Posts Tagged ‘Automotive Fleet’
Automotive Fleet Comparing Personal-Use Policies
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Many fleets allow for some personal use of their vehicles by employees. But how does your fleet’s policy stack up against the standards of other companies? That’s what Automotive Fleet intends to find out with its 2010 Personal Use Survey.
The results of the survey will be published in an upcoming issue of Automotive Fleet magazine.
Take the survey here and contribute some information about your company’s personal use policy.
The survey ends Friday, May 14.
Photo courtesy of odegaard library under the Creative Commons License
Tags: Automotive Fleet, compairing, employees, personal-use, policies
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Fleet Safety Tip of The Week: High Beams
Friday, April 9th, 2010
Automotive Fleet is back with another Fleet Safety Tip of the week, this time about proper use of high beams. Listen up and keep your drivers safe:
This week’s tip, culled from the California Driver’s Handbook, pertains to the use of high-beam headlights during night driving. You may want to pass this along to your fleet drivers as a friendly reminder.
Use your high beams whenever possible in open country or on dark city streets, as long as it is not illegal. But do not blind other drivers with your high-beam headlights. Dim your lights when necessary. If another driver does not dim his or her lights:
-Don’t look directly into oncoming headlights. If you do, both of you may be blinded.
-Look toward the right edge of your lane.
-Watch the oncoming car out of the corner of your eye.
Photo courtesy of PeterDouglas under the Creative Commons License
Tags: Automotive Fleet, California Driver Handbook, fleet, headlights, high beams, safety tips
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Fleet Safety Tips: Hill Parking
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
The topic of Automotive Fleet’s Fleet Safety Tips this week is safely parking on a hill. This information is especially useful for delivery drivers, so take a look:
Here’s some advice, taken from the California Driver Handbook, on how to properly park on a hill. You may want to pass this along to your drivers as a friendly reminder.
When you park:
-On a sloping driveway, turn the wheels so the car will not roll into the street if the brakes fail.
-Headed downhill, turn your front wheels into the curb or toward the side of the road. Set the parking brake.
-Headed uphill, turn your front wheels away from the curb and let your vehicle roll back a few inches. The back of the front wheel should gently touch the curb. Set the parking brake.
-Headed either uphill or downhill and there is no curb, turn the wheels so the car will roll away from the center of the road if the brakes fail.
-Always set your parking brake and leave the vehicle in gear or the “park” position.
Photo courtesy of Marcin Wichary under the Creative Commons License
Tags: Automotive Fleet, California, California Driver Handbook, Fleet Safety Tips, hill, park
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Fleet Safety Tips- Brake Failure
Friday, February 26th, 2010
Automotive Fleet has some new Fleet Safety tips for what to do if you or any of your drivers should experience brake failure unexpectedly. Pass these along to your drivers for safety’s sake!
If your brakes fail, do not panic. Simply follow these steps and find your way to a safe stop.
1.Pump the brake pedal rapidly and hard several times. This will often build up enough brake pressure to stop the car.
2. If #1 does not work, use the parking brake, but hold the brake release so you can let off the brake if the rear wheels lock and you begin to skid.
3. If the car still won’t stop, shift to a lower gear and look for a place to slow to a stop.
4. Make sure the vehicle is completely off the roadway, to the right if possible.
5. After the vehicle has stopped, wait for help. Do not try to drive the vehicle to a garage.
Photo courtesy of Kaptain Kobold under the Creative Commons License
Tags: Automotive Fleet, brake, CAR, fleet, lock, pump, safety tips, wheels
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More Winter Fleet Tips
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Winter may be drawing to a close, but there’s always time for a last-minute cold snap. That’s why Automotive Fleet has issued another edition of its winter driving tips for fleets. Keep these handy hints in mind if you find your fleet affected by winter weather:
- Remove snow and ice from your vehicle’s hood, windows and lights before driving.
- Make sure your windshield wiper fluid contains antifreeze.
- Get the feel of the road: try your brakes while driving slowly to test the road surface.
- Adjust your speed to road conditions.
- Avoid using cruise control on slippery roads.
- If your vehicle becomes stuck on ice or snow, try to free your vehicle by “rocking” it back and forth. Keep the front wheels straight and slowly drive forward, then backward, as far as possible, without spinning the tires. Accelerate gently when the tires grip. If your vehicle starts to slide or your tires start to spin, apply the brake and repeat this operation in the opposite direction.
Photo courtesy of liangjinjian under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: Automotive Fleet, driving tips, Fleet Tips, safety tips, Winter
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Research Casts Doubt on Aftermarket Parts
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Via Automotive Fleet:
New research is raising concerns about the safety of some aftermarket crash parts requested by some insurance companies to settle claims, according to the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS).
The study compared randomly selected OEM parts with aftermarket structural replacement parts, including front and rear bumper reinforcement beams, radiator core supports, bumper brackets, safety restraint systems, and bumper energy absorbers.
According to SCRS, tests revealed “significant differences” in the aftermarket parts’ construction and materials used, compared to the OEM parts. These differences were reflected in the parts’ effectiveness in the transfer of energy resulting from a collision, SCRS said. However, the research also found that when manufacturers pay particular attention to using the same materials as the OEM and employ credible third-party testing, the parts perform much better in crash tests.
“This is a serious issue that has not received enough attention from the industry in the past,” said SCRS National Director Toby Chess. “These parts are critically affecting the structural design of a vehicle in its post-repair state.”
A presentation summarizing the research is available at http://www.scrs.com. Chess has made a number of presentations about the research at recent industry conferences.
Industry concerns about the problem are already making a difference. Insurance company GEICO last week implemented a policy shift, announcing it would no longer specify aftermarket replacement parts for bumper reinforcements, energy absorbers and brackets in the repair of customers’ vehicles.
The company said it planned to gather additional information about aftermarket bumper reinforcements, absorbers and brackets; GEICO didn’t rule out eventually returning to its previous policy if its own research supported that decision.
Photo courtesy of The U.S. Army under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: aftermarket, Automotive Fleet, C.R.A.S.H., GEICO, OEM, parts, policy, Society of Collision Repair Specialists
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Nissan Chief Wary but Optimistic Over Electric Vehicles
Monday, November 30th, 2009
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of electric and hybrid vehicles for fleet operations. But when the time comes to adopt new technologies, will people really be ready to make the switch? Automotive Fleet provides some interesting insight:
Carlos Ghosn, head of the Nissan-Renault alliance, says that consumers’ adoption of electric vehicles will be a gradual process, with traditional gasoline-powered cars dominating the market for many years to come.
Ghosn predicted that electric vehicles would most likely account for only about 10 percent of vehicles sold by 2020. Gasoline, diesel, hybrid engines and other technologies will power the rest. “We’re not going to take the market by storm,” said Ghosn. “Electricity is going to complement oil.”
According to an Associated Press report, Ghosn made the remarks during a November 19th panel discussion sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Ghosn acknowledged that Toyota Motor Co. has already taken an early lead in the hybrid market. While this may be true, he believes that Nissan Motor Co. can become a leader in the all-electric vehicle market within a reasonable amount of time. Next year, Nissan is releasing the Leaf electric car in on a limited scale and plans to put the all-electric vehicle into mass-production in 2012.
Ghosn said demand from rising economies like China and India will help spur demand for electric cars.
Photo courtesy of karyodimejo2010 under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: Automotive Fleet, Council on Foreign Relations, electric vehicles, hybrid, Leaf, Nissan, Nissan Leaf, Renault, Toyota
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The Real Cost of Fleet Accidents
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Many managers have trouble fully understanding the true costs of accidents within their fleet. It is difficult not only to quantify how much money can be saved by accident prevention, but also to disseminate that information in a meaningful way to an entire organization. In an article for Automotive Fleet, The CEI Group Inc.’s Vincent Brigidi offers some ideas on demonstrating the costs involved in fleet collisions.
Accidents incur both direct and indirect costs to companies. The surface damage to vehicles is only a small part of the real costs behind an accident. After repairs to the vehicles themselves, other hidden costs such as worker’s compensation, third-party liability costs, legal expenses, lost revenue, and decreased productivity can increase the overall bill in a very significant way.
If the idea of a few extra charges doesn’t seem like much, consider this: after dealing with all of these extra expenses, the real costs of an accident can cost your fleet two to ten times the direct cost of the collision. That means an accident requiring $2,500 in repairs and replacement rentals could really cost $5,000 to $25,000.
After you have determined what accidents really cost, the next thing to do is to make sure your company understands how that cost affects business and why it is important to prevent it. Upper management will be making most of the decisions when it comes to new safety programs, so it is important to make sure they understand the real financial burden placed on the company by accident costs.
For example, if you were to take the expenses incurred by accidents and divide by your company’s operating profit margin, you would have the additional sales revenue necessary to make up for the cost of those accidents. $500,000 in accident costs requires $5 million in revenue at a 10 percent profit margin.
A new safety program for a fleet that reduces accidents by 20 percent can save up to $1 million in additional sales necessary. Money like that is a powerful incentive for fleet operators to make sure their investment is protected while making sure their drivers stay safe on the job.
For the full article, visit Automotive Fleet.
Photo courtesy of mrbill under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: Automotive Fleet, CEI Group, fleet accident, The CEI Group Inc
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AT&T Rewarded for CNG Program
Monday, October 12th, 2009
AT&T was recently recognized for its concentrated effort to encourage the use of natural gas in its fleet vehicles and educating the public on the benefits of alternative fuels. The telecommunications giant was one of five recipients of the National NGV Achievement Award at the Natural Gas Vehicle Conference-Summit in Long Beach, California.
After conducting a thorough investigation of natural gas vehicle options, benefits and availability, AT&T decided in 2008 to field test 25 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered installation-and-service vans in several of its California locations. After deploying the units and evaluating their performance, AT&T announced in early 2009 that it would replace approximately 8,000 gasoline-powered service vehicles with vehicles powered by CNG over the next five years. The company plans to deploy 15,000 alternative fuel vehicles by 2019. BAF Technologies also announced June 30 it would help AT&T with the conversion to compressed natural gas. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) estimates AT&T’s CNG vehicles will save 49 million gallons of gasoline and reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent over its 10-year implication. Ranked No.1 on Automotive Fleet’s Top 300 Commercial Fleets of 2009 based on size, AT&T operates 86,099 vehicles in its fleet.
Photo courtesy of ecastro under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: AT&T, Automotive Fleet, BAF Technologies, CAR, Center for Automotive Research, compressed natural gas, National NGV Achievement Award, Natural Gas Vehicle, Natural Gas Vehicle Conference-Summit
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Free Fleet Safety Web Seminars Coming Later this Month
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Brought to you by Automotive Fleet and the other subsidiary sites of fleet-central.com , these free safety seminars are now open for registration. The topics covered will be at-fault accidents, driver distraction, and brake safety. A description of each individual course appears below. Fleet managers only need to sign up once to receive all three seminars!
Fleet Safety Webinar Series
Click here to sign up for the webinar series
SAFETY SESSIONS PART I
Prevent and Predict At-Fault Crashes
September 22, 2009 11:00AM PDT / 2:00PM EDT
Sponsor: Driver’s Alert
As a fleet manager or safety director, you know 95% of your drivers practice safe driving and that the other 5 percent are at high risk to cause your next at-fault crash. Find out how many of your drivers are in the bottom 5% and how to prevent the at-fault crash from ever happening.
SAFETY SESSIONS PART II
Distracted Driving: Dangers and Defenses
October 13, 2009 11:00AM PDT / 2:00PM EDT
Sponsor: DriverCare Risk & Safety Services by CEI
Distracted driving is a serious and growing problem for fleets and the public at large. Gain valuable knowledge about the sources of distracted driving, its impact on crashes, fatalities and fleet finances, and a range of proactive responses. This webinar will be a practical discussion between a subject matter expert from the National Safety Council and two leading fleet managers from the commercial and public sectors, who will share their real-world experiences and insights in dealing with the problem. Topics will include the science of distracted driving, programs to raise drivers’ awareness, legislative initiatives, and emerging technologies.
SAFETY SESSIONS PART III
Are You Helping to Keep Your Drivers Safe? How Good Are Your Brakes?
November 10, 2009 11:00AM PDT / 2:00PM EDT
Sponsor: Midas
Learn how brake systems work, how they have changed, and how they affect and are affected by other vehicle safety systems. Gain knowledge on how to identify potential issues which could eventually lead to extensive and expensive repairs. Understand how utilizing M.A.P. (Motorist Assurance Program) can help fleet managers make better informed decisions on whether or not to keep the vehicle in service based on known upcoming service needs.
Photo courtesy of aNantaB under the Creative Commons License.
Tags: Automotive Fleet, Driver's Alert, DriverCare Risk & Safety Services by CEI, fleet, fleet managers, Fleet Safety Webinar Series, fleet-central.com, M.A.P, Midas, Motorist Assurance Program, National Safety Council
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