Category: Fleet Management News

495 posts
Keep Your Family Safe with OnStar Aftermarket Rear-View Mirror

ven if you don’t drive a GM vehicle, many people have seen the commercials for the OnStar telematics system. The ones where the family vehicle crashes crashes and the OnStar telematics system automatically alerts emergency services. OnStar launched an aftermarket rear-view mirror equipped with its OnStar telematics based communication system this year (2011) at CES. Even if you don’t drive a GM, now any vehicle can use the OnStar system and service.

OnStar services are currently installed in over 6 million vehicles. The OnStar mirror will retail for $299 at Best Buy. The device will hit the shelves this Spring. The monthly fee for the service will be $18.95.

OnStar and other telematics companies are exploring different ways to bring the Internet experience into the automobile. OnStar Telematics, a division of General Motors, currently offers drivers a variety of connected services, including turn-by-turn GPS system navigation, automatic crash response, stolen vehicle location, and much more.

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Google Maps Adds Fuel Cost Calculator to Driving Directions in Europe

Google Maps (GOOG) just launched a Fuel Cost Calculator to driving directions for Google Maps in Europe. Google’s new Fuel Cost Calculator can be used to estimate the average fuel cost for your journey. When a user asks for driving direction between two locations on the map, it shows an estimate of how much cash your have to spend in order to procure fuel for the journey. The estimated fuel cost appears at the bottom of the list of driving directions.

This new tool can be very helpful for many reasons. With rising gas costs on the horizon (Oil is expected to top $100 a barrel this year.) it would be nice to be able to plan your trips taking gas costs into consideration. If utilized properly, this new tool can help you to become aware of your carbon footprint, and gives you the opportunity to really cut your gas costs, which is a great incentive to take the time to plan your trips more efficiently.

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Apps That Prevent Texting While Driving

We all know that texting and driving is very dangerous. Drivers should always stay focused on the road ahead of them. A very famous and successful plastic surgeon drove off a cliff in Malibu last year (2010) because he was texting while driving. The accident demonstrates the very real danger of texting while driving, an activity that has reportedly spiked in recent years.

“I hear, almost daily, accounts of people who are injured while texting,” said Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Gardner said “It has stopped being an oddity when we hear that someone was texting and has a wreck. Now it’s more of a fairly common occurrence…While sending out a status update during a leisurely drive may seem innocuous, it only takes a moment for distracted drivers to become vulnerable.”

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Gas Prices Are Over $3 Gallon and On The Rise

Loofleet tracking system cuts fuel costsks like next time you go to the gas pump, you may find yourself paying more than you are used to paying. The national average for an unleaded gallon of gas is currently $3.05, the highest level since fall 2008, according to Bankrate.com. Gas prices are expected to continue rising throughout 2011.

OPEC just announced that “demand for its oil in 2011 will be stronger than it previously forecast owing to the recovery in the global economy”. OPEC’s stronger oil-demand forecasts may increase pressure on the group to formally raise its production ceiling. Oil prices are high – close to $100/ barrel. OPEC raised its expected 2011 demand for the group’s crude oil by 200,000 barrels a day to 29.4 million barrels a day. The group also raised its forecast for growth in global oil demand this year by 50,000 barrels a day.

Here are some driving tips to save money on gas, brought to you by FieldLogix GPS Fleet Management System. FieldLogix is a green GPS fleet management solution designed to reduce fleet vehicle fuel consumption and improve productivity. By making small changes in your driving habits, you can reduce your fuel costs and your “carbon footprint” as well.

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4 Useful Things You May Not Know About Google Maps

1. See a “You Are Here” Location on a Map From Your Phone – Even Without GPS System

Have you ever noticed the dot between the four-point navigation tool and the zoom slider? t’s easy to miss! If you click that button while using Firefox or Google Chrome and, through the magic of the geolocation process, Google Maps for Mobile can tell you roughly where you are from your phone, even if you don’t have GPS tracking system. Google put together a video that explains how this works. It’s convenient when you’re in an unfamiliar place and don’t have the best sense of direction.

2. Find Places Near Any Point on a Map

If you’re searching for a certain place—a street name, a business, or other landmark—you can click on a marker and hit the “Search nearby” link to find coffee, gas, banks, or whatever else you need. What if you don’t have a place to pin down, but want to generally browse an area? Right click anywhere on a Google map, click “What’s Nearby?” in the box that pops up, and Google will create a pin based on a rough street address estimate, or with precise GPS tracking location coordinates. From there, you can click on “Search Nearby” in the box that appears in the left-hand pane, and search around without worrying about specifics.

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Military Fleet Management Faces Tough, Unique Challenges

Fleet management is tough for anyone – but could you imagine operating a fleet of 300,000 trucks? The Army and Marine Corps have an inventory of over 300,000 trucks. Military vehicle fleet management is an incredibly tough challenge. They are trying to decide which fleet vehicles to keep, and how they will go about fixing or replacing damaged and outdated fleet vehicles.

Over the past several years the military has done a decent job of forecasting the quantities and types of fleet vehicles they will need. But fleet management forecasts with this size and type of fleet is never going to be perfect. Forecasts of future buys have been difficult due to internal disagreements over how to modernize the fleet of more than 150,000 Army and 25,000 Marine Corps Humvees. Because of their sheer numbers and the potential costs of acquiring new vehicles to replace old ones, Humvees are creating a challenging fix-or-buy-new dilemma for decision makers.

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New FMCSA Regulations Will Limit Driver Hours-of-Service

Fleet management take heed. Several trucking industry regulations have recently been proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The proposed truck driver hours-of-service and speed limit regulations will have a huge impact on the trucking and transportation industry. The proposed rules are stirring up quite a heated controversy.

On Dec. 23, 2010 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a regulatory proposal that would revise hours-of-service (HOS) requirements for commercial fleet truck drivers—requirements that have gone through multiple iterations and sparked numerous legal challenges since 2004. The rules are expected to be finalized by July 26, 2011.

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Fleet GPS Tracking System Helps Cleaning Business Save Thousands

Fleet GPS tracking systems are being used more and more by local San Diego businesses, especially service-based businesses with unsupervised mobile employees on the road. A vehicle GPS tracking system can not only improve worker efficiency but a GPS tracking system can also help to cut fuel costs and improve customer service.

“Within 90 days we were able to increase profits by over 10%. Wireless fleet management systems can put a spotlight on a worker’s habits that waste time and consume excessive fuel. Even the best employees aren’t always working as productively as they could be,” said John Barr, President of San Diego Windows and Decks Cleaning Services.

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CARB Awards Recognizes Leadership in Environmental Impact

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is accepting nominations for its CoolCalifornia Small Business Awards, which recognize small California businesses (under 100 employees) that have shown leadership and taken action to reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions and made notable, voluntary achievements towards reducing their environmental impact. Nominations are being accepted until January 24, 2011.

Two categories of awards will be given — one recognizing the CoolCalifornia “Small Businesses of the Year” and another to the CoolCalifornia “Climate Leaders.”

The businesses of the year must demonstrate significant, measurable actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, invest in clean or renewable energy, purchase environmentally-conscious products such as hybrid or electric vehicles, and educate employees, customers and the general public. The “Climate Leaders” will be the most proactive nominees in reducing environmental impacts, through changes that may include efficient lighting, recycling programs, increased weatherization or the buying of environmentally-friendly products.

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Vehicle GPS Tracking System in Dallas Garbage Trucks Pays Off

GPS tracking systems were installed in the City of Dallas’ garbage trucks at the end of 2009. At that point in time, some people were not convinced that the GPS tracking system would be worth the hefty price tag of $700,000. Several City Councilmembers voted against the deal over concerns echoed by the sanitation drivers union and a rejected GPS bidder. “There’s no proof that it’s going to work,” said union spokesperson Elisa Gonzalez. ”

But the majority of City administrators believed that by monitoring sanitation workers and improving the fleet management efforts of garbage trucks, they would be able to reduce overtime and increase overall efficiency and performance of waste removal teams. And turns out, they were right.

Dallas City Officials recently announced that the tracking system (in the first 12 months of use) has saved the city $677,000 – almost paying for itself. That means the GPS tracking system is saving the City of Dallas a little over $56,000 month. Now that is an amazing ROI!

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Gas Prices Predicted to Top $4 in 2011

Oil prices are expected to continue to rise in 2011 – beyond $100 a barrel. That could push gasoline prices to over $4 a gallon by summer in some parts of the country, according to industry experts. Not only will drivers feel the pain at the pump, but the cost of other goods and services will also rise. Whenever gas prices rise, the cost of doing business goes up. Many businesses whose margins are already razor thin are forced to pass the increased costs to the consumer. Things like food, travel, and retail goods become more expensive.

Gasoline price expert Fred Rozell predicted that 15 states, including Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut and Rhode Island, will see gasoline prices top $4 a gallon by Memorial Day. “A dollar more per gallon …will cost about $750 more per year for each motorist, and there’s a psychological aspect to gas prices,” he said. “People are going to be up in arms about this.”

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Gas Prices Expected to Remain High in 2011

Drivers across the US are cringing as they pull up to the gas pump. Drivers in many states are already paying at least $3 a gallon for regular and most analysts don’t predict any relief soon. That’s because crude oil has hovered between $83 and $89 a barrel since Thanksgiving, and the global demand for oil remains strong due to rapid growth in China and India.

Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at OPIS, expects prices to fall during the winter and then begin to climb again. He has forecast prices between $3.25 and $3.75 a gallon from March to May, unless there is an unforeseen global economic issue. Pump prices could rise above $4 a gallon again in some states for the peak driving season, if oil prices continue to climb.

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Used Cooking Oil Helps Vehicle Fleets Reduce Emissions

New Leaf Biofuel is a San Diego based biodiesel company focused on transforming the way companies fuel their vehicle fleets. New Leaf BioFuel collects used cooking oil from roughly 1,000 local restaurants and converts it to biodiesel fuel. It sells the biodiesel to distributors who sell the fuel to customers running green fleets of diesel trucks.

Vehicles run cleaner and quieter on biodiesel and the fleet emissions are much better. Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel made from plant and animal oils that is used in diesel engines. It has been shown to reduce vehicle emissions by 75% on average compared to petroleum diesel.

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Best iPhone Apps to Save Drivers Time and Money on Gas

Fleet Fuel Management and Green Fleet iPhone Apps

iGasUp ($2.99) displays the 10 closest fuel stations are and where the lowest fuel prices (gas or diesel) are, from you current location. If you plan to fill up later, you can enter your destination’s ZIP code and the app will provide the 10 cheapest fueling options in that area. The app also provides gasoline brands, directions and the distance to each station using Google Maps. Oil prices are provided by Oil Price Information Service, which also provides price data for AAA and Garmin GPS.

greenMeter ($5.99) can measure and analyze your vehicle’s engine power, fuel economy, and your driving to increase efficiency, fuel consumption, reduce fuel costs and lower your environmental impact. Results are displayed in real-time. GreenMeter is an energy management and tracking system designed to provide measurement and analysis to create efficiency.

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Truck Drivers Fight the Effects of Rising Gas Prices

Gas prices topped $3 earlier this month, and they haven’t fallen since. While the prices are hard on the average consumer, it’s especially hard on those in the (trucking) tractor-trailer industry, considering most big rigs get about 7 miles to the gallon (MPG). A truck driver can use over 140 gallons of diesel fuel each day he runs his route. Big rigs carry about 250-300 gallons of diesel at a cost of about $3.33 a gallon – or about $1,000 for a fill-up that will take a truck 1,500 miles. Fleet management costs can up add quickly.

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FMCSA’s CSA 2010 Safety Program Launches

Federal Motor Carrier Administration’s CSA 2010 Safety Program Officially Launched – Motor Carrier Data Goes Public. Federal Motor Carrier Administration’s CSA 2010 safety program rolled out this past weekend, after a federal appeals court denied a suit by several groups of small trucking companies to prevent release of CSA safety data. Shortly after the court […]

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Low-Cost Green Fleet Strategies for Medium-Sized Trucks

3 Easy Ways Fleets Can Reduce Vehicle Emissions and Cut Fuel Costs:

The upfront costs to invest in a fleet of hybrid vehicles is quite expensive. But there are other great ways to create a green fleet and save money.

1. Driver Efficiency Initiatives:

Train and educate your drivers. Your drivers can control fuel consumption each time they fire up their engines. Proper training can improve fuel efficiency, fuel economy and reduce vehicle emissions. There is a quick ROI on driver training because fuel consumption can immediately be reduce by at least a few percent.

Hard acceleration, speeding and idling are the biggest causes of wasted fuel. Use data gathered from a fleet tracking system to monitor and improve driver behavior. Develop a driver training course for drivers and reward participation.

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GPS Fleet Management – Drive Smart, Drive Green, Drive Profits

FieldLogix is a green GPS fleet management solution designed to reduce fleet fuel consumption and improve productivity. FieldLogix has ranked among the 100 Fastest Growing Companies in San Diego for the past two years.“Wireless fleet management systems can put a spotlight on a driver’s habits that consume excessive fuel and emit unnecessary pollution. The most frequent of these activities include excessive speeding, idling and sudden acceleration and stops. Tracking these types of activities is essential to achieving a fuel-efficient green fleet,” said Yukon Palmer, CEO of FieldLogix. “We have dozens of case studies showing that with the right tools and strategy, you can reduce the average fleet vehicle’s operating costs by over $8,064 and reduce 2 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution per vehicle annually with modern telematics technology and proper driver education.”

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