STRASBURG, VA.: If you’re old enough to remember 1970s trucker films such as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy and White Line Fever, you may think of truck drivers as free-spirited people tethered to the world by nothing more than citizens band airwaves. That depiction was a stretch even then, but today’s truckers are often as Web-connected as the technophiles occupying the local Starbucks. Even on the loneliest stretches of the Interstates, smartphones and tablet apps provide diversions and lend a helping hand.
The number of freight-hauling trucks on U.S. roads rose to nearly 11 million in 2009, the latest numbers available from the federal Transportation Department, from fewer than 6 million in 1980. In an industry where a few cents a mile per truck can add up to big money on a haul of thousands of miles, trucking companies and owner-operators have grown much more concerned about efficiency. Apps for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are taking a leading role in trucker tech.
Consider shipping a load of asparagus from Mexicali, Mexico, to New York City from a trucker’s perspective. Along the way, the driver will travel vast expanses of deserted open road, but will also have to negotiate several congested metropolitan areas. The driver has to take into account low overpasses, tight turns and restricted-access roads.
In the past, the best way was to look at a map, listen to the radio for updates and hope fate would keep the truck out of stalled traffic, dead ends and bad weather. Those risks haven’t disappeared. But now drivers with smartphones and tablets are a few clicks away from the latest information on traffic, weather, routing, fuel prices, meal deals, preventive health tips and just about anything else.
Routing apps are GPS guided, designed to keep drivers away from restricted roads and tight fits.
The app Trucker Tools provides routing information to optimize fuel consumption and suggests truck stops and rest areas, lets drivers record what they’ve hauled and where, and keeps track of required permits.
Another app, uShip Mobile, helps truckers to find potential cargo and place bids to carry the shipments. And FleetSafer Mobile helps truckers to stay focused on the road by blocking calls, texts and emails while they’re at the wheel.
Health-oriented apps include the FatSecret Calorie Counter, which can help truckers battling the weight challenges that come with a sedentary job and roadside fast-food temptations.
Keeping track of Transportation Department weigh stations and regulations is an important part of any trucker’s job. Not to worry: There’s an app for that.
Don Carpenter, 39, a long-haul driver from Rehoboth Beach, Del., said he hardly uses his CB radio anymore. His world has turned digital.
That doesn’t mean that CBs and truckers averse to modern gadgets have faded away. It’s clear from the CB chatter at a truck stop that not everyone is on the smartphone bandwagon.
So what’s next for the trucking industry, and how will technology shape the future of shipping? The answer may be found in the fleets of light-duty trucks used by companies in industries such as construction and oil and gas exploration.
New technology ensures that such trucks are operating at peak efficiency; fleet managers can monitor driving habits with information from sensors in the trucks that convey such data as vehicle speed, throttle position and fuel consumption.