There is no doubt that truck parking is an issue for anyone who spends their life on the road, be it truckers, travelers or commuters — trucks are everywhere. It is estimated that 2 million tractor trailer trucks operate in the U.S. with over 3.5 million truck drivers. Further estimates indicate that over the next 9 years another 2 million trucks will be on the road. Already a big problem, the places to park are shrinking rather than increasing as rest areas are being closed due to budget cuts. Where are all the big-rigs going to park when their hours of service are expired and mandatory hours of rest are required by law?
I often say I am glad to be driving team because often we just cannot find a place to park. All the truck stops and rest areas fill up early, most of the time we park at Walmart. Last night we couldn’t get into any rest areas in Illinois and just had to keep driving. What is the answer? And who is going to fix this problem?
It does seem logical that if the government DOT regulates how long you can drive and how many hours drivers must “rest” that they should also be responsible for providing an accessible place for that said “rest.” Even team drivers who drive in tandem shifts need to rest from the constant bouncing of the nation’s always-under-construction roads and for 34-hr restarts.
One solution on the horizon is “Jason’s Law,” named after Jason Rivenburg, the New York truck driver who was killed in South Carolina, focusing on the issue of safe parking. The law was not passed last year due to funding issues but was reintroduced again this year. The language enables what is known as public-private partnerships where truck stops will be jointly funded.
Maybe you have heard of it but don’t really know what it says. Drivers should review this and other related legislation at The Library of Congress web-site, it is suprisingly user friendly. Jason’s Law in the U.S. House of Representatives is bill H.R. 1803. (The companion bill in the U.S. Senate is S. 1187.)
The only actions to this bill so far:
5/10/2011- Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
5/11/2011- Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
For more information: truckinginfo.com gives a summary of the bill. The American Trucking Association and OOIDA support the bill.
As with all issues, there is an opposing side to the bill which points out these relevant concerns: “Consider the higher taxes. Consider the surrender of more of your liberties. When Jason’s Law has been implemented, what’s to prevent government from setting up CSA2010 checkpoints at “their” truck stops and randomly check EOBRs for compliance? What if they decided to do a truck inspection on your rig while you slept?”
“What needs to happen is that government needs to reduce or eliminate the regulations and prohibitions that prevent private business from building commercial truck stops in the places where they are most needed. That is the solution to more safe parking for large trucks, not government involvement.” quote from truck-drivers-money-saving-tips.com/jasons-law
This issue deserves attention from ALL those who spend time on this nation’s highways but especially by everyone in and related to the trucking industry. Despite concerns, it has been a long road to get “Jason’s Law” to this stage and it will take an effort by truckers if it is goint to get funding for the parking problems. You owe it to yourself, your health and safely, to take a look at the issues and take action; get behind the bill or at least the ideas behind it by writing your representatives. If there isn’t enough time or energy to do that after driving your 70 hours a week and looking for places to park, at least get involved and support a travel or trucking association that you trust to represent your interests.
Remember, these famous words. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” And “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little” – Quotes by Edmund Burke
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