U.S. Xpress announced Friday, April 4, that it has become the first fleet in the United States to begin training drivers for safety and regulatory issues with computer-based lessons in their own cabs, having already trained drivers in more than 4,000 cabs. Chattanooga, Tenn.-based U.S. Xpress has equipped more than 4,700 cabs with new DriverTech Fleet Management System units, installed with all of Instructional Technologies’ Pro-Tread In-Cab interactive lessons.
U.S. Xpress says it began training drivers in-cab after months of testing and modifications, several of which were recommended by Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Max Fuller after personally testing and working with Pro-Tread In-Cab. U.S. Xpress says it is continuing its initiative to install DriverTech units into all of the fleet’s 7,500-plus cabs, providing high-end communications capabilities and Pro-Tread and other safety- and performance-related applications to all drivers.
“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,” Fuller says. “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 onboard training a reality.”
The Lesson Completion data for the drivers is transmitted back to ITI using the most cost-effective mode possible: WiFi, cellular or satellite. The data immediately are entered into ITI’s Driver Management System for third-party recordkeeping and documentation. ITI says it provides a secure, private, flexible online database for each client.
ITI also has signed a letter of intent to provide Pro-Tread In-Cab with PeopleNet via its new BLU onboard system. Work on integration with BLU is under way, and availability is expected during the second quarter of 2008.
