NTEA Offers Second Course in Truck Equipment Electrical Basics Online Educational Series
NTEA, in collaboration with e-learning platform Electude, announced a new DC and AC Voltage online course as part of its Truck Equipment (TE) Electrical Basics series.
Designed to provide the work truck industry with a fundamental understanding of electrical theory and concepts in automotive applications, the TE Electrical Basics online program arms upfitters, engineers, fleet managers and technicians with functional knowledge of truck electrical systems and components — but not to the depth required to design systems and components.
Scammers Are Using QR Codes to Steal Credit Card Info at Parking Meters
January 14, 2022 - Municipal leaders across the country are warning drivers not to use QR codes stuck on to parking pay stations. Such QR codes are easily faked, and it seems scammers used them to soak up unsuspecting people’s parking fees, along with their credit card information, in some of the largest cities in the U.S.
The easiest way to protect yourself from such a scam is to never enter credit card information into an untrustworthy website, and that includes ones that you’ve reached via QR code. QR codes are ridiculously easy to fake, which is why you won’t find any city using them to accept payments.
Most cities have specific secure parking payment apps as well as kiosks that accept payment. It’s such an easy scam that police are already alerting the public to the possibility that it might pop up in their city.
Climate Risk and Response: Physical Hazards and Socioeconomic Impacts
January 16, 2022 - How could Earth’s changing climate impact socioeconomic systems across the world in the next three decades? A yearlong, cross-disciplinary research effort at McKinsey & Company provides some answers.
As average temperatures rise, climate science finds that acute hazards such as heat waves and floods grow in frequency and severity, and chronic hazards, such as drought and rising sea levels, intensify. In this report, the focus is on understanding the nature and extent of physical risk from a changing climate over the next one to three decades, exploring physical risk as it is the basis of both transition and liability risks.
Climate models with economic projections were linked together to examine nine cases that illustrate exposure to climate change extremes and proximity to physical thresholds. Across our cases, we find increases in socioeconomic impact of between roughly two and 20 times by 2050 versus today’s levels. The physical climate risks are increasing across our global country analysis, even as some countries find some benefits.
NYC Mayor Wants to Shrink City’s Massive Fleet of Vehicles
January 15, 2022 - Mayor Eric Adams wants to see the free rides given to many city employees come to a stretching halt. Adams said the city’s fleet of nearly 30,000 vehicles - the largest of its kind in the nation - needs to be stripped down to a “bare-bones minimum.”
He also said he supports reducing the number of take-home cars driven by city employees - which totals 2,857 - and plans to evaluate where cuts could be made. The gratis vehicles come with free gas and sometimes free tolls, and it’s a benefit that has historically led to widespread misuse.
Adams has spent most of his first two weeks in office relying on mass transit to commute to work - even biking at least once. He said he plans to encourage city workers to use mass transit and “ride-sharing” vehicle programs.
Onboard Vehicle Tech Becoming a Safety Issue, Say Advocates
January 16, 2022 - Automakers have been installing increasingly high-tech features and infotainment systems in vehicles, but that doesn’t mean they’re becoming safer. The most recent statistics show that as of 2018, distracted driving contributes to one in four fatal crashes.
More complex infotainment systems could be contributing to the problem. Research found that infotainment systems in the vehicles from the 2018 study often put a very high demand on drivers through a combination of visual, mental, and time demands, with some tasks taking upwards of 48 seconds.
“Drivers often end up taking their eyes off the road to look at the technology and are frustrated as to why it’s not doing what they want it to do.” said Robyn Robertson, chief executive of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. " Automakers have been working to address distraction issues, such as improvements to voice commands, but those can pose their own risks."
