I can’t tell you how many GPS fails I’ve read that revolve around a commercial driver using the wrong GPS for their small commercial vehicle. Trucks and vehicles that are even slightly larger than normal must not only be driven differently, but sometimes even require different routes depending on the area.
TomTom recently announced that it will soon be releasing a GPS designed specifically for commercial trucking and driving in Europe. The creatively named TomTom Trucker 6000 will feature customized routes for commercial drivers and will allow users to select the vehicle type, size, weight and cargo in order to find fast, usable routes. As is becoming standard, the TomTom Trucker 6000 features an interactive pinch, zoom and swipe screen. The screen on the device measures 6 inches.
The Trucker 6000 also features a few of TomTom’s signature features including Advance Lane Guidance to give truckers plenty of time to get into the right lane during interchanges, Speak & Go so drivers can communicate with the GPS using only their voice for safer driving and lifetime Trucker Maps so that drivers have the most up-to-date maps available. These maps update four times a year for the life of the device.
Additionally, this device includes traffic and speed cam alerts so that drivers can know what to expect on the road ahead, avoid traffic jams and drive safely.
From what TomTom representatives tell me, the device is not planned for a United States release at this time. It will be available in Europe sometime next week and is expected to retail for around 399 Euros. I’m not sure if TomTom has plans to release a similar device for the US or not, but representatives did confirm that this particular unit might not make it across the pond.
For more information on the TomTom Trucker 6000, visit TomTom’s website.
