Spring Break Vehicle Reservations

Spring break will be here before we know it and believe it or not, we have already received some vehicle requests. If your department or group is planning on going somewhere over break and you need vehicles, please share your plans with us as early as possible. Even if you aren’t yet prepared to submit requisitions, communicating to us potential dates, type of vehicles needed, and how many vehicles will be requested well in advance will help us with our planning. Also, keep in mind that the SUV’s available to haul trailers go quickly and they are first come, first serve.

I-PASS Rate Reminder

• Starting January 1, 2022, our I-PASS and K-Tag daily fee has been reduced from $5.00 per day to $3.00 per day plus the cost of tolls.
• There will now be a fee of $5.00 applied to each missed or ‘video’ toll incurred during travel.

New Fleet Services Maintenance Request Form

We have a new form on our website designed to make communicating specific vehicle issues and problems easier and more straight forward. On the form you can indicate a type of service that is being requested and describe any issues you are experiencing with the vehicle. Our technicians developed detailed and specific questions to drill down and get the answers they need to help them diagnose and repair any issues. Think of the form as a way to have a conversation directly with our techs and avoid the usual game of telephone. You can access the form by going to the Helpful Links and Forms section of our website.

Iowa Driver’s License Designations

Did you know that in Iowa there are six (6) types of voluntary and optional designations that can be added to your ID? Adding this information can assist in alerting law enforcement and first responders to a specific need of an individual or other pertinent information in an emergency situation. The six (6) designations are, veterans’ designation, organ and tissue donor designation, deaf or hard-of-hearing indicator, medical advance directive indicator, medical alert indicator, and autism spectrum disorder indication. Read more about the license designations and the process to add one.

What is a Non-Preventable Crash?

In the Fleet world crashes are determined to fall into one of two categories, preventable, and non-preventable. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, non-preventable crashes are those that are beyond a driver’s control. The FMCSA has identified ten (10) types of non-preventable crashes, they involve being struck:

• In the rear or side at the rear
• By a motorist driving the wrong direction or making a U-turn or illegal turn
• When legally stopped at a traffic control device or parked
• By a vehicle failing to stop or slow in traffic or stop at a traffic control device
• By a driver operating a motor vehicle under the influence, according to state law, or by another motorist who was involved in such a crash
• By a driver who experienced a medical issue contributing to the crash
• By a driver who admitted falling asleep or being distracted
• By cargo, equipment, or debris, or as a result of an infrastructure failure
• By an animal
• By an individual committing or attempting to commit self-harm.

Any crash that does not fit into one of the above categories would be considered preventable meaning the driver failed to exercise every reasonable precaution to prevent the accident.

Fleet Factoid

New electric vehicles are starting to include a feature called reverse charging with the capability to send energy back to your home during a power outage, replacing the need for a generator. For example, a new Ford F-150 Lightning can provide you with power for 3 days, at 30 kWh a day.