Trucking Industry Trends: Responding to the COVID-19 Outbreak

When we talk about trucking industry trends, we could mean the newest technologies that are improving trucking safety and efficiency, or we could be talking about the continued emphasis on truck driver health. However, in 2020, trucking industry trends have been focused on one major thing: operating in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As huge portions of the country shut down to help stop the spread of this virus, it’s fallen on the brave men and women in the trucking industry to help keep our economy running and our homes stocked with the supplies we need. Things are constantly changing, though, and there’s so much new information going around that it can be difficult to keep track of it all.

So, to help you keep track of how the trucking industry is responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, here are some of the most important and relevant developments:

Extensions on CDL Validity

As of April 2020, the FMCSA has issued an extension for any truck driver with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP) that was set to expire between March 1st, 2020, and June 29th, 2020. The FMCSA is also making accommodations for other factors that may impact trucker safety and productivity, such as:

  • An extension for any CDL medical certificate valid for 90 days or more that was due to expire on or after March 1
  • A 180-day extension for any hazardous materials endorsements that were set to expire between March 1st and July 31st

Regulatory Relief

Our country’s truckers occupy an essential role in getting the valuable goods and resources we need to the people who need them most. Without them, we’d be facing even more dramatic shortages of the kind of supplies we need as we shelter in place until the COVID crisis has passed. 

To that end, the FMCSA has expanded the terms of its national emergency declaration—originally issued on March 13th, 2020—to include regulatory relief to the truck drivers “transporting emergency relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

This will help our country’s drivers “get critically important medical supplies, food, and household goods to Americans in need,” the Acting Administrator for the FMCSA said on March 18. Additionally, President Trump and U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao publicly thanked truck drivers for “playing a critical role in vanquishing the virus” and in their efforts to help “get our economic engine roaring” again.

Finding New Ways to Support Truckers

Perhaps more than anything else, the most inspiring truck industry trends revolve around people finding new and meaningful ways to support truckers. Whether it’s big companies offering free curbside food for drivers or kids handing out free meals to any truckers who drive past, the country is not letting the work our truckers are doing go unnoticed.

Here at Lily Transportation, we’re so proud of our drivers and are honored to have them in the Lily family. The work they do every day is nothing less than essential to our country, we are grateful to be a part of it all.

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4 Ways to Keep Truck Driver Safety a Priority Amidst Coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, is changing the way we interact with the world around us. Whether that means staying home, working remotely when possible, or self-isolating to avoid exposure, everyone is doing their best to “flatten the curve” and keep themselves and their loved ones healthy.

However, for truck drivers across the country, working from home isn’t an option. It’s their job to keep shipments moving, stores stocked with the supplies people need, and ultimately, keep major sections of our country running during this trying time. 

Here at Lily Transportation, we’re constantly inspired by the commitment and courage of our drivers and are always looking for new ways to help keep them safe. With that in mind, here are four ways to make truck driver safety a constant priority, no matter where the job takes you.

Keep Your Distance

One of the best things anyone can do to prevent exposure to the coronavirus is to keep your distance from others. For truckers, this means using truck stops carefully and maintaining a six-foot distance between themselves and anyone else around. Like a driver told a reporter for the Star Tribune, keeping your distance “is for other people.”

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Social distancing is for everyone’s benefit and safety. And for truckers who are traveling across state lines (and into highly-populated areas), it becomes nothing less than essential, as it helps them keep on trucking and, as a result, keep our country running.

Wear the Proper Safety Equipment

While social distancing is an incredibly important part of truck driver safety, so is having the right kind of safety supplies and protective equipment. To further stop the risk of exposure to COVID-19, the CDC recommends that “critical infrastructure workers” should be wearing a face mask whenever they’re in public and cannot maintain a 6-foot distance. 

To really maximize truck driver safety, wear disposable gloves whenever you’re handling paperwork or product and remember to wash your hands (or use sanitizer) after every transaction and avoid touching your face.   

Clean the Truck’s Interior

Even if you take all of the right precautions, your truck driver safety checklist should still include cleaning the interior of your truck as often as you can. This means wiping down any high-contact surfaces (steering wheel, door handles, etc.) with a cleaning product (i.e., alcohol-based wipes or sprays containing at least 70% alcohol) or soapy water.

By incorporating cleaning the inside of your truck into your pre-trip process, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that you’re doing everything you can to ensure not only your safety but also the safety of anyone else who may operate or interact with the truck in the future.

Take Care of Yourself

As important as these truck driver safety tips are, the only one who can enact them is you. So, as you go about your routine, take care of yourself! You’re doing incredible work, and we all want you to stay as healthy as you can be. Wear a mask when you’re in public; limit your exposure to others; order takeout food so you don’t have to go inside a restaurant; clean your truck (and sleeping cabin if you’re driving long-distance), and monitor yourself for any signs of illness. 

If you have any questions about trucking during COVID-19 or want to learn more about how Lily Transportation is prioritizing truck driver safety, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

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The 4 Healthy Snacks for Truck Drivers That Lily Recommends

Far too often, a trucker food list is made up out of whatever is closest and most accessible. This usually leads to a lot of fast food, candy bars, and chips. While these snacks are certainly tasty, they aren’t able to provide truckers with the kind of energy they need throughout the day. 

With that in mind, here are some of the healthy snacks for truck drivers that we recommend to our drivers here at Lily Transportation.

1) Fresh Fruits & Veggies

You can’t talk about healthy snacks for truck drivers without mentioning fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits of all kinds have tremendous health benefits, and you really can’t go wrong with any of them. As always, though, you shouldn’t overdo it, as too much fresh (or dried) fruit can mess up your blood sugar.

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Vegetables, meanwhile, are so good for you that you can eat as many of them as you like without worrying about crashing later. Not only do fresh veggies come with very few calories, but they’re also a simple snack to eat between meals.

Meal prep for truck drivers isn’t always easy, but with a plastic bag of fresh fruits and veggies, and maybe a little container of peanut butter on the side, you’ll have one of the best and most healthy snacks for truck drivers.

2) Assorted Trail Mixes                                          

Trail mix is another excellent addition to your trucker food list. If you’re buying a pre-packaged trail mix, make sure you look for a “nutrition label,” as some mixes are needlessly high in sugar or salt. 

Or, even better, you can make your own trail mix to take on the road with you. Pick out some of your favorite nuts, add it to some granola, throw in a little dried fruit, and top it off with a few chocolate chips to add a bit of sweetness to the mix. This is an easy addition to your list of healthy snacks for truck drivers and can help promote healthy snacking habits without sacrificing taste.

3) Granola Bars

Granola bars, protein bars, and energy bars are an incredibly easy and popular snack for truck drivers. They’re compact, easy to stock up on, and can help you stay focused and energized. However, not all bars are created equal, and some of them can be packed with a surprising amount of sugary, fatty content.

Still, there are plenty of good options out there, and many of them can even be used as a meal substitute. This can save you time from stopping along the way for a meal that, more often than not, is greasy and less-than-ideal for truck driver health.

4) Protein Drinks & Smoothies

A protein drink or smoothie is another great thing to have on your list of healthy snacks for truck drivers. Not only do they come packed with vitamins and minerals, but the different flavors mean you can find one (or many!) that you like and stock up before hitting the road.

Instead of worrying about the hassle of meal prep for truck drivers, try making a smoothie before getting behind the wheel in the morning. Some frozen fruit mixed with a few greens (and maybe some protein powder) can replace a meal during the day, keep you energized, and help you maintain some good truck driver health habits.

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3 Ways Lily Transportation Promotes a Positive Trucking Culture

The logistics and transportation industry is a pillar of our country’s economy. As long as people keep buying products online, there’s going to be demand for professional truck drivers. This is why Lily Transportation is so committed to promoting a positive and productive trucking culture for all of its employees.

A trucking career is full of exciting opportunities for people from all walks of life, and we’re always looking for new ways to grow our Lily Family with new and passionate professionals. If you’re looking for a career path that takes care of you with competitive pay, flexible schedules, and a unique trucking culture, then Lily Transportation is the place for you! 

We Hire the Right Drivers

As a larger and larger percentage of the truck driver population nears retirement, it’s become more important than ever for companies to hire (and retain!) the right kind of drivers. Here at Lily, our people are our greatest asset, and we go to great lengths to make sure that we not only hire the right drivers but also that we give those drivers an environment that prepares them to succeed.

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

When a professional truck driver becomes a part of our team, they’re becoming part of a family, which is why we embrace Safe Hiring practices to make sure that each new recruit is a good fit for us and that we’re a good fit for them. To that end, Lily is always looking to hire new and experienced drivers

Whether you’re a veteran looking for a new career after your service has ended, a woman ready for a new adventure, or a recent graduate looking to make their way in the world, Lily Transportation has a place for you!

We Emphasize Truck Driver Wellness

According to Trucking Info, “By implementing driver-oriented wellness programs, fleets are likely to see accident rates drop, which lowers operating costs and liability exposure. And driver satisfaction goes up, which cuts turnover and attracts new hires.”

Even though truck drivers don’t spend a lot of time in an office that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to create and support a positive trucking culture with them. At Lily, we do this by providing wellness programs and initiatives that help us stay connected with our team, regardless of where they are, in a meaningful way.

For example, we not only host Wellness Challenges—supported by our healthcare provider, Blue Cross/Blue Shield—but we also award our drivers with “Safety Points” for helping us promote safety on (and off) the road. We also utilize electronic “communication boards” at each domicile to encourage, appreciate, and inform our drivers with fun and relevant information.  From recognizing birthdays and milestones to sharing healthy eating or exercise tips, FMCSA reg updates, seasonal safety tips, and more.

We Take Care of Our Own

A positive trucking culture can’t exist without positive, productive, and passionate trucker drivers, which is why Lily is steadfast in our commitment to the people on our team. We offer all of our full-time drivers a variety of benefits including:

  • Blue Cross/Blue Shield Medical & Dental Insurance
  • Paid Holiday & Vacation Time
  • A Matching 401K
  • Safety Bonuses
  • A Health & Wellness Program
  • Cell Phone Allowance
  • 24 Hour Dispatch
  • Carefully maintained equipment
  • Competitive pay
  • And so much more

Lily Transportation takes care of its family, and it’s our goal to retain this one-of-a-kind trucking culture that attracts, supports, and encourages professional truckers from all walks of life to get behind the wheel of a truck and experience the trucking lifestyle for themselves.

If you have any questions about the culture for truck drivers at Lily Transportation or want to speak with one of our recruiters, we’d love to hear from you! 

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

6 of the Best Trucking Accessories to Improve Comfort on the Road

The truck driver lifestyle is full of one-of-a-kind perks and excitement you won’t find anywhere else. The self-driven structure of your day-to-day schedule, the picturesque views you’ll see on the road each day; these are things you just can’t find behind a desk. 

However, with all the time you’ll spend behind the wheel of your truck, it’s important to make sure that you’re comfortable. With that in mind, here are some of the best trucking accessories to help you make truck driver comfort a priority:

Truck Seat Cushions

No matter how much someone loves traveling (and honestly, what’s not to love?), spending most of the day driving can be physically taxing. And even the most ergonomic chairs can lose their luster after enough time. So what can you do to maximize truck driver comfort on even the longest of drives? Pick up a truck seat cushion.

These cushions come in just about every shape and size, so take some time to find one that supports you the way you want to be supported. Does your back get stiff? Find a cushion that offers extra support along the back. Is your tailbone sore at the end of the day? Then a cushion with extra padding can help improve your posture and lower the stress on your tailbone.

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

Trucking accessories like these come in a variety of materials (like memory foam, for example), so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding one that’ll fit your needs. 

Truck Seat Organizer

Your truck cabin is your home base, in a way, so it makes sense that you outfit it with the kind of gadgets and trucking accessories that you’ll want within reaching distance. But what happens if you start running out of space for your things? Or, more accurately, you don’t have the storage space for your things?

It’s possible to keep things in a glovebox, of course, but then it’s not easily accessible, so that’s not an ideal solution. This is where a truck seat organizer comes onto the scene. This trucking accessory will easily hang off the back of the passenger or driver’s chair and hold all of your loose items in a single location. Things like sunglasses, books, pens, headphones, maps, paperwork, gloves, and more can be consolidated together in a way that keeps them close by without cluttering your cabin.

Mini-Fridge

The truck driver lifestyle means you’re spending a good chunk of your day on the road. And when you spend the better part of your day behind the wheel, you’re going to want access to some food. Sure, fast food is always an option, but not the best one, especially when you’re trying to stick to a healthy trucker lifestyle.

A mini-fridge is one of the best truck accessories, hands down, and all of Lily’s over-the-road drivers have one in their truck. We want our drivers to have a comfortable and healthy lifestyle while in the truck, and having a fridge supports healthy eating habits by allowing drivers to keep lunches, snacks (like fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc.), and water bottles fresh and cool all day long. 

Dashboard Mounts

Whether it’s for your phone, tablet, or GPS, having a dashboard mount for your cab can go a long way toward improving truck driver comfort. These simple trucking accessories help you keep your hands and attention focused on driving, but also make it easy to keep an eye on what’s happening, so you always know if there’s traffic or bad weather on the horizon.

Jackets

It’s cold in the winter, and even with the heater in your truck cabin, you’ll inevitably have to spend at least a little bit of time outside. Instead of dealing with the elements on your own, it’s always a good idea to have a nice, comfortable jacket with you. 

This is as much a trucking accessory as it is one of the most essential truck driver must-haves, which is why Lily Transportation provides winter coats with reflective materials on them to our drivers. We want you to be safe, warm, and as comfortable as possible when you’re on the road, and we’re always looking for new ways to promote truck driver comfort and wellness.

If you want to learn more about what the truck driver lifestyle looks like at Lily Transportation, or simply have questions you would like to ask, then get in touch with us today! We would love to hear from you.

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

Trucking Safety is a Year-Round Priority for Lily Transportation

Safety is the core of everything we do here at Lily Transportation. Trucking safety plays a crucial role in the way we hire drivers, train our employees, maintain our equipment, and so much more. Here is just a glimpse into the many ways we make truck driver safety a priority each and every day.

Equipping Drivers with the Right Equipment

When you spend a good chunk of your day behind the wheel of a truck, you’re going to want the right equipment at your side. Whether it’s a cell phone mount (for easy GPS access), a thermos for your daily dose of caffeine, or winter (safety)  boots for those especially snowy days, Lily Transportation wants to help equip you with everything you could possibly need while on the road.

This is why we provide our drivers with complimentary winter coats (equipped with reflective material, so that other drivers can easily spot them), hats, gloves, and safety boots, all of which are replenished as they wear out.   We want you to thrive at Lily, and we’re willing to go above and beyond to make your truck driving lifestyle as productive, enjoyable, and safe as possible.

Safety is at the Core of Everything We Do

It’s one thing to talk about how important trucking safety is, but it’s another thing entirely to make trucker safety a pillar of your company. So, instead of talking about how Lily Transportation is committed to trucking safety, let’s show you the things we do every day to act out that commitment.

Safe Hiring Practices

Before a new truck driver gets started, they have to go through a specialized hiring process that helps us make sure everyone we work with is an experienced, safe, and driven worker. For example, as part of our safe hiring practices, Lily Transportation requires:

  • Driver physicals & drug and alcohol testing
  • A driver road test before hiring
  • Two years of verifiable experience
  • And more

Safety Aids

We don’t stop at safe hiring practices, though. Our prioritization of truck driver safety remains a staple across all of our departments. To help keep our drivers, and the people they share the road with, safe and sound, we provide the following safety aids:

  • Driver logs & trip reports that are checked and verified by managers
  • PeopleNet E Log systems (Electronic On-Board Recorders)
  • Discreet wireless real-time vehicle locator and speed control
  • Speed gauge reports (vehicles monitored for excessive speed by speed zone)
  • Mobil Eye lane departure and forward warning system
  • 24-hour dispatch
  • A truck driver safety checklist to help drivers take care of themselves and their vehicles

Additionally, we provide our managers and drivers with bonus incentives as they proactively engage in our Driver Safety Program. And to make sure we’re constantly improving our processes,  all accidents and injuries are tracked, reported and discussed with the Senior Management team every week.  

We don’t ever want our drivers to have to deal with an accident or injury, but if they do, we want to know what we can do better, what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And then we put those new processes into place.   

To help keep driver safety as top-of-mind as possible, especially during the winter trucking months, Lily Transportation will regularly share a variety of trucker safety tips and tricks to help our drivers keep themselves safe on the road. We even offer bonus incentives for drivers as part of our Driver Safety Program, which means we’re always looking for an excuse to spotlight drivers who represent Lily’s year-round commitment to trucking safety.  

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What’s the Secret Ingredient to a Healthy Trucker Diet?

Creating and sticking to a healthy diet is hard enough as it is, but when you’re a truck driver who spends the majority of their day on the road, then eating healthy can feel extra challenging. If you’re looking to improve your diet, then these health tips for truck drivers can help you get started!

Make Meal Prep a Part of Your Truck Driving Lifestyle

Eating healthy while traveling is tricky. Most dining options are heavily focused on fast food, and even the snacks you’ll find at truck stops tend to be focused on candy, chips, and other less-than-healthy items.

But when you’re always on the move, you might not have time to seek out healthier options, which can leave you feeling stuck with the same old trucker diet you’ve always had.

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

There is a solution, though! Instead of relying on fast food joints or truck stop snacks to keep you going, look into the benefits that meal prep for truck drivers can offer. 

Like a trucker told TruckingInfo.com, you can save time (and money) by meal prepping for yourself. This way, you won’t be tempted by the less-than-healthy foods offered at the truck stop. And since you’ll be making the food yourself, you’ll not only be able to keep it healthy, but you’ll also be able to make sure it’s something you actually enjoy eating.  

You can even buy a mini-oven for yourself and use it at truck stops. With one of these at your disposal, you can make meal prep a part of your truck driving lifestyle, cook (and freeze) meals before you leave for the day, and then cook them when you’re waiting for your cargo to be loaded or unloaded.

Create a Healthy Trucker Diet that Works for You

One of the great things about a truck driving career is that it provides you with a lot of flexibility. The truck driving lifestyle looks a little different for each driver, and with that flexibility comes the ability to make a trucker diet that fits your schedule and your preferences.

“Instead of drinking caffeinated sodas, energy drinks, or coffee,” CDL.com says, “drink water!” Or, if you don’t enjoy drinking water, then you try sprucing it up with fruit or other additional flavors. Even carbonated water can be a great way to keep yourself hydrated throughout the day without all the extra calories energy drinks or sodas come with.

You should also find some healthy snacks to add to your trucker food list. Things like nuts, granola, smoothies, fruits, veggies, and some energy bars (although be careful with those; some of them have a lot of excess sugar in them) can be a great way to maintain a healthy trucker diet.

When it comes down to it, the “secret ingredient” to a healthy trucker diet isn’t a single ingredient but a collection of them. Staying healthy in any line of work requires dedication and at least a little effort. But when you make these tips a part of your truck driving lifestyle, then you’ll be in a great place to kickstart a whole new trucker diet for yourself.

What To Expect inYour First Year of Over the Road Trucking at Lily

Trucking Safety Tips: Basics of Skid Control and Prevention

According to the Federal Highway Administration, over 20% of the crashes that occur each year are weather-related, and the majority of these weather-related crashes happen as a result of wet or slick conditions. 

As you can imagine, winter driving skid control is a valuable skill in any context, but it’s an especially important one for truck drivers. If you’re a veteran driver and have already had more than your fair share of truck driving in winter, then these tips will be mostly review. And if you’re a newer truck driver, who maybe hasn’t experienced as many winter trucking conditions, then these trucking safety tips can help equip you with the tools you need to manage the winter roads ahead.

Familiarize Yourself with Winter Trucking Conditions

More than anything, the best skid control tip is also the simplest: know what kind of conditions can cause your truck to start skidding. Wet or icy roads are the biggest culprits, so if you’re driving in either of those conditions, stay alert and be extra careful. 

It’s not always easy to tell when the road is slippery, though, so if it’s actively raining or snowing, or has been recently, take things slow. Driving too fast can make your tires start to skid, as can worn tires, which is just another reason why it pays to prioritize the continued maintenance of your truck.

Give Yourself Lots of Time to Slow Down

Whenever you’re driving in winter conditions, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to brake and slow down before intersections, stop signs, and the like. “Slushy or snowy pavement causes a 30% to 40% speed reduction on major roads,” which means you’re going to need to give yourself extra time to come to a complete stop, as slippery roads will require you to ease off of the accelerator and gradually press down on your brake to come to a controlled stop.

Turn Your Wheel Into the Slide

You may remember this winter driving skid control tip from your driving course back in the day, but it’s worth reiterating, as it’s a skill you’re going to want easily accessible if you ever find your truck skidding across the slick pavement.

As soon as you feel the tires start to slide, turn your front wheels in the same direction that you’re slipping. This will help you regain control of the vehicle. Once you feel like you’re in control again, immediately turn your wheels away from the slide and get yourself going in a straight line again.

Familiarizing yourself with trucking safety tips and skid control tips like these is crucial, as you won’t have a lot of time to think about what you should do if your truck starts to skid. You want these skills to be as instinctual as possible, so if you’re ever caught off-guard by winter trucking conditions, you’ll be more than capable of managing them like a pro.

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The 3 Trucking Technology Trends Lily Transportation is Excited About

Technology is advancing at a faster rate than it’s ever been before. Whether it’s the newest upgrades to our mobile devices or the latest trucking technology that’s being set up in our trucks, the future of trucking is shaping up to be a brave new world for carriers and drivers alike.

As exciting as these technology-centric trucking industry trends are, we’re still far away from the kind of future we’re used to seeing in science fiction. Instead, truck technology is being developed to improve the truck driving lifestyle and make the lives of everyone in the industry a little bit easier. 

Here are a few of the trucking technology trends and developments that we’re most excited about:

Dynamic Routing Advancements

Dynamic routing isn’t a new development in the trucking industry, but it is one of the most impressive. Not only is it constantly being iterated on and further developed, but these advancements have also made it possible for more and more trucks to start implementing this exciting technology.  

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According to Fleet Owner, “Dynamic routing can add in adjustability and data to inform the paths taken, especially with traffic and weather information that today truly can get close to that often-made promise of ‘real-time.’” This means that carriers and their drivers can more efficiently plot a course from Point A to Point B and make sure that the route a driver takes is as safe and clear as possible.

As if increased safety and efficiency weren’t enough, dynamic routing can also help drivers get to their final destination faster, cut down on the amount of fuel their trucks consume per trip, better control costs, and make customers happier. And as a result of all this, carriers will be able to save money and find new ways to promote better truck driver health and safety.

This kind of trucking technology is still in various stages of development, but more than a couple carriers have begun experimenting with it, and we’re very excited to see it continue to advance and improve in the coming years.

Trucking Automation Features

It’s hard to talk about the future of trucking technology without mentioning automation. While there are plenty of people claiming that fully-automated trucks are inevitable, reality paints a very different picture.

“Truck drivers perform all kinds of tasks,” Harvard Business Review says. “From checking vehicles and securing cargo, to maintaining logs and providing customer service.  Many of these tasks are nowhere close to being automatable.” Even if an automated sensor can tell a driver that there’s a flat tire, it’s still up to the driver to get out and fix the tire.

Truck drivers aren’t going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to be found in trucking automation. Some carriers have already started automating things like logbook updates, invoices, and other paperwork, but those are tasks that don’t require a human touch, just time. By implementing trucking automation features that streamline a driver’s workload, you can help them be better equipped to do their jobs to the best of their ability. 

Adapting to the Internet of Things (IoT)

In the same way that trucking automation can help streamline the truck driving lifestyle, embracing the Internet of Things (IoT) can also remove some of the busywork that keeps drivers from the things they’re best at. 

The “IoT forms a network of devices, vehicles and appliances which can actively share data. For example,” TransMetrics says, “networks of sensors mounted throughout the truck can monitor everything from tire pressure to load stability.” This is an excellent example of how trucking technology can improve the future of trucking, as it’ll help each driver operate their truck better than they’ve ever been able to before.

As new and exciting software for truckers comes into the market, we can start to see our first look into what the future of trucking might look like. 

Lily Transportation is excited to find and adopt new ways to take better care of our drivers and equip them with all the tools they need to succeed. If you’re interested in hearing more about the cutting edge and meticulously maintained equipment we offer, then get in touch with us today! We would love to hear from you.

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What Does the Trucking Lifestyle Look Like for Veterans at Lily?

Getting started in any new career can feel overwhelming, especially when it’s your first career after serving in the military. If a laid-back office job sounds like the last thing you want to be doing, then you should look into the trucking lifestyle as a possible alternative.

Not only do trucking jobs for veterans offer tremendous potential for competitive pay, flexible schedules, and a low barrier for entry, but your experience in the military will make you a top candidate for any company looking to add to their team. To help you decide whether the trucking lifestyle is for you, here are a few things you can expect to find in a truck driving career:

The Trucking Lifestyle is Full of Unique Benefits for Veterans

“The trucking industry is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy,” Trucking.com says. “Nearly 71% of all the freight tonnage moved in the U.S. goes on trucks. Without the industry and our truck drivers, the economy would come to a standstill.”

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If you’re interested in the trucking lifestyle, then you’re bound to discover a world full of opportunity. Trucking and transportation are some of the most crucial industries in the country, and as a result, truck driving careers are in constant high demand. Here’s a glimpse into just some of the benefits the truck driver lifestyle at Lily Transportation offers:

  • Annual compensation in the $70,000 range. 
  • Training curriculum that’s fully paid for by Lily (and won’t deplete your GI Bill benefits!). 
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical and Dental Insurance 
  • Paid holiday and vacation time 
  • Matching 401K safety bonuses 
  • Health and wellness programs 
  • Cell phone allowance 
  • A flexible truck driver schedule
  • 24-hour dispatch

On top of that, the trucking lifestyle can change on a day-to-day basis, so you never know what kind of adventure could be waiting for you. One day you could be driving over long stretches of the countryside, and then you could be enjoying the stunning vistas from the winding roads of a mountain pass. 

It’s Easy to Get Started

Whether you know it or not, you’re already very qualified for a career in the trucking industry! Your experiences in the military have equipped you with the kind of perseverance, adaptability, and leadership skills that will serve you very well in the trucking lifestyle. 

The simple truth is that carriers are excited by the idea of working with you. Not only are companies like Lily Transportation actively offering truck driving jobs for veterans, but there are even programs that can dramatically streamline the training and certification processes. For example, if you operated heavy vehicles as part of your service, then you may qualify for the Military CDL Waiver

Transitioning back into the civilian lifestyle can be tricky, especially for veterans who are looking for a new career path. With veteran trucking jobs, however, you’ll be able to make a great income while also enjoying the flexibility and adventure the trucking industry is known for. If you’re interested in learning more about the Lily Veteran’s Network and their unique programs, contact our team today!

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