If you’ve seen truck drivers on the road, you may notice that many of them have their headsets on. Ever wondered what this is all about? Is it just a fashion statement that is unique to truck drivers, or is there a functional reason for always having headsets on?
Truck drivers wear headsets as a hands free way to communicate with their fleet managers, dispatchers, family, friends and other truck drivers. The use of a headset allows them to have a conversation while staying focused on the road in front of them.
With Truck driving being one of the most dangerous professions, One moment of relapsed focus could lead to an accident. As a result, distractions have to be avoided at all costs.
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The 5 common reasons truck drivers wear headsets are to:
Truck Driver's used to rely on handheld radios to communicate. This qualifies as distracted driving and is one of the main reasons truckers utilize headsets on the road.
1. Maintain Work-Related Communication
The first reason truck drivers use headsets is hands-free communication. The fleet management team is always in the ears of the truck driver, giving instructions about the freight and other important updates. It would cost them a lot of time if the truck driver had to park their truck every time the fleet management team had important information to pass across.
Apart from getting updates from the fleet management team, the trucker also makes use of the headsets to send messages back to the fleet manager. This can come in handy when the truck driver has to report an unavoidable detour or diversion that could cost more time. They can also keep their truck managers updated about truck problems or even incidents.
2. Keep In Touch With Loved Ones
Truck drivers can also exploit the hands-free communication advantage of headsets by keeping in touch with their loved ones. Truck driving can sometimes be a lonely job, especially for OTR drivers who spend almost 300 days on the road in a year. There’s a need for truckers to maintain communication with their loved ones who they don’t have much time to be around.
Semi Truck Drivers use headsets to keep in touch with friends and family while on the road.
3. Receive Timely Weather Updates
Despite the technologies we have to forecast the weather, the weather can sometimes be unpredictable. As a result, it might force a truck driver to make on-the-spot decisions while on the road. With their headset on, the truck driver can receive timely weather updates about their routes from the radio, fleet manager, or even voice-based weather apps.
4. Reduce Distractions and Noise
A busy road is almost always synonymous with a noisy road. The noise can get overwhelming and distracting. And without a headset to help block out most of the noise, the truck driver would return home 9 times out of 10 with a headache.
Now, you may ask, “would blocking out the noise not also mean blocking out important information on the road like a vehicle honking from the blindspot of a truck?”
Well, there’s that risk. But truck drivers are often advised to not completely block out sounds from the world around them so that they hear what’s going on around them.
5. Get Directions
Truck drivers also listen to directions from voice-based navigation technologies and other humans through their headsets. A shipper, for instance, may need to communicate with the trucker on how to navigate their delivery site. Similarly, the voice-based navigation technology could speak out timely directions so that the truck driver does not need to take their eyes off the road unnecessarily.
6. Stay Entertained While Driving
Boredom is another “workplace hazard” truck drivers have to endure, especially if they’re driving long haul solo OTR. The headset makes for a good way for truck drivers to listen to their favorite songs on the radio or their playlist. Some other truck drivers take the opportunity to listen to their favorite audiobook or podcast series.
Team truck drivers who never seem to agree on the same kind of songs or podcasts will also benefit a lot from using headsets. This way, each driver can listen to what they want without disturbing their partner.
Conclusion
By now, you already know that the headset truckers wear is not just for fashion, even though we can’t deny that it makes them look pretty cool. The headsets they wear play huge hands-free communication roles for them. They allow them to keep in touch with our fleet management and our loved ones while having both hands free for driving.
