One of the most prevalent causes of traffic accidents is, quite simply, driver error.  Whether it is texting while driving, poor visibility or simply missing a change in traffic conditions, most accidents happen because the driver of the car makes a mistake. That’s why many companies are working towards creating cars that remove the human element and stop accidents… by driving themselves.

Technology has already been developed to help drivers avoid collisions and even automatically correct their course, but a fully automatic vehicle could be on its way to mass production in the near future. A driverless Chevrolet Tahoe was able to navigate an Air Force base populated with other vehicles and pedestrians for 55 miles in 2007, and a test of several new driverless vehicles is scheduled to take place this October at Walt Disney World. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that connected vehicles could reduce accidents involving unimpaired drivers by 80 percent.

The technology is still not perfect; in August, a driverless car belonging to Google was found to be at fault in an accident near the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. While the vehicle had already driven over 160,000 miles without incident, it does show that the technology in these vehicles is not perfect, and raises some questions. Would such connected vehicles be tracked at all times? And how would accidents be handled? Most proponents of driverless cars say that drivers would still be responsible for any accident their vehicle was at fault for, but others claim that the manufacturer should handle the burden.

Regardless of how things go over the next few years, the prospect of a driverless car is certainly an interesting one. Would you feel safe riding in a car with no driver? Or sending one out on business for you? Let us know how you feel in the comments section.Photo courtesy of Elias Gayles and re-used under the Creative Commons license.

With hurricane season now in full swing, storms are already starting to affect fuel prices in the United States.

As Tropical Storm Lee moved through the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, many oil refineries were forced to shut down operations, cutting the amount of US crude production nearly in half and sending the price of oil up by $1.08 per barrel. The national average price of gas rose by 5 cents over the holiday weekend, with further increases likely to occur this week.

Hurricanes are a major contributor to rising oil prices in the latter half of the year, and with Hurricane Katia threatening some Atlantic refineries in the coming week, the changes could become more extreme.

Don’t wait for gas prices to go up to start worrying about your fuel budget. Making sure that you keep good habits all year long will help you to ride out the stormy conditions that hit the oil markets from time to time.

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

In the wake of Hurricane Irene, devastating flooding has affected the Eastern seaboard. This week’s Automotive Fleet safety tip, courtesy of CBS News, is to help prepare your drivers for the potential for more flooding this hurricane season by knowing what to do in case your vehicle becomes submerged.

If you are in a vehicle that has fallen into water, take the following steps to make sure you get out safely:

- Don’t panic. You will use up a lot of energy and possibly make poor decisions. Stay calm and remain in your seat with your seat belt fastened.

- Leave the vehicle on and roll down the windows. This will make escape easier.

- Remain in your seat and wait for the car to submerge completely. Trying to climb out as water rushes in will be impossible, and water pressure will keep the doors from opening.

- Grab hold of the window frame to maintain orientation if the car begins to roll or flip.

- Once the car has submerged and completely filled with water, either open your door or exit through the window and swim to safety.

- Again: Do Not Panic. Keeping calm and following these steps will ensure that you escape to safety.

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

In a presentation to the a href="http://www.nafa.org/">National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA), analysts from Edmunds.com said that automotive market conditions could favor fleet managers in the second half of 2011 as retail sales begin to drop off.


Declining consumer confidence and other economic factors will likely restrict the retail automotive market in the second half of the year, said Edmunds.com chief economist Lacey Plache.
If demand falls enough, automakers and dealers could turn to fleet sales to meet sales goals.  This should give fleet managers a stronger negotiating position when purchasing new vehicles for the coming year! The resale value of used cars also rose, further to fleet managers’ advantage.

While the retail vehicle market is not yet guaranteed to suffer an extreme slowdown, fleet managers and business owners should be on the lookout to find the best opportunities for repurchasing. Making smart decisions about vehicle purchasing will keep your fleet financially secure, even in tough economic times.

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

We’ve talked about the cars that have been shown as high-priority targets for car theft (the Cadillac Escalade topped the list, unsurprisingly), but what vehicles are thieves staying away from? That’s what the Highway Loss Data Institute set out to find with its annual report.

While the assumption is that these would be mainly undesirable or “uncool” vehicles, it is generally not the case. Many of the vehicles that are repelling thieves are contemporary and in fairly wide use, and are gaining notoriety with car thieves due in part to their aggressive anti-theft systems.

Here are the ten least-stolen cars found by the study:

• Audi A6 all-wheel-drive, large luxury car

• Mercury Mariner (2009-10) small SUV

• Chevrolet Equinox (2010) midsize SUV

• Volkswagen CC (2009-10), midsize car

• Chevrolet Equinox four-wheel-drive (2010) midsize SUV

• Lexus RX 350 (2010) midsize luxury SUV

• Saturn Vue midsize SUV

• Chevrolet Aveo (2009-10) mini station wagon

• BMW 5 Series all-wheel-drive large luxury car

• Mini Cooper Clubman two-door car

With anti-theft technology always improving, criminals are finding it harder and harder to get away with stealing vehicles. Make sure your fleet is protected at all times, whether they are on your lot or on the job.

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

A recent study showed that nearly 5% of drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel at least once within the last month. This number is just a part of the National Sleep Foundation’s findings that more than a third of all adult drivers had fallen asleep at the wheel within the previous year.

Falling asleep at the wheel is a major cause of accidents.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 automobile accidents occur every year as a direct result of fatigued driving. Such accidents lead to approximately 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses every year. Research has shown that the level of impairment associated with 24 hours without sleep is comparable to a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent, over the legal limit in all states.

With fleet drivers sometimes making long trips under tight deadlines, drowsy driving is a major occupational hazard. Many drivers think that they can get through exhaustion on the road with caffeinated drinks, loud music, or some other remedy, but the best thing to do is stop and rest. Build time into your drive for short rest breaks if you have not gotten enough sleep or have been driving for long periods of time. The Federal Motor Carrier Association recommends stopping every three hours to rest on long trips.

Keep your drivers well-rested and make sure they’re not taking on more than they can handle. It will keep them safe and keep you accident-free.

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

 UPS has entered a new contract with Electric Vehicles International of Stockton, California, to provide 100 new electric delivery trucks for the shipping giant’s fleet. The new vehicles, which will be deployed in Southern California, run for an estimated 90 miles on a single charge.
UPS has been adding alternative fuels to its fleet for a while now, employing technologies such as natural gas, electricity and propane. The latest electric acquisition cost UPS more than $100,000 dollars, but comes with over $7 million in financial incentives from the State of California and several air-quality management districts.

This deal brings more focus to electric vehicles being put to commercial use, but director of vehicle engineering for EVI, Mike Britt, says there are still issues with widespread adoption.

"The cost of these is still prohibitive," Britt said, noting that the price issue should become as production of electric vehicles and their batteries increases.

"We would like to see the batteries lighter and a lot cheaper," Britt said. "Everything else is there."

Fleets are increasingly turning to new technologies to supplant their regular vehicles and combat fuel costs and environmental issues. Is your fleet using any alternative fuels to do business? Leave a comment and let us know!

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

With Hurricane Irene threatening the East Coast this weekend, it is important to make sure your vehicles are safe if you are in the path of this or any future storm. These tips, courtesy of eHow.com, will help you to minimize potential damage to your vehicles and save you money on repairs once the storm has passed.

1. Decide whether or not you're going to evacuate.
If you decide to stay, the best thing you can do is move your car further inland, and to higher ground. Remember that on the coast, storm surges can bring tides in a lot farther than normal. Not only that, at some times of year coastal areas also experience lunar tides, in which flood waters can move in a long way past the normal high tide mark. Find a place out of reach of floodwaters to store your car for the storm.

2. Keep your car covered.
Your electrical wiring can be corroded quickly by saltwater damage, and if water gets into your engine, you may find yourself with a huge mess on your hands. During a hurricane, high winds can fling all sorts of debris around--at a hundred miles an hour--so cover the car. Better yet, put it in a garage. If that's not an option, make sure the car is away from anything that might fall on it during a storm: telephone poles, tree limbs, signs, etc.

3. Tape your car windows.
Use masking tape and make a crisscross pattern across each window. Some people believe this can keep windows from shattering. Whether that is true or not, it does make cleaning up a lot simpler if the window does break; all the glass is held together with tape.

4. Remove exterior items that aren't permanent.
If you have extra antennae, magnetic signs or any other car accessory that is only mounted temporarily, remove them. Hurricane force winds can rip them from the car and turn them into deadly projectiles.

5. Keep gas in your car.
When the hurricane is over, if you have to leave you'll be able to do so safely. In the aftermath of a hurricane, you may have trouble buying gas due to power outages, so keeping a full tank will help to prevent you from getting stranded in a disaster zone.

6. When the storm has passed, check the car to see if there is any damage.
Take photos in case you have to file an insurance claim, and consider having a mechanic look over the vehicle just to make sure all the internal components still work properly.

Keep your fleet safe this hurricane season!

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

 The economic slowdown that has gripped the United States for the past few years has been especially difficult for small businesses and their fleets. But a new report shows that small businesses are beginning to look forward to more prosperity in their future.

A quarterly survey by Capital One Financial Corp. showed that 35 percent of small businesses polled in the second quarter plan to add employees in the next six months, up 6 percent from the first quarter and the highest percentage of small businesses planning to hire since the first quarter of 2010. 44 percent of small businesses said economic conditions for their business are improving, up 12 percent from a year ago.

About half (48 percent) of small business owners polled said their firm's financial position is better than it was a year ago, suggesting that the recession may finally be loosening its grip on the small business world. More optimistic outlooks in the private sector mean more money and, most importantly, more jobs.

Is your business planning to add any new employees this year? How do you feel about the future of your finances? Leave a comment and let us know.

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

Missing a delivery or unexpectedly running out of gas is an unfortunate occurrence that could put a damper on a driver’s day. But at least you’re not this New York City Sanitation worker, who accidentally drove his salt truck through the 3^rd-story concrete wall of a repair garage this week.

The driver, who was not intoxicated in any way, mistakenly stepped on the gas pedal of his vehicle and lost control, sending the truck plowing through the concrete and leaving it dangling 3 stories up, showering the parking lot below with debris.

The driver, 56-year-old Robert Legall, was rescued by firefighters and treated at a nearby hospital for neck and back pain. Legall has a clean 10-year driving record, making this incident nothing more than a freak accident.

As you can clearly see today, the simplest jobs can sometimes go wrong. That’s why it is important to keep your drivers well-trained and up to date on safety regulations and policies, and encourage concentration on the job. You wouldn’t want to end up with a hole in your building and your employees dangling 3 stories in the air!

Picture via FDNY Twitter Account.