Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

Do more than just get directions! Fly over your next delivery address. I hate morning traffic! So, I always try and ask if there is room to park overnight wherever I’m picking up or delivering. But if the office is closed by the time I get the number, I do the next best thing. I look on Google Maps and use either the Satellite or the Hybrid views to get an aerial view of the building I’m going to. A lot of time you can tell if there’s parking or not. Probably not any parking. Pretty obvious there’s plenty of parking. Click on Street View and look at the same map from ground level.

This is only available in a few major cities. They accomplish this with 360 degree camera on a car or a van. As with any new technology there is a bit of controversy, as in this case.

If you’re able to get online before you hit the road, certain cities will have a traffic icon to click on to get real time traffic information like this in LA.

Google Maps does NOT have truck routes or any other kind of truck restrictions. I can get truck route and low clearance information from a hard copy truck atlas. But this is nice to give you a look at unfamiliar turns, roads and possibly bridges. And it may not be the most up to date information. Photos can be anywhere from one to three years old.