What Happens to Gas Stations in the Future?
The future of gas stations will require a shift back to the old days, embracing the concept of "service stations" to reimagine the 150,000 pieces of real estate in the US today.
The National Association of Convenience Stores says 120,000 so-called "C stores" also sell fuel, accounting for the majority of gas stations. While the gasoline brings you in, the C store makes the business really work. Boston Consulting Group calculates that between 25% and 80% of gas stations could be unprofitable by 2035.
While some gas stations generate revenue from car maintenance and smog tests, EVs need little of the former and none of the latter. Beyond the changes in cars themselves are other pressures: Local bans on new or updated gas stations, and the expansion of food and meal delivery services that may connect people with those much more fuel-efficiently than all of us making trips in our own cars.
Read the article at CNET.
Crash Rates Jump in Wake of Marijuana Legalization, New Studies Show
Crash rates spiked with the legalization of recreational marijuana use and retail sales in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and another by the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) show.
However, the preliminary results of a separate IIHS study of injured drivers who visited emergency rooms in California, Colorado and Oregon showed that drivers who used marijuana alone were no more likely to be involved in crashes than drivers who hadn’t used the drug.
Driving simulator tests have shown that drivers who are high on marijuana react more slowly, find it harder to pay attention, have more difficulty maintaining their car’s position in the lane and make more errors when something goes wrong than they do when they’re sober. But such tests have also shown marijuana-impaired drivers are likely to drive at slower speeds, make fewer attempts to overtake and keep more distance between their vehicle and the one ahead of them.
Read the article at IIHS.
Manchin Cites ‘Grave Concerns’ About U.S. ‘Going to the EV’
During a Senate Energy hearing, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin was questioning Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm about her department's budget proposal when he expressed his doubts about the push to transition to EVs, citing the industry's reliance on an overseas supply chain.
He suggested the clean-energy priority should instead be carbon capture technologies, natural gas, renewables and nuclear power, which would not require relying on foreign suppliers.
Granholm, a former Michigan governor, replied that President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan includes funding for the United States to develop a domestic supply chain for critical minerals that would ensure "we're not reliant on China or other countries who are under China's umbrella."
Read the article at The Detroit News.
Driver Safety Data: Evolution to Real-Time Analytics
By Adam Danielson, Director of Sales, SuperVison
In its infancy, safety and accident analytics were reactive, focusing on motor vehicle reports (MVRs) and analyzing broad-based data per million miles.
As recently as two decades ago, the standard practice was to review a driver’s MVR at hire and, possibly, annually after that. It was rare for any additional analysis, beyond ensuring the driver had a valid license.
In the last ten years, fleet safety programs have become an industry standard. Aimed at reducing accident frequency and severity, safety program tactics like established safety rules, comprehensive driver training, regular inspections, and maintenance have become essentials in operating a safe fleet. Simply investing in road safety can reduce crash rates by 50%.
Driver Training: 72% of Students Prefer the Instructor-Led Virtual Classroom
Driving Dynamics has found that 72% of their students prefer the instructor-led virtual classroom over face-to-face when it comes to driver training.
