Key Takeaways:
- Electric vehicles can reduce emissions, noise pollution, and operating costs.
- Dynamic routing software uses real-time traffic information, vehicle tracking, and other data to plot routes and optimizes each leg.
- Gamification motivates drivers to be more cautious and attentive while on the road, with drivers competing for the best safety score.
Keeping up with the latest tech trends can be difficult in any industry, but it’s especially hard in trucking because of our industry’s unique nature. However, there are some promising new trucking technology trends you should be a part of, so we’ve put together a list of 3 tech trends that are taking the trucking industry into the future.
Electric Vehicles
The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) is one of the most important trucking technology trends to watch. Electric vehicles can reduce emissions, noise pollution, and operating costs. They also have the potential to improve safety, as they are less likely to overheat and catch fire. But like most technology, there is an adoption period. One of the initial challenges that hindered the adoption of EVs was the limited range, but thanks to advancements in battery life, EVs can travel further with faster charge times.
This technology is starting to make its way into major fleet operations, with electric, and even hydrogen, semi trucks preparing to hit the road in the near future. Although all-electric semi trucks won’t completely replace diesel models overnight, they can help fleets reduce emissions, increase safety, and lower maintenance over time.
During our road test of the Nikola Tre BEV battery-operated truck, we got to experience this technology first-hand. Here are our key takeaways:
- Increased comfort for the driver: With no engine in the front, the cabin stays cool and comfortable.
- The truck can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds allowing drivers to seamlessly merge into traffic while matching highway speeds.
- The cost of charging this vehicle sits around $50, coming in at a much lower price tag than a diesel truck at about $500-$600.
- The vehicle can take tighter turns and smoothly transition to higher speeds.
Dynamic Routing
Tech-savvy forwarders have used GPS since its introduction to help improve routing efficiency, but now dynamic routing apps are taking advantage of a wealth of new data sources and becoming available for smaller fleets. Dynamic routing is one of several new technologies designed to help small fleets be more competitive. Dynamic routing software uses real-time traffic information, vehicle tracking, and other data to plot routes and optimizes each leg according to parameters set by a customer or fleet manager. It can even consider factors such as road closures, sudden downpours, and accidents on the road. The result is greater speed, better fuel economy, and safer driving conditions.
Gamification
Gamification is a new semi-truck technology that is becoming increasingly popular in the trucking industry. This technology aims to boost fleet safety and savings via competition. Drivers can compete against each other to see who can drive the safest and most efficient route. The competition aspect of this new semi-truck technology motivates drivers to be more cautious and attentive while on the road. As a result, there has been a decrease in accidents and fuel consumption. This new semi-truck technology is not only improving safety but also saving fleets money.
As the trucking industry continues to advance, the future of our industry continues to grow and expand into new avenues. If you’re interested in learning more about the Nikola Tre BEV, click here.
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