About us

The FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society (Foundation) is an independent UK registered charity which supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility, as well as funding motor sport safety research.   The Foundation has consultative status with the Economic & Social Council of the United Nations, participates in various UN road safety and environment related working parties and is a member of the UN Global Road Safety Collaboration.  It also provides the secretariat for the Make Road Safe campaign, the independent Commission for Global Road Safety, and the Global Fuel Economy Initiative. The Foundation is also a member of the UN Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles.

Our objects are to promote public safety and public health, the protection and preservation of human life and the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment through:

• promoting research, disseminating the results of research and providing information in any matters of public interest which include road safety, automobile technology, the protection and preservation of human life and public health, transport and public mobility and the protection of the environment; and
• promoting improvement in the safety of motor sport, and of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and other road users.

About the role

The newly-created post of Research Officer, based full-time at the Foundation’s secretariat in central London, will deal with all research questions and projects in support of the Director of Environment and Research (See full description below)

In this you will provide seamless service both internally to colleagues and externally to the Foundation’s various statutory bodies, members and partners.

You will assist the Director of Environment and Research, as part of an integrated policy, programmes and communications team, on all aspects of the Foundation’s road safety, environmental and sustainable mobility research policies and activities, such as:

• conducting research projects (including economic analysis) and producing research outputs;
• supporting the Foundation’s Seminar programme;
• maintenance of databases and co-ordination of mailings to Foundation partners and members;
• preparation of briefings, advocacy and communications materials;
• speechwriting;
• production of material for relevant websites and social media; and
• representation at seminars and meetings.

About you

A confident self-starter and ideally equipped with a postgraduate qualification or equivalent, you should have work experience in a research role, ideally in a busy research/campaigns or advocacy environment.  Strong analytical, evaluation and writing skills demonstrating close attention to detail are a must as are excellent social skills, diplomacy and personal presentation.  You should have a solid knowledge of all common IT packages, such as Excel, SPSS, Word and Powerpoint.  Foreign languages would be an asset. Experience of issues around public health/injury research, sustainable mobility and/or international development would also be desirable, but not essential.

Please note that we are only able to consider applications from those with the legal right to work in the UK.

The closing date for applications is 20th June.

Click here to learn more and to apply

[scribd id=228183289 key=key-smMdwhXMK3gagtIWZwL5 mode=scroll]

via Bloomberg

Here are a few interesting facts about this massive cargo freighter:

• The Danish company Maersk is building a total of 20 of these biggest ships, Triple-E, on a dry-dock in South Korea. Apparently the first one, named McKinney Moller, has hit the high seas already. Watch the big beauty float its way through the Suez canal on its way to Europe.
• Cost of each ship is $185 million and expected to ply the route between Northern Europe and China.
• Stood on its stern, its bow would stretch 19 meters above the roof of the Empire State Building.
• In one trip, a Triple-E could transport more 182 million iPads, or 111 million pairs of shoes, from Shanghai to Rotterdam.

Found this neat infograph via a tweet yesterday.. Couldn’t go without sharing it here.

Note: One of the subtle yet unexplored issue is the impact of America’s bulging waistlines on our national security.. It is not about our Armed forces struggling to find men and women who are physically fit.  If you look at it from a macro level, the obesity issue has some serious implications for our national security. You may ask why? Because we import way too much of our oil from some of the very troubled parts of the world to haul our our people around the streets and highways of this nation.   According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), In 2011, the United States consumed about 134 billion gallons1 (or 3.19 billion  barrels2) of gasoline, a daily average of about 367.08 million gallons (8.74 million barrels). This was about 6% less than the record high of about 142.38 billion gallons (or 3.39 billion barrels) consumed in 2007.  Interestingly,  the U.S. imported approximately 11.4 million barrels per day of petroleum in 2011 from about 80 countries (~45% net consumption is from imported oil).  So, the heavier we become as a nation, the more fuel we will consume everyday. The more we import, more money goes to these troubled countries and eventually resulting in conflicts that inflict a greater loss of life.  Some of these conflicts zones even have our personnel directly engaged in combat and  now you see where this is going? Glad the current administration is taking steps to minimize our oil consumption with such measures as raising fuel economy standards but as a nation we still have a long way to go before we reach a secure energy future. And to get there every ounce matters.

Related articles

• A McClatchy special report: Is the era of oil nearing its end?
• America Needs Less Foreign Oil… For the Wrong Reasons
• Group: America’s obesity problem is hurting national security

(Source: TheTruckersReport.com via SCM-Operations.com)

Came across these interesting infographs that offered some great insights into the trucking business..

Image Courtesy: SCM-Operations

Image Courtesy: TheTruckersreport.com

Image Courtesy: AAA via Grist.com

Found this interesting graphic on Grist in an article titled “How high do gas prices have to get to trigger behavior change? “.  So, do Americans really change their driving habits when the gas prices rise? According to the graph, the answer is an emphatic yes.  The article quotes AAA saying, ” A AAA survey conducted at the beginning of the month found 84 percent of respondents saying they have changed their driving habits or lifestyle in some way in response to recent gas-price increases, and 87 percent would change driving habits further if prices remain this high for long. The most common change adopted so far is combining trips and errands, which 60 percent of respondents say they’ve done. And 16 percent say they’ve purchased or leased a more fuel-efficient vehicle.” Read the entire article here.

Note:  If the gas prices continue to rise with the drum beats of war getting louder and louder by the day, we can expect to see many drivers ditching their cars and opt to taking transit to work and to other places.  I hope the transit agencies do everything in their power to demonstrate the conveniences of riding a bus/train and entice these flocking masses to continue using transit as a primary option for getting around.  Oh, the big question I have in mind – Are the American transit agencies equipped to handle this sudden spike in ridership? Many transit agencies are hobbled by poor funding patterns over the years and it will be hard to meet this new segment of ridership arrives to what is an already exploding demand.  Let’s see what happens.  (Oh, no matter what the scenario is, one can expect to see a decline in VMT numbers again).

(Source: Reddit.com)

The brilliance of this image lies in exposing the hypocracy surrounding the escalation in gas prices. Too bad such political ploys have become the norm at Capitol Hill.  Can we let the President focus on solving the nation’s problems and spare him these silly distractions?  Compelling enough for a web post.

Image Courtesy: via Reddit

(Source:  Moving Solutions, Inc. via Autobloggreen)

MoveBuilder has put together an excellent infographic that has all these values, along with such esoteric numbers as the fuel consumption of NASA’s Crawler-transporter and how fast a person could pedal a bike if he or she could metabolize gasoline as efficiently as food (912mph, which would be a really good reason to stay clear of the bike lane).

(Source: USDOT)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA)  and the U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.

EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The categories were established to address specific challenges for manufacturers in each area.  For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.  For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the agencies are proposing separate gasoline and diesel truck standards which phase in starting in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage). Lastly, for vocational vehicles, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards starting in the 2014 model year which would achieve up to a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2018 model year.

Overall, NHTSA and EPA estimate that the heavy-duty national program would provide $41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles. With the potential for significant fuel efficiency gains, ranging from seven to 20 percent, drivers and operators could expect to net significant savings over the long-term. For example, it is estimated an operator of a semi truck could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year, and save as much as $74,000 over the truck’s useful life. Vehicles with lower annual miles would typically experience longer payback periods, up to four or five years, but would still reap cost-savings.

EPA and NHTSA are providing a 60-day comment period that begins when the proposal is published in the Federal Register.  The proposal and information about how to submit comments is at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy .

Click here read the USDOT presser on this issue.

Related articles

• Government seeks truck fuel efficiency rules (msnbc.msn.com)
• Government to propose truck fuel efficiency rules (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Government to propose truck fuel efficiency rules (sfgate.com)
• Government to Propose Truck Fuel Efficiency Rules (abcnews.go.com)
• Proposal Pending on Mileage for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (nytimes.com)
• Federal Agencies Push Renewable Energy, Truck Fuel Efficiency (environmentalleader.com)
• Garbage Trucks Go Green (technologyreview.in)
• Gov’t calling for better gas mileage for trucks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• EPA to propose truck fuel efficiency standards (marketwatch.com)
• Report: EPA poised to outline medium- and heavy-duty truck emissions standards (autoblog.com)
• EPA to Release Draft Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits for Heavy Trucks (nytimes.com)

(Source: Edmunds.com,  Green Car Congress & Federal Times)

Image Courtesy: via Apture

The US government’s General Services Administration (GSA) this summer took delivery of the first of more than 5,600 hybrid vehicles ordered earlier this year, and will make the vehicles—almost all of which are Ford Fusion hybrids—available to various federal agencies under GSA lease agreements as they are delivered.

GSA previously purchased 1,600 hybrid vehicles using revenue from the sale of older vehicles that agencies exchanged last year when they received funds for new vehicles through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009.

GSA director of Motor Vehicle Management Bill Toth noted, however, that each Fusion hybrid costs $11,214 more than the fleet’s “non-hybrid alternative” sedan, a 2010 Chrysler Avenger.

But due to the $11,214 hybrid premium of the fuel-efficient Fusion, Toth said, he doesn’t “know that we’ll see the numbers we’ve seen in the last two years continue at that pace without some sort of infusion of capital.

“They’re very expensive vehicles and when you look at meeting your mission … and one [vehicle] is $10,000 cheaper than the other, capital’s limited. It’s tough to make that jump,” he said.

Almost all of the hybrids the GSA purchased are 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrids , a mid-sized sedan that’s second in class in fuel efficiency only to the Toyota Prius. The Fusion get 39 mpg in combined city and highway driving and emits 4.8 tons of carbon dioxide annually, or 2.7 tons less than the nonhybrid version.

The vehicles will be placed in clusters near where manufacturers are delivering them to ensure that the vehicles can be serviced by mechanics trained in the new technology, Toth said.

Charging stations will be installed where the vehicles will be housed, and GSA is exploring the potential to partner with industry or other users to share the expense of installing the stations. GSA also hopes to pilot different energy sources for the stations, including solar and wind power in addition to standard electric power, he said.

Click here to read more.

Related articles by Zemanta

• GSA To Make 5,600 Hybrids Available To Federal Agencies, Including 100 Plug-In Hybrids; Cost Still An Issue (greencarcongress.com)
• Enova Secures United States General Services Administration (GSA) Exclusive Contract to Supply the Enova Ze: All-Electric, Walk-In Step Van (eon.businesswire.com)
• GSA Proposes Zero Environmental Footprint (greenbuildinglawupdate.com)