Vehicle Type Routing Options

Selecting the appropriate vehicle type in Droppath is crucial for safe, efficient, and legal route planning. Different vehicles have different routing requirements—trucks need to avoid low bridges, bicycles should prioritize bike paths, and cars require standard road routing. Droppath optimizes your route based on your vehicle type to ensure compliance, safety, and accurate timing.

Related: Learn about route optimization features and explore how to import stops via CSV for efficient route planning.

Why Vehicle Type Matters #

Avoid Illegal Moves #

Different vehicle types are subject to different traffic regulations. Trucks may be prohibited on certain residential streets or parkways, while bicycles can use bike lanes and paths that cars cannot. Droppath’s vehicle-specific routing ensures you only receive directions along legally permissible routes for your vehicle type.

Prevent Low Bridge Accidents #

One of the most dangerous hazards for truck drivers is low bridge clearances. Standard car navigation apps don’t account for vehicle height, potentially directing trucks under bridges that are too low. Droppath’s truck routing option automatically avoids low clearance hazards, keeping you and your cargo safe.

Accurate Estimated Arrival Times #

A bicycle travels at different speeds than a car, and a truck has different acceleration characteristics than a sedan. By selecting the correct vehicle type, Droppath calculates realistic travel times and arrival estimates based on your actual transportation method—helping you provide accurate ETAs to customers.

Supported Vehicle Types #

• Car
• Truck
• Bicycle
• Scooter
• Walk

Car Routing #

Best for: Standard passenger vehicles, vans, and light delivery vehicles

Car routing is the default and most common vehicle type in Droppath. It provides standard road routing optimized for passenger vehicles and light delivery vans.

Characteristics:

• Uses all standard roads, highways, and streets
• Standard speed assumptions based on road type
• No special restrictions or considerations
• Ideal for courier services, food delivery, and light package delivery

Truck Routing #

Best for: Commercial trucks, box trucks, and heavy delivery vehicles

Truck routing applies commercial vehicle restrictions and safety considerations to your route planning. This mode ensures your route avoids hazards and restricted areas that would be problematic for larger vehicles.

Characteristics:

• Avoids low bridge clearances and height restrictions
• Excludes roads with weight limits that restrict commercial vehicles
• Considers truck-specific speed limits
• Avoids residential streets and parkways that prohibit trucks
• Accounts for wider turning radiuses

Safety Benefits: Truck routing is essential for preventing costly and dangerous accidents. Low bridge strikes cause millions in damages annually and can result in serious injuries. By using truck routing, you automatically avoid these hazards.

Bicycle Routing #

Best for: Bicycle couriers, e-bikes, and pedal-powered deliveries

Bicycle routing prioritizes bike-friendly infrastructure and provides realistic timing for human-powered or electric-assist bicycle delivery.

Characteristics:

• Prioritizes bike lanes, bike paths, and cycling infrastructure
• Avoids highways and roads that prohibit bicycles
• Calculates speeds based on bicycle travel (typically 12-15 mph for planning)
• Considers terrain and elevation where available
• Favors quieter residential streets over major thoroughfares

Urban Delivery Advantages: In congested urban areas, bicycle delivery often outperforms motor vehicles. Bicycle routing in Droppath leverages bike infrastructure to find routes that are faster and more direct than what’s available to cars stuck in traffic.

Scooter Routing #

Best for: Scooter couriers, shared e-scooters, and lightweight motorized deliveries

Scooter routing provides optimized paths for electric scooters, balancing speed, safety, and legal riding areas for urban and suburban deliveries.

Characteristics:

• Favors roads, bike lanes, and shared paths where scooter use is allowed
• Avoids highways and major roads that prohibit scooters
• Calculates speeds based on typical scooter travel (usually 12-20 mph, depending on local limits)
• Considers surface quality, road crossings, and traffic density where available
• Favors shorter, safer alternatives to car-dominated routes

Urban Delivery Advantages: In busy cities, scooter couriers can bypass traffic congestion and access delivery points more flexibly. Droppath’s scooter routing leverages permitted bike infrastructure and secondary roads to maximize speed while staying within legal and safe areas for scooter operation.

Walking Routing #

Best for: Foot couriers, local deliveries, and pedestrian-accessible addresses

Walking routing is optimized for couriers on foot, ensuring safe, direct, and practical routes that make use of pedestrian infrastructure and shortcuts unavailable to vehicles.

Characteristics:

• Follows sidewalks, footpaths, pedestrian plazas, and trails where walking is permitted
• Avoids highways, expressways, and other areas where walking is prohibited or unsafe
• Calculates realistic walking speeds (typically 3–4 mph, adjusted for stops, crossings, and terrain)
• Factors in crosswalks, pedestrian-only crossings, and traffic lights
• Makes use of shortcuts through parks, alleys, or pedestrian passages to minimize distance

Urban Delivery Advantages: In dense neighborhoods or urban centers where vehicle access is limited, walking routes can reach building entrances and interior locations more efficiently. Droppath’s walking routing takes advantage of pedestrian pathways and short connections to help foot couriers deliver quickly without the delays and restrictions faced by cars or bikes.

How to Select Your Vehicle Type #

Vehicle type can be selected in Droppath’s route settings:

1. Open your route in Droppath
2. Tap on the bolt icon (Optimize)
3. Under Routing Settings, find Vehicle Type
4. Choose Walk, Scooter, Car, Truck, or Bicycle
5. Re-optimize your route to apply the new vehicle type

The route will immediately recalculate based on your selected vehicle type, ensuring all navigation is appropriate for your transportation method.

You can also set the vehicle type for all future routes in Settings.

Technical Details #

Droppath’s vehicle type routing leverages advanced routing engines that understand:

• Road classifications and vehicle restrictions
• Infrastructure height and weight limits
• Speed limits specific to vehicle types
• Dedicated cycling infrastructure
• Terrain and elevation data

This ensures that your route is not just optimized for distance and time, but also for safety, legality, and real-world drivability based on your specific vehicle.

For more information about route optimization capabilities, visit our features page or contact our support team.