THE BEST IN FLEET

Make some noise!

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the car-related conversations I have these days tend to be about EVs. A few years ago, topics would typically be about the latest supercars, or the amazing economy and refinement of the latest generation of diesel engines. But all that’s gone and been replaced with battery chat.

That’s fine – there’s a lot that people want – and often need – to know about a type of vehicle that will be vastly different to what many of them are used to. And that includes you – the readers of this very issue, which is designed to help everyone be ‘EV-ready’. On the whole, I’ll either be objective or positive about most aspects of the new electric generation, but recently I’ve had my senses tested by a cacophony of beeps and chimes – all in the name of safety.

At this point, I will state that I think a lot of ADAS is fantastic – it’s a necessary addition in order to help make drivers safer and, ultimately, reduce the number of accidents and incidents on the road. However, when you’re behind the wheel of a car that starts chirping and you’re not quite sure why, I question the system integration. In the past couple of months, I’ve spent time in different vehicles that emit these sounds. In no particular order, reasons included: going a mile or two over the speed limit (officer); a change in the speed limit; approaching a speed camera; being clear of the speed camera; something potentially approaching me from the side; me potentially approaching something from the side and getting too close to something in front or behind me when parking. My biggest issue is that some are more obvious than others and I couldn’t say what some of the noises were with any conviction because I was, y’know, concentrating on driving!

The thing is, though, it does work, and I try my hardest not to set them off if I can – which I guess is the point. One noise I haven’t quite figured out is why I get a voice asking me if I want my emails read out. Gets quite irritating on an early morning drive, during prime inbox-filling time…

A Masterclass In Fleet

Something that definitely was worth shouting about was the Masterclass conference session at this year’s recent Great British Fleet Event. Back-toback presentations across fleet management, electric vehicles, sustainability and much, much more kept the audience engrossed throughout the day’s proceedings. You can read a review of the best bits from the stage on page 16 of this issue. Also, for a more in-depth review featuring all this year’s Great British Fleet Award winners and the industry’s best fleet suppliers, scan the QR code here to see our Great British Fleet Guide 2023!

John Challen editor