While overall highway fatalities have been on a sharp decline in recent years, the number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes actually has been on the increase over the last half decade, reaching more than 4,700 annual fatalities, according to federal data — and about one death every two minutes worldwide.
Ford’s new pedestrian alert technology is part of an upgrade to the collision avoidance system it first introduced in 2009, and will be renamed “pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection.” Ford says that it "may" prevent pedestrian crashes. It will first debut on the 2015 Ford Mondeo about to go on sale in Europe, but Ford plans to expand its use to other models, including those sold in the States – where a version of the Mondeo is sold as the midsize Fusion sedan.
READ MORE about the system.
Europe’s largest independent fleet management company, Fleet Logistics, has upgraded its new free driver app with new features, functionality and languages and is migrating it across to both Apple and Android platforms by the end of this month as planned.
The Fleet Logistics’ Mobility Control App, which provides fleet drivers with access to all their vehicle details, mileage data, support services and other key information, was launched earlier this year. Initially it was launched for users of Windows smart phones on Fleet Logistics’ fleet across Europe. The first roll-out has now been completed with two large, international fleet clients with Windows smart phones, and 45% of their drivers have now begun using the new tool on a regular monthly basis.
In this excerpt from a wide-ranging interview with Dan Frank, newly appointed president of Wheels, Inc., we asked him to tell us what he considered to be the most compelling issues facing fleets today. “I think it is the complexity of their environment. The number and the breadth of issues that fleet managers and organizations have to deal with as it relates to their company fleet are quite extraordinary. It has become a very difficult job because the expectations are very high and the field is very complex,” he responded.
The relevance of driver safety and the role of telematics is the topic in this segment of our discussion with Frank. In next week’s issue, we talk about the state of the industry with just the third president in Wheels’ 75-year history.
Mobile technology makes a lot of things easier: sending emails, talking to friends, playing games, hailing taxis. One thing it makes harder: staying focused on the road.
Taking the same route day in and day out leads to complacency and loss of attention. With all the time you spend driving, glancing down for a few seconds to skim a text from a friend doesn't seem like too much of an indulgence.
While there's social stigma against drunk driving thanks to decades of advertising, texting and driving is more widely tolerated.
We interviewed Dan Frank, president of Wheels, Inc. at the recent AFLA Conference and were delighted to have the opportunity to talk with just the third president in Wheels’ 75-year history. In this week’s issue, we speak with Dan about one of the most relevant issues fleets face today: driver safety. Next week we continue the conversation with a discussion on the state of the industry.
Speaking of safety, don't miss Randy Shadley's cautionary tale of a fleet that did everything right. Or did they?
Last day to register for NAFA’s International Fleet Academy is Wednesday, October 29th. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about global fleet management from the experts!
Have you checked out our new FleetManagementWeekly.com website? We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.
Janice Sutton
Executive Editor