Restrict Unauthorized Trailer Movement, New Apps for Truckers & Smart Fleet Cards

00:00 This week’s CCJ Tech Shorts offers details about new driver apps, multiple integrations, a new fleet card, a new shipping intelligence tool and more.

00:21 A new app for truckers is now available for free on the App Store and Google Play. The Top Trucker app aims to help drivers run their business while staying connected with the driver community in one place.

The app offers a trip calculator that lets drivers calculate a load's revenue against its real costs, fuel, mileage, and pay-per-mile, across single or multi-stop routes. Trips save with receipts attached, and records export in one tap straight to an accountant. Drivers can also track their rig, its parts, upgrades and related expenses.

Beyond business tools, the app also lets drivers build a profile, find and connect with other truckers and message one on one. They can also create group chats or broadcast to the entire community.

Another new app for truckers that was recently launched is FuelCast. The iPhone app shows nearby station prices, next week's price direction by region where available, price-drop alerts and a map. It also offers a feature that finds the cheapest stations along a route and takes you there via Apple Maps. It covers the U.S., France, Spain, Australia and Mexico.

01:29 AMBEST, a nationwide network of independently owned and operated truck stops, travel centers and service centers, has taken AMBEST Service Connection live.

AMBEST Service Connection is a digital program that connects commercial fleet customers directly with independent service centers, giving both a single system to receive, assign, track and document repair jobs. It runs on the ServiceLink dispatch and field service management platform operated by Commercial Services Network.

01:56 Driver risk management and compliance platform Embark Safety has launched a two-way integration with Samsara that enables organizations with large and distributed driver populations to connect telematics, motor vehicle record, driver qualification and compliance data across both platforms for a more complete view of driver risk across their workforce.

Together, the platforms aim to help safety teams identify situations that may not be apparent from a single data source.

Samsara provides real-time visibility into how employees operate vehicles. Safety events may include speeding, harsh braking, distraction, unsafe following distance, near collisions and crashes among other behavioral risk indicators. Embark Safety complements this information. Through its platform, organizations can monitor motor vehicle records for reportable changes such as new violations, suspensions, revocations and license-status changes while also managing broader driver qualification, compliance and safety programs.

02:54 E3 Group’s driver authentication and fraud prevention software is now directly embedded into the Transfix transportation management system.

E3 scores 12 to 14 distinct risk factors per driver. Brokers running Transfix can now authenticate driver identity before the pickup number is released, leveraging every risk factor. Transfix passes every risk signal directly to the dispatch workflow.

The integration detects doctored CDLs, hacked email load interception, carrier spoofing, VPN masking, magnetic DOT numbers, unauthorized non-domiciled CDLs and chameleon carriers.

03:31 Kooner Fleet Management Solutions has a new referral partnership with Global Partners.

For Kooner customers, the partnership provides a path to Global Partners when a fleet needs bulk fuel delivery, mobile refueling or wet hosing, fleet fuel cards, or access to high-volume diesel fueling locations. Global Partners, in turn, will introduce Kooner when its customers need mobile fleet maintenance, preventative maintenance, trailer repair, DOT inspections, or dedicated and recurring on-site technician support.

Kooner also recently partnered with Safe Truck Parking as the parking provider’s exclusive on-site fleet maintenance and repair provider.

04:09 Geotab has expanded into fintech for fleets with the new Geotab Fleet Card, which pairs fintech AtoB’s payment platform and fuel discount network with Geotab vehicle data.

The card stays locked until the driver unlocks it in the Geotab Drive app while the vehicle is parked at the merchant location. When a purchase is attempted, the system verifies the vehicle's proximity, the merchant's GPS coordinates and the vehicle's fuel level. It automatically declines a fuel purchase if the vehicle is not at the pump or the tank does not have room for the fuel, helping prevent fuel theft.

The card also offers wholesale discounts at more than 34,000 fueling stations across the U.S., and the Geotab Drive app helps drivers identify nearby lower-cost fueling locations. Beyond fuel, the card supports 11 other spending categories for on-road expenses like maintenance and parking.

04:59 In other Geotab news, the company has a new certification with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to integrate the J1979-2 protocol into its Clean Truck Check compliance solution. This places Geotab among the first companies in the industry to make the protocol available to customers as part of a fully integrated telematics offering.

By embedding J1979-2 into its Clean Truck Check solution, which automatically collects and transmits required emissions data to CARB, Geotab enables fleets that operate in California to streamline compliance processes, reduce administrative burden and minimize unnecessary vehicle downtime.

Geotab’s GO9 family of devices automatically recognizes whether an eligible truck uses J1939, J1979 or J1979-2. Fleets can use the same device and process across trucks that use different protocols without manually changing settings or adding a separate tool.

05:54 Trailer security company Trinetra Guard has made significant advancements with its EM6000Auto automated landing gear system, which combines intelligent security monitoring with mechanical control to physically restrict unauthorized trailer movement before a theft occurs.

The system, which provides real-time GPS tracking alongside landing gear lockdown, now automatically extends and retracts the landing gear, reducing repetitive manual cranking and the strain it places on drivers.

The company has engaged with semi-trailer manufacturer Wabash regarding installation support and landing-gear compatibility. It has also collaborated with J.B. Hunt, which provided technical and operational input to help it understand what a major fleet would want from a trailer-level security system in real-world operations.

06:41 Shipping intelligence platform Reveel has launched a new capability that enables shippers to plan and manage their entire carrier network in real time at the package level without relying on blended averages, static reports or the carrier’s numbers.

Called Omnicarrier Decision Intelligence, the tool powers the Reveel Shipping Intelligence Platform using modeling and simulation to optimize shipments.

It models any carrier rate proposal or diversification scenario against a shipper’s actual package-level shipment history, computes the full financial impact of every proposed term before signature, and models the cost impact of a general rate increase or surcharge restructuring. It also re-rates every shipment against every term in an agreement, including surcharge interactions and DIM thresholds, so the number a shipper sees is the number they'll actually be billed.