing that fatalities through the first nine months of 2017 will come close to matching last year’s number, which was the highest since 2008.
“While automakers have dramatically improved car safety in recent decades, with advancements such as strategically places air bags and high-tech collision avoidance systems, other factors have kept the death toll high"
Autonomous Vehicles Could Be a Bigger Game Changer Than Smart Phones
Speaking to the auto industry’s leading AI experts, David Atkinson, the top Systems & Technology and Chief Research Scientist for Artificial Intelligence Silicon Valley Research & Development Center Continental AG, said that autonomous vehicles will decisively change the world.
According to Atkinson, “There are a lot of opportunities for the auto industry (with autonomous vehicles). The social changes will be on a scale equal to or greater than those created by the Internet or the smart phone.”
"The next level of artificial technology, which can use deep learning to understand complex patterns and to make decisions, is now in the lab undergoing refinement. “In my experience it usually takes 10 years for a technology to move from the lab to commercialization,” said Atkinson."
Autonomous vehicles are now traveling along that time line, added Atkinson, who said he expected to be able to travel to Detroit Metropolitan Airport via a robotic taxi by 2025.
Big Strides in Vehicle Dependability for Nearly All OEMs
The 2018 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) is out from J.D. Power, and the news is good.
Since last year’s study, overall vehicle dependability has increased 9% across the board - and it’s the first time there’s been any improvement to the score since 2013.
A couple of key findings:
The most problems reported still have to do with in-vehicle technology, with Bluetooth connectivity problems and built-in voice recognition leading the way.
Mass Market brands keep closing the gap with Luxury brands.
READ the press release at J.D. Power.
