FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
August 16, 2016

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Networking and Beyond

One of the very best networking venues in our fleet industry is the annual AFLA Conference, coming up in just a few short weeks. Last year, we ran across an excellent article from Forbes that offers five very practical tips on how to make the most of a networking opportunity. We have published it again in this week’s issue: How to Work a Room at an Important Networking Event.’ Tip #1: ‘Pick Your Events Carefully’ — that’s an easy one.

We are big fans of Art Liggio, president of Driving Dynamics and most definitely preoccupied with driver safety. He has penned a super piece for this week’s issue about how you can reduce your crash rates by using just one finger. Just one. Check it out in Safety & Risk.

Mark your calendar for this Thursday: LeasePlan’s Dan Shive and Robert Krueger are hosting a webinar: ‘Safety and the Generational Gap’. You will get some great guidelines on developing your fleet policy incorporating generational differences.

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


Thought Leadership

Fleet Marketing – Guiding principles for fleet providers to improve marketing and increase sales.

Fleet Asset Management – Best practices for work truck management.

On Accident Management Learn ways to save money on your fleet’s collision repair costs.

Safety & Risk — Impactful driver safety and risk management tools and techniques.

The Fleet CX Toolbox – Solid steps to implementing and improving fleet customer experience.

The Sustainable Fleet – Strategic approaches to bring about a smarter, cleaner fleet.

BIG Data. BIG Results. BIG Future– We look at harnessing big data to achieve big results using cutting edge technology.

Talent Management – Smart guidelines to help you manage the talent in your workplace.

TCO Trends – Expert View — A global look at fleet total cost of ownership trends.


elliott-bill

VIDEO: AFLA’s Focus: Corporate and Commercial Fleets

AFLA focuses on corporate and commercial fleets of all sizes, has a very equalized membership program, and provides excellent education and networking opportunities.



VIDEO: Experienced Safety Training
liggio-art
  Safety Training from Qualified, Experienced Instructors
 

Driving Dynamics has highly qualified, experienced instructors who are ideal for training drivers about all the new vehicle safety technologies out there.


VIDEO: Only the Data You Need
sutherland_colin_geotab
  Telematics Data That’s Meaningful for Fleet Managers
 

Geotab is a highly data-centric provider, and they pride themselves on only storing data that is meaningful to fleet managers – including engine diagnostics, fuel consumption, safety information, and more.





The Fleet Spot


Jorg Loffler Dr Jörg Löffler New CEO at Fleet Logistics

Dr Jörg Löffler has taken over the position of Chief Executive Officer at TÜV SÜD subsidiary Fleet Logistics Group from August 2016.

He succeeds Rainer Laber, under whose management the company has grown in recent years to become Europe’s largest independent fleet management services provider. Dr Löffler joins Fleet Logistics Group from Munich-based braking system specialists Knorr Bremse AG.

READ MORE

LeasePlan-webinar Webinar: Safety and the Generational Gap

As the generational mix of your company changes, so should your company car policy. On the one hand, one generation might be playing mobile apps like Pokemon Go or using their company car for a side business like Uber. On the other hand, another generation might not like receiving emails. You need to consider these differences when updating and communicating your safety policy changes.

Join LeasePlan safety experts Dan Shive and Robert Krueger on Thursday, August 18, at 2 pm EST, as they discuss how to develop your company’s fleet policy while incorporating these generational changes.

REGISTER HERE

GoldenBridgeAward-GoldCoin300 Geotab’s GO TALK Honored with 2016 Golden Bridge Award

Geotab has earned the prestigious Gold status in the Golden Bridge Awards for their GO TALK in-vehicle verbal coaching solution. Winners will be honored in San Francisco on Monday, September 12, 2016 during the annual Red Carpet Golden Bridge Awards Ceremony.

GO TALK is a new driver awareness tool that transforms the way driver coaching happens behind the wheel by providing real-time verbal feedback to fleet drivers, increasing safety and minimizing risk.

READ MORE

San Diego AFLA 2016 Annual Conference — Mission:Possible

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, featuring 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!

Safety & Risk

Do you want to do something important? Something powerful, that will save lives and reduce your crash rates?

By Art Liggio, President, Driving Dynamics

For those of you who do not know me too well, I am incredibly mighty and powerful. As a matter of fact, I can state unequivocally I can outperform most people simply with the use of one finger—no not that finger! I’m talking about the all-powerful index finger on my left hand.

Just to be clear, you do know that this article is related to driver safety, right? OK, then I’ll move the story along and reveal the secret of my super powers.

READ MORE

 
Minimizing Traffic Jams

The New York Times

It’s summer, and more Americans are on the road. Crowded roads. So here are a few tips you may never have learned or have forgotten.

Some advice should be obvious, like getting out of the left lane on expressways if you are blocking cars by driving well under the speed limit. (Some states are cracking down on drivers who don’t understand this.)

And don’t slow down to look at an accident on the side of the highway. What would you hope to see? Just move along.

This is less obvious: Don’t change lanes so much. And don’t put yourself in positions where you have to brake so much.

READ MORE

 
Distracted Driving Fatalities

Wisconsin Public Radio

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 32,675 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2014, with 10 percent of those fatalities caused by distracted driving.

Distracted driving is a growing issue as the number of deaths from distracted drivers is rivaling the number of deaths from drunk drivers—who represent roughly one-third of fatalities, about 9,967 deaths in 2014.

People who drive while sending or reading text messages are 23 times more likely to be involved in an automobile crash than other drivers.

A 2015 distracted driving survey from Erie Insurance reported that one-third of drivers admitted to texting while driving. And, new research conducted by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions revealed 68 percent of teens admit to using apps while driving.

READ MORE








Fleet Trends & Issues


Is CAFE Making Cars Bigger?

Automotive News

The tough fuel-economy standards that took effect in 2012 are getting tougher every year. So why are cars getting bigger?

The average new vehicle’s “footprint” — the rectangle formed by its wheelbase and track width — hit a record 49.9 square feet in the 2015 model year, according to the EPA, up by about 1 square foot, or 2 percent, since the agency been tracking the measure in 2008.

The EPA says that growth mostly reflects shifting sales toward trucks and SUVs.

READ MORE

Sleeping at the Wheel Costs the U.S. a Shocking Amount of Lives and Money

Huffington Post

It’s time to wake up to the serious effects of drowsy driving.

Alex Noel remembers starting to doze off about 20 minutes after taking the wheel. The next thing he knew, his car was veering off the road. He grabbed the wheel, but overcorrected and ended up upside down in a ditch.

He was 17, and partially paralyzed for months after the accident. “I’m lucky to even be alive.”

READ MORE

Mercedes Is About to Unveil an Entire Fleet of Electric Vehicles

Bloomberg

Mercedes-Benz is planning its own distinct line of electric vehicles, challenging BMW and Tesla Motors Inc. in a bet that alternative-fuel cars have the potential to become profitable.

Mercedes will add two electric sport utility vehicles and two sedans.

A new sub-brand will be created for the cars, though a name hasn’t been chosen yet.

READ MORE

Volkswagen Pon Financial Services NL Sees Efficiency Gains with Miles

Volkswagen Pon Financial Services NL has seen faster process times along with other benefits since going live with Miles, the hybrid contract management system for fleet and retail from global software provider, Sofico.

The business wanted to introduce process efficiencies and improve authorization and approval times for its end users. At the same time, it also wanted to enhance the customer experience and improve its own customer satisfaction scores.

Volkswagen Pon Financial Services turned to Sofico and its Miles system on the strength of a long-standing business relationship and began an implementation project, code-named ‘FIRE’ (Finance Insurance Retail), initially for the retail portfolio of its third party, white label proposition, Autocash.

READ MORE

Smart Networking Tips

Fortune

Figuring out how to walk into a room full of strangers and have a meaningful, natural, productive conversation can be challenging. All too often, we shrink back to the comfort of furtively searching the room for familiar faces and gravitating to the friendlies we recognize.

Before we know it, an hour or two has elapsed, and we’ve accomplished nothing more than showing up and shooting the breeze.

READ MORE to learn five tips to help you make the most of every networking opportunity.

 
On Accident Management

By Greg Neuman, CEI Senior Manager of Quality Control

Thanks to digital technology, cars and trucks are safer and more fuel efficient than ever, but the growing number of computers installed on them has also made them more difficult, time-consuming and expensive to repair.

What’s more, with all the customer demands for more safety, navigation and information features, the problem is only going to get worse for as long as anyone can see.

READ MORE

 
Hacking Keyless Entry Systems

The Detroit News

A group of computer security experts say they figured out how to hack the keyless entry systems used on millions of cars, meaning that thieves could in theory could break in and steal items without leaving a broken window.

The experts say that remote entry systems on millions of cars made by Volkswagen since 1995 can be cloned to permit unauthorized access to the car’s interior.

The same experts say another system used by other automakers including Ford, General Motor’s Opel and Chevrolet and Renault can also be defeated.

READ MORE








Fleet Management Resources
 
AFLA – Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association
Providing the advanced forum for corporate fleet professionals to network with industry leaders.
The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.
AmeriFleet
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
Donlen
Since 1965, Donlen has been the fleet management industry’s leading provider of comprehensive, integrated financing and asset management solutions — and that spirit of innovation continues today.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 76 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.



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