Happy Holiday from the Driving Dynamics Safety Team! Arrive safely and enjoy this special time of the year with your family and friends

By Art Liggio, President and CEO, Driving Dynamics

Between Thanksgiving and the New Year holidays estimates project that more than 100 million travelers will take to the road. This added traffic can bring with it extra stress. The congestion coupled with winter weather and spirited celebrations make for a potentially dangerous time to be driving.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of traffic fatalities increases by approximately 25 percent and injuries are in the tens of thousands during the holiday season.

Below are helpful reminders and a winter driving safety tip from Driving Dynamics to assure safe travels during the holiday season and always.

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By Mark Boada, Senior Editor

It’s a fact that under the watchful eyes of superiors and peers people who work in offices and factories aren’t very likely to break the law or their employers’ standards of conduct.

But it’s a different story when it comes to people who work in a mobile office, a term that aptly describes a fleet vehicle.

It’s also a fact that 94 percent of all accidents are caused by driver error, including acts of commission and omission. Chief among these are speeding, tailgating, using a cellphone, and engaging in all sorts distraction.

One more fact connects these dots: when employees know their behavior is being monitored and measured, and that there are consequences for poor performance, they improve their performance. The logical conclusion here is that if a fleet wants to reduce its accident rate, it needs to put eyes in the mobile office, to monitor and measure the behaviors of its drivers.

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By Mike Cieri

Goals are vital for motivating employees and monitoring their performance

Goals provide the MOTIVATION and DIRECTION necessary for growth and success in important areas of almost every business.

An important aspect of developing goals is the relationship between the difficulty of the task (goal) and performance. If the goal is too easy to achieve, the effort that the employee/team dedicates to the task will be low, and actually un-motivating. Yet if the goal seems impossible, you will have the same effect.

When a goal is difficult and both parties believe it’s achievable, you will maximize intensity and persistence, creating engagement.

Once you have identified a worthy goal, use the SMART goal format.

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The Guardian

Drones and programmed cars of the future could spot potholes and other road damage, transmitting the information directly to Highways England, the government body responsible for roads.

In a report published on Wednesday, Highways England, said “connected vehicles” could improve the efficiency of route maintenance, while simultaneously improving safety.

Jim O’Sullivan, the body’s chief executive said: “We are delivering a record £15bn of government investment to give people safe, efficient and reliable journeys, and provide businesses with the links they need to prosper and grow.

Read the original article at The Guardian.

Vincentric, LLC announced the 2017 U.S. Hybrid Analysis results today with 26 of the 65 hybrids evaluated, or 40%, having a lower total cost of ownership compared to their closest all-gasoline powered counterpart.

Since 2012 the percentage of cost-effective hybrids has steadily decreased, with the trend changing in 2017 as the rate increased 16 percentage points compared to the 2016 Vincentric U.S. Hybrid Analysis.

“Our study showed a significant increase in the percentage of hybrids that can save buyer’s money over five-years when compared to an all-gas counterpart,” said Vincentric President, David Wurster.

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The Detroit News

Just like smartphone makers, automakers from BMW to Subaru plan to upgrade their vehicles with over-the-air updates.

Connected cars owners can schedule less, time-consuming updates of some features.

IHS auto analyst Stephanie Brinley says that over-the-air updates must also overcome dealer resistance. “That will be an issue,” she says, “because bringing cars into the shop for service is where dealers make a lot of revenue.”

Read the original article at The Detroit News.

The Verge

Tesla recently released a new policy called Supercharger Fair Use, which prohibits new commercial drivers from using the network of charging stations.

The expansion of its network of charging stations is needed to reduce heavy user traffic.

A Tesla spokesperson said that the company does “encourage the use of Teslas for commercial purposes,” and that they will work with drivers to find other places to charge their vehicles. The policy carve out an exception, saying that some stations might be excluded, depending on local circumstances.

Read the original article at The Verge.

The Detroit Bureau

U.S. House and Senate negotiators are reportedly keeping the electric-vehicle tax credit of $7500 as part of a compromise package on tax reform.

Auto industry leaders pushed back on its elimination as the credit has been the primary motivator to electric vehicle sales.

“I’m a proponent of that staying in because it’s the right thing to do,” GM CEO Mary Barra said earlier this week. If the incentives are dropped, “that would change the equation” and make battery-based products less financially attractive she added, though she said GM would not back down on its commitment to the technology.

Read the original article at The Detroit Bureau.

No one can hear you or feel your positive impact in disruptive waters.

By Laura Jozwiak, Senior Vice President of Sales and Client Relations, Wheels, Inc.

You probably know this scenario. You are enjoying a walk along your favorite lake or stream, and pick up a stone to skip it across the water. Where the stone impacts the water, you can see the ripples fan out from the impact spot. The ripples start close to the stone with a big wave, and as they get farther out, the waves get dulled and smaller until the waters are calm once more. Just a few moments later, all is calm again and you can’t detect the stone was thrown in the first place.

Throw the same stone on a stormy day, with rougher waters or a rushing stream, and you don’t see any of your ripples in the already turbulent waters. Your efforts go unnoticed…just another bump in an already bumpy environment.

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McKinsey & Co.

Autonomous and electric cars, connectivity, and ridesharing are changing the way auto industry players think about value chains, data analytics, and manufacturing.

Asutosh Padhi, a senior McKinsey partner says, “Our view is that the automotive industry will see more disruption in the next ten years than it has seen in the last 50 years. This disruption will be driven by four factors that we call the ACES. It stands for autonomous, connectivity, electrification, and ridesharing.”

Fleet owners are going to make decisions on car buying based on the total cost of ownership, and this is where electrification and ridesharing start to go hand in hand together.

Read the original article at McKinsey & Co.