Citadel Fleet Safety (see below for a special discount) is all about truck driver safety. How so? By showing you some boring safety videos that makes you want to yawn so wide that you nearly swallow your tongue? Nope. By supplying truck drivers with a fast, reliable, affordable way to deal with emergencies.

Click the Play button below to listen to my interview with Jim Rennie, SVP Director of Sales & Strategic Partnerships for Citadel Fleet Safety.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is for all kinds of emergencies

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is a nifty unit. It’s a small, key FOB-sized device with a prominent button, that when pushed for three seconds will contact emergency services quicker than you can say, “I don’t want to die today” three times fast. Before you know it, you’ll be talking to a trained emergency advisor who will send the appropriate services to you ASAP.

What’s that? Can’t talk because you’re choking on a Whopper with cheese? No worries. The advisor won’t take your silence lightly. They’ll assume the worst and dispatch an ambulance to you STAT! Feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest? An ambulance is on the way. Do the unintelligible words you’re speaking sound like you’re having a stroke? You are! And your emergency advisor will know that and send help. The Citadel Escort isn’t just for your personal medical emergencies though.

Come across a vehicle accident? Citadel can be dispatching emergency services while you’re running to the scene. Or maybe you see a couple of shady dudes hanging around your truck or approaching you as you walk across a dark parking lot? Press that button and the fuzz are on the way. False alarm? No big deal. They’ll call the cops off as soon as you know it’s safe.

Listen, it’s a dangerous world out there. It seems like every other day you’re reading about some trucker who got mugged, shot, or worst of all, killed on the job. You also know that truckers aren’t the healthiest bunch of folks out there. Something about the combo of chicken fried steak and sitting on your tookus 11 hours every day doesn’t add up to a healthy lifestyle. Who knew? Truckers are also alone for long stretches of time, so wouldn’t it be nice know someone will be there for you when you most need them? Trust me, even if your dog’s name is Lassie, she’s not going to run for help… unless perhaps your name is Timmy.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is easy to use

The beauty of the Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is that it works right out of the box. There is no complicated setup that requires a Computer Science degree here. Just unbox it and it’s ready to use.

When an emergency is happening, all you have to do is press the activation button for three seconds. Once that’s done, you’re totally hands-free to do whatever you need to do; whether that be saving a person from a burning car, fighting off those muggers, or putting on some pants before the ambulance arrives. Seriously, I’d be willing to bet it takes longer than you might think to squeeze into your jeans when you’re in agonizing pain.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is always with you

How many times have you wanted to do something as unimportant as taking a photo of a bumper sticker, only to realize you left your phone in the truck? Yeah, weell that’s really going to suck when you slip and fall on the ice while you’re doing your walk-around inspection. That won’t happen with the Escort because it can always be attached to you.

The device is worn one of three ways; a lanyard around your neck, on a belt clip, or on a wrist strap.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is rugged

The Escort is made of rugged materials. It has been tested to both extremes of heat and cold. Let’s just say that if your Escort won’t work because of the ambient temperature, you’ll already be dead so it really won’t matter at that point. ?

It is tough enough to withstand the trucker’s lifestyle, so there’s no need to worry about banging it around or dropping it on the pavement. As long as you don’t take a sledge hammer after it or run it over with your tractor for a YouTube video, it’s going to keep on ticking.

The device is also water-resistant so you can wear it in the shower if you choose. Or if that’s seems unnecessary, you can at least hang it from a hook in the shower stall so it will be in easy reach. And in a worst case scenario, it will also survive a quick dive into the goldfish bowl, provided you fish it out quickly (cheesy pun intended). It’s not a SCUBA device, you know.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is reliable

What good is an emergency device if you can’t rely on it to work 24/7? That would be as pointless as playing badminton with a bowling ball! The Escort is always ready to go and the Citadel emergency advisors are trained to deal with any issue. There are three call centers strategically located across the US, so you never have to worry about your cry for help going unanswered.

Speaking of location, your location is one of the most important things when it comes to an emergency. The Escort has you covered with a built-in GPS chip. That means that you don’t have to try to verbally relay your location when you may be least able to do so. The advisor will know exactly where you are.

About the only time the Citadel Escort isn’t reliable is if you’re a big dummy and let the battery run dry. The problem is, it’s really hard to do that. Depending on usage, the battery will last 4-6 days. When it starts getting low, an LED will blink to warn you. And if you’re still too stinkin’ forgetful to charge it, someone from Citadel will call you to let you know your battery needs charging. How cool is that!?

Citadel Fleet Safety was using their noggin’s when they decided to put the Escort on the AT&T 3G network. That might sound like an antiquated technology, but it’s really quite brilliant. As any trucker can tell you, the 4G and LTE networks aren’t available as much as we’d like, but you can get a 3G signal pretty much anywhere in the continental United States. And since the Escort doesn’t need a high-speed data network to have two-way voice communication, the 3G network makes far more sense. Not only is there better cell coverage with 3G, but it also makes the device cheaper for you.

The Citadel Escort Mobile Emergency Response System is affordable

There is no charge for the Escort device itself. Instead, you pay a monthly fee for the service. I also love the fact that there are no contracts to sign. Citadel Fleet Safety wants to earn your business every month. I just love that.

The Escort usually retails for $29.95 per month, but for a limited time, the good folks at Citadel Fleet Safety are giving all Trucker Dump readers/listeners a special rate of just $22 per month! And that’s not just an introductory rate. That’s $22 per month for as long as you own the device! How awesome is that?