Technology news and briefs for the week of Oct. 9, 2022: 

Pennsylvania joins Drivewyze Smart Roadway program

Drivewyze, operator of the largest public-private weigh station bypass network in North America, has partnered with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and INRIX, a transportation analytics and connected vehicle services provider, to provide real-time, in-cab traffic alerts that deliver audible and visual cues of upcoming traffic slowdowns, congestion and incidents.

Through the Drivewyze Smart Roadway program, the alerts are available to commercial truck drivers and will be active on all 564 miles of roadways managed by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority. Smart Roadways extends public transportation safety programs into the cabs of connected trucks throughout their road network.

Messages such as “Sudden Slowdown Ahead” and “Congestion Ahead” are displayed on ELDs that have the Drivewyze platform installed approximately two to three miles before the slowdown begins, giving truckers time to adjust their speed. Congestion and incident information is sent in real time to drivers and is provided by INRIX, which uses advanced algorithms to analyze millions of anonymous connected vehicles traveling more than a billion miles daily in the United States.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, crashes on interstates represent nearly 30% of all collisions, and many are secondary incidents where a truck or car rear-ends a vehicle that was in a queue from an initial crash. A 2019 Pennsylvania DOT study showed 32% of work zone crashes and 49% of secondary crashes occurred more than two miles back from the origin point of congestion.

Pennsylvania joins Ohio, New Jersey and North Carolina in offering in-state alerts.

Cover Whale creates easier access to insurance policies for truckers

Commercial trucking insurtech company Cover Whale Insurance Solutions Inc. is offering two new technology platforms.

They include an application programming interface (API) for agents and an interactive mobile app for its insured truck drivers.

The API allows agents to integrate their systems with Cover Whale’s commercial trucking insurance platform, streamlining the policy quoting and binding process even further for their independent owner-operator and small truck fleet clients. The API can deliver bindable quotes or indications with minimal information required.

The mobile app was created to inform commercial truck driver policyholders about their policies. With the Cover Whale Insurance app, a truck driver has access to everything policy related, from instant, free, unlimited certificates of insurance to claims filing and troubleshooting dashboard cameras.

Procurant, Uber Freight US partner on new produce shipping option

Cloud-based software company Procurant and Uber Freight US have partnered to provide an innovative shipping option for retailers and suppliers of fresh produce.

The partnership enables any produce supplier with a Procurant account to view a competitive transportation rate and secure shipment of a specific load while responding to an active purchase order. The feature, known as Procurant Ship, provides immediate access to available quality carrier capacity to streamline carrier selection and provide real-time in-transit visibility.

“It’s imperative that produce suppliers are able to reliably source cost-effective, safe and reliable transportation services. As freight rates remain volatile, new technologies can help suppliers ensure food stays fresh and arrives on time,” said Matt Menner, head of 4PL Sales – East at Uber Freight. “Through this exciting partnership with Procurant, we enhance the resilience of produce supply chains by reducing waste, keeping costs down, moving produce more efficiently, and ultimately better supporting the communities we serve.”

Procurant and Uber Freight will be featuring the new Procurant Ship solution at the upcoming International Fresh Produce Association Global Produce and Floral Show in Orlando from October 27-29.

HoloTrak introduces new user interface

A location-based tracking solutions provider has launched a new user interface to deliver a pacesetting GPS-based tracking experience.

HoloTrak’s new HoloFleet user interface layout consists of function-specific dashboard panes and a sophisticated map design to transform tracking into a quick-to-grasp visual journey. Users are guided along grids to ensure consistent ease of use across all screens. A color scheme of primarily black and white, coupled with sleek icons, ensures users can view what they need to know simply and quickly.

The new user interface aims to process streams of operational data into actionable business intelligence.

Key highlights include quick access to visibility of devices, vehicles and drivers; easy search and locate for a specific asset or group of assets; the ability to locate and view specific details of assets; easy toggle between map and asset list views; alert creation; and custom report creation and viewing.

It features custom geofencing in which pre-defined geographic boundaries such as country, state, city, county or census blocks can be imported into the system. It also features a “cluster view” that determines the total number of assets for a certain geographical area. In addition, it has a map view with iconography that helps distinguish between moving and stationary assets.

HoloFleet is available for desktop and as an Apple iOS or Android app.

Comdata intros new eReceipts for Lumper Payments service

Comdata has added an eReceipt feature to its Lumper Payments offering, giving customers the ability to initiate, pay for and obtain a receipt for lumper transactions and reduce potential for delays, lost receipts and the overall hassle of retrieving lumper expense reimbursements.

Comdata’s Lumper Payments service has nationwide acceptance at leading warehouses and provides contactless, instant payments via digital Comcheks and Comdata Fuel Card.

“Our new eReceipt feature for Lumper Payments addresses significant pain points for truck drivers today,” said Eric Dowdell, president of Comdata’s North American Trucking division. “Lost receipts and potential delays have historically created issues for drivers.”

Through Comdata’s customer portal, fleet managers will now have access to receipt images and transaction details.