Winter presents unique challenges for the trucking industry. With colder weather, less daylight, and the influx of business from the holidays, it’s vital for truck drivers to have information at their fingertips for success during the winter months. We’ve researched the top eight apps, from weather to parking transparency, that every driver needs this winter.
Winter presents unique challenges for the trucking industry. With colder weather, less daylight, and the influx of business from the holidays, it’s vital for truck drivers to have information at their fingertips for success during the winter months. We’ve researched the top eight apps, from weather to parking transparency, that every driver needs this winter.
Weather
Professional drivers know that anything can happen on the road. Mix in cold temperatures, snow, ice, and wind gusts, and then really anything can happen! Here are three weather apps you need to help avoid delays or unsafe conditions.
Reliability and real-time updates: the two things you want from your weather app. When weather conditions take a turn, you don’t want to be guessing what’s coming next. The National Weather Service app gets its users immediate severe weather updates. For a focused view, you can use the interactive map to click on your specific geographical location, keeping you weather aware anywhere.
This weather-tracking app was highly recommended by the truck driver community. WeatherBug makes sure you’re the first to know about real-time forecasts and severe weather alerts. With a map that easily allows you to visualize your incoming weather, plus multiple layers and the most accurate hourly and 10-day forecasts, every truck driver needs to download this app before winter sets in.
This is another app that ranks highly with CDL-A drivers. True to its name, this app tracks wind gusts in your area. Saving you time and stress, all you have to do with Wind Compass is plug in your location and then get detailed info on wind speed and direction. You can also access sunrise and sunset times so there’s less guesswork about driving in the dark.
Fuel tracking
These days, everyone is feeling the pain of increased fuel prices. But, with the right apps, you can hack the fuel market and gain insight to the lowest diesel prices around you!
By far, this is one of the most popular apps among CDL-A drivers. GasBuddy tells you where the gas stations with the lowest fuel prices are located, and its real advantage is that it has a built-in filter that lets users find budget gas stations for specific fuel types. The app can also use your location to find the closest gas station to you and provide you with info on the exact distance, fuel cost and when it was last updated, and customer reviews.
Last year, this fuel-tracking app saved independent drivers over $150 million. Mudflap gets you incredible fuel savings on diesel and the chance to earn fuel rewards for every gallon.
Route planning
It’s important to have a route planned when you hit the road. Ensuring that you have a safe route to follow and updates on the roadways is even more important during the winter. Here are two apps the truck driving community is using this winter.
We found that not many CDL-A drivers use Waze for its navigation capabilities but instead for its ability to give real-time updates on congested traffic, accidents, debris blocking the roadway, and police presence. This data is updated in real-time, giving professional drivers the best insight into the road ahead.
This app is advertised as the navigation and routing app for truckers. Seeing as it ranks highly on online truck driving community forums, this doesn’t seem to be false advertising. One driver even said that when their McNally GPS gave out, they used Hammer as they looked for a new GPS. But they ended up liking Hammer so much that they’ve never looked back!
Parking
Especially in the winter, when weather conditions can quickly become unsafe for driving, it’s vital to have a way to access safe and secure parking locations.
With Trucker Path, you can join the 750,000 drivers who report real-time parking availability across the nation, getting the entire community access to information on reliable parking locations. On the app, availability is listed as full, some spots, or many spots so that you never have to guess!
With these apps and the team at Carter Express backing you this winter, it’s sure to be the best season yet. Connect with us today about our driving opportunities today!
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