Right-To-Repair Is Already Rewriting What American Owners Are Allowed To Fix
New cars have never been less DIY-friendly, thanks in large part to telematics-gated diagnostics. This is what right-to-repair legislation aims to correct.
Telematics-gated diagnostics means that, instead of using OBDII scanners to diagnose mechanical problems, diagnostics are now hidden away in an over-the-air system, which can be locked down by the automaker. This means that if, for instance, Toyota decides it doesn't want you, or your preferred independent mechanic, tinkering around with your new Land Cruiser, the automaker can simply block you out.
The first right-to-repair law was passed in 2012 in Massachusetts, requiring manufacturers to sell owners and repair shops the same diagnostic and repair information made available to dealers.
New Guide from Utilimarc: Are You Replacing Vehicles at the Right Time?
As assets stay in service longer and equipment costs keep climbing, replacement timing has real money attached to it. Replace too early and you waste capital. Replace too late and maintenance costs quietly erode the savings.
Getting it right takes more than a usage percentage — it takes integrated data on how vehicles actually perform and how their costs evolve over time.
Beyond Utilization Rates: How Data-Driven Fleets Are Rethinking Vehicle Replacement shows how leading organizations combine integrated data and benchmarking to make replacement and fleet-sizing decisions they can stand behind.
IMPROVLearning: How Comedy, Behavioral Science and AI Improve Fleet Safety
By Ted Roberts, Publisher, Fleet Management Weekly
IMPROVLearning has spent the past 25 years developing an approach that combines humor, behavioral science, and AI to create safety programs.
To learn more about IMPROVLearning and its distinctive approach to driver training, we spoke with Gary Alexander, the company’s CEO.
Alexander believes most drivers already know the rules of safe driving: “Everyone knows they should wear a seat belt and avoid using their phones. The challenge is changing behavior.”
Launch of RoadFlex Direct Puts Fleets in Control of Their Fuel Data With a New Open API Platform
RoadFlex, a provider of fuel risk management for fleets, launched RoadFlex Direct, an open API platform that lets fleets and their technology partners build RoadFlex into the tools they already run.
Instead of working inside a separate dashboard or entering the same information twice, a fleet can order cards, set transaction controls, and pull fuel data straight into its telematics platform, its fleet management system, or its own internal software.
Greg Soh, CTO and president of RoadFlex: “RoadFlex Direct gives fleets and partners direct control over that data, where it lives and how it is used, and we built it so that openness never comes at the expense of security.”
Why the Traditional Vehicle Ordering Cycle No Longer Works
By Ted Roberts, Publisher, Fleet Management Weekly
For decades, fleet vehicle ordering followed a familiar pattern. Fleet managers developed annual replacement plans, submitted orders within established ordering windows.
According to Maria Neve, Vice President of eFMC Strategy for Inspiration Fleet, that environment no longer exists.
Neve has become one of the industry’s most outspoken advocates for long-term planning, technology adoption, and treating fleet management as a strategic business function.
