Spending long hours on the road, oftentimes alone, can get old. But, with so many cool technological choices, this doesn’t have to be the case.

We wanted to know which technologies truck drivers count as their favorites, so we asked.  We asked truck drivers to tell us their top 5 trucking technologies.

And, here’s what we found:

Cell phones matter – think about the difference the cell phone has made to trucking jobs. Truck drivers no longer have to pull over at a pay phone to get their dispatch information from their dispatchers (that’s what we used to call driver managers). Not to mention, cell phones allow truck drivers to more easily stay in touch with their friends and families. Most truck drivers probably don’t know what it was like to drive before the days of the cell phone, but just know this – the cell phone has greatly improved the life of a truck driver.

Laptops are here to stay – considering the method in which we gathered our data (online) it’s no surprise that over 64% of those we asked considered a laptop as a top 5 trucking technology. And, it’s our opinion that more and more truckers will add a laptop to their cabs. Internet connectivity is such a huge part of our society. It opens so many doors to information and communication. Laptops allow truck drivers to add one more avenue to stay in touch with friends, families, and business associates. It also creates the opportunity to meet others within the industry. Laptop usage within the truck driver community is only going to increase, and we think that’s a great thing!

GPS is the new Rand McNally – while some “mossback” drivers like the pure art of reading a map and following directions given over the phone, many drivers have turned to GPS units. Navigation becomes much easier with the use of GPS. In fact, some trucking companies have decided to add GPS to their company trucks.

Satellite Radio has a foothold – the trucking industry and satellite radio are a perfect match, for obvious reasons. How many times, while crossing the country, have you hit dead spots on the AM/FM radio? And, how often did you find yourself trying to find your favorite radio show in a different city? With satellite radio, these 2 issues are pretty well eliminated. Satellite radio rarely loses signal, and the stations remain the same no matter your location. Also, satellite radio has stations dedicated to the trucking industry – a great fit for truck drivers.

The biggest surprised was the fact that the digital camera didn’t appear more than once. Perhaps the fact that the digital camera is a relatively old technology, we take it for granted. But, we hope every truck driver has one and uses one often. Truck drivers are one of the very few groups of people who have the opportunity to see so many parts of the country. Make sure you’re taking pictures of your favorite parts of your great country.

Here’s the final results. The % column indicates the percentage of all the participants chose the particular item. For example, 84.38% of all those asked, chose the cell phone as a top 5 technology for truck drivers and trucking jobs: