A truck driver’s life is nothing if not challenging. Away from home, often solitary, truckers must figure out where to go, where to stay, what to eat, and how to fit in some quality downtime, all while staying safe and making deliveries on a tight schedule. It can be tricky to stay happy and healthy when you’re working hard to meet customer expectations.
Fortunately, mobile devices and specialized apps for truckers are making it easier to navigate, socialize, and stay well on the road.
Long-haul trucking can get monotonous, not to mention physically taxing. Drivers need to go the extra mile to ensure they are keeping their health and wellness in check — and that includes getting plenty of rest. Fortunately, there are apps for that.
Truckers are particularly prone to weight gain and the conditions (like heart disease and diabetes) that come along with it. What’s worse, things like eating healthy or squeezing in a visit to the doctor in between trips often take a back seat.
Rolling Strong! is a free mobile app helping drivers prioritize their personal health. Locate the nearest truck-friendly medical clinic, or watch a wellness seminar from an extensive library of content specific to driver health, nutrition, and exercise. Users enrolled in the Rolling Strong Wellness Program have access to additional resources, such as an on-the-go nutritional guide, personalized CDL physical exam coaching, and the location of the closest partner clinic for a free monthly health screening.
A good night’s rest is a crucial part of health and wellbeing. But driving for long stretches of time, especially overnight, can disrupt anyone’s sleep habits. If you need the subtle sounds of idling trucks and traffic rolling by to relax, this free white noise app from TMSOFT can help by blocking distractions and providing familiar background noise to lull you to sleep.
New mobile apps for truckers are increasing drivers’ productivity by making it easier to find useful information, save money, and manage everyday tasks.
Trucker Path Pro offers up-to-the-minute info about the best truck stops, available parking near your location, weigh stations, fuel prices, rest areas and more. More than 500,000 truckers use Trucker Path to plan routes and share news about local driving conditions.
Bennett heavy-haul driver Heath Utter uses Trucker Path “all the time” to find available parking that can accommodate his oversized vehicle. “I look at a place’s details to see who has the biggest lots, and I look at the updates to see how many spaces are left.”
Bennett driver support specialist Chris Hanie says Bennett decided to start installing the (Trucker Path) app based on driver feedback. “It was our drivers that introduced it to us,” he said. “By offering drivers apps to get real-time information, from fuel discounts to load alerts to detailed route planning, it helps them to be hyper-efficient when they are not behind the wheel. Our goal is for all our drivers to have this app on their devices.”
Make truck-stop scanners, fax machines, or overnighted paperwork a thing of the past. Drive Axle helps drivers get paid faster by allowing them to scan documents with their smartphones and submit them electronically — anywhere, anytime. No more veering off route to find a place to scan documents or waiting until returning to the home office to start the payment process.
Thousands of drivers rely on this app to search diesel prices at over 7,000 truck stops across the U.S. and Canada. Fuelbook updates prices six times a day and helps drivers find locations supporting their company’s discounts while en route, so they always can find the best pricing available. The savings in fuels costs can add up to thousands of dollars a year.
While productivity apps are helping you operate at peak efficiency, you’ll have more downtime to rest and recover after a full-drive day. Here are some great ways to stay entertained behind the wheel or when the day is over.
This practical app lets you access a catalog of over two million eBooks, audiobooks and videos from local libraries across the country. Wherever you go, find something to read, or watch, or listen to — that helps pass the time and make your day more interesting. Download it for free for iOS, Android, Chromebook, Mac OS, Windows or Windows Phone at OverDrive.com.
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