Former trucker updates app to help drivers avoid low overpasses

Former truck driver Walter Machel has updated an app in an effort to help truck drivers avoid low bridges.

There have been nine overpass strikes in Saskatchewan this year, a trend which indicates that some semi drivers would benefit from an early warning system.

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The app, called Rig Rest, was originally made to help truck drivers find a safe place to stay overnight, particularly in areas like Saskatchewan where roadside pullouts can be limited. It has since expanded to include low-bridge warnings.

The app sounds an alarm for drivers when a low bridge is five kilometres away, and the warnings are repeated at two-and-a-half kilometres, one kilometre and 500 metres.

“It just goes crazy, and it beeps and flashes and tells you to pull over,” Machel said during an appearance on the CKOM Morning Show.

Machel said drivers don’t need to have a route programmed into their phones for the app to work. Users open the app, which finds their location. Drivers can then put it on their dash, facing them, and the alarms will alert them about low overpasses and bridges as they approach.

“I’ve tested it out myself, and it works perfectly,” he said.

He said the app also helps drivers identify designated truck routes.

Machel said he was able to obtain truck route information from the B.C. government after struggling to find reliable resources while making deliveries in Vancouver.

“Just because you’re on a truck route doesn’t mean you’re not going to hit a bridge,” he added.

According to Machel, hundreds of bridges along designated truck routes across Canada have clearances below 13.5 feet. Those clearances are programmed into the app using GPS co-ordinates, so the program can warn drivers who may be approaching hazardous structures.

Machel said the app was inspired by his years of experience in the trucking industry and the importance of planning routes before hitting the road.