For the boring roads, the long lonely nights, or the drowsiness, the radio has always been the best remedy, the best partner especially for the truck drivers. Music, news or talk shows are on the menu for the road.
66% of the truck drivers listen to the radio more than four hours every day, according with Overdrive Trucking Radio. The radio states that "41% listen to radio during the day and 11% listen to it after midnight". The kind of music most liked by the truckers is the country, then the classic rock and the gospel.
So, when you are in the mood for radio you have several options to listen to. One is the conventional radio with its AM and FM stations. There are specialized programs made for the taste of the truck driver. The programs consist of music, popular people and news of the trucking industry in general. Humor, partnership, identification and useful information are some of the other ingredients.
Midnight Trucking Radio Network is a very clear example. This program has a target to catch and reflect the opinions of the American truck driver. From midnight to 5 am, topics are the events, legislation, news, national weather, and more is given by the truckers who call during the program.
However, since trucks are in motion, the coverage is extremely important for the trucker's radio programs. Midnight Trucking Radio has, for example, some affiliate stations in Texas, Michigan, Idaho, Nebraska, Arizona, California, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, New York and even a satellite station.
Transmission by satellite is a new and useful tool for the radio industry and very comfortable for the long distance drivers. With the satellite radio, there is no need to look for other stations when the coverage of the local station is finished. These kinds of station or channels are tuned across the entire country. It is a travel without interruptions.
Stations with the transmission by a satellite are the Sirius and XM and they have specific channels of trucker programming. For example, Sirius has the Open Road and the Sirius Trucking Network channels. Both are run by trucking program DJ's, experts in the industry, and they allow for the participation of the drivers in shows, and much more.
XM has the XM Interstate 171 Trucking Channel. The strength of the channel resides in famous programs such as the "The Truckin' Bozo", famous personalities such as Dale Sommers, Dave Nemo and more. XM also offers industry information, weather reports and news.
Back on Earth, there are other conventional radio networks that maintain the truckers updated with information and entertainment. This is the case of Overdrive Radio Network. The Overdrive Trucking News and the Overdrive Top Ten Countdown are the staring programs of this FM/AM Station. Each program has its own emphasis.
OTN has been on air since 1988, for the duration of 4 and a half minutes. The material of the program includes industry news, products information and federal or state movements. OTTC was born a year after the News program. It is every hour between the popular songs, also complemented with classics, novelties, music news and interviews.
Radio programs can be emitted through by satellite, local station, dedicated network or single program. It is evident that the trucking community is not ignored by the media. Through the long and wide roads of the country, the radio will always be the partner on the copilot seat.