U.S. Xpress has announced that it is equipping over 4,700 truck cabs with the new DriverTech Fleet Management System. Each unit includes some 50 Pro-Tread In-Cab interactive lessons from Instructional Technologies Inc. (ITI) enabling in-cab training for U.S. Xpress drivers. According to the company, the move makes U.S. Xpress the first fleet in the country to offer in-cab instruction of this type.
U.S. Xpress began training drivers in-cab after months of system testing and modifications. Today, the company is continuing its initiative to install DriverTech units in all of the fleet's 7,500-plus trucks. Courses available to drivers include defensive driving; winter driving; backing, accident procedures, hours-of-service and logbooks; OSHA and workplace safety; tanker lessons; and all of the federally required entry-level courses.
Lesson completion data for the drivers is transmitted back to ITI using the most cost-effective mode: WiFi, cellular or satellite. The data is immediately entered into ITI's Driver Management System for third-party recordkeeping and documentation.
“Continuing education for drivers is an important part of our industry, and we have always taken great pride at U.S. Xpress in finding new ways to reach out to our drivers with information that can make a difference in their daily work and their lives,” said Max Fuller, co-chairman and CEO. “The ability to place Pro-Tread training modules within the cabs of our trucks through our DriverTech units is a true breakthrough. The team at ITI should be proud of their work: They helped us find the innovative answers that we needed to make on-board training a reality.”
ITI has also signed a letter of intent with PeopleNet to provide Pro-Tread In-Cab via PeopleNet's new BLU onboard system. Work on integration with BLU is under way, and availability is expected during the second quarter of this year.
