By Art Liggio, President, Driving Dynamics

Big data is really here. The amount of details we can amass related to drivers’ activities behind-the-wheel is impressive and loaded with powerful, useful intelligence.

However, organizations that have access to this may still face challenges achieving maximum results because a data-driven focus can have an unintentional consequence—To see the driver as a problem to be controlled rather than a resource to be leveraged.

Using, in part, event-driven big data, successful fleet operators also engage in a continuous learning process to understand and address changing risk and organizational issues that may impede future safety performance.

Because organizational safety improvements are driven by learning, let’s look at two different learning approaches.

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Registration is open for the AFLA 2016 Annual Conference Mission:Possible – September 18-21 in beautiful San Diego!

If you have attended a previous AFLA Conference, you will not need us to tell you what an integral part it plays in the fleet calendar of exceptional events.

Year after year AFLA offers its conference attendees an outstanding slate of educational presentations, superb speakers on vital, up-to-the-minute topics, exciting networking activities, and so much more.

The annual AFLA conference truly is one of the must-attend events in our industry. Preview the agenda and Register today!

By: Tom Callahan, President, Donlen

If there is one thing that all fleet managers have in common, whether they have a 50-vehicle fleet or a 3,500-vehicle fleet, it’s that the amount of data they have to deal with can seem overwhelming.

And to manage this data efficiently as it relates to far-reaching corporate goals, you as a fleet professional are even more challenged. So how can you make due with such little time? We hear this question throughout the industry often, and the first thing we tell fleet professionals is that they need to understand their company’s critical goals. From there, you can identify fleet goals that will support your corporate goals.

Once your goals are aligned with the company objectives, the first step is to set up key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs allow you to measure how you are performing relative to achieving your company/fleet goals.

Let’s look at four vital fleet analytics tools that will help you save time and add value to your fleet program.

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The Detroit Bureau

It could take months to complete the investigation into the accidental death of Anton Yelchin, the 27-year-old actor best known for his role in several recent Star Trek movies – but it appears that the vehicle involved in his death was a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, an SUV recently recalled because of problems with its electronic shifter.

A Los Angeles coroner’s spokesman said the cause of death was “blunt force asphyxia” in which the actor was pinned against a gate at his home. The vehicle appears to have been one of the models involved in a large recall initiated by Jeep parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in April.

FCA recalled three different models — covering a total of 1.1 million vehicles — following an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency found the shifter could confuse motorists by not giving clear feedback as to what gear the automatic transmission was in.

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Bloomberg

In states such as Washington and Colorado, the legalization of recreational marijuana use has brought a shadow market into the open.

If you’re into this sort of thing, it’s probably made you a lot less paranoid. But as more people legally smoke up, state and local law enforcement face a buzzkill: There’s no quick way to know if a driver is stoned.

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Sofico, global software provider to the automotive finance, leasing, fleet and mobility industry, has reached a new milestone with the recent completion of its 30th Miles implementation project.

Gémar Hompes, Sofico Managing Director, said: “Obviously, we are delighted to hit some of these latest milestones in our ongoing development. We believe Miles offers a unique proposition as a hybrid fleet and retail management system, perfected to meet the needs of our customers and their own customers’ expectations as the automotive market continues to grow and develop.”

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Investors Business Daily

Volkswagen laid out a far-reaching strategy Thursday to become a leader in the electric vehicle market — with more than 30 new EV models rolling out by 2025 — and is looking at annual sales of 2 million to 3 million units a year, as it tries to recover from a test-cheating scandal.

In a presentation at the company’s Autostadt exhibition center in Wolfsburg, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller announced sweeping changes under a program he called Together-Strategy 2025, as the automaker tries to compete with Tesla Motors, General Motors, BMW, Nissan Motor and others in the clean energy auto market.

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A small Phoenix auto design, development and manufacturing company with big partners and customers — think Siemens, IBM, Airbus, and GE — has introduced what could arguably be called the first commercial self-driving vehicle.

It was done, moreover, in just three months from concept to product, using 3-D printing technology.

Jon B. Rogers, CEO and Cofounder of Local Motors, introduced Olli, a 12-passenger jitney-like autonomous EV on June 16, which he noted was a significant date in automotive history — June 16, 1903 was the date of incorporation of Ford Motor Company.

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The Detroit Bureau

As the big Mercedes-Benz sedan roars down U.S. 101 south of San Francisco, it closes on an old pickup truck cruising along in its lane.

The driver flicks the turn signal for a pass, but then, unexpectedly, takes his hands off the wheel. The new sedan pauses for two seconds and then completes the maneuver on its own.

While it could be another five years or so until automakers roll out the first fully autonomous vehicles, they’re already beginning to introduce semi-autonomous features like the Auto Lane Change system on the new 2017 Mercedes-Benz E300, as well as Tesla’s new AutoPilot system.

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The New York Times

The technology to make autonomous cars a reality may be ready, but American drivers don’t seem to be.

From smartphone-addicted teenagers to researchers designing the next generation of self-driving vehicles, there’s a fair amount of skepticism among consumers when it comes to letting go of the wheel and allowing a car to do the driving, several surveys over the last year have found.

Even engineers have some qualms.

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