Outside the printed lines
Randy Grider is editor of Truckers News. He is the son of a career trucker and holds a CDL. He blogs regularly at www.truckersnews.com/truckwriters-blog. Write him at [email protected].New websites offer more information, social interaction
The Truckers News staff has always been inspired by the loyalty of its readers. We often get calls from many of you who remember something we published years ago. That’s a huge compliment.
We’ve always strived to get readers more involved in the magazine through letters to the editor, man-on-the-street questions, the Mark Twain Essay Contest, the Great American Trucking Family and other opportunities. And your response has been great. It’s one of the ways we judge ourselves.
With advances in technology, it’s now even easier to become part of the Truckers News family. While we’re always happy to receive your input by mail, it’s quicker — and hopefully less hassle for you — to reach us by email or by utilizing our user-friendly links and tabs on our redesigned websites — www.truckersÂnews.com and www.fit4theroad.com.
Response has been great since we launched the websites in January. With a comment opportunity at the bottom of each story, we found many of you like to give instant feedback on how you feel about a particular article or topic.
Both websites are updated daily with news and features. And the sites are set up to visit individually according to whether your primary interests are trucking news and lifestyle or health-related topics. And since the sites are linked, both are easily navigated to from either web address.
All the reader-involved opportunities you’ve become accustomed to finding in the magazine are found by accessing the pull-down tabs at the top of the websites. We’ve also packed the sites with informative tools, like our free webinar series, to help you educate yourself on topics of interest. We have a lot of resources to make your job easier with links to tools for routing, road conditions, permits and our comprehensive truckstop guide, which allows you to find amenities and truckstop specials along your route.
For those looking for a sense of community, we offer a forum page where readers can interact with each other. Also popular are our Twitter and Facebook pages. Recently we passed the 1,000-fans milestone on our Facebook page. We use both pages to keep our fans and followers informed of breaking news, interesting features and upcoming events. It’s also been a great way for us to gauge your feelings about certain topics like hours or service and health-care reform.
We also have videos of drivers discussing various topics and issues. And if, for some reason, you can’t find a copy of Truckers News at your favorite truckstop or have misplaced a recent issue you would like to read again, they are available in a digital format from our site.
Fit4theroad.com has a wealth of information on health-related topics. We understand the need for real-world solutions for the trucking community. In addition to features on health regulations and issues that can affect your ability to keep your CDL, we spotlight driver success stories, show you how to eat healthier on the road, offer exercise tips and recipes and highlight health-related products. You can also get information about upcoming health-related events.
We want to thank all of you who have helped get our new sites off to great start. We appreciate your patronage and continued interest in Truckers News. Our new sites are meant to be a companion to the printed publication by offering more of what you tell us you want. If you haven’t visited the websites, please do so and tell us what you think. Your feedback has always been important and will be even more so as we continue to expand our offerings. Thank you!
