Title: CHIN Focus Group and Surveys: Truckers and Non-Truckers
Author: Caltrans

CHIN Focus Group and Surveys:  
Truckers and Non-Truckers
Conducted by ProProse and Consumer Quest in 2007 and 2008
For CA 511 Statewide Workshop #8
October 28-29, 2008
San Diego

BENEFITS:
To NON-TRUCKERS the greatest benefit is alleviating stress:  anticipating the need for chains and avoiding avoid situations where safety is an issue such as dust-storms and fog.  They also mention accessibility via phone as a key positive as compared to waiting for a radio broadcast report or internet.
TRUCKERS traveling between states or over hundreds of miles within the state regularly call to anticipate and plan for possible road closures.  It saves time and money. Truckers are often paid by the job – not by the hour.  They can reduce time stuck in traffic and often avoid slow-moving or standstill conditions.

CONTENT:
Motorists say that traffic due to congestion is two to three times more common than traffic due to road conditions. Thus, they want traffic and local travel times.  Motorists only mention weather in terms of longer distance recreational trips, e.g., snow restrictions or for fog/wind warnings.
Truckers consider weather and road conditions are essential and look to government to provide it via telephone service.

VOICE RECOGNITION:  
Whereas other motorists claim the system understands them 85-90% of the time, truckers claim it understands them only 60-70% of the time.  Truckers complain that voice recognition system does not hear them well when they use bluetooth to speak into a microphone. They surmise that this is probably because the noise level in their truck cabin is loud and this interferes with their voice clarity. 

COMPARING INFORMATION SOURCES:
Since truckers are in their trucks for long periods of time and are familiar with a routine, they simply tune in at the scheduled time to receive a helicopter-based report on traffic flow.  Truckers believe information from news radio sources are very accurate and up-to-date as helicopter-based systems rarely miss major delays.

(As of the focus group and survey dates, truckers are not aware of interactive Smart Phones (iPhone), Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs), or in-Dash Navigation Devices: Technologies that compliment government 511 services.  Nor much awareness of degradation of broadcast traffic reporting as broadcast advertising diminishes. - dl)