Mobile Phones and Driver Turnover

      Even though Global T-Fleet will be installed across his entire fleet, Don Cox sees a permanent place for mobile phones at Parke Cox Trucking.
      "There are times I want to talk to a driver. I hate losing that two-way communication with the driver," he said.
      Cox acknowledged that some carriers want to severely limit phone contact with drivers.
      "You get to a certain size and if you talk to every one of your drivers five, 10 minutes on the phone, the day's gone and you haven't gotten anything accomplished."
      On the other hand, messaging technology can "just remove and distance the driver one more step from the office and the dispatchers," Cox said.
      "Some companies might like that, but I feel if you remove them one more step a lot of times, they get isolated that much more. I think that is a factor in your turnover rate."