Summer Driving Tips

With both fuel prices and temperatures rising, the summer driving season is well underway. Whether you’re driving to work, to a social outing, or to a vacation destination, follow these practical tips to make your summer driving safe and enjoyable.

Check your tires. Take a few minutes to check the pressure on all four tires. Under-inflated tires can reduce tread life, increase fuel consumption and jeopardize safety. They also generate greater amounts of heat and increase the odds that you’ll be spending time on the side of the road fixing a flat.

Pack lightly. Your luggage could also hold you back. Every 200 pounds of added weight in a vehicle can lower the mile-per-gallon performance by about 5 percent.

Minimize speed changes and reduce vehicle drag. Avoid jack-rabbit starts and inconsistent acceleration which decrease efficiency. Also, opened windows cause increased drag and slow your vehicle down.

Look for leaks. Prior to trips, scan under the car and check the pavement or garage floor for leaks. Any tinted liquid is often a sign of a serious problem, such as a radiator or oil leak. Have your car checked by a professional immediately if radiator fluid or oil are visable.

Inspect belts. Your power steering, water pump, air conditioning system, and alternator all run off engine drive belts. If any of these belts break during your trip, your vehicle will be disabled very quickly. During your next oil change, have your belts inspected and replaced, as necessary, to save you from hours of aggravation later.

Keep the battery charged. Regularly check your battery. Even a weak battery could cause a major delay in your trip.

Don't turn your summer dream trip into a summer nightmare. Do the preventive maintenance now, before you pack your bags and hit the road. It will save you time, money, and frustration.

Residents of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are the safest drivers in the United States, according to an Allstate Insurance annual report that ranks the best drivers in the 200 largest cities in America. The average driver in Sioux Falls will experience an auto collision every 14.3 years, compared to the national likelihood of a crash every 10 years, making them 30 percent less likely to have an accident than the national average.

Report rankings reflect actual collision data from Allstate's auto policies, which represent about 12 percent of the U.S. population. Five out of the 10 top cities with the safest drivers are located in the Midwest, as revealed by the table below:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more accidents occur on weekends than during the week. Saturday is the most dangerous day; Sunday and Friday hold the second and third most dangerous positions, respectively. The majority of collisions happen between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and the fewest crashes occur between midnight and 3 a.m.

To identify your organization's high-risk drivers as well as to reduce accidents and minimize your risk of negligent entrustment, Runzheimer International just launched newly-enhanced Driver Safety Training and MVR EXPRESS Services. Visit www.runzheimer.com or call us at 800.558.1702.

Sources: 2006 AllState America's Best Driver Report; www.theautochannel.com; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are increasingly being used by companies to enhance the effectiveness of business drivers. If you're considering the purchase of a car-navigation system, you'll want to first determine your needs and then perform research to identify the GPS device best equipped to meet your requirements. 

GPS features vary significantly from one model to the next as does the cost, which can range from $100 to $5,000. You can find valuable information regarding top-selling models and consumers reviews on various Internet sites, including www.epinion.com and www.bizrate.com. Additionally, the following information provides a general overview of features available in GPS navigation devices.

Compatibility: Verify that on-dash or in-car mounting kits are compatible with your vehicle. Also, for systems that connect to personal computers, it's important to ensure compatibility with PC cables and software.

Options: Although many cell phones have GPS built into them, a dash-mounted system with touch-screen features may be the best alternative to ensure safe driving. Features such as voice-guided directions make these systems simple, safe, and efficient to use.

Maps: To provide maximum assistance, maps should be provided at the street-level and include turn-by-turn directions. Statewide, regional, national, international, and off-road maps are also available with selected GPS devices. Many mapping systems have voice-assisted directions to allow you to navigate without monitoring the screen, a nice convenience and added safety feature.

Display: Consider the size and weight of your display. Will it fit on your dashboard? Will it be easy to reach and view? If it is portable, is it easy to carry? Is it visible in all types of lighting (day, night, sun, and rain)? Are graphics clear and are font sizes easy to read? Usually high-contrast screens with a resolution of 160 X 104 or higher provide the best viewing experience. Whenever possible, test the touch-screen functionality to ensure it responds quickly and accurately to your touch and that the menu options are easy to use.

Power Source: To save money in the long run, consider systems that use rechargeable batteries. For traveling long distances, a power adapter for your vehicle's cigarette lighter is a smart option to ensure you have navigational support throughout your trip. Be sure to ask if these options are included with your system or if they must be purchased separately.

Memory/Storage: While some experts recommend at least two gigabytes of flash RAM to hold most U.S. maps, others suggest more memory to ensure all points of interest (i.e. gas stations, hotels, restaurants) and other items of importance to you can be stored.

Technological Capabilities: As GPS technology advances, new links and capabilities continue to emerge. For example, some GPS units now link directly to address data from Microsoft Outlook, eliminating the need for you to input address information.

Testing: As a final recommendation, try before you buy. Many rental car companies also offer in-car navigation systems, so you may want to test a GPS device on your next business trip.

If an old-fashioned map just isn't your thing, a car-navigation system may be. Do the research. Take your time and try out more than one model. The right navigation system will lessen the frustration factor of wrong turns and unfamiliar territory, shaving on-the-road time.

Sources: www.consumerreports.com; www.bizrate.com; www.epionions.com

Many corporations that provide cars to field personnel also provide them with corporate fuel cards, a convenience for both the company and its drivers. Yet, with the cost of gasoline spiking more than 50 cents, and continued high fuel prices anticipated, numerous organizations are realizing that with a fuel card may also come an unintended driver benefit—payment of gasoline for employees' personal use.

Companies should expect fuel purchases to rise and fall with business mileage. However, many companies who issue fuel cards to drivers experience a significant departure from the expected, especially during the summer months when most business driving is down but personal travel and vacations are on the rise.

When personal use of a corporate vehicle is allowed by the company, the perk value of the gas card may rise substantially as employees take time off and use the fuel card to pay for personal trips to the shore, to the mountains, or to grandma’s house. Those cards are just too darn convenient!

Strict recordkeeping, business mileage oversight, and strong personal-use policies for corporate fuel cards can help to avoid this temptation. Reimbursements based upon fuel receipts may somewhat minimize abuse, but still do not create a direct link between business mileage and fuel costs. The most accurate tie is to reimburse drivers for their fuel costs on a per-business–mile basis.

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the sales rate of new-vehicle service contracts fell last year for the first time since 1998. During 2005, new-vehicle service contracts were sold to 31.2 percent of buyers, as compared to a penetration rate of 34.1 percent in 2004.

Industry experts cite two primary reasons for this decline including increasing U.S. market share of Asian automakers and continued growth in new-vehicle leasing. Because some consumers perceive Japanese-built vehicles to have higher quality, the demand for extended warranties is reduced. Additionally, many individuals are less likely to purchase an extended service plan for a vehicle that they lease.

What is not yet known is whether this decline will continue or what specific strategies the industry will implement to increase the sales of extended service contracts for new vehicles.

Sources: National Automobile Dealers Association; Automotive News

What is it?

Gaining in popularity as a means to reduce both pollution and our reliance on foreign oil, ethanol is a high-octane fuel produced domestically. While corn is the primary ingredient used to make ethanol, it can be produced using other crops or byproducts, including beets, sugar cane, grains, cheese whey, and beverage waste.

Ethanol is primarily used as an alternative fuel for passenger vehicles. These vehicles, called “flex-fuel” vehicles, can use either traditional gasoline or a mixture of ethanol and gasoline. Flex-fuel vehicles do not run on 100% ethanol. Instead, they run on E85, an 85% ethanol/15% gasoline blend. Many of today's vehicles are flex-fuel ready and can run on E85.

E85's Effect on Horsepower & Operating Cost
In a nutshell: Horsepower goes up while fuel efficiency goes down. Due to E85's higher octane rating of approximately 105, you get more power. However, you loose somewhere between 10%-20% in miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency.

The price for ethanol is about 25 cents per gallon less than regular unleaded gas. While lower in cost per gallon, the overall cost of using ethanol is still at or above that of using gasoline due to ethanol's lower fuel efficiency.

Environmental & Economic Concerns
Three main concerns are often mentioned when discussing ethanol.

First is the issue of “net energy.” Early studies contended that it took more energy to manufacture a gallon of ethanol than a gallon ethanol could produce: a “net negative energy balance.” More recently, improved data and advances in the production process have shown a positive energy balance. According to the American Coalition for Ethanol, it takes about 35,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units) of energy to produce a gallon of ethanol, and a gallon of ethanol contains at least 77,000 BTUs of energy.

Second is the impact of ethanol production on the availability of corn and other staple crops. Ethanol uses a lot of corn. It takes about one acre to produce 300 gallons of ethanol. As of 2005, 14% of the nation’s corn crop was used for ethanol production. While good for farmers who grow corn, it might not be so good for others who need ready supplies of corn as feed for livestock or for food production.

Third is water use. It takes about 150 million gallons of water to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol. The water is needed in the production process as well as for cooling equipment. While not a large-scale concern (many industries use lots of water, some up to a million gallons per day), there may be smaller scale effects to local aquifers that supply neighboring cities and farms. The good news is that the water that comes out of the plant will likely be cleaner than was pumped into it.

With the increasing global concerns about petroleum reserves and pricing, ethanol may be part of the long-term solution. It pays for any driver to know more about the pluses and minuses of this new energy source.

Source: American Coalition for Ethanol