MARTIN ROMJUE: In the aftermath of the big limo fire, don't make matters worse by running shabby vehicles. I didn't like what I saw on a Los Angeles freeway Saturday morning.
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MARTIN ROMJUE: How to handle the media avalanche hitting limousine companies nationwide.
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FROM THE ROUGH ROAD: Beginning today, I will share some driving tips with you periodically to help you safely perform your job as a professional chauffeur, or instruct your chauffeurs on how to do so. As most of you know, my car was recently totaled by a driver who was texting and plowed into me at 50-60 mph while I was stopped.
Tip #1 - Make sure you concern yourself with what is going on behind you was well as in front of you. Avoid allowing drivers to tailgate you. If they insist, change lanes or pull to the right and let them pass. In the event of a sudden stop, they will hit you and unrestrained passengers in your vehicle could get tossed. Always allow enough space between you and the car in front of you so that if you are hit from behind, you will not hit the car in front of you and may actually be able to shoot out to the left or right of the car in front of you if you see a driver is about to rear-end you. -- Jim Luff, LCT
AUDIT SAGA PART 3: "Shortly after 1 p.m. the, the examiner left for a few hours to participate in a teleconference. By 3 p.m., he was back. I had hoped the conference call would be intense and take the rest of the day. No such luck."
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DENIS WILSON: Before his days at A-1 Limousine of Princeton, N.J., Jeff Shanker spent time as a police officer and an EMT. This public safety background made him a good fit when he started at A-1 in 2002 as the director of safety and insurance — a hat he still wears along with that of executive vice president.
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JIM LUFF: I just breathed a sigh of relief after finishing an insurance audit and was basking in the good results. Then came the letter notifying me of a pending audit from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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INSPECTOR IN THE HOUSE: Whew! No one likes and examination but everyone likes a pat on the back.
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AUDIT! No business owner likes that word, but I'd rather get an insurance audit than one from the IRS. I'll share with you what I've learned from this experience.
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WHO IS AT FAULT? Erratic passenger behavior, which a host aboard the bus tried to stop, nevertheless leaves a black mark on the industry.
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According to Autoblog, Toyota is recalling the Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h crossovers for “unsecured or incompatible floor mat entrapment of the accelerator pedal.” 154,000 RX models are affected by the recall — 131,800 RX 350 and 22,200 RX 450h vehicles. This is an amendment to Toyota’s late-2009 recall. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a safety recall notification by first class mail in early August, and Lexus dealers will resolve the situation at no cost to customers. —
Michael Campos, LCT associate editor
SAYING IT AGAIN: We all know the truth about sleep, but ask most people, and they never get enough. If you have a busy and interesting life, there's always an incentive to stay awake. For chauffeurs and fleet drivers, sleep loss is a more serious matter than for people sitting at desks. Lancer Insurance recently posted a sleep-reminder on its blog that underscores everything our grandmothers told us about healthy sleep tips. And of course the subtext here is: driver fatigue = high insurance risks. -- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
SAFETY PRIMER: Leading limousine insurer
Lancer Insurance Company has posted a helpful blog item explaining how operators can prevent the
three most common limousine vehicle accidents. Operators should include this information as part of any training or driving advisory program.
-- Martin Romjue, LCT editor
ALL ABOUT SERVICE: I want to share a fine example of how a coachbuilder can exceed customer expectations.
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