Traffic deaths on the nation's roads fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2010 to 32,788, the lowest level since 1949, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The decline — down 3.2 percent from 2009 — came despite a significant rise in the number of miles Americans traveled last year, according to early projections. Americans drove about 20.5 billion miles more in 2010 than they did the year before, the agency said.

However, three areas of the country, including New England and the Midwest, saw an increase in fatalities. They were up 18 percent in New England and 3.9 percent in the Midwest, which includes Michigan. Final figures will be released this summer but typically don't deviate much from the projections. NHTSA believes weather may be to blame for the rise.

NHTSA estimates the 2010 fatality rate will be the lowest recorded since 1949, with 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from the 1.13 in 2009.

"The decrease in traffic fatalities is a good sign, but we are always working to save lives," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "NHTSA will continue pressing forward on all of our safety initiatives to make sure our roads are as safe as possible”.

Despite the decline, NHTSA pointed to an area of concern: traffic deaths, the agency said, were up nearly 2 percent in the second half of 2010 as drivers logged more miles.

[via The Detroit News]

Toyota has won a case in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York. After deliberating for approximately 45 minutes, according to the automaker, a jury reached a defense verdict in favor of Toyota Motor Sales, in an alleged unintended acceleration case, brought by Dr. Amir Sitafalwalla, who claimed an unsecured driver’s side floor mat was the primary cause of the crash of his Scion vehicle in August 2005.

During the course of the week-long trial, Dr. Sitafalwalla’s primary expert, Dr. Anthony Storace, withdrew his assertion that the Electronic Throttle Control System in the Scion could also have been a cause of the accident based on his acknowledgment that he had no basis to support that claim.

Toyota released the following statement in response to the favorable verdict:

“Toyota is pleased that the jury found no merit to this unintended acceleration claim, refused to accept testimony about possible pedal entrapment by the Scion’s floor mat, and rejected arguments that Toyota was liable for the absence of a brake override system in the vehicle. Importantly, plaintiff’s expert could identify no electronic defect in the vehicle’s Electronic Throttle Control System (ETCS) and offered no scientific proof of any electrical or mechanical malfunction in the throttle control or braking systems of Dr. Sitafalwalla's vehicle.  

“Toyota's ETCS has been extensively tested, most recently in an exhaustive 10-month study by NHTSA and NASA, and has multiple fail-safe systems to shut off or reduce engine power in the unlikely event of system failure. We believe that this case sets an important benchmark for unintended acceleration litigation against Toyota across this country, as it clearly demonstrates a plaintiff’s inability to identify, let alone prove the existence of, an alleged electronic defect in Toyota vehicles that could cause unintended acceleration.”

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Nathan E Photography and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Nissan is aiming to resume normal operations at all of its Japan-based plants save for the Iwaki engine plant by mid-April. The company has been producing vehicles using its remaining supplies but said its operational levels will be limited depending on parts delivery status from suppliers.

The company said it is suspending operations for five of its plants between April 4 and April 8. In addition, another plant that produces parts for overseas manufacturing and repair is shut down until April 4, after which the company plans to resume production.

Nissan stated that since the earthquake, it estimates the production impact at 55,000 units when compared with its original production targets.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Stevan Sheets and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

President Obama announced the National Clean Fleets Partnership this Friday, to cut gasoline consumption by fleet vehicles nationwide.

UPS, AT&T, FedEx, PepsiCo and Verizon, five of the nation’s largest fleets, will purchase more than 20,000 alternative vehicles as a part of the program, which aims to cut the nation’s dependence on foreign fuels.

"As owners of some of our nation's largest private fleets, these companies are leading the way when it comes to building clean fleets, and we need to make sure all our businesses are following their example," Obama said during his unveiling of the program.

President Obama plans to reduce U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025.

The Department of Energy will assist in supplying the alternative-fuel vehicles for fleets participating in this new initiative. Participating companies also will be able to make group purchases of vehicles, allowing smaller companies to join larger ones to purchase vehicles in bulk.

[via CNN]

Photo courtesy of storebukkebruse and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Fleets seeking late-model, low-mileage used trucks as a way to inexpensively replace older vehicles in their operations are going to have a tough time doing it as supply continues to tighten...

Bob Glenn, director of remarketing for Penske, told Fleet Owner that a year and one-half ago, the company’s used-truck inventory included just over 10,000 units listed for sale. By the fourth quarter of last year, however, that inventory had fallen to 2,800 units and remains at low levels. Altogether, Penske sold approximately 23,000 used trucks in 2010.

“Pent-up demand started in the first quarter last year and hasn’t stopped,” Glenn said, with tandem and single axle Class 8 day cab tractors displaying the most strength, though all models of used trucks in Penske’s inventory are selling well.

Glenn added that fleets of all sizes – from large national and regional carriers on down to small operators – are in the market, looking primarily for trucks with under 400,000 miles.

Steve Clough, president of national used truck dealership chain Arrow Truck Sales, noted at FTR Associates 2010 Transportation Conference that the used-truck shortage now occurring is due to the record low production rates of new trucks experienced during the past few years.

Glenn noted that while some fleets are still looking to make 10 and 12 vehicle used truck “buys,” getting a group of such trucks together with similar specifications and with the right mileage is tougher and tougher to do. “It’s a struggle to find those kinds of vehicles in inventory now,” he added.

[via FleetOwner]

When it comes to dangerous scenarios on the road, we often don’t think about some of the more unusual situations.  This week’s Automotive Fleet safety tip addresses an issue that drivers may not face very often, but is incredibly dangerous: a sudden failure of their vehicle’s headlights.

This week's tip, offered in the New York DMV Driver's Manual, concerns sudden headlight failure. "Fade to black" may work in a screenplay, but it can be a pretty scary development on the highway. So you may want to pass this advice along to your fleet drivers as a friendly reminder.

If your headlights suddenly go out, try your vehicle's four-way flashers, parking lights and directional signals. These may still work and should give you enough light to get safely off the road. If your headlights begin to dim, drive to a nearby service station, or pull off the road and go for help.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of Adrian Nier and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Commercial fleet managers are finding more reasons to switch from conventional gasoline to compressed natural gas, Ford officials said from Michigan.

A Connecticut company, Consider Metro Taxi, saying it was acting in part because of the rising price of gasoline, which topped $4 per gallon in some U.S. markets, announced that it was taking delivery of 20 CNG vehicles.

Rod Phillips, Ford's commercial manager for the New England area, said rising gasoline prices and the move toward a greener economy made CNG an attractive alternative fuel source.

"Fleet managers are adding all the reasons up and concluding that it makes sense to switch to CNG now more than ever," he said in a statement.

Ford said CNG usage results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy noted the price per gallon of CNG peaked in 2008 at $2.34 and was now around $1.93.

The Michigan automotive company added that Washington was providing $300 million in incentives to fund CNG projects and increase the number of fuel stations across the United States.

[via UPI]

Photo courtesy of Darin McClure and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which recently completed a year-long technology evaluation of gasoline hybrid electric trucks in the FedEx fleet, has released its report on the project.

NREL's Fleet Test and Evaluation Team collected and analyzed data on three gasoline hybrid electric trucks and three conventional diesel trucks used for FedEx parcel delivery service in the Los Angeles area. The team also tested a hybrid and a conventional truck at NREL's Renewable Fuels and Lubricants Research Laboratory in Denver, Colo.

The gasoline hybrid electric trucks produced substantially reduced tailpipe emissions during all drive cycles tested in the laboratory when compared to conventional diesel vehicles. On a drive cycle representing routes with frequent stops and accelerations, the gasoline hybrid electric trucks exhibited a 20-percent improvement in fuel economy while drive cycles representing routes with fewer stops and accelerations demonstrated similar fuel economy to the diesels.

Manufactured by Ford, the gasoline hybrid electric trucks feature 5.4L gasoline engines and hybrid propulsion systems produced by Azure Dynamics with 100kW electric motors, regenerative braking and nickel-metal-hydride batteries.

FedEx Express operates more than 32,000 motorized vehicles in the United States, including 20 gasoline hybrid electric trucks on parcel delivery routes in Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif. The FedEx Express hybrid fleet, which has driven more than 8 million miles in revenue service, includes an all-hybrid station in Bronx, N.Y., where nearly half of the vehicles are gasoline hybrid electric vehicles.

This evaluation was funded by DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program with additional funding from CALSTART and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

NREL is the Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC.

[via Automotive Fleet]

Photo courtesy of M 93 and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Just over a year since it sank into government-run bankruptcy, a leaner, meaner GM relisted its shares on major world stock exchanges, bursting back onto the investment scene with the world’s largest initial public offering.

In the opening months of 2011 sales of GM’s cars and trucks have surged, as the company grabbed market share from its rivals, according to sales data from J.D. Power and Associates. That would appear to bode well for the company’s future, and with it, the potential for U.S. taxpayers to recover the remainder of their investment in the company.

But some have questioned how those sales were made, and competitors have complained over GM’s tactics. They say the use of sales incentives such as rebates to grab market share is a shortsighted tactic whose use is worrisome coming from a company now led by an industry outsider.

GM has added hefty incentives to its cars since the start of the year, offering big rebates to current owners of GM cars, no-penalty early trade-ins for currently leased GM cars and bigger rebates for users of the GM credit card. The result has been a U.S. market share of more than 21 percent, higher than the company has had in years.

But the word in the industry is that sales slumped in March once the incentives expired. “The metaphor that has been used is like drug addition,” said

George Pipas, spokesman on sales analysis for Ford Motor Co. “If you depend on it to move sheet metal it is not so good.  Then your customers depend on it.”

Some industry veterans worry that new GM CEO Daniel Akerson’s unfamiliarity with carmaking -- he had a long career as an executive with Nextel and MCI -- is leading GM to repeat mistakes it made when it was headed from 1992 to 1995 by Chairman John Smale, previously president and CEO of consumer products company Procter & Gamble.

[via MSNBC]

Photo courtesy of Richard Freeman and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

Driver pay will rise an average 3 to 5 cents a mile for company drivers and 4 to 6 cents for owner-operators over the next 12 months, predicted Gordon Klemp, president of the National Transportation Institute in a speech Monday, March 14, to Truckload Carriers Association members at TCA’s annual meeting in San Diego.

Klemp’s firm surveys medium- and large-sized fleets quarterly. In addition to the expected mileage pay hikes, he predicted several other employment trends over the next year, including:

            -Driver pay more closely tied to performance measurements, including driver scores under the new federal Compliance, Safety, Accountability program

            -More use of sign-on and referral bonuses, which virtually disappeared during the recession. Klemp said 40 to 70 percent of fleets now offer one or the other

            -Expanded in-house driving training programs

            -Expanded truck lease-purchase programs

Klemp said that these pay rate hikes are also tied to a shortage of drivers created by downsizing due to the recession, generous unemployment benefits for laid-off drivers, a high retirement rate, and a movement of many drivers into the underground economy.

 “Supply’s not going to get better,” Klemp said. “Retention management, I think, is going to be huge.”

That will require not just good pay rates, but also finding new ways to recruit new drivers, train them well and do a better job of explaining their total compensation package to prevent them from mistakenly leaving a good carrier during periods of high turnover, Klemp said.

[via Commercial Carrier Journal]

Photo courtesy of Fabricio Zuardi and re-used under the Creative Commons license.