If you are a manager of a fleet of vehicles, road conditions are a constant concern.  This is especially true if your fleet consists of large trucks. As you know, even under perfect weather conditions, driving a large truck requires great vigilance of many factors that are different for smaller vehicles, such as the space cushion surrounding the truck, the terrain, safe driving speeds, and maintaining the correct stopping distance.  Adding inclement weather to the mix is always a cause for concern.  Here are a few tips you should make sure are included in your driver training. Under normal...

For fleet managers, a relationship with a reliable roadside assistance program is crucial to your operation.  If a driver is having an issue with his or her vehicle, you need for the driver to be safe, the issue to be fixed, and your company’s vehicle back on the road as soon as possible, preferably all at a reasonable cost. When researching roadside assistance options, here are some things to consider: Do not be afraid to ask about the company’s response time, and see if online customer reviews back up the company’s statements.  This is a critical issue, because it is costing your company...

Fleet owners are increasingly seeing the value of adding truck driving simulators to the training regimen of their employees.  While one full motion simulation system can cost as much as $100,000, the cost is balanced by the many benefits. Truck driving simulators can help a company save money long term in several ways.  First, they assist in reaching training goals faster, and therefore, at a lower cost.  If a trainee is having an issue, they can practice it repeatedly in a simulator in much less time than they would be able to in an actual rig.  Second, one hour of training inside a truck...

In an article by Fleet Owner, they spoke with president, founder and owner of B&H Systems, Jonathan Sales, about how to build great, loyal driver teams.  Find out the answers to the following in this article: What is it about  trucking that has kept you in the industry for so long? You have about 50  power units, including tractors and straight trucks from Kenworth, Volvo and  Freightliner. How do you manage driver screening to identify can-do  drivers—apart from model-specific experience? Contemporary  drivers often use electronic routing tools during performance testing. You use...

The following, reviewed from Automotive Fleet, is the state of the global fleet market report, by global region, based on presentations given at and after the GFS Conference in the following markets: South America Africa Asia India Australian Pan-Europe The article discusses global market trends and challenges on a region-by-region basis. An interesting read.   Your thoughts on how any of this potentially has an implications on the U.S. fleet...