By Robert Martinez, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Police Department

Day in and day out, fleet managers are pulled in many different directions.

Some fleet managers are a one-man show, while some have a staff of more than four hundred people. There are fleets of five vehicles and fleets of 50,000 vehicles.

Government fleet managers get to see the fruits of their labor every day. Whether it’s a fire truck or a police car responding to an emergency or sanitation truck picking up garbage, the fleet manager is making it happen.

Government fleet managers should never discount the importance of the job they do. No fireman, policeman or sanitation worker could even do their job without a well-equipped and safe fleet.

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By Kyle Steffens, Manager-Strategic Accounts, AmeriFleet

“Change is the only constant.” We’ve all heard it over and over, and it’s true!

Change surrounds us in all aspects of our daily lives; it challenges us as individuals and as organizations to adapt and do it quickly. The pace of change is also astonishing. The world was amazed when Twitter hit 50-million users in two years – and we were amazed by that until “Angry Birds” did it 20 times faster in just 35 days.

How do we and the organizations we manage cope with the frequency and lightning pace of change? What can we do to help lead ourselves and our peers through these stressful yet exciting times?

Much has been studied and written about leading through change. What we’d like to share are a few key components for successful change leadership.

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New York Financial News

Heidi King, a top official at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was challenged at a Senate hearing by Senator Richard Blumenthal over the agency’s inaction to prevent carbon-monoxide deaths from keyless vehicles, stating that it should be treated as a design flaw and to complete the law-making process.

A regulation proposed in 2011 to address keyless-vehicle hazards would force automakers to install features that assertively alert motorists that a vehicle has not been turned off.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and Senator Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, sent a letter to Ms. King on Monday demanding that the agency complete action on the rule and begin to enforce it. “N.H.T.S.A.’s inaction clearly has produced fatal consequences,” the letter read. “This problem has not been solved by voluntary industry measures.”

Read the article at New York Financial News.

Forbes

Later this year, the new Chevrolet Silverado will be available in eight different trim levels paired with six engine and transmission combinations, including a surprising new powertrain: a 2.7-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with fuel-saving technology.

But if you think it will be underpowered, think again: Chevrolet says the new 2.7-liter engine is more powerful and efficient than the 4.3-liter V6 it replaces, delivering 310 horsepower and 348 pound-feet of torque.

“A major focus of the next-generation Silverado is expanding the range of choices,” said Tim Asoklis, chief engineer for the Silverado 1500. “With all-new engines and a broader model range, there’s a Silverado for everyone, whether you’re buying your first pickup or your tenth.”

Read the article at Forbes.

The Verge

When thinking about the future of public transportation, many people skip right to flying cars, jetpacks, electric and autonomous vehicles. Maybe it has to do with the obstacles that stand in the way of making public transportation better.

Fixing public transportation requires cooperation, planning, and the acceptance of the community. Ideas are voted on. Careers are wagered. That sometimes makes it hard to separate the ideas from the politics.

“Meanwhile, flashy “future of transportation” ideas enjoy the freedom of being removed from those burdens. They’re usually proposed with the caveat that mundane problems like “regulation” or “funding” will naturally be solved along the way if the idea is good enough.”

Read the article at The Verge.

Wired

In transportation, like so many other things, regulators can serve as a friend or foe.

Uber’s self-driving car program will definitely have to contend with the FAA before it gets off the ground. The future of new and potentially life-saving semiautonomous vehicle technology faces firm rules about licensing and liability. Tesla defends the safety of its Autopilot feature with American road safety officials.

“Forget self-driving and flying cars, or hyperloops, or monorails” argues columnist Clive Thompson. “The biggest, best innovation in transportation today is the bicycle.”

Read the article at Wired.

Insurance Journal

The 2016 Tesla crash raised questions about sharing the blame and how autonomous vehicles might fit in future liability determinations.

A few manufacturers have publicly stated they will assume liability if their vehicle’s technology is responsible for an accident.

“As of year-end 2017, state legislatures had done little to revise existing auto insurance laws for the potential insurance implications of autonomous vehicles. Uneven state legislative and regulatory progress may hinder insurers in designing and maintaining insurance programs that address autonomous vehicles.”

Read the article at Insurance Journal.

The Guardian

Autonomous vehicle startups and studies are proposing solutions to every day problems, from traffic jams to motion sickness.

Transportation Research found that a network of autonomous cars are able to slow more gently and not cause congestion, unlike a single driver’s braking and the following vehicles doing the same.

“Driving helps mitigate motion sickness by making us engaged with the experience of movement. But passengers in an autonomous car will find it hard to anticipate movement and could feel queasy. Boston startup ClearMotion is working on shock absorbers that will counter the feeling of movement – thereby, it hopes, reducing the need for sick bags.”

Read the article at The Guardian

Detroit Free Press

As automakers add safety and convenience driver aids to their mainstream vehicles, many drivers will benefit from self-driving technology without ever experiencing an autonomous vehicle.

Nissan already offers a system that makes driving easier and safer so subtly that many car owners will never realize how much it’s helping them.

“It’s more relaxed driving,” John Maddox, president and CEO of the American Center for Mobility, the new test track for developing autonomous and driver-assistance systems in Willow Run, just west of Detroit. Maddox uses a CT6 with Super Cruise on his daily commute. “I’m less inclined to speed or weave in and out of traffic.”

Read the article at Detroit Free Press.

The Detroit Bureau

The success and customization of autonomous vehicles will depend on the needs of the user – the first things that will be deleted are the steering wheel and other controls to allow for more room and more configurations – the sky is the limit.

The price of self-driving cars is predicted to come down enough for it to make sense for someone in a rural area buying a vehicle to make it easier to get around, such as seniors or those who may be physically challenged.

“Ride sharing business is expected to drive down the cost of self-driving cars in the future,” Mike Abelson, GM vice president of global strategy said. GM and others have suggested for some time now that the relationship between automakers producing self-driving cars and ride-sharing companies would be symbiotic.

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.