The Checklist: Top 9 Trucking Technologies for Fleet Success

Every fleet manager wants to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and keep their drivers safe. From hardware that tracks engine performance to software that visualizes data, there’s no shortage of gadgets promising to thicken profit margins. 

But where should you put your money so it actually pays off?

After more than a decade in the trucking & logistics industry, our experts have pulled together a list of tools that have become non-negotiable for separating the fleets that thrive from the ones that get by. These technologies have been tested, proven, and fine-tuned over the years. The sooner you bring them into your operation, the sooner you start seeing results.

Let’s look at the top nine technologies to add to your truck tool box today.

1. Telematics

These are the gadgets helping fleet owners keep an eye on their trucks. Most devices come with three main components: a GPS receiver, an engine interface, and an accelerometer. Together, these trucking technologies give you a live feed of trucks’ movements and how healthy they are under the hood.

With GPS, you can see exactly where your assets are, how fast they’re going, and how long each trip takes. The accelerometer picks up on driver behavior, such as harsh braking, sharp turns, idling too long, or even if someone has forgotten their seatbelt. Meanwhile, the engine interface gives you a real-time view into fuel consumption, battery voltage, fault codes, and other key metrics before they turn into costly problems. 

Although telematics records data, trucking companies can pair it with advanced analytics software to best leverage it. Fleet telematics and fuel efficiency are often part of in-vehicle monitoring services (IVMS) that help fleet managers assess driver and vehicle performance. See more about how you can use IVMS to feed into driver scorecards, dynamic routing, and fleet planning later in this blog post.

2. Forward and Cab-Facing Dash Cams

The Department for Transport’s Road Accidents and Safety Statistics report recently recorded 14,121 accidents involving light and heavy goods vehicles. In one year, that translates to roughly £3 billion in motor insurance claims. Forward and cab-facing dash cams can help detect upcoming risks and mitigate them before they escalate.

While forward-facing cameras are key for monitoring what’s happening around the vehicle, driver-facing dashcams are equally valuable. They can be installed to monitor in-cab behaviors and alert the driver to any instances of dangerous or distracted driving, such as eating and drinking while on the move, using handheld mobile devices, or not wearing a seatbelt.

Real-time alert systems are essential for your trucking technologies tool box as they can ensure that less management time is spent reviewing recordings and more time is spent actively prioritising driver safety. Instead, these cameras use computer vision technology, which can recognize patterns and spot dangerous habits, giving drivers live feedback and clear, actionable reports. That means safer drivers, and cheaper insurance.

3. Driver Scorecards

If a driver goes through a red light or gets too close to a pedestrian, managers want to know about it. Likewise, smooth acceleration, consistently safe following distance, minimal idling, full compliance at traffic lights, and zero distractions in the cab are the gold-standard habits fleet managers love to see and should be quick to recognize.

Driver coaching devices work by issuing audio and visual cues to guide drivers towards peak engine efficiency. Some systems will employ color-coded notifications, going from green to amber to red as drivers move away from the recommended driving style, while voice alerts prompt them to ease off and drive more responsibly in risky situations. 

As drivers spend more time behind the wheel with real-time feedback, their habits start to shift. They learn to accelerate more gently, brake less harshly, corner less sharply, and avoid dangerous speeding. The payoff is reduced fuel consumption, fewer emissions, and a noticeable drop in collisions.

4. ELDs

Mandatory — at least, for now — electronic logging devices (ELDs) have diminished hours-of-service (HOS) regulation violations by over 50% since the initial 2017 mandate implementation date.

FMCSA might be looking at different ways to make these regulations more fair, discussing pilots where drivers can split their mandatory 10 hours’ rest time, such as 6 hours in the sleeper, 4 hours off duty, giving drivers more control over their breaks. However, it will remain key that fleet managers, DOT inspectors, and auditors can review how these pilots perform in order to ensure they do what they are supposed to — keep drivers safe on the roads.

Trucking companies can choose from many different ELDs based on upfront hardware costs versus monthly subscriptions, installation methods, reporting, and support options. The most important features to look for are that they automatically track driving time, alert drivers when they need breaks, have user-friendly dashboards for drivers to easily update their status between off-duty and in the sleeper, and are compatible with your trucks.

5. Dynamic Routing

Any GPS software can find the shortest path between two points, but trucking companies today are optimizing these analyses with AI.

Sometimes the fastest route is not always the best one, depending on factors such as the terrain or the weather. Truckers also need to account for unexpected road closures due to special local events or major accidents. 

Logistics delays can also throw off schedules outside of a trucking company’s control. Perhaps a warehouse is backed up, pushing delivery windows. Dynamic routing is one of the primary applications of trucking technologies that can balance all these parameters and reshuffle deliveries or find an alternate drop-off point if needed.

Transmetrics has helped fleet owners save 20% in network operation costs and 12% in reduced employed asset fleet with optimization software.

6. Load to Capacity Matching

The process of matching loads that need to be moved with available trucks is as old as the industry itself. But modern tools help get the job done with the least possible waste.

Roughly a quarter of heavy goods travel empty between depots. Fleet managers are tasked with sourcing the right truck and trailer for a load, beyond just size and weight. The route itself matters — especially when factoring in vehicle height, tire type, how the cargo is packaged, and the potential emissions impact of long detours or rough terrain. Low tunnels, restricted roads, and bad surfaces can quickly turn into unwanted cost spikes.

Then come the operational constraints: Does the driver have the right license for hazardous goods? How much driving time do they have left under HOS rules? Are the loading or unloading sites open during the truck’s arrival time? If load planning isn’t done right, fleet managers are looking at unnecessary unloading and reloading, potentially increased downtime, and higher labor and equipment costs.

AI-powered load and capacity matching are just some of the trucking technologies that help fleet owners evaluate real-time data, including customer load transactions, ELDs, and truck GPS, to automate bookings based on each parameter. Read our blog post on load-to-capacity matching to find out more.

7. Collision Mitigation Systems

Although trucks account for less than 3% of the traffic fleet in Europe, they are responsible for 15% of accident fatalities. For example, in the UK alone, between 1,500 and 2,000 bridge collisions involving buses and trucks occur every year, racking up millions in damages. The costs go beyond vehicle repairs: delays, service disruptions, and train derailments can all become part of the fallout.

As of July 2024, all newly manufactured trucks and commercial vehicles in the EU must be equipped with a growing suite of mandatory safety trucking technologies under the latest EU regulations. These include:

• Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) to help drivers stay within speed limits.
• Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW), and Reversing Detection Systems like backup cameras or sensors. 
• Blind Spot Information Systems (BSIS) and Moving Off Information Systems (MOIS) to detect vulnerable road users nearby.
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) for vehicles over 3.5 tons. 

Moreover, starting in 2026, Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) will be required to detect and autonomously respond to collisions with vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Vehicles must also support Emergency Stop Signals (ESS), Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS), and collision warning systems for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Event Data Recorders (EDR) — essentially black boxes — are being phased in to help investigate crashes, with full truck compliance required by 2029. Finally, new vehicles must be ready for alcohol interlock (alcolock) installation, ensuring breath-testing tech can be added if needed.

8. Document Scanning

Truck drivers can collate dozens of loose receipts in their cabins that must be recorded back in the office. From gas stations and meals to invoices and signed bills of lading (BoLs), each document serves an important purpose, and the longer it sits unrecorded, the greater the risk it will be damaged with coffee stains or blown away in the wind.

Many fleet management apps today include some sort of document scanning that can be forwarded on to emails for accounting teams to process. However, truck-specific tools like driveaxle and shoeboxed ensure easy user journey without leaving the app.

The idea is to ensure the scanning tool captures the data at high quality and sends it to the necessary backend systems in as few steps as possible. Duplicated, missing, or ineligible data cause unnecessary bottlenecks in processes; these trucking technologies ensure the data is legible there and then.

9. Fleet Planning

When trucking companies have access to live vehicle performance, location, and driver data from their telematics, road conditions from their camera sensors, hours of service from ELDs, and completed, legible documents, the next step is to analyze it all in one place.

Fleet planning tools and automated fleet management software bring all the gadgets in your truck tool box together. They give fleet owners a holistic view of their operations to empower the most educated decisions. It’s this one version of the truth that enables trucking companies to create more efficient and seamless processes. 

With the help of AI, fleet owners can review vehicle performance alongside terrain, driver behavior, and other conditions to predict and proactively schedule maintenance. They can review delivery routes in the context of real-time traffic and weather, spot trends in driver fatigue or unsafe habits, and even identify which loads or lanes are costing more than they should. By connecting the dots across systems, AI doesn’t just report problems—it helps prevent them, keeping trucks moving, drivers safer, and margins healthier.

Curious about how logistics planning software can work for your fleet? Get in touch or book a demo and we can walk you through it.