Operations

Your March 24 Pre-Trip: From day jobs to video games – trucking edition

March 24, 2016

Here are five things worth knowing today.

Here are five things worth knowing today: 1. Truckers, imagine this: No more waiting for loads, guaranteed safe deliveries, and always finding an available parking spot. This is what happens when your day job becomes a video game, according to Vice’s Motherboard. “American Truck Simulator,” a 2016 PC game that simulates the minutiae of truck driving, brings players closer to their dream truck and higher-paying jobs one gig at a time. According to Vice, video games that mimic real-life occupations, no matter how tedious they may be, have “become a choice post-work cocktail of entertainment and relaxation.” Vice has more.2. A Richboro, PA, trucking operator has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, The Intelligencer reports. Volodymry Kurylo, who operated VN Trucking, was indicted Wednesday, according to the report. Kurylo and employee Vitalii Vitiuk allegedly conspired to give false residency documents to VN Trucking students who lived outside Pennsylvania. The Intelligencer has more.3. Highway to heaven? A collision between a Budweiser truck and a Frito-Lays truck reportedly left beer and chips covering a Florida highway on Wednesday morning. According to WFTV 9, the two trucks crashed along I-95 in Melbourne, causing the roadway to shut down temporarily. No injuries were reported. 4. According to the Wyoming Business Journal, every community in the state relies on trucks for critical supplies. According to the report, the average trucking industry salary in the state is $48,692, and as of April 2014, there were 2,560 trucking companies in Wyoming.5. The Chicago Tribune reports that Nissan CEO and chairman Carlos Ghosn opened the New York auto show saying the industry is going to change more – due to connectivity, autonomy and electrification – in the next five years than it has in the past 20. Last year, Nissan announced a new design for its Titan pickup truck. Ghosn predicted by the end of 2017 he’d capture 5% of U.S. truck sales, according to the Tribune. However, the Tribune reports, it’s got a long way to go. Chicago Tribune has more.

About the Author

Cristina Commendatore

Cristina Commendatore was previously the Editor-in-chief of FleetOwner magazine. She reported on the transportation industry since 2015, covering topics such as business operational challenges, driver and technician shortages, truck safety, and new vehicle technologies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.