FleetWeek

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, please keep in mind that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “Click it or Ticket” campaign is now in effect, and will run through May 28.

“Click it or Ticket” is an annual nationwide enforcement campaign aimed at ensuring all motorists are wearing seatbelts and are otherwise in compliance with seatbelt laws while driving.

The campaign is conducted by NHTSA in cooperation with law enforcement agencies, state highway safety offices and traffic safety advocates throughout the country, and generally entails a marked increase in the number of tickets issued for seatbelt law violations. Please keep in mind that virtually all jurisdictions nationwide have some degree of legislation concerning seat belt use, and violation of seatbelt laws is now a primary offense in many areas.

We encourage all drivers to wear seatbelts at all times while driving – and to ensure that any of their passengers do the same – to reduce the risk of serious injuries and moving violations on the roads.

Please keep in mind that the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will conduct its annual Roadcheck campaign June 5-7. 

The three-day event is in place to enforce and monitor safety regulations (e.g. Department of Transportation standards) throughout North America by targeting regulated vehicles – such as busses, trucks and other vehicles – that meet certain weight or specification criteria.  Law enforcement agencies and safety inspectors will be stationed at about 1,500 checkpoints on highways across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to conduct inspections.

Clients are encouraged to make sure that any drivers, branches and/or safety personnel involved with DOT-regulated vehicles in your fleet are aware of the Roadcheck event. If you have any questions regarding regulatory requirements or whether you have DOT-regulated vehicles in your fleet, please contact a member of your account team.

Chrysler is recalling about 87,000 Jeep Wrangler vehicles due to concerns that a flaw in the design of the skid plate that protects the transmission could lead to a fire.

The recall applies to 2010 model year Wrangler vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions and built before July 14, 2010. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that that the skid plate on affected vehicles is located very close to the catalytic converter, which could result in an accumulation of debris in the transmission skid plate. Heat from the converter could ignite the accumulated debris and cause a fire.

Chrysler said it is not aware of any injuries related to the suspected defect.  Each driver affected by the recall will receive an official recall notice, and can have his or her vehicle inspected and/or repaired at a certified dealership free of charge.

Please note that this communication is intended for informational purposes and should not be interpreted as an official notice from the manufacturer.  Additional information on recalls is available at the NHTSA website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/. Please keep in mind that NHTSA now offers an e-mail notification service through which users can receive automatic recall updates for their vehicles.  Those who wish to register for the notification service can do so here.