Majority of Small Fleets in the EU don't bother monitoring driver speed

53% of all fleets in the EU don't bother to monitor driver speed;
a key factor in reducing collisions and liability, as well as potential
driver related deaths and injuries.

A new report from road safety charity Brake suggests that a significant proportion of fleet managers still don’t remotely monitor driver speed.

The second part of the group’s fleet survey report 2013 claims that speeding or driving too fast in wet or slippery conditions increases the risk of crashing and that a 1km/h reduction in average speed would save 2,200 lives every year in Europe.

Of the 220 fleet managers included in the research, one in four respondents (26%) didn't know how many of their cars were exceeding the speed limit when involved in a collision.

Six in ten (61%) managers of fleets with 50+ vehicles said they monitor driver speed while only 32% of smaller fleet managers could say the same.

This indicates that 53% of all fleets don’t bother to monitor driver speed.

Managers can do more
Roz Cumming, Professional Engagement Manager at Brake, said fleet managers have a duty to ensure the safety of their drivers and protect vulnerable road users.

She commented: “Monitoring driver speed and reminding drivers to keep well within speed limits, and to slow down even further around vulnerable road users can help.

This report shows that some fleets are already addressing this risk, but there is still more that managers can do.”

A spokesman from licence checker service Licence Bureau, which sponsored the research, says: “To reduce risks, organisations should: have a clear policy that all employees adhere to speed limits; use realistic route planning, taking account of congestion etc.; monitor compliance, for example through [GPS and wireless] telematics; and challenge or address unsafe behavior at both an individual and organisational level.”

Wi-Fi on planes, trains to start picking up speed in early 2014

As reported by Death and Taxes: Starting in early 2014 when you pay for Wi-Fi access on a plane or train, the service you buy may be able to actually get you online - at a speed conducive to doing actual work.

New satellite technology called Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms (ESOMPs) can deliver Wi-Fi to moving vehicles at speeds 10 times faster than current technology. It’s kind of a misleading name because the new technology is actually satellite based. Unlike the GoGo in-flight internet you’re used to buying that takes ground-based cellular data and converts it to Wi-Fi, the ESOMPs beam high-speed Wi-Fi signals to satellite level. And unlike the the GoGo in-flight internet, it has some actual kick.

BBC reports that British communications regulator Ofcom is in the process of considering ESOMPs for approval and that the FCC has already approved them in the U.S. Starting in early 2014 the internet on flights should be fast enough for you to stream Netflix movies, and make calls and video conferences over Skype.

Since around the time the first iPhone came out I've been saying the biggest innovation we need now isn't in new gadgets but in the infrastructure to make the gadgets we already have actually work. I’m sitting in the middle of Los Angeles, right under the Hollywood sign, and I have absolutely zero cell reception. It’s completely crazy that our infrastructure isn't better than it is.

With that in mind, a new kind of Wi-Fi called “802.11ac” is on the horizon (using high-density 256 QAM) and should start making its way into our daily lives soon. At a speed of 1.3 Gigabits per second, it’s more than double the current top speed of standard high-speed Wi-Fi, enough to “transfer an entire high-definition movie to a tablet in under 4 minutes, share photo albums with friends in a matter of seconds or stream three HD videos at the same time,” reports CNN.

Up until now my attitude toward Apple’s lackluster product releases has been, “So what if the most exciting thing about the new iPhone is that it’s gold—I won’t be able to do anything with more futuristic services anyway.” But with infrastructure catching up, it may be time for the front-end innovators to get in gear again.

Wireless Bots to Comb Illicit Tucson Tunnels for Drugs

As reported by Nextgov: The Homeland Security Department is ordering wireless robots to probe underground passageways along the Southwest border for drug trafficking activity, according to contracting documents.

The Defense Department for several years has sent robots in place of troops to identify land mines throughout Middle East battle zones, but the technology is relatively new for DHS.

“A robotic solution is always being looked at to replace a Border Patrol agent from having to make initial entry into an illicit tunnel," stated an Aug. 7 report justifying the need for a specific automaton brand, the Pointman. "This has always been a challenge since there is not one single robot solution for various types of illicit tunnels discovered.”

Operators will be able to remotely shrink the rovers to a height of less than 7 inches tall for scouring beneath vehicles and entering confined spaces, such as under beds, according to contract requirements published Aug. 15. The bots also have an “arm” for climbing stairs, they added.

Measuring at most 18 inches tall and 15 inches long, the discreet system will only roam about three miles per hour. It is designed to travel without human intervention for about 200 meters.

Officials claim the Pointman Robot is the only commercial, wireless robot capable of investigating and clearing illegal underground tunnels in Arizona. The “Pointman Robot significantly outperforms all wireless robots evaluated and tested” in the Tucson, Ariz., region, while all the other systems assessed could travel no more than 15 feet before losing control, the justification stated.

Operators can remotely upright a disabled bot “to make corrections after a fall or tip over,” according to the contract requirements.

For trekking along challenging terrain, cluttered with, for example, “clothing, debris/rubble, household items, rocks, stairs, sidewalk curbs, etc.,” the robots can deploy a “traversing” capability, DHS officials said. On flat surfaces, the robots will switch to a wheel mode.

Some passageways are seemingly engineered to block authorities. In 2012, U.S. officials discovered a 755-foot channel descending 57 feet, and located under a 2,000-gallon water tank, according to the Los Angeles Times. It could be moved only by a forklift.

A yet-to-be hired contractor will be responsible for assembling the 17.5 pound autonomous creatures from various commercial parts, including the Pointman and a mini DVR.

Local police in Oklahoma City and Austin have relied on Pointman bots for situations such as standoffs, according to Applied Research Associates, the robot manufacturer.

After the Hours-of-Service Ruling: Research on 34-Hour Restart

As reported by Truckinginfo: Even as a federal court was recently upholding most of the hours of service rules, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been working on a field study of the 34-hour restart as mandated in the new Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules; that could influence that provision in the future, and there's a move on Capitol Hill to force the agency to return to the old rules.

Congress ordered the study in last year’s highway bill, at the encouragement of the American Trucking Associations (AMA), which said the agency should confirm in the field the finding from a laboratory study that daytime sleep is not as restorative as nighttime sleep.

That finding is the scientific basis for the requirement that a driver take two periods off between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. during his 34-hour restart, and it figured prominently in the court’s decision to uphold the provision.

It remains to be seen if the data from the field study will be persuasive enough for the agency to reconsider its approach to the restart.

Data collection for the study was finished in July and the final report is expected later this year, said agency spokesperson Marissa Padilla.

Meanwhile, there is a move in the House of Representatives to cut off funding for implementation or enforcement of the new hours and return to the old rule.

An attempt by Rep. Richard Hanna, R-N.Y., and several others to attach the amendment to transportation funding legislation failed when House leaders withdrew the bill.

But Hanna will pursue the amendment, said Renee Gamela, his communications director.

“He’s been discussing the amendment with colleagues and we’re confident it would have strong, bipartisan support when it comes up,” Gamela said.

The amendment is supported by 16 trucking and shipping interests, including ATA, OOIDA and UPS, as well as the Transportation Intermediaries Association, the National Retail Federation and the National Grocers Association.

Hanna, joined by Reps. Tom Rice, R-S.C., Trey Radel, R-Fla., and Todd Rokita, R-Ind., said in a Dear Colleague letter that the new rule decreases driver flexibility and raises costs – complaints that have been aired by all of the industry interests.

Interactive Map Displays Traffic Fatality Rates Around The World

As reported by the Car Connection: We've already thrown a wet blanket on your day with a warning about traffic fatalities over the Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, we have one more downer to share: an interactive map of traffic fatality rates around the globe, courtesy of the Pulitzer Center.

According to the Pulitzer Center, 1.2 million people die on Planet Earth's roadways every year -- and that figure is likely to get worse as the number of cars in service climbs. The problem is particularly bad for emerging nations. As the authors of the article explain:

The toll is highest in the developing world. Poor countries account for 50 percent of the world’s road traffic, but 90 percent of the traffic fatalities. Road accidents will soon become the fifth leading cause of death in these countries, leapfrogging past HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other familiar killers, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) most recent Global Burden of Disease study.

Grim as that sounds, the assertion makes sense. As we saw yesterday, developing nations lack the infrastructure (e.g protective barriers, well-lit roads) and safety regulations found in the developing world. Such things have reduced the number of traffic fatalities elsewhere on the planet.

What's more, in parts of the developed world, road traffic appears to have peaked. People in the U.S. and other countries are relying more on mass transit and other means to get around -- if they need to get around at all. (Thanks, whoever invented telecommuting.) In developing countries, those options are less available, forcing both motorists and pedestrians onto dangerous roads.  

Worst of all, traffic fatalities are part of a vicious circle, preventing poor nations from growing more rapidly. According to Jose Luis Irigoyen, a highway safety expert at the World Bank, in low- and middle-income countries, traffic fatalities reduce GDP by 1 to 3 percent. That's money that could otherwise be funneled back into developing countries. 

As you'll see from the map embedded below (click "view fullscreen" to review the most data), the Pulitzer Center has compiled fatality stats for most countries on the planet. Compare the U.S. fatality rate of 11.4 per 100,000 to that of other nations, like the Dominican Republic, Iran, and Thailand. Pay particular attention to the way in which people were traveling when killed: in a car, on a motorcycle, on a bike, or while walking.

The map is missing a good bit of information, but even so, it raises plenty of intriguing questions.  

How Nigeria Can Reap Benefits Of Space Technology

As reported by the Guardian: An expert has pointed out how Nigeria can become one of the world’s 20 largest economies by the year 2020.

The key, according to Prof. Tunji Ibiyemi of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Ilorin, is research on transforming raw materials to finished products.

Ibiyemi said no country can achieve development by giving out its raw materials cheaply to other countries only to buy from them finished products. Nigeria, he noted, is still in the category of nations that more or less throw away their raw materials.

The professor spoke in Abuja while delivering a lecture titled: ‘Prospects of Communications Satellite in Nigeria’s Vision 2020’, in commemoration of 50 years, since the launch of the world’s first communication satellite, Syncom2.

Ibiyemi, whose research interests include Biometric Signal Processing, Telecommunications (satellite and GPS), Software Engineering, and Embedded System Design, said the global carrier of the raw materials of knowledge economy is the satellite and the transformation process of raw materials to product is via human capital development.

 He said if Nigeria is serious about realizing the Vision 20: 2020 goal, then space technology and human capital development must be taken very seriously.

 Ibiyemi said a lot is achievable if government is committed to adequate funding of space technology and embarks on aggressive space technology development and human capital development.

 He advised the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) to establish a factory for the production of satellite parts.

The Director General of NASRDA, Prof. Seidu Onailo Mohammed, said there are approximately 1,107 satellites providing civilian communications and another 792 supporting military communications.

Mohammed said the communications satellite industry is a multi-billion dollar affair that gives high returns on investment.

He called on the private sector in Nigeria to invest in the sector, noting that 2011 alone yielded a return of $90b.

The DG noted that with a projected population of 392 million in the West Africa sub-region by 2013, Nigeria cannot afford to stand aloof.

“This is an opportunity for us to do research and know that Nigeria has opportunity in communications satellite. The population of West Africa is estimated to be about 390 million by 2013. That is enough opportunity and the private sector in Nigeria must key in to create jobs for our people and fast-track development technology in this part of the world.”

This year world’s communications satellite day marked the 50th year when the historic telephone conversation between the then American President John Kennedy and Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was recorded through Syncom2.

The launch of Syncom2 on July 26, 1963 symbolized the beginning of technological revolutions across the globe through the application of space science technology.

This event laid the foundation for Nigeria’s interest in space program, which culminated in the launch of its first communications satellite, NIGCOMSAT-1, 44 years later.

Coca-Cola Israel Provides Personalized Billboards with Geofence Technology

As reported by Media Bistro: After their global campaign in which people could buy personalized Coke bottles and cans, Coca-Cola Israel and Tel Aviv-based Gefen Team built a campaign around personalized billboards.

Users downloaded a special app, then entered their name. Using geofence technology, the billboard would sense the user’s nearness (using the GPS data from their smartphone, and the known GPS location of the signs) and display their name. Each user would receive a message notifying them their name was splashed for the street to see.

Coca Cola used Israel’s “main billboards,” meaning users would see their names in lights more than once. And no matter how finite, people love fame: during the campaign period, the app reached 100k downloads and ranked #1 in Israel’s app store.

It seems like an elementary gimmick, but it’s got new-technology legs and exciting potential. Maybe the next brand to use these billboards will display a full message, making commuters’ life that much more fun:  or maybe it's just the next step toward the 'Minority Report' like futuristic ad systems we will all come to know in the near future.