Lack of Parking Is an Issue for Truck Drivers

If you’re a truck driver, you probably experienced a time when you wanted to park your truck but there weren’t any available spaces. This is an all-too-common problem in the trucking industry.

Now, on some highways, you’ll see a sign that indicates how many parking spaces are available for trucks at rest stops ahead, and that’s a good thing because at least you’ll know if there’s room for you there. But, generally, there are still plenty of places that don’t do a good job of advertising that they even have truck parking, let alone how many spaces they have (and how many are currently available).

Truckers Want a Safe Place to Park

Ideally, if you’re a trucker, you want a safe place to park– you don’t want to find yourself parked illegally, on the shoulder, in abandoned lots, or in some awkward situation where you could cause an accident.

Are there enough parking spots for trucks? Nope. The American Trucking Associations says there are more than 11 drivers for every one parking space. In real-life/real-world terms, that means there are plenty of truckers spending nearly an hour of driving time–daily–looking for parking! And since there’s a lack of proper parking spaces, it also means truckers are parking in unauthorized places several times a week.

As mentioned earlier, there are some real-time parking space availability signs on some highways. For instance, if you drive along Interstates 70, 75 and U.S. Route 33 in Ohio, you’ll see these helpful signs. This is a “good step in the right direction,” but more needs to be done.

Did you know two House members recently introduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act which would help get money earmarked to create more safe parking for trucks? The government definitely should be investing in this sort of thing, since the trucking industry is vital to the national economy.

Here’s what it all comes down to… We need more public truck parking facilities, and the spaces that exist should be upgraded and/or expanded.

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