International Truck to Focus on Driver Satisfaction in Face of Driver Shortages

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In the wake of a recognized commercial driver shortage, compounded by high turnover rates, International Truck has launched a company-wide initiative, DriverFirst™, wth the express goal of giving its customers “an edge in attracting and retaining qualified drivers through vehicles designed with a strong emphasis on the driver’s perspective.

“Today, for our customers, uptime means more than having trucks that are built to stay on the road,” said Denny Mooney, senior vice president, Global Product Development. “Given the industry’s chronic driver shortage, it’s also about having enough drivers to operate those trucks. And for us, that means building trucks that will help our customers attract and retain drivers, by reflecting the driver’s point of view in the way they are designed and the technologies and features they offer.”

Mooney identified four specific areas where International is pursuing ongoing innovations and driver-centric features, based on its research into driver needs:

• Comfort: Driver comfort is greatly enhanced by factors like ergonomics, interior lighting and color, as well as low noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
• Safety: Driver safety can be enhanced by multiple factors, ranging from visibility and state-of-the-art headlights to advanced systems that use radar, digital cameras and other technologies to avoid and mitigate accidents.
• Productivity: Drivers benefit from technologies like automated manual transmissions, as well as improved vehicle serviceability and ease of maintenance.
• Efficiency: From improving fuel economy to designing more intuitive displays, drivers are interested in features that will help them get the job done more efficiently.

Category: Driver Stuff, Featured