Category: Blog

5 Ways to Improve Fleet Efficiency

Posted on | by Wisam Abou-diab

Fleet tracking is important, but let’s talk about fleet efficiency. Not only is fleet efficiency important for protecting the environment, but it’s also good for your business! (Who would have guessed). Let’s get started.

1. Fleet Aerodynamics

Fleet Efficiency

Poor aerodynamics on your fleet vehicles will cause more costs in fuel, especially when lots of kilometers are driven. This is due to the amount of drag that is created, essentially making your vehicles work harder to move forward, therefore using more gas. Just as if you were biking against hard winds while wearing a very puffy jacket. You will get tired much quicker and use more energy per kilometer. There are many options to consider for adding aerodynamics to your vehicles, without compromising the look! Take a look at this site for example. 

 

2. Regular Scheduled Oil Changes

fleet efficiency and telematics

Executing scheduled oil changes without delay will ensure internal engine parts are protected, saving you money on future repairs. Not only that, but did you know oil health also affects fuel usage? As oil breaks down, it loses its effectiveness to lubricate the internal parts of the engine, causing more friction and heat, which leads to loss of engine efficiency. Make sure oil changes are done on time, and your fleet’s engines will run more smoothly and more efficient.

 

3. Tire Pressure Maintenance

tire pressure maintenance

Picture yourself riding a bike with nearly flat tires. I bet you’re imagining how hard it is to pedal and how tired you are getting! Well, this principle applies to vehicles as well. Keeping your tires consistently pumped to the correct PSI level will let the vehicles drive along will much less resistance vs. having low tire pressure, and will save you a lot of fuel usage. Keep in mind, tire pressure decreases approximately 1 PSI per 10 degrees Fahrenheit the temperature drops and vice versa. Pump it up to save!

 

4. Get rid of the paper!

paperless business systems

Another way to lower costs, and be more efficient, is to go digital. Some things, of course, need to be on paper, but the more you can convert to digital the more you will save. This will reduce printing costs, paper costs, and increase the speed of workflows within the office. This will also reduce clutter and reduce the need for extra storage, creating a clean and pleasant working environment.

 

5. Fleet Telematics

Fleet Telematics

Last but not least, our sophisticated fleet telematics systems are a great way to be on top of maintenance schedules. It’s also a great way to catch a problem with a vehicle as early as possible, in order to prevent further significant damage that could have been avoided. Our fleet tracking system will prevent excessive idling, eliminate paperwork, improve driver safety (possibly saving you money in the future for insurance), promote fuel efficient driving habits, and streamline operations (less time and money wasted).

 

These are some of our tips, and if you have more, share the knowledge on our “5 Ways to Improve Fleet Efficiency” post on Facebook!

What are the Best Fleet Fuel Cards?

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

While I was studying in business school, I learned a quick lesson about asking for the “best” solution. I often heard students asking the professors, “So what’s the best way to do X or to do Y?”. The answer was the same, every time – “It depends”. Of course, as students, we were frustrated by the answer. However, “it depends” is really the best answer because every problem is different. The same applies to finding the best fleet fuel cards.

What are the best fleet fuel cards?

In honour of my professors, the answer is … it depends. In this guide, we won’t necessarily cover what are the best fleet fuel cards, but rather, how to look for the best fleet fuel cards.

In order to find the best fleet fuel cards, consider the following areas.

Cost vs. Benefit

Fuel cards can have subtle cost differences. Just like a credit card, some cards have monthly fees while other cards only have a one-time fee. Additionally, there are different terms and conditions. For example, some cards have heavier late payment penalties.

On the other side, what are the benefits of having a fuel card? A lot of fleet fuel cards offer volume discounts. Of course, just like the cost, the volume discounts vary from card to card.

In other words, the only real way to compare cost against benefit is to compare quotes. Here is a quick exercise. From the table below, what is the best fleet fuel card?

Card A clearly has the lower monthly fee while Card B clearly has the better volume discount. The only way to decide which is the better card is to consider business use. In this case, the cost is only justified if a vehicle uses more than 200 gallons a month [$2 monthly fee/ $0.01 discount per gallon].

Network

Here’s another consideration – how big is the fleet card’s coverage? Let’s say a fleet card makes sense from a cost vs. benefit standpoint. However, that fleet card would be useless if it doesn’t serve the fleet’s operating range.

Therefore, one of the first questions to qualify a fuel card is to figure out their service location. Some fuel cards might cover 90% of fuel stations across the country. Another might only cover a very narrow region.

A good framework for matching a fuel card is to:

1 – Figure out where drivers go. Create a coverage map based on driver locations.

2 – From the coverage map, jot down local gas stations.

3 – Ask a fuel card rep how many of those stations are covered.

Data

Some fuel cards are quite basic and their data is limited to monthly invoices. That might be fine for small businesses who only employ a few drivers.

However, for businesses that employ more than a handful of drivers, they might want other data. For instance, some fuel cards provide the following 2 reports.

Fuel data. Some fuel cards can create reports on fuel purchases and fuel use. As a result, managers can use these reports to save money on fuel purchases and on fuel efficiency.

Fraud reports. Some fuel cards are able to stop fuel fraud. For instance, a business discovered that some of their employees were stealing fuel because they received suspicious purchase alerts.

Conclusion

There are many fleet fuel cards. The only way to pick the “best” card is to figure out business needs such as the amount fuel purchased per month, the service coverage, and the amount of data needed. From there, businesses can compare their requirements against each fuel card.

Links:
FitSmall Services: When is a Fleet Card Right for Your Small Business?

Tamper Proof GPS Tracker Alternatives

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

“Our GPS tracker just didn’t work,” said a disappointed business owner. “It never did what it was supposed to do because it turned off half of the time!” What was wrong with the GPS tracker? Well, it turned out that the device itself wasn’t necessarily the problem. The business just needed a tamper proof GPS tracker.

The Problem

The business owner thought that their GPS tracker was a winner. After all, it was cheap and it was installed in just under 2 minutes. However, the quick install might have led to the problem – the device was fragile and was far from a tamper proof GPS tracker.

In fact, the owner later found out that employees unplugged the devices whenever they did not want to be tracked. They would then replug the device.

This left the owner to wonder – what are some good tamper proof GPS tracker alternatives?

Alternative #1 – Hardwired GPS

A popular alternative is hardwiring. Hardwiring is when mechanics install wires within the vehicle.

What are the advantages of hardwiring? For a long time, hardwiring was the go-to tamper proof solution. Since the solution was part of the vehicle, employees cannot tamper with tracking by unplugging a device.

On the other side, what are the concerns? According to fleet managers, some of the biggest concerns of hardwiring include:

  • Time. The vehicles need to visit a installation shop. It might not be feasible to do every single vehicle at once, so businesses tend to install the fleet in phases. As a result, the process could take several weeks to complete.
  • Cost. Some hardwired solutions can have upfront costs of over $1000/vehicle. Hardwired solutions are typically more costly because businesses need to pay for both hardware and installation.
  • Installation risk. Hardwiring requires a high level of technical skills. Businesses must ensure that the installer is certified in order to mitigate vehicle damage risk.

Alternative 2: Tamper Proof Plug and Play Solutions

Another alternative is using tamper proof plug and play solutions. Over the past few years, a lot of plug and play solutions developed anti-tampering hardware and software. For example, Geotab systems have two powerful anti-tampering measures.

Harness

Harnesses are anti-tampering superstars. Harnesses hide the tracking device under the vehicle’s hood and away from open view. As a result, the system is protected against accidental kickers or deliberate yankers.

Unplug alert

Let’s say a mischievous employee gets creative. They go under the hood, find the device, and use a tool to remove the device. Can they get away with it?

No. Another precaution against tampering is setting up unplug rules. This is a handy alert and report system where all unplugs are documented. Meaning administrators can know when a device is unplugged when it next communicates.  However, it is important to note that there is no guaranteed time on when it will next communicate.

Summary

With both a harness and an unplug alarm, Geotab is a tamper proof GPS tracker system. Tampering with the system makes no sense! It’s almost like a staff member walking up to their supervisor, blindfolding them, then trying to walk out the building – probably not a great ending for that employee!

Looking to install a tamper proof GPS tracker? Check out Geotab’s Harness Guide!

Oil & Gas Safety | The Importance of Training, Wireless Gas Detection and Disaster Recovery Planning

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Are all gas leaks dangerous?

According to Nicholas Kawa, only some leaks are dangerous. Kawa worked as a gas leak investigator. During his job, Kawa was surprised to find out that gas leaks were everywhere and not all leaks were fixed right away. In a time where people are thinking about safety and are buying things like wireless gas detection systems, why aren’t all leaks fixed right away?

Well, only gas leaks that have 5 – 15% concentration are actually explosive. Kawa realized that gas leaks were everywhere and only the riskiest leaks were prioritized.

oil & gas safety stats

Even though most leaks are harmless, gas safety is still important. Over the past few years, we’ve heard a lot of gas accident stories. Here are a few examples.

Examples of Oil & Gas Disasters

 

Gas Explosion, Etobicoke 2003

I had a personal experience with this disaster. At the time of the accident, I was still in elementary school. On that day, I was playing in recess and then heard the loudest “bang!” of my life. Of course, we were all scared and ran back to our teachers.

It turned out that the bang was from a nearby accident. A construction crew was working at a site when it struck a gas line. It caused a gas leak and the resulting explosion destroyed a strip mall.

Since 2003, several companies were fined for the accident. It also prompted businesses to take a closer look at their safety policies to prevent a future accident.

Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster

Lac-Mégantic, a small town in Québec, was forever changed by a rail accident. In 2013, a train derailed and destroyed a section of the town. How did this accident happen?

The train, which was carrying fuel, was stopped for a crew change. While the train was braked, a gas leak fire caused a small fire. Firefighters were able to put out the fire, but in the process, the train’s brakes loosened. This caused the train to roll down the tracks, derail, and crash into downtown Lac-Mégantic.

The crash was later called one of the worst rail disasters in Canada. It was deadly and nearly destroyed all of Lac-Mégantic’s downtown buildings.

Bhopal Disaster

The Bhopal disaster was perhaps the worst gas disaster in history. In 1984, a pesticide plant had an accident which released tons of poisonous gases.
Over 600,000 people in nearby towns were exposed to these gases. It was horrifying – thousands of people died that night and many more thousands died over the years.

To this day, there are still lingering effects. The nearby towns still have uncleaned gases. In fact, the government still labels the area as contaminated.

Oil & Gas Safety

As seen in the previous 3 stories, oil and gas safety can save lives. Some safety best practices include:

oil & gas safety best practices

Employee training

Since accidents can cause wide damage, businesses spend a lot of time preventing accidents. One of the best prevention tools is training employees.

For instance, fuel companies set up policies around anything from uniforms to driving rules to vehicle inspection. After creating policies, businesses train and monitor employees. Proactive business, as a result, had much lower accident rates.

Wireless gas detection

A useful safety tool is using wireless gas detection. One of the biggest safety risks is odourless gas spills. Gas, in its natural state, is odourless. Sometimes, employees might not notice gas spills until it’s too late.

Enter wireless gas detection systems. These systems include both wireless gas detection sensors and remote shut off buttons. Sensors are portable kits that alert employees about gas threats. In addition, employees can use remote shut off buttons to cut equipment power.

Disaster Recovery Planning

Disaster recovery planning is where a business plans ahead for accidents. Although being accident-free is always the goal, businesses still need to prepare for emergencies.

For example, one company regularly conducts drills. These drills train employees on how to respond quickly to oil and gas accidents. As a result, when a spill actually happened, employees were able to quickly work with emergency services to contain the damage.

Links
The Atlantic: Gas Leaks Can’t Be Tamed
CBC: Enbridge fined $700K for fatal Etobicoke explosion
National Post: Lac Mégantic ‘may well be the most devastating rail accident in Canadian history’
The Atlantic: Bhopal: The World’s Worst Industrial Disaster, 30 Years Later
EWEB: Tanker Crash Highlights Importance of Emergency Preparedness and Response Efforts

Best Dashcam Stories Over the Last Year

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Here’s an interesting stat. According to studies, company drivers were not responsible for over 80% of crashes. Because they protect good drivers, dashcams are becoming more popular for both businesses and private drivers. People are coming up with creative uses for dashcams. Here are some of the best dashcam stories from last year.

best dashcam stories 2017

Personal driver protection – from insurance claims to muggings!

Many personal drivers use dashcams. For example, almost a third of Canadians already have or are considering dashcams. The craziest thing is a third of the population isn’t even a big number! In some countries, almost everyone has a dashcam. For example, in Russia, a lot of drivers own dashcams and some of them share their videos on YouTube.

Why do private drivers use dashcams?

Insurance benefits

False claim protection is one of the biggest reasons for getting dashcams. Many drivers were able to prove that they were not responsible for crashes. As a result, they were completely excused by their insurance companies and their insurance rates were protected.

Muggings

Sadly, some places around the world are known for car muggings. In response, drivers are encouraged to buy dashcams. Audio recording and HD footage quality are two of the best dashcam features to protect drivers against muggers.

After buying these dashcams, owners labeled their cars to indicate that their car is protected and to warn off muggers

Ontario Professional Drivers’ Safety Association

John De Groot believes that people can have safer roads. Consequently, he made that the number one goal of his organization. “We wanted to put safety back in the industry and promote it,” said De Groot.

His idea involves using a multi-channel camera solution. He and other commercial drivers installed these cameras. When the cameras catch someone driving dangerously or illegally, De Groot and the other drivers will share that footage with the police.

The vision is to clean up the roads. “It’s not trying to invade privacy,” said De Groot. “It’s to protect the public”. For instance, the best dashcam footages will be saved and sent to driving schools or commercial companies. These footages will help driving schools and companies better train their drivers.

Ontario Professional Drivers’ Safety Association

Teaching driving schools how to teach their students

Dashcams are also helping driving schools teach their drivers. Two use cases include route replays and education audits.

Route replays

The best way for new drivers to learn is by getting them to correct their mistakes. “One of the biggest challenges for an instructor is to get students to realize that they are making a mistake,” said a driving instructor. “Some students don’t notice that they are making a mistake, while other students get defensive!”.

Dashcams are a great way to break down the barrier. “My students can now follow their routes and see all of their mistakes.” said the instructor. “In addition, some of the best dashcam models tell students when they were driving too fast or when they weren’t driving smoothly. My students got noticeably better after reviewing the footages and a lot of them passed their driving tests on the first go.”

routes replays

Education audits

Driving schools are also able use dashcams to audit their instructors. “We were disappointed to hear complaints about some of our instructors”, said a driving school owner. “Our biggest mission is to create a comfortable and safe environment for our students. We started using live streaming dashcams in 2017 to ensure our instructors were meeting expectations.”

In order to audit instructors, schools used multi-channel cameras. Multi-channel cameras have multiple views and managers saw what was happening both on the road and in the car. As a result, schools were able to give instructors feedback on their teaching skills.

Check out our top 10 best dashcam feature list to read more about cameras!

Links
CBC: Smile – you’re on trucker camera! Drivers outfitting tractor-trailers with cameras to capture bad behaviour
Huffpost: Dash Cams May Help You Keep Your Auto Insurance Rates Low

Fuel Strategy Framework | Fuel Monitoring Systems for Trucks

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

The new year is always a good time for businesses to review their strategies! For fleets, one of these strategies might be the fuel strategy. Even in a new year, fleet managers are challenged to get more bang for fuel bucks. Here is a sample fuel strategy framework that is powered by data from fuel monitoring systems for trucks.

ABC Company’s Fuel Strategy Framework

ABC Company is a trucking company. It’s no surprise that fuel is one of their biggest costs. For that reason, ABC’s fleet manager uses fuel monitoring systems for trucks to guide their fuel strategy.

ABC’s fuel strategy is organized into a step by step process. In this process, the fleet manager plans fuel savings, monitors fuel data, creates policies, and reports results.

Let’s closely examine each step.

Step 1: Planning savings with Fleet Savings Summary

As with any good strategy, the first step is to set goals. This is no different for ABC’s fuel strategy. At the beginning of each year, the fleet manager sets fuel savings targets with a Fleet Savings Summary report.

The Fleet Savings Summary creates a dashboard of potential savings from using fuel monitoring systems for trucks. Throughout the year, the fleet manager uses the savings dashboard to compare results against targets.

fleet savings summary

Step 2: Monitoring fuel purchase with Fuel Tracker

In the second step, ABC’s fleet manager collects fuel purchase data. Vital data is collected and reported on the Fuel Tracker Report.

For instance, the fleet manager can see where fuel was purchased, how much fuel costed, and what was the fuel economy. Afterwards, the fleet manager creates effective purchase policies by analyzing fuel purchase reports.

Step 3: Monitoring fuel usage with Fuel Consumption Analysis

The third step is to monitor trucks as they go on the road. Here, the fleet manager’s biggest challenge is to make sense of all of the data.

Since fuel use depends on different factors, the fleet manager relies on Fuel Consumption Analysis to narrow down what’s driving fuel cost and how to meet savings targets.

For instance, fuel variation reports shows how much fuel was consumed each day. From these reports, ABC can filter out days that had dips in fuel efficiency.

From here, the fleet manager looks at each dips and makes sense of it. Was it caused by poor driving? Long routes? Faulty vehicles? By going through the checklist, the fleet manager can then make an informed decision on how to meet savings targets.

Step 4: Creating policies

The fourth step is where fleet managers earn their living. In order to reach the year’s savings targets, ABC’s fleet manager creates policies from data collected in the last 2 steps.

After reviewing data, ABC created the following policies:

  • Fuel purchases. The fleet manager published a list of preferred fuelling stations. By using fuel purchase data, the fleet manager identified the highest value fuelling stations.
  • Driver training. The fleet manager sent several drivers to a training center. After analysing variation reports, the fleet manager noticed that the same drivers struggled with certain driving habits. Then, by re-training the drivers, fuel savings increased.
  • Truck order. The fleet manager ordered a new truck. The fleet manager noticed that a particular truck struggled with fuel savings. After crossing off all other factors, the fleet manager was finally able to prove that it was time to replace the aging truck.

Step 5: Reporting results with Quarterly Fuel Trends

The final step is to report fuel results. In order to report results, the fleet manager used a tool called Quarterly Fuel Trends.

Quarterly Fuel Trends summarizes fuel changes in each quarter. With this report, ABC’s fleet manager was able to prove that the fleet reduced fuel costs each quarter. Here comes the bonus cheques!

Interested in looking at fuel management systems for trucks? Click here for more info.

Links
Geotab: Fleet Savings Summary
Geotab: Last 3 Months Fuel Trend Report
Fuel Tracker
Geotab: Fuel Consumption Analysis

FAQs – Asset Tracking Services

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

What do warehouses, schools, and construction sites all have in common? All of these places have valuable assets lying around. In order to protect and control these assets, people started using asset tracking services.

Here are some of the FAQS for asset tracking services.

 

What are asset tracking services and how does it work?

Asset tracking services manages a business’s tools or inventory. Management can include anything from locating to labeling assets.
There are typically three ways where this works – either by barcode, sensors, or tags.

Barcode

Barcode tracking is probably the most common asset tracker. People use it all the time. For instance, stores would attach barcodes to keep track of their stock.

Sensors

Sensors are another way to track assets. Some sensors are attached to an asset through hardwiring, while others sensors are easily screwed onto the asset. Once attached, the sensor uses satellite to locate and follow the asset.

Tags

Tags are very similar to sensors. Like sensors, tags are easily attached to assets. The main difference is that tags send data to a receiving device. For instance, some tags use Bluetooth to send data to phones.

What can asset trackers do?

The top 3 uses for asset tracking services include location tracking, geofencing, and environment sensors.

Location tracking

Location tracking is still the biggest reason why people use asset tracking services. Asset trackers provide real-time accurate location updates, which improves asset management.

Geofencing

Geofencing is a tool where users can draw zones. When assets enter or leave these zones, an alert is triggered. These alerts are helpful for preventing theft.

Environment sensors

Besides location data, asset trackers can collect other data points such as motion, light exposure, or temperature. Some businesses came up with creative ideas to use these data points, such as using motion sensors to create reports on how often the assets are used.

What are some real-life applications of asset trackers?

Case study – facility

Issue:

Some facilities process and ship hundreds of inventory. When facilities are large scale, they run into issues such as lost inventory and poor asset management.

Solution:

Bluetooth tracking tags are a great tool to improve asset management. Facilities frequently install Bluetooth tags to track inventory from manufacturing to shipping.

After installing Bluetooth tags, employees were able to quickly locate inventory on their phone. Also, before sending out the order, the tags confirm that all items in the shipping order have been loaded into their truck. As a result, the Bluetooth tags decrease missing inventory and increase productivity flow.

Case study – construction site

Issue:

The average construction job takes several months. Because constructors take a while to complete a job, a lot of them are required to leave equipment on

site. This makes their equipment an easy target for thieves. In fact, a recent example happened in Gatineau, where thieves stole a $160,000 lift from a site.

Solution:

Construction companies are installing sensors to monitor assets. A popular technique is drawing a geofence zone around the construction site. If an asset is stolen and taken off-site, then an alert is triggered. From here, the company can share live location data with the police to quickly recover the stolen asset.

Links
Ottawa Sentinel: Gatineau police seek assistance in heavy equipment theft investigation 

2017 Was a Big Year for Electric Vehicles (Pt. 2) | GPS Tracking for Electric Vehicles

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

“Does GoFleet provide GPS tracking for electric vehicles?”, a customer asked this year.

That question is a fantastic sign for electric vehicles! EVs are gaining steam with the general public and with fleets.

For example, a number of city fleets are planning to mass purchase EVs. Major cities like Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Portland plan to add electric police cruisers, street sweepers, and trash haulers.

What if their next step is installing GPS tracking? Then there is good news! GPS tracking for electric vehicles is totally possible and is a good solution for common EV issues.

GPS tracking for electric vehicles solves the following issues:

 

1) How can I plan routes so electric vehicles do not run out of battery?

Battery life is one of the biggest barriers to running a EV fleet. A lot of EVs have limited range and need to recharge during the day.

This causes headaches for route planners. Which vehicle should I assign to the job? When does the vehicle need to recharge? What if the vehicle gets stuck on the road? Indeed, route planners can spend hours or days answering these questions.

Thankfully, route management tools answer these questions.

Here’s an example of how route planning works. First, all jobs are imported into the the system. Then, restrictions such as vehicle range are entered. Afterwards, the software calculates each vehicle’s route. Finally, drivers receive the route on in-vehicle displays.

 

2) How can I maintain my electric vehicle?

One of the benefits of EVs is that it requires less tinkering than regular vehicles. This doesn’t mean EV maintenance should be ignored!

Battery, motor, and tire checkups are all important areas to look at. Some EV fleets use CMMS to track these jobs.

CMMS is a computer software that tracks vehicles and schedules their maintenance. For instance, fleets can digitally remind and track motor checks. As a result of using CMMS, fleets extend a EV’s useful life.

 

3) How can I protect my vehicle from theft?

Owners need to protect their electric vehicles from thieves. EVs are an attractive target because of their high value … except for this one!

Thieves avoid the Tesla Model S like the flu! It’s not because they think the Model S is a piece of junk. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Most thieves know that the Model S has built-in GPS tracking. Stealing a Tesla S is an invitation to get caught!

However, what if tracking devices are not included with the EV? In that case, installing a GPS tracker is the best move.

A lot of GPS trackers are easily installed. For example, Geotab units can be discreetly installed in about 15 minutes. After installation, owners get peace of mind – the tracker will quickly locate and recover stolen vehicles.

4) How can I keep a strong battery life?

Similar to anything that’s battery powered, EV owners need to prevent battery drain. Some tips to preserve battery life includes:

Batteries should be kept away from hot temperatures. EV batteries are damaged by overly hot temperatures.
Stop charging the battery once it’s full. Battery damage can occur by overloading the battery with voltage.

GPS tracking is a great way to implement these tips. Consider the following example.

Example

Geotab can prevent overcharges by creating voltage level reports:

  • The first step is creating and checking voltage alerts. Let’s say the manager notices that a particular driver has a lot of alerts.
  • The manager can then check the location of these alerts. Voilà – the manager then notices that these alerts occurred at a charging station.
  • What does this mean? It means that the driver is charging the EV, even when it’s full! The manager can now train the driver to stop overcharging.

We’re excited for GPS tracking for electric vehicles to grow even more in 2018!

Links:

IEA: Electric vehicles have another record year, reaching 2 million cars in 2016

Geotab: Drivin Smart Deliveries

Tech Times: Everyone loves Tesla Motor S except thieves: Here’s why

CleanTechnica: Battery Lifetime: How Long Can Electric Vehicle Batteries Last? https://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/31/battery-lifetime-long-can-electric-vehicle-batteries-last/

CRS Automotive: What Maintenance Do Electric Vehicles Need?

Geotab: Telematics for Hybrid & Electric Vehicles 

Safe Driving Guide | From Coaching to Collision Warning Systems

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Where did you learn how to drive? A lot of people learn from driving schools or from family members. In my case, my dad sat in the passenger seat and he was my extra set of eyes. It sure was a relief to have someone correct my mistakes! Besides driving school or family members, people also learned from tools such as in-cab coaching and collision warning systems.

Here are 3 ways where drivers can learn how to drive safely.

ways to drive safely

1) Driving Schools

Driving schools are an awesome place to learn safe driving. So how important is driving school? Compared to people who never attended driving school, driving school graduates get 75% fewer tickets and have 16% fewer accidents. That’s a big difference!

Driving schools, typically, are a combo of classroom and hands-on training. Both training methods are important and save drivers from tickets and accidents.

Classroom training

A lot of students only look forward to hands-on training. From my driving class lessons, I recall some of my classmates dozing off in the classroom. Big mistake! Classroom training teaches driving rules and makes a difference in avoiding traffic tickets.

Hands-on training

Most students sign up for driving school because of hands-on training. Hands-on training is where students get in a car with an instructor. The instructor then teaches students how to drive safely.

The best part is that this is all done in a safe car. Because instructors have their own brakes, they can stop the vehicle before it gets in an accident.

… And new ways of training!

The exciting part is some driving schools go beyond classroom and hands-on training. Driver simulation, for instance, is a growing area.

In driving simulations, students practice with virtual reality and a driving seat. As a result, students can safely practice anything from basic driving to emergencies.

2) In-Cab Coaching

In-cab coaching is like having a personal driving instructor. A coaching device monitors driving habits and uses a speaker for verbal feedback.
Example

Let’s say a new driver is being trained on driving to the speed limit. In this case, a zero-tolerance speeding rule is set up on the device. The driver is then actively monitored and trained by the device. If they exceed the exceed the limit, an audible alert reminds the driver to slow down.

In addition to speeding, drivers can be trained on other areas. Other common areas include acceleration, braking, cornering, and seatbelts.

3) Collision Warning Systems

If in-cab training is the coach, then collision warning systems are guardians. They warn and stop drivers from getting into collisions with vehicles and pedestrians.

So how exactly do collision warning systems work? The exciting answer is that it depends on the system!

Basic collision warning systems warn drivers by using visual and audio alerts. Advanced systems, on the other hand, brake the vehicle before it crashes. They are so advanced that the system is being used to develop self-driving cars!

More information about driving safety systems:
In-cab training: GoTalk
Forward collision warning: Mobileye
UNL News Releases: Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets

Top 10 Dash Camera Features

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Dash cameras are one of the fastest growing gadgets. Drivers are realizing that dash cameras protect them from accident liability. In addition, businesses are realizing that dash cameras are the next big trend for fleet safety. Accordingly, let’s determine the best camera solutions by navigating through the top 10 dash camera features.

In no particular order, here are our top 10 dash camera features!

 

1- High-quality hardware

Camera quality is one of the most important features. Dash cameras have a huge cost range, all with different quality levels. Some are $100. Others are well over $1000. It all comes down to if the cameras will work. Nothing is worse than having a broken camera when footage is needed!

Accordingly, it’s important to consider the camera’s reviews, manufacturer, and warranty. The best cameras should have no red flags.

2 – Live streaming

Live streaming is important for businesses. Businesses use live streaming to check if drivers are following rules or to train drivers in real time. For instance, one manager used live stream to check if drivers were wearing their uniform.

3 – HD video

Video quality should be clear for reviews. HD video quality is a must because lower quality cameras might not be able to catch things like license plates.

4 – Incident-Based Recording

Let’s say a driver gets in an accident and needs to review footage. What happens next? A lot of cameras require the driver to take out the SD card and review footage on the computer. They would then need to find the exact moment where the accident happened.

Incident-based recording is a much more efficient process. Dash cameras with this feature detect accidents and filters the footage. As a result, users do not need to review hours of useless footage.

5 – GPS Integration

Businesses love GPS integration. GPS devices measure things like driver location and driving habits. A recent trend is to connect that data to video footage.

For example, let’s say a manager needs footage of when drivers are at a specific site. This can be done with an integrated system! The manager would first enter that location into the system. From here, the GPS detects when drivers arrive at the location and then tells the camera to record and save footage.

6 – Panic Button

The last two features let drivers and managers save footages. What if drivers need to save footage? Some dash cameras have a panic button. When a driver presses the button, the camera saves footage for before and after that time.

7 – Cloud storage

A common concern is the camera’s storage space. Many cameras have limited space because they only rely on SD cards. SD cards need to be wiped when it’s full in order to record new footage.

Cloud storage is another way to store data. This feature is handy if a user wants unlimited storage. In this process, important footages from crashes, GPS rules or panic buttons are saved online. People are then able to dig up saved footage from many, many years ago!

8 – Wireless uploads

A related concern to cloud storage is how the footage gets online. This is usually done by one of the following two ways.

The first way is a manual upload. Owners need to eject the SD card, plug it into a computer and then save it online.

Alternatively, the second way is through wireless uploads. Wireless uploads are much easier than manual uploads. Cameras with this feature can upload videos to wifi. It is also important for large companies, where drivers can remotely upload footage instead of traveling to headquarters.

9 – Tamper-free

Tamper-free cameras are another important business feature. A recent problem is that some company drivers tamper with camera footage. In one company, a driver got in an at-fault accident. The driver ejected and destroyed the SD card.

In order to prevent tampering, some cameras are tamper-free. For example, certain cameras lock the SD card slot with a key. The key, which would be kept by the manager, is required to eject the card.

10 – Expandability

Is it enough to have dash cameras? Some people say no because they need multiple cameras. Some dash cameras allow owners to add side and back cameras. As a result of setting up multiple cameras, incidents can be recreated from every single angle.

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Link:
Grand View Research: Dashboard Camera Market Worth $1.84 Billion By 2022