Truck and bus drivers are facing an overwhelming problem regarding a lack of proper parking spots for vehicles of their size. They are unable to park in spots where they can safely and legally be and instead are having to park illegally, putting themselves and other drivers in danger. The problem started minutely but it grew increasingly worse and worse, leaving drivers currently to experience the worst parking situations that they ever had.
Several truckers have expressed the lack of parking as the hardest issue that they face as a truck driver on a daily basis.
A few weeks back, one driver when exiting the highway hit 3 different tractor-trailers that had been forced to park along the exit ramp. This is a scenario many truckers have found themselves in due to the lack of parking and having to find impromptu places to stay. This, however, is illegal in many states, one being Illinois where this event occurred.
Typically, because they know how bad the situation is, police officers ignore when this happens. Sometimes, they will place fines on the truckers. This leaves truck drivers in a sticky situation where they have to choose a fine or a decent enough place to stop. Some states, like Tennessee, have fined as steeply as $550 for illegal parking spots.
The truckers are also forced to knowingly put themselves and others in danger by being forced to park in compromising positions. The danger is also brought on because the lack of parking availability causes truck drivers to have to keep driving even when they are exhausted and need to stop. They are also sometimes forced to break federal rules regarding how many hours they can drive before they have to take a regulated break.
The nature of the trucking industry now and just the commercial nature of the country now means most truck rest stops fill up in a comedic amount of time. Most average at most 40 spots and in most places that is nowhere near enough.
One political figure is working to better the parking situation for truckers.
Representative Mike Bost is working to pass the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. This law would target the state’s funding to allot for more funding to be dedicated to providing more commercial parking spots.
Bost’s proposed law has reached the House floor and from there would go to the Senate. It is expected to go to the Senate in the early months of 2024. From there, the law would hopefully be fully approved, and work would be done to create more safe and legal parking.
