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Trucking Goes High Tech

Posted May 22, 08 3:18 PM CDT in Business,  Technology 

(Newser) – Trucking companies are adopting technologies that track vehicles, monitor trucks’ condition and drivers’ actions, and even act automatically to stop accidents, reports ComputerWorld. The systems help companies meet regulations and contract obligations. Take the company that delivered the final Harry Potter book nationwide within a three-hour window and achieved its goal that “Harry Potter must not escape” with advanced tracking.

The technology includes GPSs that give drivers directions and tell headquarters exactly where trucks are, allowing the most efficient possible routing and assigning of drivers. Safety systems alert drivers and sometimes managers when they’re driving dangerously, and can intervene to stop accidents. And vehicle condition monitoring predicts breakdowns, while automatic tracking watches how many hours drivers have worked.

Source ComputerWorld

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In this April 23, 2008 file photo, a UPS truck is seen in San Francisco. UPS analyzes the data its vehicles transmit in a huge IBM DB2 database.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
A Jevic Transportation, Inc. truck drives near the company's Delanco, N.J., headquarters Monday, May 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
TomTom International provided this photo of a TomTom GO 720 GPS device. Companies use GPS systems to give drivers directions and to track their locations.   (AP Photo/TomTom)
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technology • GPS • road safety • truckers • transport


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