A revised Worldtrucker smart-phone app and website was unveiled during the Louisville Mid-America Trucking Show by Lisa Kelly, star of the History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers and IRT: Deadliest Roads.
 
The ap and website, www.worldtrucker.com, are available for iPhone and Android devices, and enable truck drivers to connect and share experiences from their lives on the road, said Volvo Trucks, one of the techie products’ backers.
 
As the global ambassador for Worldtrucker, Lisa Kelly was one of the first to use the website and app. She has become known among truckers in the social media landscape and has a large number of fans and friends on Facebook, Twitter and through the Worldtrucker forum, Volvo said.
 
“I like keeping in touch with the trucking community,” Kelly said. “There are a lot of things that keep truck drivers united, and that’s what’s cool about the Worldtrucker concept. Other truck drivers understand what you’re going through.”
 
Designed to help the more than 20,000 members of the global Worldtrucker community to easily connect, the website and app help truck drivers exchange experiences and expertise with other drivers, whether in their local communities and around the world.
 
Upgrades to the Worldtrucker website include improved functionality and design, as well as new applications like a GPS-based system that allows truck drivers to record and share their routes on a map. This function is particularly useful when using the Worldtrucker smartphone app that’s integrated with the website.
 
Through Trucker Interest Points (TIPs), drivers can check-in, comment, rate and upload photos from a specific location and then share that information with fellow truck drivers.  A chat function in the app helps drivers find and contact other drivers that may be nearby.
 
The app was developed based on data gathered from truck drivers at truck stops and through online surveys, said Paula Kühnel, Volvo Trucks online communication manager.
 
“Truck drivers are the experts on life on the road, and this website and app were developed both by them and for them,” she explained. “The app is both an extension of the website and an effective social tool for truck drivers to generate and share content directly from the road – from photos uploaded from their mobile phone, to useful tips about good rest areas or safe places to park.”
 
Through Worldtrucker, Volvo Trucks hopes to increase interest in the profession and support the recruitment of new drivers to address the worldwide driver shortage. Volvo wants to make Worldtrucker the largest and most active truck driver community in the world. Worldtrucker welcomes all truckers regardless of what truck brand they drive or prefer.
 
First launched in 2011, Worldtrucker has members representing more than 100 countries and is available in 19 languages. The site has more than 90,000 visits a month and its members have uploaded more than 130,000 photos of trucks and life on the road. The Worldtrucker smartphone app is free and available for download from Apple’s App Store and through Google Play.