I saw a Volkswagen announcement that immediately made me stop and think about fleet policy. Starting with select 2027 models, Volkswagen is adding AirConsole in-vehicle gaming, which lets occupants play games such as Tetris, PAC-MAN, and UNO on the vehicle’s infotainment screen using their smartphones as controllers.

The system is designed to work while the vehicle is parked, so no, Volkswagen is not suggesting your drivers squeeze in a round of Tetris while cruising down the highway. But that isn’t really what caught my attention.

What caught my attention was how quickly the technology inside our vehicles is changing and whether the policies governing those vehicles are changing along with it.

Does your fleet policy cover gaming? Does it cover watching Netflix or YouTube through the infotainment screen? Does it cover an aftermarket device an employee plugs in that suddenly gives the factory display capabilities you never intended it to have?

My guess is that for a lot of fleets, the answer is no.

Our Vehicles Can Do a Lot More Now

Fleet policies have addressed cell phones, texting, navigation, seat belts, personal vehicle use, speeding, and distracted driving for years. Most of those rules were written around technology we already understood and behaviors we knew could become a problem.

The center screen has changed quite a bit since then. Infotainment systems now connect to smartphones, apps, subscriptions, streaming services, Wi-Fi, navigation, and a growing list of connected features. Gaming is simply another step in that evolution.

There are also aftermarket CarPlay and Android Auto devices that can add video streaming and other entertainment capabilities to compatible factory infotainment screens. That means the capabilities inside a fleet vehicle aren't necessarily limited to what the manufacturer originally installed.

And that's where I think fleet managers should be paying attention. It isn't enough to assume the OEM has everything locked down or that employees won't add technology of their own.

Parked Doesn't Always Mean Off the Clock

Volkswagen's AirConsole only works while the vehicle is parked, which is obviously an important distinction from a distracted-driving standpoint.

For a fleet, though, "parked" can mean a lot of things. A service technician may be sitting at a customer location waiting for access to a jobsite; a delivery driver may be between stops; a salesperson may have an hour between appointments; or an employee may be taking a required break while sitting inside a company vehicle.

If that employee starts playing a game or watching a show on the infotainment screen, is that allowed?

Maybe your fleet is perfectly fine with it during an employee's break. Most likely, it isn't. The point is that someone should have already made that decision before a driver asks.

This is where the conversation starts moving beyond distracted driving and into acceptable use of company equipment, productivity, connected services, cybersecurity, and even who is allowed to add or subscribe to features inside a company-owned vehicle.

Don't Let the Vehicle Write Your Policy for You

It would be easy to rely on the safeguards built into newer vehicles. If the manufacturer prevents video or gaming while the truck is moving, problem solved, right? Not necessarily.

Aftermarket adapters can change what a factory infotainment system can do, and drivers can bring their own devices into company vehicles. Technology will keep evolving much faster than most fleets replace their vehicles, so you're also likely managing a mix of capabilities across different model years.

That makes broad policy language much more useful than trying to create a new rule every time another app appears on the dashboard. Your policy shouldn't depend entirely on whether the vehicle itself allows something.

The vehicle provides the capability, but your fleet policy still decides what acceptable use looks like.

Take Another Look at Your Fleet Policy

I'm certainly not suggesting anyone add a three-page "Tetris policy" to the employee handbook. But I do think this Volkswagen announcement gives fleets a good excuse to pull out their existing policies and read them through the lens of what vehicles can do today, not what they could do when the policy was written.

A few questions worth asking include:

• Does your distracted-driving language cover the vehicle's infotainment system as well as phones and other mobile devices?
• Does it address video streaming, gaming, and other entertainment while driving?
• Have you defined what employees can do with entertainment features while parked but still on the clock?
• Can drivers connect or install aftermarket infotainment devices in company vehicles?
• Can employees purchase subscriptions or connected services through a fleet vehicle without approval?
• Does your fleet have the ability to disable or restrict certain connected features?
• Is your language broad enough to cover whatever new feature automakers introduce next?

That last one may be the most important. Trying to name every possible technology is probably a losing battle. Instead, policies can establish expectations around vehicle displays, connected entertainment, aftermarket devices, and anything that interferes with the safe and appropriate use of company equipment.

Because today we're talking about playing Tetris on the center screen. Tomorrow it will be something else, perhaps even more distracting. And I know fleet managers would rather figure out where the line is before one of their drivers is standing there asking whether technically the policy says they can't.

Have thoughts on this or advice for fleets? Email me and let's chat!

Lauren.Fletcher@bobit.com