Grapevine, TX. Rand McNally said it has signed an agreement with Drivewyze to provide the PreClear weigh station bypass service to Rand McNally’s suite of mobile fleet management devices. The announcement was made here at the Truckload Carriers Assn. annual meeting.
The Drivewyze PreClear service enables commercial truck drivers to clear weigh station requirements before reaching a location, thereby deferring stops and bypassing weigh stations up to 98% of the time depending on the operator’s safety score, the company said.
The average fleet will receive bypass approval about 50% of the time, saving $8.68 per time, Drivewyze said. As a truck approaches a weigh station, safety-related data is communicated in real-time. If the vehicle is not flagged for any service, safety or tax liability issues, the vehicle may be given a bypass and allowed to proceed along its route, reducing weigh station overcrowding and saving the driver time, fuel, and money.
“We continue to seek market-leading technology partners to extend the value proposition of our mobile communications devices,” said Jim Rodi, senior vice president, Mobile Communications Group, Rand McNally. “The Drivewyze PreClear system drives efficiencies for our customers as well as the entire transportation infrastructure by allowing compliant vehicles to reduce unnecessary time spent at weigh stations.”
Using cellular service from Rand McNally’s HD 100, TND 760, and TPC 7600 devices, the Drivewyze PreClear subscription service will notify drivers two miles out from an impending permanent weigh station or temporary inspection site. Based on the standards set by state law enforcement, drivers will receive permission one mile out to either bypass or pull into the station.
“Drivewyze PreClear is the first weigh station bypass solution that directly integrates with existing in-vehicle technology. There’s no need to deal with the hassles of additional hardware,” said Brian Heath, President and CEO, Drivewyze. “Now Rand McNally’s customers can leverage the technology they’ve already invested in to achieve additional efficiencies and savings from the revolutionary TND and HD 100 technology.”
Available to Rand McNally’s existing customers, PreClear will be delivered via an over-the-air software download. New customers will have PreClear capabilities pre-loaded on the device. The PreClear functionality will be made available with a monthly subscription fee program.
Also at the meeting, Rand McNally announced that ACME Truck Line, a Louisiana-based carrier with more than 2,800 owner-operators, is switching to Rand McNally’s TND 760 devices for mobile communication, fleet management and navigation.
“Changing processes or introducing new technology is difficult in any industry, and oil-field transportation is no exception,” said Mike Coatney, president, ACME Truck Line. “We already understood how these devices would benefit the company, but we wanted to be sure that they would add immediate value for our drivers as well.”
According to Coatney, drivers have embraced several features of the TND 760 including the unit’s easy-to-use interface; Rand McNally’s navigation and ease of installation. The device is a simple, no-holes-drilled connection, able to be installed in 15 to 20 minutes.
”During our evaluation process, we found the ability to track trucks using the TND™ 760 greatly reduced the need for dispatchers to call those drivers for status updates,” said Tyler Coatney, project manager, ACME. “The automatic flow of information provided by the device will help support our long-standing commitment to excellent communication and on-time delivery for our customers.”
ACME was also looking for a solution that helped with hours-of-service compliance, integrated with ACME’s custom-developed management system and other TMS systems in the future; and the use of information gathered to process fuel-tax reporting.
“We’ve spent decades developing a system that is ideally customized to meet our operational needs. It was critical to find a partner that could integrate its technology with our system without a major overhaul,” said Coatney. “The integration of the data from the Rand McNally in-cab units with our fleet management system is where the real ROI will be seen.”
