Automotive Fleet, April 2019

AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I APRIL 2019 54 GUEST EDITORIALa cost and HR perspective Driver safety has always been a passion of mine With all of the advancements in technology rampant distracted driving continues to plague society Less than 20 states ban handheld cell phone use Montana allows texting and driving and localities have taken a proactive position of passing stricter laws than their respective state Driving fatalities continue to rise while distracted driver incidents have leveled off albeit at a much too high a rate We must address this crisis With the improvements of GPS to monitor the location of the vehicle and new products to measure the actions of the driver corporate policy must find a balance between the right to know versus the right to privacy in company owned vehicles The vehicle is a corporate asset hurtling down the road with the potential to injure passengers and innocent bystanders in a split second We must protect all parties As employees have adapted to policies surrounding their corporate computers their acceptance for both driver and vehicle oversight is mandatory to make our roads safer The future will continue to present advancements and challenges The fleet industry always addresses these in a responsible and proactive manner and it will in the future I will be offering additional views in the upcoming months on many of these issues and continue to push for greater transparency safety and a better environment for drivers fleet managers and corporate stakeholders AF Jeff Schlesinger is an expert in offering go to market transformation turnaround and growth strategies to companies in varied industries He is engaged in multiple projects to source analyze and structure opportunistic investments creating strategies to grow or turnaround purchased entities with private equity and venture capital firms and developing joint ventures with domestic and foreign companies looking to expand their respective U S footprints He can be reached at jeff schlesinger@ buckhead advisors com ture the autonomous vehicles introduction and acceptance artificial intelligence electric scooter safety how does this all affect the eco footprint and how will all of this work within the construct of fleet management Climate change is a reality that affects our families and future generations Major cities in Europe are banning internal combustion engine ICE vehicles more than 20 new EVs will be introduced in 2019 and over 250 billion has been earmarked to battery technology This is not without challenges in the U S which has experienced a slower acceptance level than in Europe and Asia The logistics of charging stations is beginning to move from the whiteboard to reality with municipalities shopping plazas and airports installing chargers Every OEM is focused on EV The industry has a responsibility to support zero emissions vehicles There are also tremendous advances in ride hailing car sharing subscriptions scooters motorized bikes the entire landscape has changed with BlaBla Car2Go Didi Fair Free2Move Getaround GETT Lyft Turo Uber and ZipCar to name just a few It has changed the dynamics and with it some pushback has been received from cities and consumers Upcoming generations view movement differently view ownership differently and view life events differently as all generations have done The shared economy will continue to evolve The integration of fleet management with these technologies will be a challenge from and having them run unfettered with new fleet products created significant innovation Alliances were developed with eDriving for a complete safety program an integrated telematics program with MapAnything and Geotab a strategic alliance with ride hailing Lyft a car sharing platform with an OEM an increased maintenance platform in partnership with Fleetcor a recall management program with AutoAp and the first ever virtual ChatBot mobile App Elle All of these new platforms required a tremendous team effort from former and new members ADVANCEMENTS IN FLEET TECHNOLOGY AND MOBILITY The EV initiative began with a corporate commitment for 100 company owned zero emissions vehicles by 2021 We purchased our first corporate EV and put the roadmap in place to meet the zero emission commitment Simultaneously we installed 20 charging stations at the corporate HQ in Alpharetta Ga in conjunction with Tesla and the local utilities This was just the beginning of the U S transformation to EV Where will it go Concepts will continue to evolve The future will present even more advancements challenges and a continued requirement to leave the we have always done it that way mentality at the front door In 2017 everyone was speaking of mobility car sharing ride hailing subscription services today the conversation now includes distracted driving the U S EV infrastrucWhile at LeasePlan USA Schlesinger oversaw an electric vehicle initiative that began with a corporate commitment for 100 company owned zero emissions vehicles by 2021 As part of that initiative the company also installed 20 charging stations at its corporate headquarters in Alpharetta Ga PHOTO ISTOCKPHOTO COM 3ALEXD