Exciting Fleet Developments in 2018

Merry Christmas Eve! And happy one-week-until-the-end-of-the-year! Time sure flies, doesn’t it?

While we enjoy festivities with our families, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the major developments of the past year. While more happened than we can fit into one blog post, here are some of 2018’s biggest moments for fleets, vehicles, and GPS installs.

ELD Mandate

Out of everything we saw this year, the ELD Mandate’s second stage’s implementation was definitely one of the most significant. As of this week, Hours of Service violations have racked up more than $265 million in fines. Despite these violations, ELD compliance and use has certainly grown since the start of the year. The FMCSA has issued a few requested exemptions, but has dismissed many others. Encouragingly, the government has also acknowledged the issues that have emerged with the new rules. They’ve also held listening sessions to hear from fleets and drivers across the nation. This has led to the possibility of reform for four areas of the HoS rules, which may take effect in 2019. As we count down to the Mandate’s final deadline and the end of AOBRD use next December, it will be interesting to see what changes.

Autonomous vehicles

It’s no surprise that autonomous vehicles have still not filled our roads and are unlikely to do so anytime soon. Still, we have seen exciting results in the testing and development of driverless vehicles over the past year. Self-driving taxis have already hit the road in Phoenix and future tests are already in the works. Despite these exciting milestones, serious questions remain about the safety and sustainability of these vehicles. After an early test led to the death of Elaine Herzberg as she crossed the street in Tempe, many have called for stricter rules and tests before these vehicles join us on the road. Add these concerns to the lack of cohesive legislation for autonomous vehicles and you get a delay on widespread use. Autonomous vehicles will surely rule the roads one day, but that day is still far in the future.

Telematics

We’ve been in the telematics business for 20 years, so we’ve seen the acceptance and attitude toward these devices shift over the years. As digital data has grown in importance, however, 2018 has shown more use of telematics than ever before. From fleet use to the growing use of telematics for insurance purposes, more industries are gathering and analyzing driving data. As this use and telematics capabilities continue to develop, we plan to stay right in the middle of it for fleets across the country.

Our new website!

We can’t close the year without mentioning our own exciting development. With our website’s new look and content, we’ve created a better experience for our visitors and customers. As we start the new year with a fresh look, we’re excited to continue bringing “World Class” customer service to our customers and partners!