Emissions Reductions Challenged By Consumers’ SUV Preference
Today, almost half of all cars sold in the United States and one-third of the cars sold in Europe are SUVs, doubling the share over the last decade with over 200 million SUVs around the world.
SUVs are harder to electrify and growth in their rising demand may slow down the development of clean and efficient car fleets.
If consumers’ appetite for SUVs continues to grow at a similar pace seen in the last decade, SUVs would add nearly 2 million barrels a day in global oil demand by 2040, offsetting the savings from nearly 150 million electric cars.
Read the article at IEA.
New Bill Would Require All New Vehicles to Have Alcohol Detectors
Nearly 11,000 people were killed as a result of drunken driving in 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says. On average, that works out to a death about every 48 minutes.
Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have introduced a bill, backed by backed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that would require automakers to build cars and trucks with passive detection systems that prevent the vehicle from operating if the driver is impaired.
Researchers and engineers have been working to develop newer technology that would obtain instantaneous and precise readings of every driver’s blood alcohol level when the driver attempts to start the vehicle.
Read the article at The Washington Post.
How a Gas Station on Wheels is Giving a Boost to Fleets
Booster Fuels Expands Coast-to-Coast: Winning New Customers, Awards and Closing a $56 Million Round of Funding
By James Solada, Marketing Director, Booster Fuels
When it comes to managing your fleet, efficiency is critical.
Fuel efficiency has long been viewed as a way to manage cost, but Booster customers have found it to be one of the most effective ways to unlock non-productive time and gain back employee efficiencies.
Booster Fuels is a gas station on wheels. Booster improves operational efficiency for hundreds of business partners by bringing fuel and routine maintenance services directly to 35,000 vehicles every week. From business shuttles and ambulance services to landscaping and delivery providers, Booster works with fleets in every industry. Learn about how Booster has improved Serpico Landscaping’s operations.
“What started as an idea of eliminating the gas station errand has turned into so much more,” noted Frank Mycroft, founder and CEO.
Cruising with the Big Rigs — Safely Sharing the Road with Large Trucks
By Bruce Davisson, Director of Behind-the-Wheel Safety Training & Operations at Driving Dynamics
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) revealed that there was an increase of fatalities in truck-involved crashes from 2017 to 2018.
And, another report found that more than half of passenger vehicle drivers involved in these fatal truck crashes were cited for driver-related factors—fatigue, speeding and inattention. While truck drivers are highly skilled and licensed to operate larger trucks, there are limits to how well they can see and react to other smaller vehicles nearby.
Can French Fries Power City Fleets?
In Oakland, a circular economy is making it possible
By Dayne Delahoussaye, Head of North American Public Affairs, Neste
Sometimes making a positive impact requires a fresh perspective, which was just what the city of Oakland, California, wanted in its push to create a cleaner environment for its citizens and a better future for generations to come.
Oakland had already become the first major U.S. city to convert its entire municipal fleet—including emergency vehicles, garbage trucks, street sweepers, and off-road construction equipment—to renewable diesel. The product they chose, Neste MY Renewable DieselTM, is a low-carbon, direct-replacement fuel produced from 100 percent renewable and sustainable raw materials.
“Switching from fossil diesel to renewable diesel automatically converts even the city’s oldest and dirtiest polluting vehicles into alternative-fuel vehicles—overnight and with no additional costs,” said Jason Mitchell, Oakland’s director of public works.
