Read from our blogs
FieldLogix announces the release of its guide for creating a company policy for dash cameras. The guide discusses all of the factors involved when creating a dash camera policy and how to make the policy driver-friendly in order to minimize driver resistance. “In todays’ litigious world, fleets are often targeted by unscrupulous motorists for insurance […]
When a vehicle is left idling, it can consume one gallon of gas each hour. “Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy upwards of $155 billion dollars annually,” said Kleiner Perkins partner Michael Linse in a statement. “Last year alone, U.S. drivers wasted 3.9 billion gallons of fuel sitting idle in traffic, and the U.S. is a small part of a much larger and growing global traffic problem.”
No one likes wasting time and money sitting in traffic. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but sometimes it isn’t. With today’s high cost of fuel and the growing awareness of our need to protect our planet, the amount of idling vehicles must be reduced. Drivers can and should be doing something.
A GPS navigation system with real-time traffic updates such as FieldLogix can absolutely help to reduce the time and money drivers waste sitting in traffic. Reducing idling time by only 15 minutes a day can reduce fuel use by over $84 per year. If you reduce idling time by 60 minutes a day, it would result in a fuel savings of 90 gallons at a cost of over $339 per year.
Gas prices could climb to more than $5 per gallon this year if Washington can’t reach an agreement by August 2. Yesterday oil prices increased to nearly $100 per barrel as legislators battled over an agreement on the U.S. debt limit and the American dollar weakened over uncertainty about the economy.
While congressional leaders bickered over spending and raising the borrowing limit ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline, the dollar fell sharply against the euro and other currencies on Tuesday. That tends to raise the price of oil, since crude is priced in dollars and a weaker dollar makes oil more of a bargain for traders using other currencies.
“A U.S. government default that causes institutional investors to dump U.S. government bonds, triggering a plunge in the dollar, pushing up oil’s price,” according to the International Business Times. The report said the bickering could push oil prices higher, which would eventually show up at the pump and trickle to other parts of the economy.
Currently the average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $3.69, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Today’s price is up 11 cents from one month ago, and up 96 cents from one year ago. Gas prices typically rise in the summer as demand for gas increases because more drivers are on the road.
Historically prices are highest in July and August because Americans drive the most during these two months, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Additionally prices also rise in the spring and summer as refiners switch to more expensive summer blends of gasoline. Federal and local laws require different additives in summer to preserve air quality, but more expensive additives tend to drive up the price.
There are several other factors that could push gas prices even higher. If the U.S. defaults on its debt, it would send shockwaves through oil markets that could push fuel prices even higher, analysts said Monday.
Many are also hoping that the hurricane season is mild this year, as a big storm could decrease the output by refineries. This would absolutely increase prices.
Real-time car traffic data company Inrix announced yesterday that it has raised $37 million in series D financing. Inrix generates traffic information based on speed and location information provided by GPS-enabled devices in more than 10 million vehicles, including cars with participating telematics systems and fleet vehicles. The company is using the funding to support continued growth opportunities.
Currently the company offers traffic data in 22 countries across North America and Europe and has over 100 million users. Inrix’s partners include Audi, Ford Motor Company, MapQuest, Microsoft, NAVIGON, Tele Atlas, Telmap, TeleNav, and Toyota. For example, Inrix currently powers the popular Ford SYNC traffic and navigation services. Audi and Toyota currently use Inrix traffic services in some of their vehicles starting with such as the new Audi A6 in Europe and Toyota Entune-equipped Prius V and Camry in North America.
Inrix also offers traffic apps for smartphones and provides data to others, including nine of the top 10 traffic apps for the Apple iPhone and Google Android platforms. With all these partnerships and licensing agreements,the company’s CEO Bryan Mistele said that his goal is to “be the Google of traffic info.”
Temperatures aren’t the only that’s been heating up across America this weekend. AA is reporting that gas prices have risen for the 3rd straight week. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was slightly more than $3.70 on July 22, an increase of 8.58 cents in the past two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey released this weekend.
A year ago, the price per gallon was $2.73, about 96.72 cents less than the current price. The average price for a gallon of gas in the United States rose for the first time since early May following an increase in the price of crude oil, according to the latest Lundberg survey, which includes data from over 2,500 gas stations across the continental US.
Prices in Tucson, Arizona were the lowest in the nation at $3.28 a gallon. Chicago drivers are currently paying the highest gas prices at $4.07 per gallon.
Fleet GPS tracking technology can be one of the most cost effective means to manage fuel consumption. A GPS fleet management system can help the average fleet reduce fuel costs by up to 20%.
FieldLogix fleet GPS can put a spotlight on a driver’s habits that consume excessive fuel and emit unnecessary pollution.
According to Jonathan Haar of 4 Seasons Landscape Services, “I am so pleased with FieldLogix. It is an awesome product with an excellent installation process and incredible service…. We initially focused on drivers’ habits such as speed and idle time that have a huge impact on fuel usage. However, we were also able to use FieldLogix to improve routing. By making more efficient use of our vehicles, we lowered the average number of miles driven per vehicle, further reducing our fuel expenses.”
Garmin GPS technology is constantly evolving and always getting better. This week Garmin announced they are offering Star Wars options to some of their GPS systems. This is an awesome option for Star Wars fans!
Now instead of that Australian woman’s voice, Garmin GPS users can select Sith Lord, Darth Vader or Yoda to be their navigator. Parts of the “Star Wars” score are thrown in, as well as TIE fighter and lightsaber sound effects. Some features will also include Obi-Wan Kenobi. How cool is that!
This announcement by Garmin is of key interest to us here at FieldLogix because this week in San Diego, Comic Con is in town. Comic Con is the world’s largest comic book and popular arts convention. Hundreds of thousands of people attend, as it is the largest convention held in San Diego.
Gas Prices Up 5 Cents in Last 30 Days, Good and Bad News for California Gas Prices
Gas prices are currently on a slightly upward trend. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is currently $3.68, up 5 cents since 30 days ago, and 3 cents since one week ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. The reasons gas is slowly creeping back up after a two-month decline include: the faltering Greek economy, a weaker US dollar, unrest in Libya, increasing demand for gas and limited production from refineries.
Gas prices in California have remained unusually low, when compared to other states in the US. Typically California has the highest gas prices in the continental US, but several other states currently have higher prices such as Connecticut, Washington, New York and Washington D.C. The average price in California is $3.782 today, a 2 cent increase since last week.
For Californians there is good and bad news, gas still costs 14.4 cents less than it did a month ago, according to AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report. However, it’s still 67.3 cents more expensive than it was a year ago.
The current national retail average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $3.67. Today’s average price is 4 cents more than the price one week ago, and two cents more than one month ago. Currently three states have an average retail price for regular unleaded of more than $4 per gallon – Hawaii, Alaska and Connecticut.
Oil reversed direction for the fourth straight trading day on Tuesday and climbed about 2 percent, as traders faced uncertainty about the direction of the economy and a weaker dollar.
Crude oil is used to produce gasoline and other fuels, and it’s also a major investment commodity. Prices can swing with the collective mood on Wall Street. Recently benchmark oil has fluctuated between $95 and $99 a barrel as investors gauge how Europe deals with Greece’s debt crisis and the debate goes on in Washington over spending and the U.S. debt ceiling.
