Thanks Mary....I knew you would know the difference.
Now back to a topic that I initially shared with the board about six weeks ago. I disclosed that I was working with a competitor who was trying to lease units to public agencies using a non-OBD device. Thought it would be an easy sell. Boy was I wrong about that.
The issue for public agencies is not about cell phone usage. Sure they are aware that they distract drivers BUT there is one other older technology in these vehicles that is an essential part of a public agency that is even more distracting.
The WALKIE TALKIE. Agencies still use the walkie talkie as their primary means of communication amongst departments and public transportation. The radio is always on as employees are monitoring conversations and responding to requests. Especially when driving. Dispatchers for school buses are in constant contact with drivers updating this and that.
The two dozen Transportation Directors I spoke acknowledged that phones may be an issue but they have instructed their employees to use the FREE distracted driving apps for their cell devices. Free is better than paying $100 per year per vehicle (my clients have an average fleet of 250 vehicles). The Directors say they need all employees who have walkie talkies be able to respond immediately if they are called. These clients have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up networks (towers, repeaters, frequencies, etc) and access to/from their employees has to be immediate.
Think of police and fire departments, water, gas, and electric companies. Walkie talkies rule those businesses.
If you move it into the private sector, at least in the United States, taxis have the same walkie talkie issue.
So while the public agencies i have spoken to see a possible need for FleetSafer none of them want to install in their district because the walkie talkie, while equally distracting, is a much needed device for communication and they can't live without that form of constant communication.
Thought I would pass that on.
Now back to a topic that I initially shared with the board about six weeks ago. I disclosed that I was working with a competitor who was trying to lease units to public agencies using a non-OBD device. Thought it would be an easy sell. Boy was I wrong about that.
The issue for public agencies is not about cell phone usage. Sure they are aware that they distract drivers BUT there is one other older technology in these vehicles that is an essential part of a public agency that is even more distracting.
The WALKIE TALKIE. Agencies still use the walkie talkie as their primary means of communication amongst departments and public transportation. The radio is always on as employees are monitoring conversations and responding to requests. Especially when driving. Dispatchers for school buses are in constant contact with drivers updating this and that.
The two dozen Transportation Directors I spoke acknowledged that phones may be an issue but they have instructed their employees to use the FREE distracted driving apps for their cell devices. Free is better than paying $100 per year per vehicle (my clients have an average fleet of 250 vehicles). The Directors say they need all employees who have walkie talkies be able to respond immediately if they are called. These clients have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up networks (towers, repeaters, frequencies, etc) and access to/from their employees has to be immediate.
Think of police and fire departments, water, gas, and electric companies. Walkie talkies rule those businesses.
If you move it into the private sector, at least in the United States, taxis have the same walkie talkie issue.
So while the public agencies i have spoken to see a possible need for FleetSafer none of them want to install in their district because the walkie talkie, while equally distracting, is a much needed device for communication and they can't live without that form of constant communication.
Thought I would pass that on.
2
