Habits of a Modern Truck Driver - Copy

Turns out that modern truck drivers are not much different than the rest of society in regards to joining the digital age.

Despite the stereotypes of truckers being the last cowboys, they check their Facebook and Twitter accounts just like the rest of us, according to the annual King of the Road survey conducted by Atlas Van Lines.

The survey, which polled drivers who work for Atlas Van Lines, shows how often a modern truck driver uses a cell phone, accesses a social networking site, checks an email account and plenty of other interesting findings.

Drivers who participated in the survey represent 31 states and vary from rookie drivers to seasoned veterans who have been with the company for over 16 years.

Time on the Road
The average modern truck driver is on the road, a lot. At Atlas, 72 percent of drivers drove over 50,000 miles in the past year. And 5 percent even managed to travel over 125,000 miles during that span. This amount of miles also meant that drivers were rarely home, with a reported 67 percent saying that they were out on the road for at least 20 weeks per year. Of all the drivers surveyed, 25 percent said they spent over 40 weeks of the prior year on the road.

Modern Trucker Digital Devices
Modern truck drivers need to stay connected just like everyone else, and they love digital devices while out on the road. Drivers were able to mark multiple items on the list and of the respondents, 66 percent operated a smart phone, 58 percent used a cell phone and 43 percent accessed the internet.

Checking Emails
Staying on top of messages from coworkers, family and friends is a necessity in this day and age, and modern truckers are no different as 82 percent of drivers have access to their email on a daily basis. Only 8 percent of respondents said they have access to their accounts.

Internet Use
Accessing the Internet was the most used service for truck drivers while on the road with 84 percent saying they had access to it on a daily basis.

Social Networking
While the numbers were lower in regards to social networking, still more than half of Atlas’ drivers used services like Facebook, Twitter and other favorites on a daily basis while they were on the road.