New WEX Cards are Here!!

We have just received all of the replacement Wright Express fuel credit cards and that means it is time to start swapping them out. Please bring your old card to our office in order to be issued a new card. We would like every card to be a one-for-one in-person swap at the Fleet Services trailer. If your drivers are based outside of Iowa City and will not have an opportunity to swap cards before the end of May, please contact Mike to arrange exchanging those cards. The current cards expire at the end of May so make accommodations to swap cards as soon as possible. Cards can be exchanged Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. 

New Certificate of Self Insurance

Risk Management has recently updated our self-insurance certificate with some revised Iowa Code references and other tweaks. Every University vehicle needs to have a copy of this letter in the yellow accident envelope. This link will take you directly to a pdf of the form that you can print. Please replace the old letter with a copy of the new updated letter in every vehicle.

Fiscal Year 2022 Fleet Services Rates

The new rates for FY 22 have been published. For those of you who have vehicles that are not listed on the rate sheet, we have limited our rate increases to 5% or less. If you need to know an exact rate, please call our office and we can provide you with that. In early to mid-June you will receive an email with a link to our new application that will allow you to acknowledge your new rates, confirm the MFK for FY 22 and verify the vehicle contact information. 

Finding a WEX Accepting Gas Station in Iowa

Furthering the fuel credit card theme this month, we wanted to share a handy tool for finding gas stations in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) has put together this very handy interactive map with every WEX accepting gas station in the state.  This map will also tell you whether the station offers E-85.

Vehicle Damage Reporting

Please remember that you have two business days to report damage to Fleet vehicles after an incident occurs or damage is found. Reporting means completing an accident report and having it signed by a supervisor. We have seen several instances in the last few months where a vehicle is down at  the shop for routine service and damage is found by our mechanics. Cases where damage is not reported in a timely manner can result in departments being responsible for the first $1,000 of the repair cost.

Hands at 10 and 2 Might Not be What You Want to Do

How many of you when learning to drive were taught to have your hands in the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel? It turns out this recommended hand placement is outdated and no longer recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As this Jalopnik.com article explains It is now recommended to have your hands positioned in more of an 8 o’clock and 4 o’clock position, effectively lowering your hand and arm position in relation to the wheel. So why the change? The idea is that if your hands are at 10 and 2 when the airbag deploys your arms may get broken, your shoulder dislocated, or your hands are propelled into your face, probably something any driver would want to avoid.

Fleet Services Factoid

Electric vehicle ranges have been steadily increasing over the years. U.S. News and World Report has put together this listicle counting down the 2021 Electric Vehicles with the longest range. Not a huge surprise, Tesla features prominently in the top 5 with their Model S coming in at number 1 with a total estimated range of 402 miles. To put that number in perspective, Model S range has increased by nearly 40% since 2012.

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