Safety Rules!
We applaud US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg who announced a new roadway safety strategy. He tweeted: “ We would never tolerate 3,000 deaths per month on America's airlines or subways, but on our roads, we act like it's normal. It's time for a new mentality for roadway safety.”
We are delighted to share news of NAFA’s new 4-week online seminar series: Develop a Culture of Safety. "Safety is not a gadget but a state of mind."
When you're speaking to your team about the efficacy of your driver safety initiatives, here's an informed source: The Hidden Benefits of a Driver Risk Management Program.
And if your fleet carries cargo, Scott Cornell, National Transportation Practice Leader for Travelers Insurance, tells us how fleets can take preventive measures to thwart thieves.
Drive Safety!
Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief
How Tires Can Affect Your EV’s Range and Performance
January 20, 2022 - Tires are easy to overlook on a car, in part because they're so durable and low maintenance. Your electric car's tires are even more important to its overall performance and range than they are to a conventionally powered vehicle.
Underinflated tires - even being low by a few PSI can make a meaningful difference in rolling resistance, and therefore efficiency. Tires that were originally equipped on your electric car were very likely developed for use on that car. The tire's characteristics such as noise profile, longevity, grip, and rolling resistance are sometimes optimized to that specific vehicle's traits.
It's well worth the effort to make sure you not only choose the correct tire for your electric car (be they the car's original set or a different tire entirely), but also to consistently maintain the tires themselves, too.
How Vehicle Electrification Is Affecting the Use of Automotive Lubricating Greases
By Gareth Fish
Although greenhouse gases have received most of the attention in recent decades, the truth is that concerns about problematic air have been around since at least the Middle Ages.
But as the fight against climate change has taken center stage, governments have found themselves pressed by their citizens to take even further action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly. One of the fronts in this ongoing battle is a movement to remove internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles from the road and replace them with more hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs) and electrical vehicles (EVs) throughout the transportation sector, including light-duty work trucks.
Though many grease applications will remain the same during this transition, some applications are becoming more important, and others are completely new because the technology has evolved. As a result, lubricant manufacturers are starting to reconsider the way they formulate the greases that are used in EVs.
Holman and Electrada Team to Simplify Fleets’ Transition to EVs
The unique strategic partnership delivers a comprehensive, turnkey electrification solution simplifying the fleet operator's transition to EVs
“Electric vehicles and the future of e-mobility remain top strategic priorities for Holman and ARI, and this partnership with Electrada is an exciting opportunity to strengthen our competencies in this rapidly evolving and increasingly impactful segment of the industry,” said Emily Graham, Holman’s Director of Sustainability.
This collaborative effort is designed to convert singular fleet sustainability initiatives into holistic, on-the-road strategies with tangible economic returns, fixed electricity pricing, and overall net savings for fleet operators across multiple vehicle classes and use cases.
Companies are Clamoring for Electric Trucks, but is Anyone Listening?
January 24, 2022 - Companies like Amazon, Best Buy, DHL, Hertz, Schindler Elevator, T-Mobile, and UNFI — were asked what vehicles they wanted manufacturers to build. Those companies plan to buy more than 330,000 electric vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, pickups, and box trucks.
You might think that if electric delivery vehicles are so much in demand by fleet operators, the US Postal Service would be first in line to get them. Politicians have decreed that the next generation of USPS delivery vehicles will be manufactured by a major defense contractor and that 90% of them will be powered by good old fashioned gasoline engines.
One can only wonder why General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, or any of the other legacy automakers with big plans to manufacture electric delivery vehicles weren’t involved in the bidding process for what will be the largest single order for motor vehicles in history. Does anyone else think it’s odd that Tesla is nowhere in this conversation?
