IdleAire Technologies recently opened its sixth installation--its first west of the Mississippi River--amid drivers waiting for service.

Long-haul truck drivers using the West Memphis, Ark., Petro Stopping Center now have the choice of idling their engines as they try to rest, or turning off their engines and connecting to IdleAire’s Advanced Travel Center Electrification (ATE) system.
The system provides individual central heat and air, 110-volt power, a Pentium-class, color, touch screen computer, phone connection and a range of communications and entertainment packages to the cab of their truck.
"Much like at the Atlanta Petro Stopping Center, drivers were eagerly waiting on us to complete the installation, insisting on using the system as soon as we powered it up and before we had actually completed all the final testing of components in the system," said David Everhart, IdleAire’s senior vice president.
"In addition to many new options to improve their comfort and quality of rest, drivers now have new choices when it comes to communications with their companies and their families," Everhart said. "The new entertainment options will help drivers unwind and reduce stress in what is normally a harsh work environment. All of these new service options are delivered right into their trucks for the first time," said Everhart.
"If the spaces in this first phase installation at West Memphis are used just 60% of the time, IdleAire will prevent nearly 2,500 tons of diesel emissions from entering the air annually. The net reduction, after factoring in the emissions created in generating the electricity we use to power the system, will be over 1,500 tons a year. Phase two and three will deliver even more good news," said Everhart.
"The West Memphis site, our first west of the Mississippi, also fits in well with our earlier installations in Atlanta and Knoxville. In the next couple of weeks we will also be opening four new sites in California, and have scheduled three additional sites to come out of the ground in Texas within the next month or so. Each new site will have the same effect -- less pollution, new jobs and better rested, safer drivers."